Wu said Weekly Picks: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 bps, the launch of the Nostr-based Damus social network and the top 10 news stories (0127-0203)
authorship | Wu talks about blockchain Lily
This Week's Top 10 News
1.Federal Reserve25bps interest rate hike announced as scheduled
The statement pointed out that the Commission decided to raise the target range of the federal funds rate to 4.5% to 4.75%, raising the target range to restore inflation to 2% over time. Markets expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again in March and May. The cryptocurrency briefly rose after the FOMC publication, and Ethereum rose 2.6% in 1 hour.
2.DamusThis week's dynamic summary
a. Decentralized social networksNostrOnline Damus
Twitter co-founderJack DorseyNostr, a decentralized social network that previously donated BTC, has launched an app called Damus on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Jack also changed his Twitter introduction to a #bitcoin #nostr，并附上了其 Damus address.
b. The Nostr-based Damus social network created more than 40,000 new accounts on the first day of launch
New accounts that generate public and private keys will follow Damus's official account by default. Currently, the account has more than 40,000 followers and is still growing.
c. Damus has been removed from the App Store in mainland China
On February 3, Damus, a decentralized social networking app based on the Nostr protocol, was removed from the App Store in mainland China. Damus signed in to the App Store on February 1 and quickly reached the top ten free social networking apps in the US App Store. Damus said it was notified that your app will be removed from the China App Store in accordance with the requirements of the CAC (China Internet Administration) because it contains content that is illegal in China, which does not meet the App Store review guidelines.
3. WeChat, Alipay, Binance and others participate in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's cryptocurrency and stablecoin regulatory consultation
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority today released a consultation summary of the discussion paper on cryptoassets and stablecoins. It is proposed to include certain stablecoin-related activities in regulation, and the expected scope of supervision and the main regulatory requirements are explained in the summary document. Key regulatory requirements include full support and fair redemption; regulated entities must not engage in activities different from their main business (such as borrowing) as permitted by their relevant license; and the need to apply for a license. Notably, the document shows that Binance, Deloitte, Alipay, Animoca, Circle (USDC issuer), HSBC, Mastercard, Xinhuo Technology, WeChat, etc. all provided suggestions for participating in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's “Cryptocurrency and Stablecoin Discussion Paper”.
4. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Is Hiring Web3 Business Marketplace Experts
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is hiring Web3 Go-To-Market team members responsible for increasing adoption of Web3 workloads on AWS. Job requirements include understanding blockchain-based architectures and developer workflows, and in-depth understanding of blockchain applications in gaming technology, use cases, and architectures.
5. Circle Releases December 2022 Reserve Report
CirclePublished the December 2022 Reserve Report, audited by GrantThornton Accounting Group, detailing the current composition of the reserve pool. Of this, 44,553,543,212 USDC is supported by $44,693,963,701 in escrow accounts, a significant portion of which is US Treasury bonds. Circle's reserve fund is registered as a government money market fund, which is wholly owned by Circle and includes 14 different US bonds worth over $23.5 billion, and also holds $48.9 million in cash.
6. MetaMask updates privacy and security settings
MetaMask has updated the privacy and security settings feature, and users can now change their RPC provider by “setting advanced privacy” when creating a new wallet and switch to a three-party service to send requests to help detect phishing and identify incoming transactions. These features can also be enabled or disabled in the existing wallet settings.
7. Binance wants new solutions for proof of solvency in 2023
Binance said the 2023 product team wants to provide greater user transparency, provide a new zk-Stark based solution for proof of solvency, and reach 1 billion verified Binance users by further streamlining the KYC process. Additionally, CZ said it is willing to invest in VR and metaverse games, but has no plans to build a metaverse of its own yet.
8.BinanceAnother partnership with Mastercard to launch prepaid cards in Brazil
Binance and Mastercard have once again partnered to launch prepaid cards in Brazil, and last year they launched the Binance Card in Argentina. According to reports, more and more Latin Americans are switching to cryptocurrencies amid high inflation and capital controls. The card will enable Binance users with a valid national ID card to make purchases and pay bills using cryptocurrency.
9.GlassnodeIt points to strong monthly price performance in the Bitcoin market
Glassnode notes that as the end of January approaches, the Bitcoin market experienced its strongest monthly price performance since October 2021, which was driven by spot demand and a series of short runs. This rebound brought back profits for most of the market and caused the futures market to trade with healthy positive spreads. The post-FTX outflow impulse has calmed to neutral and is now balanced by a newly stimulated influx.
10. Cryptographic analysis companyChainalysisApproximately 44 of its 900 employees are being laid off
Crypto analytics firm Chainalysis is firing about 900 of its 44 employees, or 4.8% of its total workforce, mostly sales staff. The main reason for the layoffs was a sharp drop in demand from the private sector due to a sharp drop in crypto asset prices and trading volume. Previously, Chainalysis completed Series F financing of 170 million US dollars at a valuation of 8.6 billion US dollars in May 2022, and the Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund and others participated.
Key financing events
YGG Japan's sub-DAO “YGG Japan”, the world's largest DAO-type gaming association, announced the completion of a private round of financing worth approximately $2.95 million
Longevity startup VitaDAO announced a $4.1 million funding round with investors includingCoinbaseFormer CTO, Pfizer Investment Division, etc.
Crypto-security startup Hypernative closes $9 million seed round led by boldstart ventures and IBI Tech Fund
Sovereign Labs raised $7.4 million in seed round led by Haun Ventures
Blockchain security firm Sec3 raises $10 million in seed round led by Multicoin Capital
Digital fingerprinting startup Addressable raised a $7.5 million seed round
Canadian crypto mining company Pow.re completes $9.2 million Series A funding round and $18 million strategic investment
Web3 social data portal Port3 receives $3 million seed round led by KuCoin Labs
For more industry funding events, check out crypto-fundraising.info.
Read more on the official website:
https://www.wu-talk.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=show&catid=6&id=11298
