Solana Spaces has decided to close its two Solana (SOL)-themed, community-oriented retail shops in New York City and Miami at the end of this month. These stores are situated in both cities respectively. This decision was taken as a result of the fact that the physical shops did not bring in as many new users as was first anticipated when they were first opened.
Solana Spaces announced the news through a tweet on February 21, which also contained a message from the shop’s founder, Vibhu Norby, explaining the many factors that contributed to the decision to close the stores.
Norby, who founded Solana Spaces in the early part of 2022, explained that the company had reached a “inflection point” with the stores, which prompted them to shift their investment focus to “DRiP,” the firm’s brand-new nonfungible token artwork airdrop platform. This move was prompted by the fact that the company had reached a “inflection point.” Norby also said that he was the one responsible for establishing Solana Spaces in the first place.
“While our stores onboard between 500 and 1,000 people per week, DRiP onboards that same number EVERY DAY,” Norby noted, explaining why the firm opted to shift its investment priority. “While our shops onboard between 500 and 1,000 people per week, DRiP onboards that same number EVERY DAY.” “While our shops bring on between 500 and 1,000 customers every week, DRiP brings on that same number every single day,”
Norby stated that the decision to close the stores, which are located in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami and the Hudson Yards neighborhood of Manhattan, was made “a few weeks ago,” and that they would “sunset” at the end of the month of February. Both of these neighborhoods are in the city of New York.
Because the two stores in New York and Miami did not open their doors to the general public until the end of July and August, respectively, the ambitious endeavor was only operating for a relatively little period of time.
LinksDAO, a golf business run by a decentralized autonomous organization, is considering making a bid to buy the recently placed up for sale Spey Bay Golf Club in Scotland, which is estimated to be worth approximately $900,000.
After a few weeks of informal discussion, the proposal vote was officially opened on February 20 by LinksDAO, which describes itself as a “global group of golf enthusiasts” with the goal of building the “world’s greatest golf community.” This event followed the official opening of the vote on February 20.
It would be the very first time that the DAO has ever purchased a golf course.
At the time this article was written, more than 88 percent of the 4,100 LinksDAO tokenholders had already voted in support of the proposal. The voting period will officially end on February 22 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The proposal stated that the LinksDAO acquisition committee will meet with the relevant parties required to construct a “compelling offer” for the purchase of the club “with the full intent of successfully purchasing the golf course” in the event that the final tally remains in favor of the purchase.
The authors of the proposal, who identified themselves as “Bez,” “Jim,” “cbruce,” and “nickwalkermsu,” explained that even though the majority of the DAO’s research efforts have been focused on locating an appropriate golf course purchase in the United States, “this listing was too special to ignore.”
“During the course of our hunt for a golf course to buy, we came across a potentially advantageous piece of real estate in Scotland known as the Spey Bay Golf Club. The purpose of this vote is to decide whether or not we should proceed with making an offer and working toward purchasing the course.
The writers also said that the course is “playable now,” and they mentioned that the course’s high ceiling in comparison to its inexpensive price makes it a worthwhile investment.
According to the authors’ explanation, “even a price that is quadruple the ‘recommended price’ would be lower than most subpar courses we have reviewed so far in the United States.”
Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies have been regarded with suspicion by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for a considerable amount of time. According to the BIS, however, there is no longer any need to exercise care since the “war has been won” between fiat and cryptocurrency.
In an interview with Bloomberg, the general manager of the BIS, Agustn Carstens, who is responsible for making the assertion, emphasized that “technology does not make for trustworthy money,” among other objections of cryptocurrency.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which serves as the central bank for central banks, has emphasized the need for regulation and risk management in the cryptocurrency space. However, the BIS’s assertion that the battle between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies has been won sparked outrage, satire, and corrections within the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency community.
“Want to irritate those fools to no end? Ignore their fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) bait and put all of your attention on what’s occurring in the global south and on the streets of Nigeria.
