BlackPool Bulletin #43

This week it's all about the Shanghai upgrade, or the lack thereof, as creators and investors alike are eagerly awaiting the next phase of the Ethereum project. There are lots of projects throwing their assets around as the web3 space continues to develop, and we’re keeping an eye on a wide variety of endeavors to establish their validity and potential.

1. Shanghai upgrade pushed back, garnering pushback
2. The wait continues, but the market doesn’t stand still
3. Your regular reminder that ENS should be about individuals
4. Liquid staking continues to grow
5. LQTY and TRU spike as Binance moves on regulation
6. On-chain games: oooh la la
7. Big move coming in the card game space
8. ETH Denver offers fun for the mind and the backside alike

1. Shanghai upgrade pushed back, garnering pushback.

The Ethereum network’s upgrade is now looking to go live in April, meaning users will have to wait a little while longer for an opportunity to withdraw their staked ETH.

It is almost here, but you still don’t get what is going on with the next Ethereum update?
Long time stakers will be able to unlock 2+ years of staked liquidity. We don’t know if early stakers will cash out or not, but the trends seem to indicate that they won’t.

More details in this big thread by ConsenSys.

2. The wait continues, but the market doesn’t stand still.

More on the ETH liquidity war here from boka.eth featuring detailed flowcharts and deep-dive explanations. . This one continues a series about protocols that use Curve Finance as underlying: this time, Concentrator is under the microscope.

Gigabrain whale wallet leaks exposed by KR 👀. Have your Debank and Etherscan at the ready!

3. Your regular reminder that ENS should be about individuals

ENS is under fire for gearing towards big corporations. ENS is considered the fundamental component of Web3 individual digital identity, should corporations be left out of it?  

4. Liquid staking continues to grow

Much has changed with Ethereum’s move from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. A detailed Twitter thread by hoeem, relying on Delphi Digital’s research, shows that the liquid staking market is rapidly growing, now making up over 40% of the ETH staking market.

Put down your Monopoly Man hat, though: competitors like Coinbase and Rocketpool are starting to carve into Lido’s dominance in the field, providing further opportunities for customers, with an expected peak in 2024.

5. LQTY and TRU spike as Binance moves on regulation

With the SEC getting deeper and deeper involved with the scene, regulating $BUSD, Binance is now listing new stablecoin projects alongside minting 180 million $TUSD in the second part of February. Whales, as expected, hoovered up the new currencies and their prices skyrocketed in the process.

6. On-chain games: oooh la la

“Innovations in blockchain technology are unleashing new functionality, and stimulating the development of pure web3 games. Zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) technology can protect sensitive information while allowing for complex mechanics and interactions.”

James Brodie of ID Theory wrote an eye-opening post on Medium about the potential of entirely on-chain games, differentiating between web2.0, web2.5 and web3 – the latter meaning all logic and state exist on the chain. How will the gaming industry evolve about new concepts such as truly persistent worlds, real DAO-governed ecosystems, DAOs as guilds… a read

Pureplay On-Chain Games

Blockchain technologies are maturing and it is dramatically transforming the gaming landscape. Glimmers of novel gaming experiences are…

ID TheoryJames Brodie

7. Big move coming in the card game space

Metafight, the upcoming fighting card game has been on our radar for a while, and its rollout continues with a promotion involving the legendary Ciryl Gane of UFC fame. Ultimately, the gameplay systems will be the deciding factor of its success.

8. ETH Denver offers fun for the mind and the backside alike

That’s certainly one way to state your opinion! Just a bit of fun in the trenches to close things out.

The FTX explosion is still on people's minds and backside.

That's all folks, see you next week!