Adam Efrima is the SSV Core team Co-founder. He has been active in the crypto industry since 2013. Over eight years living in China working in the financial industry and fintech space, Adam has worked in CITIC Bank covering outbound investments for Chinese SOEs, he was also in charge of setting up the eToro Shanghai operation. Since then, Adam has been deeply involved in Ethereum staking, co-founding top performing staking project Bloxstaking as well as co-founding SSV Network, a decentralized validator infrastructure for ETH staking.

Adam Simmons is Chief Strategy Officer at RDX Works, a key contributor to the Radix public ledger. He has over 13 years of experience in building &amp; growing businesses in a range of industries including online video, blockchain &amp; digital marketing. With experience in both senior leadership &amp; hands-on roles, he has repeatedly recruited, managed, and trained highly successful teams within marketing, customer success and operations functions. Adam is also a previous member of the UK Paralympic Sprint Kayaking Team and has competed in multiple World and European Championships.


Adam Swick is the Chief Growth Officer at Marathon Digital Holdings. Prior to joining Marathon, he served as a principal at Refinery Ventures, where he was responsible for identifying and recommending business strategies to accelerate the growth of all companies in Refinery’s portfolio. Before Refinery, Swick was the director of strategic finance at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange, where he managed the company’s balance sheet, debt program, investor relations, and all forecasting activities. Prior to Kraken, he founded Swick Capital, a crypto-asset hedge fund, worked at Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group. Swick holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Adrian Brink is the co-founder of Namada and Anoma, where he focuses on building privacy-preserving systems that are resilient to global crises. Previously, he was a core developer at Tendermint (Cosmos) and worked at the Web3 Foundation. He also co-founded Cryptium Labs, which was later sold to Chorus One, and Metastate, where he contributed to major upgrades to the Tezos protocol​.

Adrien Stern is the founder &amp; CEO of Reveel, the omnichain payments infrastructure that enables one-click cross-chain payments to connect people across borders and networks. Before founding Reveel, Adrien led digital transformation efforts at BNP Paribas CIB. He was also previously a venture builder, and owns Bridge Music, a record label and recording studio. Adrien has a Bachelor’s degree in Sciences of Management from The University of Lausanne and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Esade. 

Alex Hoffman is Head of Ecosystem at Superposition Finance. Superposition is revolutionizing DeFi by addressing its core challenges through robust risk management powered by Concordia’s best-in-class risk engine, omnichain functionality, and transparency.

Alexei Zamyatin is a co-founder of BOB, a first-of-its-kind hybrid Layer-2 powered by Bitcoin and Ethereum. He has been a Bitcoin and interoperability research contributor since 2015 and is most known for his work on trustless cross-chain bridges and L2s. Alexei holds a PhD in computer science from Imperial College London.


Alison Haire is the CEO and founder of Lilypad, a serverless, decentralized compute network that democratizes access to computational power by providing scalable infrastructure for AI, machine learning and other high-demand processes. Before founding Lilypad, she held roles at companies such as Filecoin, IBM and Accenture. Under her leadership, Lilypad leverages idle GPU capacity worldwide to fuel an open AI economy, providing cost-effective and scalable compute resources. Her work focuses on making high-performance computing accessible to more developers and researchers, while challenging the dominance of large centralized cloud providers​​.

With over 20 years of experience leading and designing games and tech companies, Alun is well-versed in creating innovative products that tackle experiential and developer challenges. In addition to his stewardship of LAOS Network, he is CEO and co-founder of the company building LAOS, Freeverse, which focuses on building scalable blockchain infrastructure. His history as the co-creator of ‘Barcelona World Race - THE GAME,’ a cutting-edge video game enabling virtual participation in real-world events, and his wider passion for gaming, have fed into his vision for LAOS Network as a solution for the intersection of Web3 tech with both gaming and real-world applications. Alun also led Shar3d.io, a pioneering company enabling collaborative 3D web applications, and served as CTO of Bodypal.com, a virtual garment services company. He holds a Ph.D. in Medical Physics from University College London.



Amanda Cassatt is the founder and CEO of Serotonin. Amanda previously served as Chief Marketing Officer of ConsenSys from 2016 through 2019. Joining one year after the launch of Ethereum, Amanda played a crucial role in defining, creating, and growing the narrative for ConsenSys, Ethereum, and blockchain overall.

Amanda stewarded the ConsenSys brand through its global expansion across enterprises, governments, developers, and consumers. She created and scaled the marketing team to over 50 people, serving both the ConsenSys brand and 50+ portfolio companies such as MetaMask, Infura, Truffle, and Gitcoin; managing teams in product marketing, growth, design, content, community, events, email, analytics and SEO. Amanda’s contributions to some of the most successful product launches, token sales and fundraises landed her on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2016. Amanda is the author of the world's first web3 marketing book, Web3 Marketing: A Handbook for the Next Internet Revolution.

Amanda Keleher currently serves as Chief People Officer at Consensys, one of the largest and fastest-growing companies in the blockchain technology space. A well-rounded business leader with an over 25-year career in the technology space, Amanda is the driving force behind the human element of Consensys where she is responsible for overseeing all of the aspects of people, from building and maintaining the company culture to harnessing human capital as a key driver of business. 

Before joining ConsenSys, Amanda served as the Head of People at ThoughtWorks, a global technology consultancy company, for nearly ten years, where she led the global scale expansion by opening offices around the world and recruiting a diverse workforce at a time when the DevOps movement had just been born and a new skill set were yet to be developed. After her time at ThoughWorks, she served as the Executive Vice President, People &amp; Culture of Index Exchange, one of the world’s premier ad tech organizations; and as VP of People at Little Bits and Intent Media where she excelled in designing effective and creative strategies to attract and retain world-class talent in hyper competitive environments

Andrea Berry is a seasoned online video strategist with 15+ years of experience in transformative media partnerships. 

Her early successes include helping to launch Qello Concerts, the first direct-to-consumer live-music OTT service, later transforming it into Qello Media Services and Vimeo’s OTT channels offering across various industries as their first strategic sales director for their enterprise.

Currently, as the Head of Business Development at Theta Labs, Andrea leverages her expertise in online video and blockchain to drive strategic partnerships and growth opportunities for the company. She helps enterprises take advantage and lean into the opportunities Web3 presents. 

Andrew Redden is the CEO and CTO of Last Network, a blockchain platform focused on sustainable cash flow and reinvestment. Previously, he worked at Gitcoin and has contributed to numerous DeFi and Web3 projects. Redden's career reflects a commitment to developing technologies that prioritize long-term viability and community engagement​.

Andrew Thurman is a Data Editor based in Washington, DC. He previously wrote for CoinDesk and Cointelegraph, and worked in various roles for Chainlink and Nansen. His analysis has been quoted in The Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Forbes, Fortune, Reuters, The BBC, CNBC, and elsewhere. Contact Andrew at andrew@blockworks.co.

Andrey Sergeenkov writes educational articles as a freelancer. His works have been published in Coindesk, Cointelegraph, Entrepreneur and CoinMarketCap. He believes that transforming society towards lifelong learning, combined with decentralization in government and business, will lead to exponential social development.

Andy Bromberg is CEO of Beam and Contributor to the Eco Protocol. Eco has raised more than $90 million from an array of leading investors, including a16z Crypto, L Catterton, Activant Capital, Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, and others. Prior to Eco, Andy was Co-founder and President of CoinList. Andy is also a founding board member at FreeWorld, a non-profit seeking to end institutionalized poverty in the United States by providing access to living-wage jobs for people with criminal histories. He studied Mathematics and Computer Science at Stanford University and co-founded the Stanford Bitcoin Group.

An established and versatile Financial Executive with over two decades of experience running multiple trading businesses across top-level banks such as HSBC, Barclays, and UBS. After running the top Agency and SSA business for both UBS and Barclays, he took over Emerging Markets macro trading for Barclays. In 2018, wanting to go deeper into Emerging Markets he took a role as Head of Latam local markets trading where he was responsible for trading activities across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. In 2021 DeMartino moved into Crypto when he became CEO and founder of Coinbase Risk Strategies focused on DeFi and Derivatives trading. More recently he started Trident Digital Group, a crypto-native solutions firm that is focused on lending and safe yield generation and stablecoin adoption.


Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio.

Prior to founding SkyBridge in 2005, Scaramucci co-founded investment partnership Oscar Capital Management, which was sold to Neuberger Berman in 2001. Earlier, he worked in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs &amp; Co.

In 2022, Scaramucci was ranked #47 in Cointelegraph’s Top 100 Influencers in Crypto and Blockchain. In 2016, he was ranked #85 in Worth Magazine’s Power 100: The 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. In 2011, he received Ernst &amp; Young’s New York Financial Services “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award.  Anthony is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a board member of the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation. He is the author of five books.

Scaramucci served on President Donald J. Trump’s 16-person Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee, and in 2017 briefly served as Chief Strategy Officer of the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank and White House Communications Director.

Scaramucci, a native of Long Island, New York, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Antoni is a co-founder of Aleph Zero Foundation (Switzerland), an organization overseeing the development of the Aleph Zero blockchain, and a Managing Partner of Cardinal Cryptography (Poland), firm focused on core development of the Aleph Zero ecosystem.

Ari Juels is the Weill Family Foundation and Joan and Sanford I. Weill Professor in the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and the Technion and a Computer Science faculty member at Cornell University. He is a Co-Director of the Initiative for CryptoCurrencies and Contracts (IC3). He is also Chief Scientist at Chainlink Labs. He is the author of crypto thriller novel The Oracle (Talos Press), which was released on 20 February 2024.

Austin Alexander is co-founder of LayerTwo Labs, a company focused on advancing the Bitcoin ecosystem through innovative solutions and specializing in the development of Drivechain, a specific type of blockchain sidechain designed to foster creativity and scalability within Bitcoin.

Austin Campbell is the founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. Previously, he has run portfolio management at Paxos for the stablecoins as well as being the chief risk officer of Paxos National Trust, has managed fixed income trading desks at JP Morgan and Citi, and has been a portfolio manager and structurer at Stone Ridge, the parent of NYDIG. He holds a BS in Mathematics from CSU Chico and a MBA from NYU Stern.

Ben Mills is the co-founder of Meso, a payments platform connecting banks and blockchains. Prior to Meso, Ben spent a decade building payments products as an early team member at Braintree (acquired by PayPal), as Head of Product at Venmo, and working on Solana Pay at Solana Labs.

Ben Rubin is the CEO and co-founder of Towns, a decentralized messaging platform dedicated to redefining online communication. Rubin has a rich background and a decade of experience in creating digital spaces that build trust and foster human connection. Prior to founding Here Not There Labs, the developer of Towns, Ben founded two venture-backed startups, Meerkat and Houseparty, both of which reimagined how people interact digitally. He scaled his communication products to hundreds of millions of users and raised over $70M in funding from Sequoia Capital and Greylock. After Houseparty was acquired by Epic Games in 2019, Ben went on to found Here Not There Labs, a venture-backed startup with over $30M in funding from a16z crypto and Benchmark Capital.

Ben Strack is a senior reporter covering macro and crypto-native funds, financial advisors, structured products, and the integration of digital assets and DeFi into traditional finance. Prior to joining Blockworks, he covered the asset management industry for Fund Intelligence and was a reporter and editor for various local newspapers on Long Island. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in journalism.

Contact Ben via email at ben@blockworks.co

Bessie is a Brooklyn-based reporter covering DeFi and technology. Bessie worked as a tech journalist for The Org prior to joining Blockworks and was a management consultant for KPMG in another life. She is originally from Melbourne, Australia and holds an MA from New York University. She is also the mother of a bratty cat named Mochi. You can reach Bessie at bessie@blockworks.co

Bezalel Eithan Raviv, an ex-member of IDF Cyber Unit 8200, is a seasoned entrepreneur with deep expertise in technology and innovation. He now leads Lionsgate Network, a blockchain analysis firm specializing in professional money recovery services for digital asset investors in the +$2.5 trillion market. Prior to this role, Bezalel founded an investment banking firm supporting AI startups and developed Halleluiah, a pioneering web3 migration pattern for global music copyrights.