In the meanwhile, Lady Anarki, an advocate for Bitcoin who recently shut down a firm that provided Bitcoin Security Education, said that “fiat and crypto are fundamentally the same exact swindle.”
“In the case of fiat currency, it is a group of wicked elite oligarchs who are building a rigged game system in order to benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else. Bitcoin is a system that was created with incentives and good economic concepts in mind, and it is meant to empower anybody who contributes value to the world.
As Carstens said, this is another another allusion to the fact that Bitcoin has been proclaimed dead, dead, and dead again. It is also a reference to the reality that Bitcoin lost the “battle” for money. The bear market in 2022 and 2023 is not going to be any different, and Bitcoin supporters on Twitter have been quick to embrace the chance to ridicule financial gurus who are dancing on the fictitious grave of the decentralized currency.
Despite this, Bitcoin has gained more over forty percent from its lows in 2022, and adoption of the Lightning Network is thriving as the community looks to be becoming more outspoken.
This week, the Bitcoin Information Service (BIS) issued another incendiary remark, and the famous podcast What Bitcoin Did, which is hosted by Peter McCormack, tweeted some helpful numbers to rectify the statement. Notably, the BIS said that “almost all economies incurred losses on their Bitcoin holdings” between August 2015 and December 2022. This is an important point to note.
In spite of the BIS’ best attempts to the contrary, it seems like the price of bitcoin will continue its upward trajectory.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has been an outspoken opponent of cryptocurrencies, expressing worries about the volatility, scalability, and energy consumption of these digital assets. In contrast to Carsten’s statement in the Bloomberg interview that “technology does not make for trustworthy money,” the BIS has conducted research on stablecoins and is leading the creation of central bank digital currencies in conjunction with numerous nations.
Willem Middelkoop, an author and enthusiast for Bitcoin, recently emphasized that the conflict between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies is not yet resolved. If one were to skim over the comments on the initial tweet from Bloomberg Crypto, one would get the impression that the conflict is just beginning to heat up.
Although Satoshi Nakamoto is credited with being the anonymous creator of Bitcoin (BTC), what frequently goes unnoticed are the altruistic contributions made by members of the Bitcoin community, such as miners, developers, designers, hodlers, and investors, which help make the original vision a reality. Nevertheless, it was discovered that one of these substantial contributions had concealed a defect for more than a decade that was not obvious to the human eye.
On November 12, 2010, a member of bitcointalk.org known as bitboy (not to be confused with the YouTube user known as BitBoy Crypto) shared the vector files of the now-iconic Bitcoin logo, which is well recognized all over the globe. Zooming in on the original Bitcoin logo reveals that there is a thin orange line running from the background into the white colored “” in the middle of the design, whereas Bitcoiners preach the “zoom out” narrative during bad times in the cryptocurrency market.
The disclosure does not have any effect on the functioning of Bitcoin, and members of the community have not expressed any worry over it. Even if anyone were to generate new vectors after resolving the faults, it would not become widely accepted until the community as a whole thinks that it should.
CleanSpark, a Bitcoin mining company, is continuing to acquire equipment from mining firms that are in financial difficulties even as the markets maintain a good trajectory toward recovery.
According to Gary Vecchiarelli, chief financial officer of CleanSpark, the firm plans to achieve “explosive growth” in 2023 via a combination of mergers and acquisitions.
“With regard to our strategy regarding M&A, we have been one of the most active miners to date in purchasing infrastructure and machines, and we will continue to be active,” he said. “We have been one of the most active miners to date in acquiring infrastructure and machines.”
Although the billionaire Ray Dalio feels that fiat currency is in danger, he is also of the opinion that neither Bitcoin (BTC) nor stablecoins are the solution to the problem. As a kind of reaction, individuals of the cryptocurrency community have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter.
During a recent appearance on the show Squawk on CNBC, Dalio was asked about his thoughts on Bitcoin as a possible solution to the issues that are caused by fiat money. The billionaire claimed that it would not be useful as a means of commerce or as a place to keep riches. In addition to this point, Dalio emphasised that stablecoins are only imitations of state-backed currencies and hence would not be an efficient form of currency.
