Jack Kubinec


<p>Nirvana Labs is debuting its Nirvana Cloud computing service meant to work specifically with blockchain workloads.</p>



<p>CEO Dan Burke told Blockworks that the startup raised $1.7 million in pre-seed funding, and counts blockchain platforms like Chainlink and Avalanche as clients.&nbsp;</p>



<p>According to Burke, the company is hoping to lure Web3 projects away from more general purpose cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud, which are widely used across many industries, including the crypto space. But Nirvana is not building a decentralized computing platform, a la Golem, nor a decentralized storage solution like IPFS. Rather, it’s taking the centralized status quo and specializing it for Web3.</p>



<p><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://blockworks.co/news/blockchain-replaces-supercomputer-golem">Researchers use blockchain network to simulate the dawn of life on Earth</a></p>



<p>AWS and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/google-cloud">Google Cloud</a> provide public cloud services that enable the purchase of resources such as servers and storage via the internet. This arrangement is often cost-effective, as it eliminates the need for companies to maintain their own physical hardware. Blockchain applications tend to be compute-intensive though, which drives up the costs Web3 that companies are paying to public cloud providers.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Crypto is big business for <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/amazon">Amazon</a> in particular, which <a href="https://ethernodes.org/networkType/Hosting">hosts</a> 35% of all Ethereum nodes, according to the website ethernodes.</p>



<p>Nirvana Cloud says it can offer much reduced costs and better efficiency for blockchain workloads compared to AWS by doing away with unnecessary virtualization.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In computing, virtualization allows for the creation of virtual machines (VMs) that operate independently from their underlying physical hardware. This essentially turns one physical computer into many virtual ones, allowing each to run its own tasks as if it were a separate machine. In short, virtualization makes it possible to run many different applications and processes without needing multiple physical computers.</p>



<p>This lets cloud service providers offer a more efficient and flexible service to customers.</p>



<p>But traditional services like AWS and Google Cloud, while versatile, often adopt a general-purpose approach that may not be as cost or resource-efficient for specific applications, like the energy-intensive ones found in <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/web3">Web3</a>.</p>



<p><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://blockworks.co/news/cloud-services-0xresearch-competition">Cloud computing is operated by an anti-competitive oligopoly, says Osuri</a></p>



<p>Nirvana Labs addresses this by reducing the virtualization layer. It slims down the middleman software and focuses its hardware on the specific needs of Web3 technologies, like cryptocurrency transactions or smart contracts. The result is a setup that&#8217;s not just faster and more reliable for these tasks, but also more cost-effective.</p>



<p>A Nirvana Labs document reviewed by Blockworks suggests that, for a setup with two virtual CPUs and 8 gigabytes of RAM, Nirvana Cloud costs about 19.5% less than AWS and 26.91% less than Google Cloud Platform per month.</p>



<p>According to the company, Nirvana Cloud distinguishes itself by offering a &#8220;bare metal&#8221; cloud service. Unlike typical cloud environments where server resources are shared among multiple consumers, each Nirvana server is dedicated to a single client. This approach, where hardware resources are not pooled, is meant to ensure superior performance for computation-heavy tasks, like blockchain validation, by maximizing the efficiency and reliability of the service.</p>



<p><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/google-cloud-web3-dive">Google Cloud eyes more involvement in fast-evolving Web3 segment</a></p>



<p>However, some would argue that solutions like Nirvana’s don’t go far enough — and that computing resources will always be a risk for crypto unless the base layer is decentralized.</p>



<p>“We have decentralized payments. We have decentralized storage. We have to have decentralized compute or else this whole decentralized world isn’t really decentralized,” Tom Trowbridge, co-founder of decentralized computing platform Fluence, said.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But in the interim, increased scrutiny on the cloud layer couldn’t hurt. Burke said that the Web3 development world often doesn’t think enough about what’s happening at the tech’s layer zero.</p>



<p>He jokingly added, “I mean, we have a company in the space called LayerZero that’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/google-cloud-layerzero-0xresearch-oracle-provider">literally built on Google Cloud</a>.”</p>



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Nirvana Cloud debuts as blockchain-optimized alternative to AWS and Google Cloud

Sam Martin

<div id="highlights-block_617725d07bf3f" class="highlights">
        <ul>
                <li>Bitwise released its outlook on DeFi, calling for Amazon-like disruption to the current financial system</li>
                <li>Coinbase Cloud aims to be the Amazon Web Services of digital asset infrastructure</li>
            </ul>
    
</div>



<p>Bitwise released its outlook on decentralized finance (DeFi) in <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.bitwiseinvestments.com/Research/Decentralized-Finance-DeFi-A-Primer-for-Professional-Investors-11-16-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a recently published report</a>.</p>