Billy Luedtke is the CEO and founder of Intuition, an information protocol powering a more trustful internet. Billy previously served as senior technology advisor at EY, a leading global professional services organization providing assurance, tax, audit, strategy and transactions. At EY, Billy created the company’s blockchain consulting practice, leading the technical development of blockchain-enabled distributed systems. Billy later became a senior token engineer at Consensys, a leading Ethereum developer (MetaMask, Infura, Linea). Billy continues to serve as an advisor at Consensys and MetaMask.

Billy Sebell is the Executive Director of the XDC Foundation and an early contributor to the XDC Network. Since early 2018, Billy has worked to develop the XDC community, focused on ecosystem and network growth and implementing use cases in trade finance. Billy previously spent more than 25 years in manufacturing and consumer products, dealing with the challenges businesses face in capital markets and international trade.

Bob Bodily is the Provo, Utah-based CEO and Co-Founder of Bioniq, a BTC Ordinals wallet and marketplace. He has a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a Ph.D. in educational/instructional technology from Brigham Young University, with 25 articles and 1K citations. He is a data engineer with 100K+ lines of production Python code, and he has two previous software startups, including an EdTech SaaS that sold in 2021.


Bogdan is the Co-Founder and CTO of Tenderly, the full-stack infrastructure solutions provider powering Web3 developer teams with the essential tools and services throughout their development journeys. 

Prior to co-founding Tenderly, Bogdan worked as a software engineer for major software platforms such as MVP Workshop and Go Daddy where he was responsible for constructing and managing the development of distributed cloud systems before realizing the lack of infrastructural support for Web3 developers. With his vast experience in constructing, expanding, and overseeing extensive distributed cloud systems, he is well-versed in the intricacies of blockchain technologies and their practical applications. 

Brandon Truong is lead product contributor for ZetaChain. He previously co-founded social platform Yada (which was acquired in 2020) and spent time building products for BuzzFeed and Udacity. 


 Brian Pak is CEO &amp; Co-Founder of ChainLight, an award-winning blockchain security firm that specializes in smart contract audits and on-chain monitoring. He is also a co-founder of Theori, an established US-based offensive cybersecurity company, since 2016, which he still leads today, having now amassed trusted partners including Microsoft, Google and Samsung. Brian’s early career started when he co-founded and developed Kaprica Security, inventing and patenting the Skorpion Charger, an Android mobile charger that can detect malicious software with no user action required. He has worked on research and development projects with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US. Brian is also a founder of the team PPP (Plaid Parliament of Pwning) which won DEF CON CTF, one of the most prestigious hacker competitions held in Las Vegas, in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Brian graduated with a Masters Degree in Software Security Research from Carnegie Mellon University.

Three years ago, his act of burning a physical Banksy ignited global discourse on NFTs and Web3, exposing the industry's flaws. Now, through XION, founder Burnt Banksy leads a mission to democratize Web3 to the masses, making ownership accessible to all by removing unnecessary barriers and complications through chain abstraction. To date: XION has raised over $36M in funding with the goal of "making crypto disappear." Ultimately, Burnt Banksy wants to provide the benefits of crypto to people without requiring them to know anything about crypto.

Byron Donalds grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and he is also the proud son of a hardworking and loving single mother. His mother dedicated her time instilling in him that greatness requires sacrifice, which drives him as a devoted family man and United States Congressman.  

Byron is a graduate of Florida State University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance and marketing. Byron's career led him to Southwest Florida, where he worked in the banking, finance, and insurance industries. Elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016, Byron represented Hendry County and east Collier County in the State Capitol. During his tenure in the Florida House, Byron served as the PreK-12 Quality Subcommittee Chair during the 2018-2019 Legislative Session and served as the Insurance &amp; Banking Subcommittee's Chairman 2019-2020 Legislative Session. While serving in the Florida House, primarily focused on elder affairs, criminal justice reform, and ensuring that each child has access to a world-class education. 

Byron is committed to serving and giving back to the community that gave him so much. He has served Southwest Florida in many ways, including previously serving on the Board of Trustees for Florida Southwestern State College after being appointed by then-Governor Rick Scott. Byron continues to volunteer in his church as a youth leader and a mentor. He also enjoys volunteering as a coach in youth football and basketball leagues.

Congressman Byron Donalds lives in Naples, Florida, with his wife, Erika, and their three sons: Damon, Darin, and Mason. Byron has spent his entire adult life serving others, whether it be through volunteering, business, or leadership. He is committed to representing Florida's 19th Congressional District's conservative values in Washington DC to ensure a stronger Florida and a stronger nation.

Cameron B. Pick is a partner and patent attorney at the Chicago-based intellectual property boutique law firm Marshall, Gerstein &amp; Borun. He prosecutes patents for emerging technologies, including blockchain and crypto, among other innovative areas. He may be reached at cpick@marshallip.com. 

Candace Kelly is the Chief Legal and Policy Officer for the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, an open-source network that connects the world's financial infrastructure. She leads the team responsible for SDF’s legal affairs and the policy team that is focused on bridging the gap between the public and private sectors. Previously, Candace worked for Uber Technologies, Inc., where she helped navigate the company’s response to regulatory investigations and advised on safety, security, privacy, consumer protection, and law enforcement response. Prior to that she served for 17 years at the United States Department of Justice.

Carlos Mercado is a data scientist at Flipside Crypto, specializing in the convergence of data science, cryptocurrency, economics, and open-source research. His expertise spans the Ethereum ecosystem and over 20 other blockchains, where he leverages SQL, R, Python, and Solidity to develop innovative data models and analytics tools. Carlos's notable contributions include the creation of the True Freeze DeFi primitive and leading the production of the 2023 Crypto Users Report, generating significant industry impact. Prior to Flipside, he applied his skills in AI strategy and product development at Guidehouse and offered data science consulting services.


​​Casey Wagner is a Senior Reporter based in New York. Casey covers crypto regulation, markets and central banks. Prior to joining Blockworks, she reported on macroeconomics at Bloomberg News. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Media Studies. Contact Casey via email at casey@blockworks.co

Charles Hoskinson is a Colorado-based technology entrepreneur and mathematician. He attended Metropolitan State University of Denver and University of Colorado Boulder to study analytic number theory before moving into cryptography through industry exposure.

His professional experience includes founding three cryptocurrency-related start-ups – Invictus Innovations, Ethereum and IOHK – and he has held a variety of posts in both the public and private sectors. He was the founding chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation’s education committee and established the Cryptocurrency Research Group in 2013.

His current projects focus on educating people about cryptocurrency, being an evangelist for decentralization and making cryptographic tools easier to use for the mainstream. This includes leading the research, design and development of Cardano, a third-generation cryptocurrency that launched in September 2017.

Chris Barrett serves as the Director of Communications at Chainlink Labs and has been involved with Chainlink since 2017. Chainlink is the only on-chain data and cross-chain platform that enables financial institutions to develop customized, flexible, compliant, and future-proof blockchain applications and tokenized assets. Before this role, he founded a leading PR agency for technology startups, where he worked with over 1,000 innovative companies. Chris is also an avid runner, having maintained a streak of running for over five consecutive years. 

Chris Brooks founded CryptoAssetRecovery.com in 2017 to help digital asset owners recover lost assets. Chris was a programmer at Fidelity Investments, VP of Technology at venture-backed Carescout (which sold to GenWorth, a spinoff of General Electric) and has founded and sold three bootstrapped internet companies. 

Chris Swenor is a seasoned entrepreneur and blockchain pioneer with a 20-year career that kicked off as a self-taught programmer at age 13. He swiftly moved from corporate roles into startups, leading several to successful acquisitions. Chris started venturing into blockchain and cryptocurrency in 2013, founding Reach in 2019, a platform that has since attracted over $13M in funding and onboarded more than 8,000 developers.

In recent years, Chris founded Humble, a decentralized exchange on Algorand, and Alloy, a blockchain gaming platform acquired in 2023. He is currently working on Voi Network, a layer 1 blockchain empowering its community with user-centric governance and economics. 

Christopher Perkins is President of CoinFund, a web3 focused Registered Investment Advisor.  He is also a member of the CFTC’s Global Markets Advisory Committee and its Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee.

Ciarán Murray is a seasoned veteran of the blockchain industry. Aside from advising on numerous blockchain projects over the years, and releasing a synthetics assets proof-of-concept last year, Ciarán previously worked in the media industry for British Sky Broadcasting. He is not only well placed to understand the issues facing the media industry but also how to apply blockchain and other distributed technologies to remedy them.

Da Hongfei is the founder of Neo, an open-source, community-driven blockchain platform designed to welcome developers into the Smart Economy. Hongfei operates as CEO of Neo Global Development (NGD), the executive arm of the Neo Foundation that is committed to developing the Neo protocol and its supporting ecosystem. He is seen as a luminary in the Web3 space and as a blockchain pioneer in Asia. Hongfei received his education at the South China University of Technology, receiving degrees in technology and English.

Damian Alvarez is a communications professional helping Web3 clients get their stories heard. He is currently the Head of Communications at Aori, an omni-chain logic layer that leverages off-chain data storage to enable high-frequency on-chain trading. He has worked at agencies such as Edelman and YAP Global to assist a variety of emerging and established clients to engage in industry-wide narratives surrounding technology. He may be contacted at damian@aori.io.

Dan Keeler is Editor-in-Chief at Blockworks. Prior to joining Blockworks, he was Frontier Markets Editor at the Wall Street Journal where he managed the Journal’s coverage of smaller emerging markets as well as created a number of high-profile events and a highly regarded newsletter. Before joining the WSJ, he was the Editor of Global Finance magazine. He is also the founder of New York’s FM Network, a group that hosts gatherings of finance professionals focused on smaller emerging markets.

Contact Dan via email at dan@blockworks.co

Daniel Batten is a ClimateTech investor, Bitcoin environmental impact analyst, CEO advisor and author. He is most widely known for his data-driven approach to Bitcoin mining research.


Daniel Cawrey has been involved full-time in the crypto space since 2013, including as an editor at CoinDesk. He is author of 2020’s “Mastering Blockchain” and 2023’s “Understanding Crypto” books, both available on Amazon.

Daranee Ganesh is a publishing and production manager based in Washington, DC. She holds an LLB with a focus on emerging technologies. Prior to Blockworks, Daranee worked on several legal and non-profit projects aimed at integrating decentralized solutions in the social justice framework, specifically within immigration and environmental law. Contact Daranee at daranee@blockworks.co.

Darren Kleine is an Alberta-based reporter covering podcast content at Blockworks. Previously reporting for Cointelegraph, he wrote feature content and a weekly series focused on the personal stories of influential figures in the Web3 space. He has been an active participant in the NFT art scene since 2020, creating works on curated platforms including SuperRare and KnownOrigin and hosting an NFT art-focused podcast called NFP with DKleine. Contact Darren Kleine at darren@blockworks.co.

David is an Editor based in the Netherlands focused on data-driven journalism. Previously, he wrote for TheNextWeb's crypto vertical before launching Protos in 2021. He's a reformed hardline Bitcoiner passionate about permissionless and decentralized networks. Contact David at david@blockworks.co

David Schwed serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Halborn, an elite blockchain security firm. Prior to Halborn, he was the Global Head of Digital Assets Technology at BNY Mellon, the world's biggest custodian bank, where he integrated the IT strategy for the company's digital asset services. David was also CISO for Galaxy Digital, where he led the development of information security and IT infrastructure, and served as a risk committee advisor, evaluating emerging threats in financial services. He also founded the Cybersecurity Master's Program at Yeshiva University’s Katz School of Science and Health, sharing his expertise as a practitioner-in-residence.