Bitcoin users were quick to reply to the interview, stating that Dalio’s definition of what money should be is already reflected in Bitcoin. Additionally, a Twitter user identified many intrinsic properties of Bitcoin and pointed out that it provides the answer Dalio is seeking for. A member of the community tweeted: One member of the community believes that Bitcoin is the solution to the monetary issue that Dalio outlined because of the cryptocurrency’s resilience to censorship, neutrality, openness, limited supply, and freedom from control.
While this was going on, a different member of the Bitcoin community said that Dalio had “orange pilled” them with his views on the history of money. The opinion of the Twitter user is that the interview demonstrates that the billionaire is getting closer and closer to “really understanding Bitcoin.”
His view on Bitcoin has traditionally shifted back and forth between bullish and bearish for Dalio. In 2021, he moved from characterising Bitcoin as “one heck of an innovation” to adopting a more pessimistic storyline, during which he discussed the possibility of a ban on Bitcoin being enacted in the United States and said that he would prefer gold over Bitcoin as a medium of exchange.
In 2022, the billionaire advocated for an allocation of between one and two percent of investor portfolios to Bitcoin. Back then, Dalio lauded Bitcoin for its resistance to hackers and said that there is no other cryptocurrency that can compete with it on the market.
Tether is hoping that by collaborating with INHOPE, it will be possible to increase the visibility of bitcoin payments used in content marketplaces that promote child abuse and make it simpler for authorities to handle these types of payments. In addition, Tether hopes that this will make it possible to increase the visibility of bitcoin payments used in content marketplaces that promote child abuse. The operator of the stablecoin will engage with INHOPE, a worldwide network that combats online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), to exchange information, interact with stakeholders, and enforce measures against criminal actors that originate from the cryptocurrency ecosystem. CSAM stands for child sexual abuse material. INHOPE is a global network that works to remove sexually abusive content from the internet that targets children (CSAM).
The chief technical officer of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, said that the business was collaborating with law enforcement agencies, financial intelligence units, legislators, and standard-setting groups from all around the world to develop “appropriate risk-mitigating approaches.” ” We have a particular interest in improving the capacity of businesses that deal in cryptocurrencies to recognise transactions that are related to online CSAM markets and to report payments of this kind to the appropriate authorities. This is something that has been occupying a lot of our thoughts in recent times.
Since the beginning of the organisation in 1999, INHOPE has maintained a communication hotline network that is comprised of nodes located all over the world. This network encompasses not just all of the nations that are affiliated with the European Union but also those of Russia, South Africa, North and South America, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
The unlawful use of cryptocurrencies as a means of financing the sale of content depicting child abuse is the goal of the agreement, and its objective is to make an effort to put a stop to this practise. This objective will be achieved via the combined efforts of all of the parties that are a part of the agreement.
The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, suggested that Brazil and Argentina should switch to Bitcoin (BTC) as their national currency as Brazil and Argentina were beginning preparatory work for a potential common currency. This sparked a variety of discussions over the viability of Bitcoin (BTC) as a national currency. The Argentine peso and the Brazilian real will continue to be legal tender in both countries until a single currency can be established between them. The two nations in South America made the announcement on January 22 that they are beginning to plan for the creation of a joint currency.
The action may result in the formation of the world’s second-largest currency bloc.
Armstrong immediately rushed to Twitter when the news emerged to propose that Bitcoin would be the “perfect long-term bet” and to query whether or not the two governments would take it into consideration.
Raoul Pal, founder and current CEO of Global Macro Investor, was against the plan.
According to Pal, it is not optimal to have a national currency that “down 65% during the weak portion of the economic cycle and appreciates 10 times during the strong half of the cycle.”
The CEO pointed out that firms would have trouble preparing and hedging in this case because of the current climate. There were just a few others in the town who shared Pal’s opinion.
One person on Twitter claims that the only viable use for bitcoin is as a store of wealth, comparable to gold.