<p>DeFi provides anyone in the world with an internet connection and smartphone low-cost, high-speed, and instantaneously settled financial markets.</p>



<p>Borrowing and lending protocols, as well as decentralized exchanges (DEXs), currently make up a vast majority of DeFi activity, as regulation around the space remains largely uncertain.</p>



<p>Coinbase Cloud aims to be the Amazon Web Services of crypto by supporting digital asset infrastructure through its subsidiary, Bison Trails.</p>



<p>Ethereum NFTs are officially live on FTX US, <a href="https://twitter.com/Brett_FTXUS/status/1466075424010604547?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to the company&#8217;s president, Brett Harrison.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Latest in Macro:</strong></h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>S&amp;P 500: 4,513, -1.18%</li><li>NASDAQ: 15,254, -1.83%</li><li>Gold: $1,784, +0.46%</li><li>WTI Crude Oil: $65.48, -1.06%</li><li>10-Year Treasury: 1.405%, -0.036%</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Latest in Crypto:</strong></h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>BTC: $56,666, -.63%</li><li>ETH: $4,546, -1.54%</li><li>ETH/BTC: 0.0800, -1.51%</li><li>BTC.D: 41.73%, +0.28%</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">DeFi versus TradFi</h3>



<p><a href="https://bitwiseinvestments.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bitwise</a> released a report titled <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.bitwiseinvestments.com/Research/Decentralized-Finance-DeFi-A-Primer-for-Professional-Investors-11-16-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8216;Decentralized Finance (DeFi): A Primer for Professional Investors&#8217;</a>, which notes that though many industries have been reshaped by digital technologies, finance has not. Though there have been improvements to the user experience through apps like Venmo or Cash App, it adds, the underlying infrastructure behind payments has remained stagnant for decades.</p>



<p>&#8220;DeFi replaces traditional financial intermediaries with software: self-executing &#8216;smart contracts,&#8217; secured by blockchain technology, allow innovators to reimagine everything from lending to trading, asset management, and more,&#8221; the executive summary of the <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.bitwiseinvestments.com/Research/Decentralized-Finance-DeFi-A-Primer-for-Professional-Investors-11-16-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> states.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="488" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Defi-1024x488.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12005" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Defi-1024x488.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Defi-1024x488.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Defi-1024x488.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Defi-1024x488.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Defi-1024x488.jpg?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Defi-1024x488.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Defi-1024x488.jpg?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Defi-1024x488.jpg?w=1119 1119w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Source: Bitwise</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">DeFi advantages</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Lower cost and speed<ul><li>DeFi services are able to cut out the costs of middlemen (employees, offices, transaction fees, etc.) because they utilize public infrastructure (blockchains) that execute smart contracts on behalf of the users.</li></ul></li><li>Composability<ul><li>Innovation occurs much faster in DeFi because problems solved for one protocol may be applied to a different set of problems. </li></ul></li><li>Two-sided markets<ul><li>Just as Uber aligns the supply of willing drivers to the demand of potential passengers needing to get from point A to point B, DeFi connects liquidity providers looking for yield to traders willing to pay swap fees on an automated market maker, such as <a href="https://app.uniswap.org/#/swap" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Uniswap</a>.</li></ul></li></ul>



<p>There are nearly 4 million users and more than <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.bitwiseinvestments.com/Research/Decentralized-Finance-DeFi-A-Primer-for-Professional-Investors-11-16-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$200 billion of assets</a> in DeFi protocols today. The main difference between most applications consumers use today and DeFi is the lack of a centralized authority behind them. This ensures that anyone with an internet connection is free to use any application they desire.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="945" height="867" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/defi-eco.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12007" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/defi-eco.jpg?w=945 945w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/defi-eco.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/defi-eco.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/defi-eco.jpg?w=280 280w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/defi-eco.jpg?w=284 284w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/defi-eco.jpg?w=239 239w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/defi-eco.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /><figcaption>Source: Bitwise</figcaption></figure></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Primary applications today</h3>



<p>Of the roughly <a href="https://defillama.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$280 billion of total value locked</a> in DeFi protocols, a vast majority of the liquidity revolves around two product markets: borrowing and lending protocols, and decentralized exchanges, according to DeFi Llama data.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Borrowing and Lending</h4>



<p><a href="https://app.aave.com/#/markets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aave</a>, which boasts more than $16 billion of liquidity, enables participants to lend out their assets in exchange for passive income. Borrowers can lock up collateral to take out loans at various annualized rates.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="823" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12013" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg?w=320 320w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg?w=325 325w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg?w=272 272w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aave-1024x823.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Source: Bitwise</figcaption></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">DEXs</h4>