Denelle Dixon is the CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a non-profit organization focused on working with and supporting changemakers to create equitable access to the global financial system through blockchain technology. She leads the teams that help maintain Stellar's codebase, support the communities around Stellar, and advocate on behalf of the network with international stakeholders. Before joining Stellar, Dixon served as COO of Mozilla, one of the most successful mission-driven open-source organizations.. During her tenure at Mozilla, she led the organization’s business, revenue and policy teams including the ongoing fight for net neutrality and the global effort to ensure that people can control their personal data.

Dermot O’Riordan serves as a Director at the POKT Network Foundation where he helps steer product development and strategy. From Ireland to Silicon Valley, Dermot’s career ranged from advising tech companies and VC firms to leading marquee industry events. His interest in Web3 was sparked in 2016 with the rise of DAOs, leading him to dive deeper into the blockchain space, where he served as an advisor to projects like Radix and Dusk, and later, spearheading growth at Eden Block.

Donovan is a reporter based in Singapore. He previously worked in editorial at Bankless and is a huge fan of spaghetti Westerns and the Wu-Tang Clan. Contact Donovan at donovan@blockworks.co.

Eli Cohen is a corporate lawyer with 25+ years of experience in commercial transactions, financial services and regulatory matters and has worked in Asia, Europe and the United States. He is the General Counsel for Centrifuge, a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and securitization platform and Chief Compliance Officer for Anemoy Capital SPC Limited a British Virgin Islands fund company issuer of the tokenized Anemoy Liquid Treasury Fund 1. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, has a Masters in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Eli Zeger writes about democracy and its relationship with technology. His work has been published in the Boston Review, Noema Magazine, Strange Matters, Zora Zine, among numerous other publications.

Elliot is the Head of Climate Strategy at Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol, where he is helping unlock Bitcoin's clean energy potential by bridging sustainable miners and climate-conscious investors. In his role at Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol, Elliot educates policymakers and NGOs on Bitcoin’s relationship with the energy system. He is a climatetech operator focused on alleviating energy poverty, bridging the digital divide, and promoting financial inclusion through technologies such as Bitcoin. Elliot was previously a Schwarzman Scholar and has served in the military, US Department of Energy, Clinton Foundation, and more. 

Evan Thomas is General Counsel for Alluvial, a software development company supporting the Liquid Collective liquid staking protocol. He was previously at Wealthsimple, Canada’s largest consumer fintech, where he was Head of Legal for Wealthsimple’s crypto trading platform. While at Wealthsimple, Evan helped launch Canada’s first regulated staking product. Before Wealthsimple, Evan was a litigator at Osler, Hoskin &amp; Harcourt LLP for nearly 15 years. Among other notable cases, Evan was hearing counsel to 3iQ Corp. in its appeal securing regulatory approval for Canada’s first publicly traded bitcoin fund in 2019.

Felix Jauvin is the host of the On the Margin podcast. Based in British Columbia, Canada, he lives and breathes where crypto and macroeconomics intersect.

Felix Xu, crypto geek, early adopter, and NFT collector. Felix graduated from NYU Stern and founded two crypto projects, ARPA and Bella Protocol, among the global top 500 by market cap. Felix previously worked at Fosun Investment, Sackler family office, and Vertical Research in New York and Beijing. Felix loves sailing, kitesurfing and was featured in the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for his NFT collection.

Frank has a diverse career that spans creative writing, day trading, and a 12-year stint in financial planning. After experimenting with blockchain and being an early adapter to the Solana ecosystem, Mathis co-founded GenesysGo in 2021 to create a faster, more reliable and more secure decentralized data storage protocol. Their flagship product, shdwDrive is built on Solana and aims to bridge the gap between blockchain technology and traditional business infrastructure. GenesysGo is powered by a new type of decentralized data storage consensus mechanism, built from the ground up by the GenesysGo team.

Fraser is co-founder &amp; CTO of Cubist and an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. She is an expert in software correctness: her research focuses on systems security, automated bug finding, and formal verification, from verifying (parts of) production systems like browser JITs, to finding exploitable bugs in real codebases. Her tools have found many zero-day bountied bugs and CVEs in the Chrome and Firefox browsers and multiple operating systems. Fraser received her BA in English and her MS and PhD in Computer Science from Stanford.


Garrett Harper is the producer for the Empire podcast. Garrett worked in private equity and product management before jumping into crypto full-time in 2021. His favorite thing about crypto? It conflates art, gaming, finance, software, and psychology into one hyper-growth industry.

Gijs op de Weegh is the CEO and Founder of StablR, where he leads the strategy, business operations, and investor relations. He founded StablR out of his passion for implementing blockchain technology in the financial industry and exploring its possibilities. Before founding StablR, Gijs co-founded Payvision, an e-commerce payment service provider, in 2002. Under his leadership, Payvision grew to over 300 employees and achieved a turnover exceeding €4 billion.

Gísli Kristjánsson is co-founder and CTO of Monerium, the first company to issue fiat onchain. He fell in love with programming at the age of 13. After working as a bonds broker, Gísli saw the inefficiencies of securities settlements firsthand and recognized the potential of Bitcoin. Prior to co-founding Monerium in 2015, Gísli founded and sold a platform to give users access to geo-blocked content. Fun fact: Gísli’s Ethereum address is among the 1% of the oldest addresses.

Haden Patrick is Director of Business Operations of Cordial Systems, a provider of institutional-grade self custody software using a Zero Trust security model.  Haden has executive experience in team leadership, engineering and education originating from his 24 year career as a Naval Officer. After co-founding SoloKeys, the first open-source security key company, he went on to manage projects connecting web3 to traditional finance at a cryptocurrency trading firm before joining Cordial Systems.

Hadley Stern, Advisor to MPCH, has extensive experience in leadership roles within TradFi and digital asset industries. As Global Head of Custody at the Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM) from 2021 to 2023, Hadley spearheaded the creation of the industry’s first bank-grade crypto-custody platform. Hadley also previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Bloq where he was responsible for the P&amp;L, product roadmap, and general operations. Hadley was Founding President of Fidelity Digital Asset Services where he led Fidelity's Blockchain Incubator and Digital Currency group and was pivotal in early product launches, including activating Bitcoin donations to Fidelity Charitable and building and running Fidelity first Bitcoin mining Operation.



Hannah Finnerty is Blockworks' editorial operations manager and is based in the US. Hannah previously worked in podcast production for The National in Abu Dhabi. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in multiplatform journalism and Middle Eastern politics. Contact Hannah at hannah@blockworks.co.

Hatu Sheikh is the co-founder and CMO of DAO Maker, the largest on-chain funding platform with 1.5M+ users. The platform's contracts have distributed over $600M, with a cumulative return of around 10x. Hatu has a strong background in marketing and strategy and has played a pivotal role in driving the success of various blockchain-based projects and tokens, crafting effective marketing strategies, and forging powerful synergies within the industry.

Harry Duckworth, a law graduate, embarked on a unique journey that led him to become the youngest trader at global commodities giant Trafigura. He then went on to set up desks for several hedge funds worldwide, accumulating over a decade of experience in trading, hedge funds, and emergent technologies. 

Through his work, he became fascinated by the revolutionary power of blockchain tech soon after the inception of Bitcoin. Years later he founded AgriDex International, to provide digital marketplaces and supply chain information for all participants in the global food chain. 

Hind Kurhan is a Co-Founder of Thesis Defense, a decentralized technology security auditing company whose mission is the facilitation of broad adoption of decentralized technology by improving security and audit consistency throughout the blockchain sphere.


Ian Rogers is the Chief Experience Officer at Ledger, leading the consumer-facing business delivering the world’s #1 way to buy and secure cryptocurrency.  Prior, Ian was the Chief Digital Officer at LVMH for five transformative years, working with a portfolio of nearly one hundred brands across luxury including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Sephora, and Hennessy.  Ian also sits on the boards of Dr Marten’s and Lyst.

Ian spent twenty years bringing digital music to the mainstream, first with Winamp then Yahoo!, Beats, and Apple.  Ian contributed to the 2015 launch of Apple Music including Beats 1, their digital streaming channel. Ian graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science (with honors, Phi Beta Kappa) from Indiana University in 1994.  Ian built some of the earliest music-related Web sites in the early 90s and has been working with Beastie Boys since 1993.

Igor Telyatnikov is the CEO and co-founder of the blockchain and financial services technology company AlphaPoint. Headquartered in New York, AlphaPoint supports over 10 million users, powering marketplaces and wallets in over 35 countries. With 15 years of experience in tech and innovation, Igor has empowered over 150 clients, including CME Group and Scotiabank. In 2022, he partnered with the Government of El Salvador to upgrade its Chivo Wallet into a national Bitcoin and dollar wallet, creating the first nationalized crypto ecosystem. Igor previously held roles at Cvetlo, LiftDNA, and Ingersoll Rand/Allegion, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from Penn State University. He is a frequent speaker at industry events.

Ishan is a University of Texas McCombs School of Business graduate with a BBA in Finance &amp; Marketing. He founded and managed a Private Equity Fund that reached an eight-figure Assets Under Management (AUM) and has also gained experience with many top 200 projects of crypto market cap. In 2022, he helped found SCRIB3, a Web3 Marketing and PR venture. He was notably among the first to raise an alert about potential deceptive and unethical business practices by FTX. Ishan contributes as a DeFi analyst, an active angel investor, and an advisor in projects like Polygon Technologies.

Jack Kubinec is a Solana ecosystem reporter based in Brooklyn, New York. Jack previously interned at Blockworks before joining full-time. He graduated summa cum laude from Cornell University with a degree in sociology. Contact Jack at jack.kubinec@blockworks.co.

Jag is the CEO and co-founder of re.al, an L2 build to facilitate deep onchain liquidity for tokenized RWAs. re.al seeks to redefine how RWAs are integrated into DeFi, using yield-generating real-world assets as novel building blocks in existing DeFi primitives.

James Cirrone is a breaking news reporter based in New York. Prior to joining Blockworks, James was a reporter and newsletter writer at Bloomberg News. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in journalism. He also played trumpet in the university’s marching band. Contact James via email at james.cirrone@blockworks.co.

Jason Allegrante is the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Fireblocks. He is an experienced Counsel with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry with both large, traditional financial institutions as well as early stage fintech startups.



Jason Dehni is the co-founder and group CEO of Credbull, a leading DeFi platform offering structured high fixed yield solutions in SME private credit. Jason has over 25 years of senior management experience in asset management, private banking, SME lending, insurance, risk management, and crypto across North America, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. His background includes serving as group COO &amp; MENA CEO of a publicly traded crypto asset management company, co-founder &amp; CEO of an SME trade finance platform, and senior leadership roles in asset management, wealth management,  insurance, and management consulting. Jason holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an Honours BA in Economics &amp; Political Science from the University of Toronto. 

Jean-Marie Mognetti is Chief Executive Officer of CoinShares, a publicly listed investment firm that manages over five billion in digital assets on behalf of a global investor base, and an experienced commodities trader with a background in quantitative strategies. A veteran of the Global Advisors group of companies since 2011, Jean-Marie has served in various leadership roles throughout his tenure, most recently as CEO of Global Advisors (Jersey) Limited and director of GABI, the world’s first regulated Bitcoin fund. In addition to his management responsibilities as CEO, Jean-Marie oversees the firm’s proprietary trading arm, capital markets portfolio, and risk management practices – areas in which he has developed unique expertise over his career. Prior to joining Global Advisors, Jean-Marie was a quantitative strategist with Hermes Commodities Fund Managers, and an Energy Trader Assistant at Lehman Brothers. He holds Master of Science degrees in Mathematical Trading and Finance from Sir John Cass Business School in London, and Bank-Finance-Insurance from Université Paris Dauphine in Paris, in addition to a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Finance from Université Paris Dauphine.