They posted the following on their Twitter account: Meanwhile, another Twitter user brought up the poor pace of transactions on the Bitcoin network and complained that they would take too long for everyday usage.
However, this was swiftly refuted by another community member who asserted that Bitcoin would become the “best means of trade” after the Lightning Network is completed. Armstrong’s statement may have been motivated by the fact that El Salvador, another Latin American nation, acknowledged bitcoin as a form of legal money in the year 2021.
The action resulted in several positive outcomes for the nation, one of which being an increase in tourism the next year, which totaled 1.1 million visitors to the nation.
In addition, El Salvador was able to use the revenues from its Bitcoin purchases to fund the construction of schools as well as a veterinary hospital.
Brazil and Argentina are no strangers to digital assets.
On November 29, the Chamber of Deputies in Brazil passed a bill that makes it possible to use cryptocurrencies as a form of payment in the nation.
Although the new legislation acknowledges cryptocurrency as a mode of payment, it does not make any particular cryptocurrency legal tender inside the nation.
Members of the cryptocurrency community expressed their opinions on the situation on social media shortly after the crypto lender Genesis Global Trading filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the state of New York. Members of the crypto community shared their opinions on the most recent event in what appears to be an endless string of bankruptcies in the cryptocurrency space. These opinions ranged from the conviction that no one will be held accountable to the characterization of the entire concept of crypto lending as “stupid.”
There are others who feel that bankruptcy attorneys will emerge victorious in each of these competitions.
A member of this group who identified themselves as a creditor of Voyager said that consumer cash would be used to pay the legal team one million dollars, and in the end, “no one will be held responsible.”
Genesis has recently submitted its application for chapter 11.
Bankruptcy attorneys making profit on crypto bankruptcies.
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) January 20, 2023 Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, said that the bankruptcy is “excellent news” and a move toward Gemini subscribers receiving their money back. He referred to it as a “step.”
However, a member of the community responded to Winklevoss’ tweet by stating once again that the users are the only people who have been affected.
According to the user, Gemini is “also as culpable” for not doing enough research on the manner in which Genesis does business before to forming a partnership with the company. During this time, a crypto analyst drew up a diagram to show how crypto enterprises could have been linked during the current spate of bankruptcies that the sector has been experiencing.
The expert believes that the Genesis bankruptcy will shed light on the leverage cycle in the cryptocurrency market.
Some members of the community, who seem to be sick and weary of the negativity that surrounds the area, have stated their lack of faith in cryptocurrency firms.
A commenter on Twitter said that people couldn’t trust firms located in the United States anymore since all of the companies were interconnected.
Billy Markus, the developer of Dogecoin (DOGE), also weighed in on the controversy, labelling the whole notion of cryptocurrency lending as “dumb” and referring to everyone participating in the practise as a “idiot.”
With so many blockchain networks appearing all the time, new or even experienced crypto enthusiasts may feel overwhelmed when it comes to deciding which are the best to invest in.
In this guide, we’ll outline the most important aspects of any blockchain project, and why one should pay close attention to such details when assessing the different chains on the crypto market.
Use case
Arguably the most important part of any blockchain project is its use case. What is the project’s reason for existing? Is the project here to enhance payment processing? To improve on a business supply chain or to entertain users?
There’s technically no such thing as an invalid use case, but some are certainly more applicable than others. For example, a project meant to assist millions in acquiring food is likely to earn more support than a meme coin. If one decides that a project is valuable to them and that this value can translate over to a wide audience, then that’s a point in the project’s favor.
When examining use cases, it’s best to look at the project’s white paper. For example, we can take a look at Polygon’s whitepaper, which details potential use cases associated with the platform.
Community
A project is nothing without its community. Blockchain technology is an open-source and user-driven solution, after all. When assessing a blockchain, it’s often best to check into the community and see how much power they have.
Reliable projects are generally as decentralized as possible, providing users from all over with the ability to hold tokens and have their say in governance. These users are usually outspoken, with public conversations happening on platforms like Reddit, Twitter and Discord. It’s usually best to join a project’s Discord server to gauge both the size and contributions of its community.