<p>Network participants are able to provide liquidity via asset pairs to a DEX in exchange for rewards that come in the form of swap fees generated and liquidity provider incentives. DEXs are similar to a brokerage account or the New York Stock Exchange, except they are run by self-executing smart contracts.</p>



<p>Today Uniswap, one of the largest DEXs built on top of Ethereum, has trading volumes that rival those seen by centralized crypto exchanges such as FTX and Coinbase.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="570" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/uni-1024x570.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12011" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/uni-1024x570.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/uni-1024x570.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/uni-1024x570.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/uni-1024x570.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/uni-1024x570.jpg?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/uni-1024x570.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/uni-1024x570.jpg?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/uni-1024x570.jpg?w=1460 1460w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Source: Bitwise</figcaption></figure></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Threats</h3>



<p>&#8220;JPMorgan, the world&#8217;s largest bank, boasts a market cap of [about] $508 billion, more than 3x the combined value of all DeFi apps combined,&#8221; Bitwise Research Analyst Ryan Rassmusan <a href="https://twitter.com/RasterlyRock/status/1461406941004115969?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> in a Nov. 18 Twitter post. &#8220;DeFi is tiny compared to the size of the industry that it aims to disrupt: [less than] 1% of the $24 [trillion] legacy finance market.&#8221;</p>



<p>The President&#8217;s Working Group on Financial Markets, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently released a <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/StableCoinReport_Nov1_508.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> on stablecoins and the need to regulate them. Lyn Alden, founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy, <a href="https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact/status/1465375630556553228?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recently</a> pointed out that the fate of DeFi is in large part decided by centralized stablecoin issuers such as Tether and Circle, which are subject to the US&#8217;s jurisdiction.</p>



<p>The Fed <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20211123a.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stated</a> earlier this week that it would issue guidance for crypto regulation in the first half of 2022, which could prove to have a negative effect on the digital asset space during a time that coincides with <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/powell-we-can-retire-the-term-transitory-inflation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tighter monetary policy</a>.</p>



<p>SEC Chairman Gary Gensler <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/gensler-says-centralized-regulation-is-path-for-crypto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said today</a> that further enforcement against DeFi protocols is coming sooner rather than later.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Coinbase Cloud</h3>



<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve deployed 60,000 nodes that run your favourite crypto applications without interruptions and support over $30 [billion] assets staked to secure the world&#8217;s leading blockchain networks,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/maraschmiedt/status/1466067585968054273?s=21">wrote</a> Mara Schmiedt, business and corporate development manager at Coinbase. </p>



<p>Coinbase is aiming to become the Amazon Web Services of crypto, Coinbase Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee told <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/12/01/inside-coinbases-budding-plan-to-become-the-aws-of-crypto/?sh=224091c7415c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forbes</a>, making decentralized applications easier to launch through their product line at <a href="https://bisontrails.co">Bison Trails</a>. While there are other competitors in the infrastructure space, no other exchange in the US boasts more than 73 million verified users to leverage.</p>



<p>Ali Yahya, a general partner at a16z, compared Coinbase&#8217;s full suite of offerings to &#8220;just read/write infrastructure, which is what Alchemy does,&#8221; according to the Forbes article.</p>



<p>&#8220;All of the other products and services that Coinbase uniquely can bring to developers such as trading, fiat on-ramps, we offer a single place for people to build the full end-to-end experience that really doesn&#8217;t exist today,” he added.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)</h3>



<p>Ethereum NFTs are officially live on FTX US, <a href="https://twitter.com/Brett_FTXUS/status/1466075424010604547?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to Brett Harrison, the company&#8217;s president. Industry participants are unsure how the increased competition in secondary marketplaces for NFTs will affect OpenSea&#8217;s historically dominant marketshare.</p>



<p>Trading data from <a href="https://opensea.io/rankings" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a> and <a href="https://solanalysis.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Solanalysis</a> of some of the top Solana and Ethereum projects can be found below:</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="329" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.32-PM-1024x329.png" alt="" class="wp-image-12015" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.32-PM-1024x329.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.32-PM-1024x329.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.32-PM-1024x329.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.32-PM-1024x329.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.32-PM-1024x329.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.32-PM-1024x329.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.32-PM-1024x329.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.32-PM-1024x329.png?w=1227 1227w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Top Ethereum Projects</figcaption></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="285" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.41-PM-1024x285.png" alt="" class="wp-image-12016" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.41-PM-1024x285.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.41-PM-1024x285.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.41-PM-1024x285.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.41-PM-1024x285.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.41-PM-1024x285.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.41-PM-1024x285.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.41-PM-1024x285.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-3.49.41-PM-1024x285.png?w=1200 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Top Solana Projects </figcaption></figure></div>



<p>If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I am looking forward to catching up tomorrow.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



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