Jeff is an editor at Blockworks, based in the United States. He has been a part of the blockchain space for over a decade, most recently working as US news editor at Cointelegraph. His areas of focus include empowering artists and creators through technology, using proof-of-participation methods to reward self-improvement, reducing the effectiveness of Sybil attacks, seeking transparent equity for disadvantaged communities, and exploring fairer models of world governance. Contact Jeff at Jeffrey@blockworks.co.

Jesper Johansen is the founder and CEO of NORTHSTAKE, a regulated custodial staking company specialized in building regulatory compliant crypto staking products for institutional investors and financial institutions. The team holds backgrounds from financial institutions, pension funds, large investment companies to consulting, technology and audit firms, such as Accenture, Deloitte, PwC as well as blockchain and crypto projects e.g. DAI Foundation (MakerDao), Ethereum and L1/L2s. 

Prior to NORTHSTAKE, Jesper held leadership positions with Accenture Strategy and Deloitte Consulting advising clients in heavily regulated industries to implement new technologies and drive business transformation. He holds a MBA from Copenhagen Business School and a B.Sc. in International Business. 

Jess Sun is an independent writer and content strategist. She loves bringing good ideas to light, helping the people behind them shine, and bridging gaps in understanding. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn. Go to her website to learn about working with her.

Jesse Knutson is the head of operations at Bitfinex Securities, where he is responsible for expanding the platform’s issuance pipeline, overseeing distribution and building its user base while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Prior to this role, Knutson served as vice president of financial products at Blockstream, and held roles at prominent investment banks including Macquarie Group and Barclays.

Jim Myers is an engineer, early-stage investor, and the CTO &amp; Co-Founder of Flipside Crypto, a leading blockchain data analytics and business intelligence platform. Prior to co-founding Flipside, Jim developed the core technology that took products from 0 to 1 at companies such as Mylestone, Pluralsight, and Smarterer. Jim’s journey into the crypto industry began in 2015, eventually co-founding Flipside Crypto in 2017 to help empower crypto communities to create and share data-driven insights on the projects they care most about. Jim's passion for building extends to the broader startup community via his developer event series, Stack Dive, and as an angel investor to several local Boston-area startups, including AdHawk and LinkSquares. In a previous life, Jim developed advanced models to quantify risk and abnormal returns in the market for Financial Transmission Rights, a type of energy derivative.

JJ is an advisor, mentor and co-founder working across Bitcoin, mining and web3. He currently mentors for Outlier Ventures new Bitcoin Base Camp program and has co-founded a new protocol operating in stealth mode.

Joey is ranked by Chambers and Partners as one of the top 12 lawyers in the world, advising many of the largest platforms around the globe in the space. He co-chaired the Gibraltar Government’s working group on Blockchain for 3 years, which was established to develop the infrastructure to accommodate a DLT regulatory framework. Joey is also a specialist consultant to the United Nations and trains and assesses authorities primarily around South East Asia in virtual asset developments, DeFi and regulation. He is a member of several think tanks including the prestigious global ‘Wharton Reg@Tech’ initiative, the Blockchain Industry Parliamentary Roundtable on Blockchain Technologies at Parliament in the UK, and also contributed to the UK Law Society on the Blockchain Legal and Regulatory Guidance publication. He was the Xapo Representative on the Libra/Diem Association and has also contributed to various stablecoin and CBDC developments. 

Joeyz Yu is an entrepreneur with over 18 years of experience in product design and development. He co-founded Sending Labs to revolutionize communication protocols and social applications for Web3, leading the development of their flagship products SendingMe and SendingNetwork. Previously, Joeyz co-founded MoboTab, where he created the Dolphin Browser, used by over 200 million users and later acquired by ChangYou. Joeyz's passion for empowering users and building exceptional teams drives his mission to shape the future of the internet. 

John is the Editor of Evergreen Content at Blockworks. Before Blockworks, he was the producer and founder of an explainer studio called Best Explained. As Evergreen Editor, he manages the production of explainers, guides and all educational content for anything crypto related. He is passionate about making digital asset education more accessible for degens and fence-sitters alike. Contact John at john@blockworks.co

John Woods is the CTO of the Algorand Foundation, which supports Algorand’s rapidly growing ecosystem by providing a best-in-class developer environment, supporting key infrastructure and setting technical standards, offering comprehensive support to builders and entrepreneurs, and providing the framework for decentralized governance.

Prior to joining the leadership team at Algorand, John worked as Chief Architect of Cardano at IOHK. He has held roles leading software architecture and applied cryptography at a number of firms including Informatica, ConsenSys and Central Bank of Ireland.

John Wu is President of Ava Labs, an Andresseen Horowitz backed technology company building the next-generation blockchain platform: Avalanche. John’s objective is to open up financial services and products to all. In this role, he leverages his expertise from over 20 years as a fintech executive and technology investor to create a blockchain-enabled solution for originating, issuing, and trading financial assets.  

Jonathan currently serves as the Global Head of Growth at the Web3 ecosystem, Elastos, overseeing marketing, business development, investment and ecosystem strategies. With a background in corporate communications and technology marketing from roles at Edelman, Weber Shandwick, and Burson-Marsteller, Jonathan has transitioned to focus on Web3 innovation in his recent positions at Elastos and CreDA.

Joseph Schiarizzi is the Founder of Open Dollar, a lending protocol built on Arbitrum and has been a blockchain developer for 7 years. Before Open Dollar, Joseph worked at ConsenSys and later led Developer Relations for Gitcoin. He has contributed to impactful DAOs including Meta Cartel and Raid Guild, and is also the chair of the environmental sustainability council for Falls Church, VA. $5B+ has gone through smart contracts Joseph has contributed to. 

Jack Kubinec

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">subscribe</a>.



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The crypto-friendly asset manager VanEck has partnered with Kiln to begin staking SOL, the pair told Lightspeed exclusively.



Kiln is an enterprise staking service that boasts integrations with outfits like <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-cloud-partial-staking-kiln-eth">Coinbase</a> and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/institutions-get-in-line-for-staking-bitcoin-with-babylon">Babylon</a>.&nbsp;



With the move, VanEck will now offer regulated access to solana staking rewards on top of the price of SOL. VanEck is one of a few firms offering regulated solana funds in Europe.&nbsp;&nbsp;



2024 has been a bullish year for crypto, and the fresh market cycle was largely driven, at least initially, by the long-awaited approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the US. The products — which give investors exposure to bitcoin’s price in a regulated wrapper — have already seen <a href="https://blockworks.co/bitcoin-etf">tens of billions</a>-worth in inflows since getting the SEC’s approval in January. The ETFs trading partly drove bitcoin to a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-all-time-high">new all-time high</a> this year, the only major crypto to set a new mark during this market cycle.&nbsp;



Ether ETFs were also approved this year, though the second crypto to get a spot ETF had <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/education-required-to-spur-eth-etf-outflows">less inspiring flows</a>. Still, altcoin ecosystems are hoping to catch some of the ETF magic, and firms are lining up behind what looks like a logical next crypto ETF in solana.&nbsp;



VanEck and 21Shares both <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-spot-solana-etf-filing">applied for spot SOL ETFs</a> this summer, though talks have <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/311937/sec-talks-etf-issuers-concerns-solana-security-source">reportedly</a> stalled over the SEC’s concerns that solana is a security. The filings have been <a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/07/09/vaneck-and-21shares-file-for-solana-etfs-a-bet-on-a-trump-victory/">cast</a> as a bet on a Trump victory and a more crypto-friendly regulatory regime taking over sometime in 2025.&nbsp;



For the moment, the major market for regulated solana products is in Europe. 21Shares’ solana staking ETP is currently the third-largest in Europe with over $1 billion in assets under management (AUM), <a href="https://www.etfbook.com/dashboards/crypto-etp-eu">according</a> to etfbook.com. CoinShares and Valour also have solana ETPs with AUMs of around $300 million.&nbsp;



VanEck’s European solana fund is more minor, <a href="https://www.vaneck.com/fi/en/solana-etn/">with</a> around $84 million in AUM. Adding staking rewards via kiln may be a play to grow that number. Notably, neither of the US solana spot ETF applications contained staking rewards after approved ether ETFs had staking stripped out.&nbsp;



VanEck head of digital asset research Matthew Sigel told me he agrees staking rewards will become table stakes for solana ETPs in Europe. In the US, “tell me who wins the election” first, Sigel said in a direct message.



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Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



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VanEck begins SOL staking with Kiln partnership

Macauley Peterson

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">subscribe</a>.



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Stacks, a Bitcoin-adjacent network often referred to as a layer-2, executed a scheduled hard fork early Tuesday following the September <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/stacks-nakamoto-upgrade-bitcoin-layer-2s">Nakamoto upgrade</a> activated by network miners.



“I think it went as smoothly as we could have hoped,” said Muneeb Ali, Stacks co-founder, on a live <a href="https://x.com/Stacks/status/1851267796706943449">X space</a>. He added that developers in New York were up all night monitoring the fork.



The Nakamoto upgrade increased the alignment of Stacks with Bitcoin’s finality by further binding Stacks blocks to Bitcoin blocks. Stacks uses a consensus mechanism called <a href="https://docs.stacks.co/concepts/stacks-101/proof-of-transfer">Proof of Transfer</a> (PoX), where transactions and Stacks blocks are anchored to Bitcoin.



With the Nakamoto upgrade, this connection is strengthened. So a reorg in the Stacks blockchain would now require changes in the Bitcoin blockchain, according to Rena Shah, VP of product and operations at Trust Machines.



“It is a fundamental shift,” Shah told Blockworks. “You have to try to <a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/glossary##">51% attack</a> Bitcoin L1 before you&#8217;re able to do the same activity on Stacks.”



This dependency on Bitcoin makes the Stacks blockchain more secure, as Bitcoin’s high security and resistance to reorgs (given the substantial <a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/glossary/#hash-ratepower">hash power</a> of bitcoin miners) provide Stacks with added resilience.&nbsp;



Attempting a reorg of the Bitcoin blockchain is extremely challenging, due to both the financial and computational costs involved. This means Stacks is indirectly protected by Bitcoin’s immutability, so the Nakamoto upgrade effectively made Stacks reorg-proof.



“That might be the beauty of Stacks as an L2 for Bitcoin because it’s always kind of adhered to the ethos of Bitcoin,” Shah said. She noted the upgrade paves the way for sBTC, Stacks’ version of bitcoin, the asset.



Other features of the upgrade include faster transaction processing — Stacks now produces blocks approximately every six seconds — which enhances usability for developers and users, and improves the overall experience on the Stacks network. The upgrade also limits opportunities for miners to profit from rearranging or prioritizing transactions (<a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/glossary/#miner-extractable-value-mev">MEV</a>), which contributes to a fairer, more transparent network.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The future of sBTC</h2>



Granite, a new Bitcoin-focused DeFi protocol incubated by Trust Machines, <a href="https://www.granite.world/blog/granite-bitcoin-defi">came out of stealth</a> last month, aiming to address the limitations of custodial BTC offerings for use in DeFi. The not-yet-launched app will leverage the sBTC Bitcoin bridge enabled by the Nakamoto upgrade.



The platform should allow BTC to interact directly with DeFi dapps in a decentralized and permissionless manner. Like <a href="https://blockworks-research.beehiiv.com/p/bitcoin-defi-expands-bob">other new noncustodial offerings</a>, sBTC users will be able to lend, borrow and earn yield on their bitcoin while minimizing counterparty risk.