Transaction speeds and scalability
One’s blockchain project of choice might have the best intentions, but if the technology can’t scale or reliably process transactions, it’s at a severe disadvantage. What good is a platform that can’t serve the hundreds of thousands of customers it hopes to gain?
When assessing a blockchain, it’s best to examine the network’s typical transaction speeds alongside how it intends to scale en masse. Is it possible to implement upgrades down the line? Will it, or does the network already utilize a layer-two solution? Does the solution sound realistic in the long term?
The Ethereum website contains extensive documentation on its current and future scalability methods.
One can pair this factor alongside the community one, as dedicated community members would have public discussions surrounding their favorite project’s use cases and potential upgrades, as well as how it’s currently running.
Consensus and governance
The two most common blockchain consensus methods are proof-of-work and proof-of-stake. Proof-of-work (PoW) networks require miners that are users who dedicate their computing power to solve complex equations and validate transactions. Miners are paid for their efforts with each block mined, though the computer power required is harmful to the environment.
Proof-of-stake (PoS), on the other hand, provides power to users who hold and stake, or lock in, their digital assets. Generally, the more assets a user stakes, the more power they have within the network.
By staking, users typically become validators who then validate transactions, removing the need for miners. This process is more environmentally friendly than mining and rewards users in interest for their efforts. While both PoS and PoW have their pros and cons, many believe PoS is the future of blockchain and that PoW networks are on their way out.
After all, PoS is the more scalable option and Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, is making the upgrade to PoS over the coming months. Consensus directly affects network governance and is something to consider when assessing different blockchain networks.
Team
The team behind the project is just as important as the technical aspects of any blockchain. Projects should be very open regarding who’s developing a project, as well as the history and skillset of the team.
Failing to disclose the details about the development team can be a significant warning sign while assessing blockchains, as a lack of information could mean they’re looking to scam users. While this isn’t always the case, it’s recommended to stick with projects that are open about their development process.
The Polkadot project has some of its key members available on its website, including their real names and history. That said, it could be improved by including relevant social links to the team’s profiles so that users can conduct their own research to verify the project and the team behind it.
Roadmap
Not only should a blockchain have a solid reliable use case, but it should have a roadmap planned out regarding future developments and product feature additions.
A thorough roadmap generally means that the team has thought long-term about their project and how it can benefit the world. It also provides users with more knowledge about what they’re investing in, and whether or not the network aligns with their values.
The Cardano roadmap features detailed sections for each part of its roadmap, ensuring that all users can understand what to expect in the network’s future.
Market capitalization/total value locked (TVL)
When it comes to decentralized finance (DeFi) projects specifically, one vital factor to consider is its total value locked (TVL) and its market cap.
The TVL represents the total amount of all funds locked into a DeFi platform’s smart contracts. The higher a TVL, the healthier a platform’s ecosystem, as more users are taking advantage of its offerings.
Alternatively, a project’s market capitalization constitutes the value of existing assets within its ecosystem, serving as an indicator of the project’s growth potential. This number constitutes not just those utilizing the platform’s tokens, but also those holding assets in a passive way.
One can consider market capitalization to be the indicator of the popularity of a project, while TVL can mark how much money is actually being moved around within its various protocols. Both statistics are important, but it’s important to understand what each means relevant to a project’s competition.
DeFi Pulse details the TVL of all sorts of DeFi projects, while CoinMarketCap lists the market capitalization of nearly any chain on the market.
Longevity
Finally, take a look at how long the project has been on the market. If it has been available for years, what has the project accomplished? Has it stuck to its roadmap and been reliable, or suffered from consistent delays and failing to deliver? A project’s reliability can be a great indicator of its longevity.
Alternatively, if a project is new to the market, consider observing it for a few months and seeing how things play out. If development appears smooth and the group is making a fair amount of progress and announcements, it might mark a more reliable long-term investment.