Traditionally, using BTC in DeFi has required custodial solutions or <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitgo-wbtc-custodial-changes">wrapped BTC</a> assets, exposing users to substantial counterparty risks.



More recently, Babylon has <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/0xresearch-newsletter-babylon-btc-staking-deposits">attracted interest</a> as a way to direct staking yields to BTC holders, albeit with a risk of <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-staking-babylon">slashing</a>.



Granite, however, follows a no-rehypothecation model. User collateral remains untapped and fully controlled by the owner, ensuring that BTC does not become entangled in protocol dependencies, or what its developers call a &#8220;borrower-centric&#8221; DeFi model.



Granite also introduces &#8220;soft liquidations,&#8221; an approach <a href="https://resources.curve.fi/crvusd/liquidations/">pioneered by Curve</a> that allows collateral to be liquidated only enough to maintain solvency and prevent catastrophic losses. Additionally, position tracking and push notifications allow users to manage positions without constant monitoring, a quality-of-life feature that’s uncommon in DeFi.



Another defining characteristic of Granite is its risk-tranched liquidity provisioning, which allows liquidity providers (LPs) to tailor their risk exposure. By choosing junior or senior tranches, LPs can manage their participation according to risk tolerance, with a reserve protecting all LPs as a first line of defense against market downturns.



Historically, only about 1% of BTC has been engaged in DeFi due to security concerns, according to Ali. “Granite’s security-oriented approach creates an opportunity to begin unlocking the remaining 99% of BTC capital,” he said. As with many other “<a href="https://blockworks-research.beehiiv.com/p/bitcoin-defi-is-heating-up">Bitcoin DeFi</a>” endeavors, Granite aims to make bitcoin a productive asset within the DeFi space, rather than merely “digital gold,” driving new waves of adoption in the process.



“The base case of bitcoin as money becomes more solidified when things like Stacks happens, so this is going to be good for Bitcoin,” Ali said.



Stacks is also <a href="https://x.com/Stacks/status/1837125070453403845">working</a> to bring sBTC to Solana.



The launch comes as <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-price-predictions-election">BTC is retesting</a> its June highs above $71,100. Stacks’ native token, STX, is up over 5% on the day, although it is still down about 50% from its all-time high of $3.84 reached April 1 this year.



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Stacks fortifies Bitcoin ties with Nakamoto upgrade

Katherine Ross

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">subscribe</a>.



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$71,000.



Bitcoin’s managed to retake $70K after months of trying. We haven’t seen it above this level since it carved out a fresh all-time high in spring.



And now — just a week before the US election — we’re enjoying a small breakout. However, Ledn’s John Glover believes that we need to see a two-day close above $73,000 before he expects any real moves higher.&nbsp;



But if bitcoin manages to hold on to that level, expect a “rapid move towards $80,000.”



Still, he’s not so sure we’ll go any higher. When <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/btc-price-action-technical-analysis">we previously chatted with him</a>, he thought he could see a move toward $87,000. That’s off the table as of right now, though he still believes there’s a possibility of hitting $100,000 by the end of Q1 next year, or into the start of the second quarter.



Here’s the thing though: There’s a lot of volatility to digest.&nbsp;



“Notably, option premiums and estimated daily volatility for both the US stock market and bitcoin are projected to rise significantly around 6-8 November, when the results of the elections are expected to be delivered,” Bitfinex analysts <a href="https://blog.bitfinex.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Bitfinex-Alpha-128.pdf">wrote</a> in a report yesterday.&nbsp;



“Bitcoin, in particular, may experience even greater volatility than other risk assets, largely due to its perception as the ‘Trump Trade.’ This term, which has gained considerable traction in recent weeks, serves to reflect the market’s view of how BTC will fare dependent on the outcome of the election,” they continued.&nbsp;



According to a Kaiko report, a sentiment shift recorded in September could show a potential price move just days after the election.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXd-1N9-62_jAKbNAu6593wf7e-UDxXZ4OG9zsh36_-KqNHWJjFuLYyWwfFN1kDz1zbvwciFLeHLPPfBVCCN7HK4yUSoQ1Y3lj5UlWslz_SmwVfZj3RGxoxWiPCgF-nUin6c-x7TOOp6guew7PX_UTx8HLKB?key=GfK9FWXi4y-1hEFhsyYgOcAa" alt=""/></figure>



In the chart above, “a steeper right skew on the November 8 expiry (orange) suggests increased demand for call options and expectations of rising prices,” Kaiko analysts said.



One thing’s for sure, with just one week until the election, there’s still a lot of time to see some serious price action.



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Bitcoin is enjoying a small breakout, but election volatility still to come

Carl Vogel

Opinions are like assholes; everyone has one. Polls have long been the predominant method to capture public opinion and collective insight, largely because they offer a quick and scalable way to gauge public sentiment on a variety of topics. However, they are also subject to low engagement, spam and chicanery. Just ask the UK how it ended up with a research vessel named “Boaty McBoatface.”



Opinion markets offer an alternative way to address the flaws in traditional polling. They can be a superior method to gauge market sentiment because they obviate the failure modes of traditional polls through blockchain-enabled capabilities like economic incentives, social credibility and credentialing.&nbsp;



Beyond gauging sentiment or merely wagering on the outcome of events in prediction markets, opinion markets can be used to influence the outcomes themselves. Everyone from AI agents to big brands can use them to mine insights and make decisions in a way that is transparent, efficient, globally accessible and highly engaging.



Read more from our opinion section: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/without-web3-media-credibility-will-crumble">Implement Web3 solutions now, or the media’s credibility will crumble</a>



Opinion markets are not new. One famous example is the “Keynesian Beauty Contest,” which was popularized by economist John Maynard Keynes. In this thought experiment, contest participants were shown photographs of people in a newspaper and asked to select the faces they believed others would find the most attractive. Participants who successfully chose the most popular faces were awarded a prize.



For the sophisticated, the goal was not to choose based on individual preferences, but to predict which faces would be the most popular overall.



When applied to the stock market, one of Keynes’s core insights was that participants can get trapped in an “infinite loop” of trying to out-predict what others will select, showcasing the challenges of investing based on market sentiment vs. fundamentals.&nbsp;



However, I posit two more insights. The polls effectively codified the UK’s collective definition of beauty, and people loved playing the game! Unlike the largest opinion market in which few have an edge — the stock market — everyone believes they have an advantage in many aspects of regular everyday life, such as determining who’s prettiest. For example: “Who is a better match for Taylor Swift than Travis Kelce?” (We all know they are an odd match.) “What is the best French restaurant in Manhattan?” “Which of these outfits is best for a first date?” These are all examples of markets where certain individuals believe they have an advantage, making them more likely to participate.



While the stock market represents a narrow goal of economic valuation with well-defined frameworks for valuation (e.g. discounted cash flow models and P/E ratios), opinion markets can have a broad range of subjects, objection functions and analysis methods. This of course creates a much more qualitative (vs. quantitative), relatable set of markets for broad appeal.



Beyond the fun market examples discussed above, opinion markets represent a major opportunity for businesses to gauge sentiment and build loyalty with their customers in a hyperlocal way.



For example, Starbucks could submit, “What street corner would be best for a new store?” Netflix could ask, “What should be our next city for ‘Love is Blind’?” A creator may ask, “What product should I review next?”&nbsp;



Today, corporations spend billions of dollars trying to identify these answers with advanced analytics teams. Opinion markets could provide a fast (and in many cases more accurate) answer while simultaneously creating direct meaningful engagement with customers.&nbsp;



Read more from our opinion section: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-innovation-suffering-inside-closed-networks">Crypto is becoming the same broken system it promised to fix</a>



In addition to the shortcomings of polls discussed earlier, they do not have intrinsic virality the way economic markets do. In an age of infinite content, gamification of opinion markets with economic outcomes will drive radically more engagement and virality than polls.



What will these opinion markets look like, and can we trust their outputs? The “wisdom of the crowd” is a well researched phenomena, suggesting that collective decision-making, when aggregated, often leads to more accurate outcomes than individual judgments. Unlike traditional polls or one-off surveys, crypto-based markets offer new primitives, such as economic incentives and participation history, to increase accuracy. We don’t know what the end-state will be, but the most effective form-factor will be determined by an explosion of research and experimentation, and the crypto advantages will undoubtedly produce better outcomes.&nbsp;



Read more from our opinion section: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/political-candidates-cannot-ignore-crypto-voters">Political candidates can no longer ignore crypto voters</a>



The next generation of crypto builders will have the opportunity to create products that transform how we engage with public sentiment, forecast trends and make decisions — both as individuals and as communities.



The final question is: How will opinion markets <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ai-future-is-decentralized-compute-networks">evolve in an age of AI</a>, where advanced algorithms can sift through massive datasets to predict social outcomes? AI agents will undoubtedly participate alongside human users, contributing their data-driven insights to the mix. I think rather than replacing human judgment, AI will compete with it to create a dynamic interplay between machine intelligence and human intuition. This will make opinion markets a unique arena for collaboration and competition between AI and human participants.



Opinions are like assholes; everyone has one. Does yours stink? Wanna bet?



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Forget polls — crypto-based opinion markets are the future of collective wisdom

David Canellis

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">subscribe</a>.



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The exchanges are decentralizing.



Kraken is positioning its upcoming Ethereum layer-2, Ink, as a venue built specifically to onboard new users to the DeFi space. Existing Kraken customers would form the bedrock of that brave new world.



Coinbase’s own blockchain, Base, meanwhile has carved out its existence by encouraging anyone to build anything and everything onchain — “literally anything under the sun,” as Ink founder Andrew Koller put it to Jason Yanowitz on <a href="https://blockworks.co/podcast/empire/04ce2c92-9583-11ef-80ce-7f8336a83820">today’s Empire podcast</a>.



Rather than shaping a place to run your ice cream truck or dog walking service onchain, Ink is opting to focus more on specific DeFi use cases.&nbsp;



“We want to take our decade-and-a-half experience of centralized order books and get those things onchain somehow, make it so that onchain users tap into that, and vice versa,” Koller said.&nbsp;



That means good UX, less clicks and increased security.&nbsp;



“Sequencer-level security so that people don’t even know that rugs exist, or don’t even know that drainer contracts exist. That would be an absolute dream come true, so I think the hyperfocus on the DeFi theme first is where we’re going to take ours.”



It could all lead to blurred lines between CeFi and DeFi. Perhaps offchain and onchain balances could be connected in some way, so that Kraken users could use their CEX balances as collateral in DeFi lending apps running on Ink, for example.&nbsp;



We’ve seen the early effects of this convergence already. Coinbase began shifting all user USDC deposits over to Base earlier this year, pushing the network’s stablecoin supplies from under $1 billion to almost $4 billion today.&nbsp;



And so begs the question: Could exchange chains grow so successful that they accidentally render their parent exchanges obsolete?&nbsp;



Going by trading volumes, it’s not such a crazy thought.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXe__UQoNKAVwcwVyOZUT6oIQ6ffXQNoWeK6cKV5G2cpX-1sMCV30Fr6wegdh-DcSyRp9N9ctHk0yKzHCxh0dVhF5stdWEJaHz2tfHmcb-s4CTpBr3EPXyIvIDeQrRWJFTu9OG90g2sxubt6fJ1oZub7Vs0?key=GfK9FWXi4y-1hEFhsyYgOcAa" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Base eclipsing Coinbase = the snake eating its tail?</figcaption></figure>



Base DEX volumes — which mostly come from Aerodrome and Uniswap — have actually now eclipsed Kraken’s, as shown on the chart above.



The 30-day moving average of Base DEXs (in blue) is currently about $873 million, compared to $630 million for Kraken (in purple), per CoinGecko data.&nbsp;



Granted, reading too much into trading volumes on super-cheap chains like Base can be a bit silly, given how prevalent wash trading can be (one academic paper <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3689631">claims</a> to have identified $27.5 billion in wash trading on Uniswap v2 and v3 Ethereum pools — where it’s much more expensive than Base).



User assets could be another way through. We probably won’t get to see how much cash and crypto Kraken custodies on behalf of its users until it potentially goes public.&nbsp;



From SEC filings, we know that Coinbase safeguarded user assets worth over $273 billion at the end of June.&nbsp;



Barring $4.2 billion in cash, practically all of it was digital assets, the equivalent of over 11% of all cryptocurrency in existence at the time.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcpZXFotQPUrxOTIiwY6-4JSavNV8BCJrNWUVzDeUDiebkoK4tqtvwQREiVHkmPAOOZdRNDUH2YqlLdkKsc_ftRoyptGtspzr9gfki3PSmaIzIWRXxDklZhbUMaZIvQ6UFhuiWF928s1WkXuGDF4BAhq79h?key=GfK9FWXi4y-1hEFhsyYgOcAa" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Slowly, then all at once</figcaption></figure>



Base, meanwhile, had $7.2 billion economic value onchain — equal to 70% more than the Coinbase user cash, but less than 3% of the crypto kept on the exchange itself.



It’s not exactly possible to port the entirety of Coinbase user crypto over to Base, considering how much of it would be in bitcoin, ether and other layer-1 assets.&nbsp;



Still, it’s not unrealistic to see the gap closing more rapidly from here. Especially now that Kraken is spurring renewed a competitive and friendly rivalry.&nbsp;



And if just one of them succeeds, it could make CEXs a Web2 relic, just like the rest of it.



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Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



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Could exchanges decentralize themselves out of existence?

Casey Wagner

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



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It’s a big week for stocks, with five of the Mag 7 companies slated to report earnings this week: Alphabet (Tuesday), Microsoft (Wednesday), Meta (Wednesday), Apple (Thursday) and Amazon (Thursday).&nbsp;



The Qs will be a good proxy to watch this week, as about 32% of QQQ’s holdings are in the above five stocks. The fund has lagged the Nasdaq Composite over the past 30 trading days (1.8% returns for QQQ vs. the Nasdaq’s 2.4%), but strong earnings reports from these tech giants could be enough to bring the index out of this resistance zone.&nbsp;



Corporate earnings generally have a packed schedule this week, with 169 companies in the S&amp;P 500 due to publish quarterly results. Ford, Visa, Uber, Exxon and Mastercard are among the big names also sharing reports in the coming days.&nbsp;



Of the roughly one third of S&amp;P 500 companies that have already reported, 75% published earnings per share that were above analysts’ estimates, FactSet data shows. Meanwhile 59% have reported better-than-anticipated revenue for the third quarter.&nbsp;



“Q3 earnings season is thus far marginally better than the recent past in terms of revenue and earnings beat amounts, but it still lags long-run averages by a considerable margin,” DataTrek Research co-founder Nicholas Colas said. “Even still, earnings are good enough to support current S&amp;P levels since they support expectations for further improvement in Q4 and into 2025.”



We’ll have to wait and see if this rally can last.



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Major earnings week sets up stocks for potentially breakout 

Ben Strack

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



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As the work week kicks off, bitcoin clocked another Monday surge — this time to $69,000.&nbsp;



We had reported on BTC <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/btc-future-price-movements">eclipsing $69k</a> earlier this month, before <a href="http://v">retreating</a>. Similarly to a week ago, the asset dropped today following its breach of that mark. It settled at roughly $68,980 by 2 pm ET — flat over the week, but up 1.5% from 24 hours ago.&nbsp;



VanEck crypto research head Matthew Sigel noted this morning on CNBC that bitcoin, which had lagged with low volatility before the 2020 election, is doing the same now. Four years ago, there was a high-vol rally for BTC after the election.



Forward Guidance’s own Felix Jauvin briefly weighed in on those thoughts via X:



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">That’s my quant <a href="https://t.co/Guc9DBLwTG">https://t.co/Guc9DBLwTG</a>&mdash; fejau (@fejau_inc) <a href="https://twitter.com/fejau_inc/status/1850900746587562148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



“What we think is that once the election result is finalized, Moody’s is going to downgrade US sovereign debt and that could be a catalyst for bitcoin to catch up,” Sigel said.



Those wanting to know who will win probably <a href="http://v">won’t get much help</a> from the polls.



Two polls published Sunday showed VP Kamala Harris with a slight edge over challenger Donald Trump (51% to 47% among likely voters in an ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-regains-slight-lead-nationally-electoral-college-holds/story?id=115083875">poll</a>, and 50% to 49% in <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-harris-poll-gender-gap/">one</a> by CBS News).&nbsp;



We previously noted how various polls last week (by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/24/presidential-election-is-a-dead-heat-though-trump-leads-harris-big-on-economy-says-cnbc-survey.html?utm_source=forward-guidance.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=a-hawkish-50bps-cut&amp;_bhlid=2efe0d11818c5c8ef75ba5443d37c202013da70e">CNBC</a>, the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-leads-harris-wsj-poll-779f8516?mod=googlenewsfeed&amp;utm_source=forward-guidance.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=a-hawkish-50bps-cut&amp;_bhlid=07b152ef5b66094385774799b11ab5b42680bc3f">Wall Street Journal</a> and <a href="https://elections.harrisx.com/public/HarrisX_Overnight_Poll_Oct_21_24_1_day.html?utm_source=forward-guidance.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=a-hawkish-50bps-cut&amp;_bhlid=206cee5b740da167679f3c228d093fbf934bd2bc">HarrisX/Forbes</a>) had Trump leading by two percentage points. Going by the New York Times’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/us/elections/polls-president.html">polling average</a>, Harris’s less than one-percentage-point lead is her smallest since mid-August.



Republican poll gains could account for some of the big net inflows bitcoin ETFs have seen of late (roughly $3.4 billion since Oct. 11), according to <a href="https://blog.coinshares.com/volume-206-digital-asset-fund-flows-weekly-report-0be04a4470cf">CoinShares</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“All else equal, BTC is likely to run higher into the election to front-run a potential <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/on-the-margin-newsletter-republican-sweep-markets">Trump win</a>,” said GSR research head Brian Rudick.



While he expects a crypto price surge if Trump is indeed elected, longer-term post-election BTC price gains will depend on whether the former president delivers on his <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/on-the-margin-newsletter-trump-crypto-promises">crypto promises</a>.&nbsp;



The market “knee-jerk reaction” is likely lower if Harris wins, but downside could be limited (and the market may even move up) for several reasons, Rudick explained. Two of those are that the uncertainty of the winner will no longer exist and Harris appears set to be <a href="https://x.com/intangiblecoins/status/1845845163588907486">more crypto-friendly</a> than the current administration.&nbsp;



“And third, prices are roughly around the levels as [they were] when politicians first began to embrace crypto, suggesting there isn&#8217;t too much priced in for a more positive US stance,” Rudick said.



For Ledn CIO John Glover, the focus remains on BTC’s technical levels.&nbsp;



“If it breaks $73,000, I anticipate upward momentum regardless of immediate political outcomes,” he told me.



Not far off from Rudick, Glover views a Trump-spurred lift or Harris-driven pullback as more likely temporary responses, given what he expects to be insubstantial crypto policy differences from the administrations.&nbsp;



He expects BTC to aim for $80k after the election dust settles, with a possible retreat below $70k before pushing toward $100k in late Q1/early Q2 2025.&nbsp;



Glover added: “BTC’s trajectory is driven more by the increase in overall demand as investors continue to add bitcoin to their investment mix than by political changes in the 6- to 12-month horizon.”



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BTC hits $69K again 8 days from election. What’s next?

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">subscribe</a>.



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The decentralized AI training network Grass went live with its airdrop this morning, and the GRASS token distribution brought Solana wallets to heel.&nbsp;



Grass’ creators claim to be carrying out one of the most widely-distributed airdrops in history, and the token has been heavily farmed because participating required no financial stake from users. The popular Solana wallet Phantom <a href="https://status.phantom.app/incidents/242213">saw</a> its backend go down six minutes after the GRASS airdrop went live, and Backpack CEO <a href="https://x.com/armaniferrante/status/1850909635034947863">alluded</a> to difficulty with the wallet stemming from the claim. Solflare CEO Vidor Gencel said the wallet saw “minor degradation and automatically scaled up.”



“We&#8217;re currently aware of some issues affecting users on Jup.ag, when using 3rd party wallets,” the popular Solana swap platform Jupiter <a href="https://x.com/JupiterExchange/status/1850906728986247535">wrote</a> on X.&nbsp;



At first glance, Phantom and others’ struggles might seem related to the RPC protocols that allow crypto programs to interact. But at least two Solana’s RPCs seemed to weather the storm.



Mert Mumtaz, CEO of the popular Solana RPC platform Helius, said the company’s RPCs are “fine,” and Phantom’s downtime appeared to be stemming from elsewhere. Brian Long, co-founder of Solana RPC service Triton One, told me its RPCs “took a hit during the event and recovered quickly thereafter.”



Grass — the token and the network — live on Solana. The Solana network itself did not <a href="https://explorer.solana.com/">appear</a> to experience degraded performance during the airdrop. SOL itself still fell slightly on the airdrop news, from $177 to $175.



Users had trouble claiming the GRASS airdrop at first as wallet providers struggled to keep up with the surge in usage. Markets on centralized exchanges responded well to this fact, sending the token price up to $1.00 on KuCoin before dropping precipitously throughout the morning.



With 100 million tokens being distributed, the airdrop still amounted to tens of millions of dollars-worth in new tokens.



GRASS is meant to power the Grass network, which is being developed by Wynd Labs. Grass rewards users for sharing their unused internet bandwidth, which the protocol uses to scrape web data. Large datasets of this kind are useful for developing AI models, which are trained on data scraped from the web. Wynd’s leaders argue that Grass’ network accumulates better data than large-scale web scrapers, which may be blocked or run into falsified data.



Wynd Labs <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/blockchain-artificial-intelligence-fundraise">raised $3.5 million</a> in seed funding led by Polychain and Tribe Capital in December 2023.



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Solana wallets buckle as 2.8M addresses angle for Grass airdrop

Donovan Choy

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">subscribe</a>.



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The total NFT market cap today is about <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/nft">$3.6 billion</a>, down hugely from its heady 2022 peaks.



Speculative NFT markets are dead, but the use cases of NFTs are not.



Non-fungible tokens as a data format and a unique digital identifier, in the technical sense, continue to be used in productive, non-speculative ways that do not necessarily translate to a number-go-up chart.



Take podcasts for instance. <a href="https://x.com/podsdotmedia">Pods.media</a> provides podcasters a way to easily tap into an alternative monetization stream by letting fans mint NFTs of their podcast episodes. Users mint their favorite podcast NFTs for reasons of altruism, or just because it’s no big deal to pick up a one-time free digital collectible.



Since launching a year ago, Pods has <a href="https://x.com/podsdotmedia/status/1840064720017260796">onboarded</a> 75+ podcasts and racked up more than $1 million in podcast episode mints across 120,000 collectors.



One of Pods’ biggest podcasts on its platform, Mint Podcast, has seen 250k+ NFTs minted across 69,789 unique collectors. Mint Podcast has raised about <a href="https://dune.com/queries/3398749/5704012">$476,885</a> in sales since it started using Pods in April 2024.



$477k is not life-changing money, but it’s a tidy sum for a little-known podcast in an industry where there’s an oversaturated podcasting supply side.



But the real use case of NFTs there goes beyond a simple revenue stream.



Having pushed his podcast audience towards a simple NFT mint with Pods, Adam Levy, the face behind Mint Podcast, was able to construct a comprehensive social graph of his anonymous audience.



To create a granular onchain composition, Levy targeted his 90k-strong audience with the use of Bello. The Web3 marketing analytics product, which he co-founded, spawned out of a hackathon at ETH Amsterdam.



“I learned that a high percentage of my onchain audience were also Zora collectors. With that information, I was able to tap the interests of my podcast listeners (with Bello) based on their wallet onchain’s history,” Levy tells Blockworks.



“I took action by doing more Zora-centric podcast episodes, which translated to another 40-50% more downloads on podcast content.”



In effect, NFTs enabled Levy to meet his users where they were once they took the first step of minting an episode.



As opposed to sending generic mass emails, Levy’s strategy enables the tailored outreach to podcast audiences who were active Lens or Farcaster users, directly in their social media DMs, or Coinbase Wallet users through the XMTP messaging protocol.



It also allows podcasters to curate their podcast content or sponsorships around trending content being minted in real time.



Picture having the hard evidence that 80% of your dedicated podcast audience interacted with a certain DeFi or NFT contract in the last six hours. Then imagine pushing out a podcast episode or marketing message crafted around that very topic in the very next hour.



It’s a plethora of onchain information that would not have been possible for any traditional podcaster using Spotify or Apple Music, Levy said.



“I don&#8217;t really care about my reach on Twitter or my audience on Instagram any longer — I care more about the wallets that collect my content because now I have ways to engage them in a permissionless manner where I can never be shadowbanned across any platform.”



Aside from podcasting, NFTs have also been used to fight counterfeit and fraud in the luxury goods sector.



Since 2021, the Geneva-based non-profit Aura consortium gives luxury brands a way to offer consumers an easy way to trace a product’s lifecycle and authenticate products onchain with NFTs.



It’s a purely non-speculative use case applying the immutable properties of NFTs to combat hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fraud and counterfeit in a $300 billion dollar industry.



Aura has brought onchain more than <a href="https://auraconsortium.com/news/blockchain-aura-surpasses-50-million-products">50 million</a> luxury goods from luxury watches, suitcases, shoes, cars, jewelry and furniture for over 50 luxury brands from the likes of Cartier, Dior, Prada, Mercedes-Benz and more.



Brands pay Aura licensing fees to use either a private or public blockchain option, though 90% opt for the former for data security and privacy reasons.



Traceability represents one of the big challenges in the luxury industry, in part due to laws like the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/energy-climate-change-environment/standards-tools-and-labels/products-labelling-rules-and-requirements/ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en">(ESPR)</a> and France’s Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy<a href="https://www.scantrust.com/france-agec-law-decree-2022-748-how-to-comply/"> (AGEC)</a> that put more scrutiny on a product’s lifecycle, Romain Carrere, CEO of Aura Blockchain Consortium told Blockworks.&nbsp;



There are countless other cases of NFTs being used for productive purposes, like unlocking new revenue streams for adult creators by <a href="https://mintstars.com/how-it-works">MintStars</a>, or raising funds and codifying intellectual property for niche science projects by Bio, as I’ve <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/0xresearch-newsletter-science-funding-onchain">written previously</a>.&nbsp;



More on this in a future 0xResearch edition.



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NFTs in action: A podcaster’s unique method for engaging his fanbase

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">subscribe</a>.



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Ethereum and Solana will go down as one of crypto’s greatest rivalries.



ETH bears would say Vitalik’s modular scaling roadmap — which has now <a href="https://l2beat.com/scaling/summary">spawned</a> more than 100 satellite blockchains — is doomed to accrue little value to the base asset.&nbsp;



After all, what’s the point in pushing onchain activity away from mainnet and onto smaller networks, if that activity doesn’t somehow translate to higher ETH prices?



Solana has otherwise made huge strides concentrating its community on just one chain — to the point that Solana’s DEX volumes have now eclipsed that of Ethereum mainnet plus 13 others.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfcZiXWSEHSuRMy7m_vdHJidLw22U8oft6afJXMde6Z4W2H6h6JKpdp9l12voHECYe0dpUZjj1WACjtDtkc5gLL00-0teZGSK1key4ORyh0K-vJoqRmpgwCpmiR9iFK3-pWSICnxl5_l-FE_ax4kI1MQNU6?key=4fqjyYWPdzp6TLBSSXYEsQ" alt=""/></figure>



The chart above shows Solana’s DEX volume market share against Ethereum and 13 layer-2s over the past 18 months, including Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Scroll, Mantle, ZKSync, Polygon, Polygon zkEVM, World Chain, Zora, Linea, Blast and Arbitrum Nova.



In the past two weeks, Solana DEXs have handled $45.1 billion in volume, largely propelled by all-time <a href="https://defillama.com/protocol/raydium?volume=true&amp;groupBy=weekly&amp;tvl=false">highs</a> on Raydium. Ethereum and its orbiting networks have seen less than $40.2 billion (only!).



We know that memecoin traders are driving a huge portion of that volume, whether it’s within the Ethereum context or on Solana (over 80% of weekly DEX volume on Solana is memecoins, per <a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/analytics/sol?dashboard=sol-dex&amp;interval=weekly">Blockworks Research</a> data).



It’s however the first time that Solana has handled more weekly DEX volume than this particular slice of the Ethereum ecosystem.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXebJkmExzwriqWcvfYPwoqf2cF7asC77RlXVXmmPkg78EAYiy7lKY0mwq40sg6A_ZZN_fcJa2XXy1-N8ucrpCrFsrFMCq20knlkVqu2PGsyoeABYmQEaF7NmV5e3v0TEUlWMESW2wBhD3G_SPUim6o4f-8f?key=4fqjyYWPdzp6TLBSSXYEsQ" alt=""/></figure>



What this means is that the public perception of both SOL and ETH (and to some extent all the other layer-1 base assets out there) rests on whether:



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Memecoin traders will gravitate toward those ecosystems, and</li>



<li>Prices for the native cryptocurrencies will go up as a result.</li>
</ol>



With bitcoin — which leads the market right now — perhaps range-bound until the US election plays out, tracking price growth can be a noisy process.&nbsp;



So, tracking price ratios between two assets can show more realistic trends. The ETH/BTC ratio, for instance, is at its lowest point since April 2021. That reflects a market that has bought into the Bitcoin value prop more than it has for Ethereum’s, at least during our current bull cycle.



Meanwhile, both the SOL/ETH and TON/ETH ratios have hit new highs in the past few months, as shown by the chart above, with the former still at those levels.



One wonders, then if crypto markets are really so efficient that they’ve picked the right winners.



To which I’d say: Do you want to be right, or do you want to make money?&nbsp;



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One of crypto’s greatest rivalries boils down to memecoins

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">subscribe</a>.



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Are we really about to see the takeoff of GameFi?



It might be slightly too early to tell — though I hosted an hour-long X Spaces the other week that ended up primarily focusing on gaming — but I gotta say it looks far more promising this cycle when compared to the last time around.&nbsp;



We’ve <a href="https://empire-31ed59.beehiiv.com/p/pwn-to-earn-is-here?utm_source=empire-31ed59.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=pwn-to-earn-is-here&amp;_bhlid=fe9cf80c65bd43529a8f3faf10af1ee63e95013b">previously written about Off the Grid</a>, but I want to zoom out and look at GameFi as a whole. Right now, the sector is facing a “pivotal phase of expansion,” according to a <a href="https://research.nansen.ai/articles/future-of-gamefi-in-web3">report</a> from Nansen and Slice Analytics. 



I caught up with Slice co-founder Tim Conrad on gaming, given the attention bump it received from not only Off the Grid but <a href="https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/help/champions-tactics-grimoria-chronicles/purchases-and-rewards/article/release-information-for-champions-tactics-grimoria-chronicles/000105558">announcements</a> from huge players like Ubisoft, which are angling for exposure through their own releases.



Although, the recent shift in popularity hasn’t come without its hurdles.



“So last cycle, you had the hype phase of the curve, and nobody had enough time to invest the money and time to build a really good game. I think Axie infinity was probably well above its time, and that&#8217;s probably why it drew so much attention,” Conrad said.&nbsp;



“But it still really lacked that AAA kind of gameplay and experience there … I think that that [the bear market] was the best thing that could have ever happened in the GameFi space. It allowed these triple-A games … to spend that time building, and now we&#8217;re seeing the fruits of those labors. And I think it&#8217;s drawing a lot of attention.”&nbsp;



A <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/blockchain-gaming-market-report?ref=blog.bake.io">report</a> from Grand View Research estimates that the sector could hit $301 billion by 2030.&nbsp;



Conrad explained that the figure may not be that far off. He said it’s “basically” based on the&nbsp; “acceleration that we&#8217;re seeing from 2021 and the kind of investment that we&#8217;re seeing, in addition to the teams joining, the amount of games that are launching — all that combined, looking into a projected outcome.”



It all depends on a few things, including communities.&nbsp;



“I think that&#8217;s really important to build that community, especially with gaming,” Conrad told me.&nbsp;



“We&#8217;re seeing the Epic Game store start working with Web3, this is all fantastic. One thing we took a closer look at is what type of community all these games are really growing. And one of the biggest challenges [was] when a new game that hasn&#8217;t even launched yet has like a million followers on [X]. It&#8217;s a little suspicious, and it makes you realize that a lot of these metrics really need to be scrutinized further,” he explained.&nbsp;



“Metrics can be changed like that, but we have to do our best to kind of filter through that noise and really evaluate what is a real metric, and what is something that we shouldn&#8217;t put so much weight into.”



Now as to what metrics matter the most, well, that might all be figured out once there’s a bit more maturity in the space.



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Crypto gaming may be on the cusp of fresh growth

The biggest deal this week wasn’t a venture capital raise. Instead, it was the announcement that Stripe is buying stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion.&nbsp;



There’s been a lot written about the deal and what it means, and we wrote about it from numerous angles here at Blockworks focusing on the Solana impact, what it means for crypto and whether or not this could open the door for more merger and acquisition activity.&nbsp;



Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, in a <a href="https://x.com/patrickc/status/1848393059559502177">post</a> earlier this week, said, “<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/stablecoins">Stablecoins</a> are room-temperature superconductors for financial services. Thanks to stablecoins, businesses around the world will benefit from significant speed, coverage and cost improvements in the coming years. <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/stripe">Stripe</a> is going to build the world’s best stablecoin infrastructure.”



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/stripe-bridge-acquisition-stablecoin-infrastructure">Stripe looks to build ‘world’s best stablecoin infrastructure’ after Bridge buy&nbsp;</a>



Empire co-host Santiago Santos <a href="https://blockworks.co/podcast/empire/4164753c-9261-11ef-b1b7-270f254cfcb9">praised</a> Collison’s words, calling the post “one of the best tweets I’ve ever seen.”



“There&#8217;s this whole universe and part of crypto that people outside of crypto don&#8217;t appreciate unless you&#8217;re using it. But very few people are using it because they&#8217;re distracted in this noise that crypto is just a casino,” Santos said, talking about stablecoins and their use cases.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-bridge-solana-vc">Stripe’s $1.1B acquisition: Implications for Solana and crypto VC</a>



But the Stripe/Bridge deal wasn’t the only piece of <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/empire-newsletter-dydx-founder-comeback">M&amp;A activity</a> this week. Crypto custodian Komainu — which is backed by Nomura — also <a href="https://komainu.com/resources/komainu-agrees-to-acquire-propine-in-singapore-to-expand-its-footprint-in-asia-ex-japan">announced</a> that it was acquiring Propine, a rival based in Singapore.&nbsp;



The deal amount was not disclosed.&nbsp;



On the funding front, we saw Azura — a DeFi platform — <a href="https://x.com/azura/status/1848712029244428443">announce</a> a $6.9 million round alongside its launch.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Our goal is to allow anyone, from anywhere, to trade any asset—enabled by DeFi. Considering the scope of this problem, we&#39;ve decided to establish a new category: The first application and interfacing standard enabled to support any blockchain and any protocol. 2/ <a href="https://t.co/OgxGSZMi83">pic.twitter.com/OgxGSZMi83</a>&mdash; Azura (@azura) <a href="https://twitter.com/azura/status/1848712032239157687?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Notable news:</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Shuttle Labs <a href="https://x.com/GeniusTerminal/status/1849105492754452559">said</a> it raised $6 million to build Genius, a self-custodial crypto exchange. Investors included CMCC, Flow Traders and Anthony Scaramucci’s SALT.</li>



<li>MoonWalk Fitness <a href="https://x.com/moonwalkfitness/status/1849481961137377538">announced</a> a $3.4 million seed round led by Hack VC. Binance Labs, Flowdesk and Reciprocal Ventures all participated.</li>
</ul>



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Funding Roundup: Stripe buys Bridge for $1.1B, Azura bags $6.9M

The co-CEO and chief technology officer of crypto market maker GSR have exited the firm, the company revealed this week.&nbsp;



Rich Rosenblum, who co-founded the company more than a decade ago, has stepped down “to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities,” GSR said in a Wednesday X <a href="https://x.com/GSR_io/status/1849138871876923579">post</a>.&nbsp;



“His visionary leadership and innovative approach have played a pivotal role in shaping our strategic direction and establishing <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/gsr">GSR</a> as a leading player in the cryptocurrency market,” the company wrote.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/copper-okx-name-new-executives">Crypto Hiring: Copper, OKX name new executives</a>



John MacDonald, GSR’s CTO since January 2022, will also be leaving the firm.&nbsp;



It is unclear where Rosenblum and MacDonald will work next. A GSR spokesperson did not return a request for comment about who could replace the executives.&nbsp;



The moves come after <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/jump-crypto-president-resigns-gsr-adds-ceos">Rosenblum and Xin Song became co-chief executives</a> on July 1. GSR said at the time that then-CEO Jakob Palmstierna would transition to a president role and lead the company’s client franchise.&nbsp;



As for C-suite additions, crypto trading firm BlockFills appointed Amy Shelly as its chief financial officer and promoted Neil Van Huis to lead the company’s strategy.&nbsp;



Shelly formerly spent about six years — from 2016 to 2022 — as CFO for the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC).



Her new firm “solves fragmented liquidity problems through aggregation and matching algorithms, and provides an end-to-end software suite that simplifies all aspects of the trade lifecycle for institutions,” Shelly said in a LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/amy-shelly-cpa_crypto-cryptocurrency-liquidity-activity-7254897695796994049-4Xme/">post</a>.



Van Huis, a director at BlockFills since 2018, now carries the chief strategy officer title. As a founding partner, Van Huis was tasked with building out global trading relationships and driving new business.



The two executives step into their new positions as the firm “prepares to launch international offices, expands the BlockFills product offering and positions itself for major growth in the institutional digital assets space,” the company said in a statement.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/on-the-margin-newsletter-inevitable-institutional-digital-assets-involvement">Digital assets involvement becoming “inevitable” for more institutions</a>



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/coinshares">CoinShares</a>, a crypto asset manager that recently established a New York office, is hiring for roles in sales, marketing, operations and compliance.&nbsp;



These upcoming hires will support the Europe-focused firm’s “commitment to scaling US operations” after the company <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinshares-buys-valkyrie-fund-business">acquired Valkyrie’s crypto ETFs</a> earlier this year, the company said this week.&nbsp;



Another crypto-related player, meanwhile, has cut staff, Blockworks has learned.



Nova Labs, the company behind the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/helium">Helium</a> Mobile cell network, laid off 36% of its workforce in August, Lightspeed’s Jack Kubinec <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/helium-parent-company-layoffs">reported</a> Friday.&nbsp;



One person familiar with the situation said the layoffs were done to focus more on Nova Labs’ core cellular business. A former employee estimated the company had 105 employees at the time of the cuts.



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Crypto Hiring: Senior execs depart, appointed across segment

MetalCore is making a <a href="https://www.metalcore.gg/news/metalcore-is-migrating-to-solana-using-the-gameshift-platform">move</a> from the Immutable zkEVM chain to Solana.



Currently in closed beta, MetalCore is a futuristic shooter game involving tactical warfare on vehicular combat with prehistoric monsters in a post-apocalyptic world.



MetalCore is developed by Studio369. The team will be leveraging Solana Lab’s GameShift platform that offers a marketplace with integrated payment systems and a self-custodial wallet via GameShift’s API.



Matt Candler, CEO of Studio369, said of the launch: &#8220;MetalCore has repeatedly won best Web3 game awards, and we want to bring the best infrastructure to our players so they can enjoy the game in the most convenient and frictionless way possible.”



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-a16z-solana-gaming">A16z is placing a bet on Solana gaming</a>



The <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/solana">Solana</a> version of MetalCore season two will be available in November, with the option for players to bridge their in-game assets to Solana.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">LALIGA partners up with Sportsbet</h2>



Spanish football league LALIGA is partnering with Sportsbet.io, a crypto betting platform to boost fan engagement.



Announced on Thursday, the partnership plans to bring “exclusive offers, prizes and content” to LALIGA’s football fans.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/decentralized-sports-betting">Peer-to-peer sports betting is crypto’s next killer app</a>



Jorge de la Vega, executive general manager of LALIGA, said of the partnership: “Together, we aim to deliver new and dynamic experiences for our fans, offering them fresh ways to engage with the passion and excitement that defines LALIGA. This collaboration marks an important step in our strategy to connect with global audiences and continue growing our international presence.”



Based on a 2023 <a href="https://www.socios.com/deloitte-fan-report-reveals-growing-interest-in-fan-tokens-among-younger-generations/">Deloitte</a> report, 60% of sports fans are open to purchasing a “fan token” if it gives them an opportunity to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/psg-becomes-chiliz-validator">win rewards like tickets</a> to a live sporting event.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Some interesting stats:</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The “Gold Rush” tap-to-earn Telegram minigame by PiP World saw over <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U3J5R_DGjeWjy9SrzGTAjaa-GTVsnsd2cjud32QxXjo/edit?tab=t.0">500,000</a> users in the last month since its launch. </li>



<li>Daily trading volumes for blockchain games saw a 8.94% rise in August, based on <a href="https://research.nansen.ai/articles/future-of-gamefi-in-web3">Nansen</a>. The action RPG Seraph is leading in daily active wallets of 537,000, above both Illuvium and Axie Infinity.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Also of note:</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The move-to-earn Web3 game STEPN GO is <a href="https://stepnofficial.medium.com/snoop-dogg-feat-stepn-go-from-west-coast-to-web3-1d3c4ccd62a1">teaming</a> up with Snoop Dogg to drop 800 limited edition Genesis Sneakers. They will be available via a raffle on STEPN GO&#8217;s X and FSL’s marketplace MOOAR from Oct. 28 to Nov. 8.</li>



<li>The metaverse game Nifty Island unveiled its latest dev <a href="https://guide.niftyisland.com/nifty-island-dev-roadmap">roadmap</a>, introducing features like UGC tools, a creator marketplace to trade NFTs and digital land ownership.</li>



<li>OpenSea integrated <a href="https://opensea.io/blog/articles/announcing-b3-chain-on-opensea">B3 Chain</a>, a <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/gaming">gaming</a> ecosystem on Base.</li>
</ul>



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Web3 Watch: MetalCore is leaving Immutable for Solana

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">subscribe</a>.



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We already know MicroStrategy loves bitcoin. How about Microsoft?



To catch you up, a Thursday <a href="https://microsoft.gcs-web.com/node/33151/html">filing</a> showed a proposal the National Center for Public Policy Research intends to submit for consideration at Microsoft’s annual meeting.



It notes a corporation’s “fiduciary duty” to maximize shareholder value by protecting profits from debasement in an inflationary world. The proposal calls on Microsoft — with $484 billion in assets, as of March 31 — to consider <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-treasury-strategies">diversifying its balance sheet</a> with assets beyond the US government securities and corporate bonds it currently holds. Namely, bitcoin.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/empire-newsletter-crypto-trends">BTC’s volatility</a> is acknowledged. Still, the proposal notes “companies should evaluate the benefits of holding some, even just 1%, of its assets in bitcoin.”&nbsp;



The proposal shouts out the similarly named <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/corporate-bitcoin-purchases-accelerate">MicroStrategy</a>, which held 252,220 BTC as of last month. MicroStrategy’s stock is up 249% this year, while Microsoft’s is up 16%.



MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor also had a message for Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella:



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/satyanadella?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SatyaNadella</a>, if you want to make the next trillion dollars for <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24MSFT&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$MSFT</a> shareholders, call me. <a href="https://t.co/NPnVvL7Wmj">pic.twitter.com/NPnVvL7Wmj</a>&mdash; Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) <a href="https://twitter.com/saylor/status/1849790766945587241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



It doesn’t appear this proposal will pass.&nbsp;



In a statement of opposition, Microsoft’s Board of Directors said that “volatility is a factor to consider in evaluating cryptocurrency investments for corporate treasury applications that require stable and predictable investments to ensure liquidity and operational funding.”



The company already has “strong and appropriate processes in place” for its corporate treasury, the board adds — noting: “This requested public assessment is unwarranted.”



Perhaps the takeaway, though, is that the board notes it has evaluated bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the past, and that Microsoft “continues to monitor trends and developments related to cryptocurrencies to inform future decision-making.”&nbsp;



So the company’s not closing the door on BTC altogether. I’d say we can add that to the list of positive developments made during a year in which the asset has gone more mainstream.



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Microsoft to hold BTC on its balance sheet?

Nova Labs, the company behind the Helium Mobile cell network, undertook a significant round of layoffs at the end of August, three people with knowledge of the matter told Blockworks.



Nova Labs Chief Operating Officer Frank Mong confirmed to Blockworks that 36% of the company was let go.&nbsp;



One person familiar with the situation cast the layoffs as right-sizing the company to focus on Nova Labs’ core cellular business. A former employee estimated Nova Labs had around 105 employees at the time of the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/layoffs">layoffs</a>.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-helium-future-vision-depin">Inside Helium’s vision for the future</a>



“We experienced tremendous growth in our mobile network business. We saw an opportunity to focus more attention and resources on accelerating the growth of the network and subscriber base, resulting in the need to be more efficient across the board. We appreciate the efforts of all our current and former employees,” Mong said in an email.



Former employees said the layoffs spanned multiple departments within Nova Labs, including its engineering team.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/helium">Helium</a> began as a startup focused on the internet of things (IoT), which is a nebulous term for physical objects with the capacity to connect and exchange data with other devices.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-helium-solar-power">Helium eyes energy sector with new solar power play</a>



Over time, Helium became one of <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/helium-mobile-is-letting-third-parties-license-its-hardware">crypto’s buzziest businesses</a>, using tokens to incentivize users <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-helium-cell-coverage">to build distributed wireless networks</a>. People or businesses can use Helium-approved hardware to generate a wireless signal and receive tokens as a reward. The “people’s network” raised over $360 million in venture capital funding between 2013 and 2022, according to funding tracking site CryptoRank. 



The Helium Foundation today maintains the Helium IoT network, and Helium co-founder Amir Haleem has taken the helm at Nova Labs, which was spun out from the original project.&nbsp;



One source said the Nova Labs layoffs were partly a result of a strategic pivot from the project, which started out building wireless networks but has now coalesced at Nova Labs around a core business of crypto-forward cell phone plans.&nbsp;



Helium Mobile sells nationwide unlimited cell plans <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/helium-cell-plan-goes-nationwide">for $20 a month</a>. The plan is enabled through a partnership with T-Mobile in which Helium Mobile users connect to the Helium network where possible, and Helium Mobile pays for T-Mobile data otherwise.



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