The Weekly Review of Crypto, NFTs, & Hospitality

Early on Wednesday, Solana’s SOL token managed to hold onto a crucial support level despite a multi-million dollar platform attack that caused some investors to express their discontent. Through the hack, an unidentified attacker stole SOL, SPL, and other Solana-based tokens worth at least $5 million from Phantom and Slope digital wallets. Given that breaches and exploits have typically resulted in double-digit price declines in tokens linked to victim crypto systems, SOL’s losses seem to be modest. Despite this, the hack is a bad look for the fifth-largest smart contract blockchain in the world, which promises speedier and less expensive transactions than Ethereum. Solana’s promise as an Ethereum blockchain substitute has already been diminished by the numerous network disruptions it has experienced over the last 12 months. What supports the token’s resiliency? Observers claim that SOL’s oversold state, as well as whales’ continuous ownership of the cryptocurrency, are sustaining it.

The New York State Department of Financial Services has fined Robinhood’s cryptocurrency branch $30 million, the latest in what seems to be a long list of issues with which the company has struggled. The authority’s multimillion dollar fine against Robinhood, for what it claims are violations of the state’s anti-money laundering and cybersecurity legislation, is its first enforcement action specifically aimed at the cryptocurrency industry. According to the Financial Services Department’s notice, a supervisory inspection revealed serious flaws in the organization’s compliance systems.

According to major news outlets, Chileans have found refuge in stablecoins during recent economic upheaval. Residents are opting towards stablecoins in an effort to protect their money from the recent record inflation and the peso’s ongoing depreciation. Stablecoin trades on regional cryptocurrency exchanges have grown by 50% during the last three months.

Susan Miller, a well-known astrologer, discusses NFTs- her first foray into Web3 is the astrologer’s collection of zodiac-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and token-gated Discord channel. On Wednesday, the Polygon blockchain hosted the release of the collection of 12,000 PFP collectibles.

Two months after raising $500 million for a new fund focused on Web3 and blockchain investments, cryptocurrency exchange Binance has named co-founder Yi He to lead its venture capital arm, Binance Labs. According to a press statement, Binance Labs, which specializes in early-stage investments, oversees more than 200 portfolio projects and $7.5 billion in total assets. Portfolio firms include the security company CertiK, the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and the Ethereum sidechain Polygon.

Yi will be in charge of Binance Labs’ daily operations and overall strategy, with an emphasis on supporting infrastructure projects and enhancing utility in cryptocurrency and blockchain projects. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said Yi is “extremely ambitious” and that Binance would be making “quite a lot of investments” in the near future, during an appearance on CNN on Wednesday. He added that Binance intends to keep expanding its workforce, with a goal of increasing it from the current 6,000 to 8,000 by the end of the year.

Bank of America stated in a research study that it rejects frequently heard allegations to the contrary and believes blockchains, and the apps that operate on them, have intrinsic worth. Transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain have earned roughly $3.9 billion so far this year and about $9.9 billion last year. The statistics released on Friday stated that the total for last year increased by 1,558% from the year before.
According to the analysis, the Bitcoin blockchain has generated roughly $93 million in fees so far this year, as opposed to roughly $1 billion for the entire previous year. According to the bank, Ethereum transaction fees have probably decreased so far this year as holders “went to the sidelines.” Since the implementation of the Lightning Network, which enables faster and smaller bitcoin (BTC) payments, bitcoin costs have likely decreased.
Because blockchains are an “emerging business,” according to Bank of America, it is currently impossible to foresee cash flows. Blockchains generate revenue by charging transaction fees to validate transactions made using native tokens or transactions made by applications running on top of the blockchain. According to the note, blockchains with strong user development and growth, as well as a distinct use case, could see an acceleration in cash flows in the form of transaction fees.

Imagine purchasing a single monkey-image for millions of dollars just to have it robbed from your digital wallet. That’s precisely what occurred to actor Seth Green, who eventually had to beg the hacker to hand him back the NFT (and probably paid them over $100,000 to do so). Green’s situation is more typical than one might imagine, which begs the question of whether or not NFT platforms should assist their clients in seeking remedy when this occurs. In a sector where transparency and self-sovereignty are essential values, it is extremely challenging to combat theft and enforce rights of ownership. Alex Taub, the founder and CEO of Upstream, asserted that NFT investors still need to feel secure retaining the digital assets they buy.

“Security is really rough with crypto. People lose their seed phrase, their export keys, they click on a bad thing, they sign — that person could take a lot of stuff out … Sometimes, you’re doomscrolling when you’re half asleep, and you click on a bad link, and it’s over,” Taub said. Upstream describes itself as a full-stack, no-code platform for developing DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) and raised its most recent round of funding in March for $12.5 million. The business has recently released a new product called the “Vault DAO,” which Taub claims will enhance safety for NFT holders by utilizing its expertise in DAO tools.

By no means is security a new problem in crypto, but the available solutions, particularly for individuals, are insufficient. Hardware wallets, for instance, offer a safe way for users to save their wallet’s private keys on what is effectively a hard drive, but these “cold” wallets aren’t very well-liked by users. Taub also pointed out that losing the seed phrase needed to access one’s cryptocurrency is just as easy as losing a hardware wallet. Another option is “hot” wallets, which are online, but Taub said he wouldn’t store any precious assets in one because the majority of NFT solutions are custodial or run by a centralized organization. Taub added that he is concerned about the potential that valuables stored in a hot wallet may vanish due to connectivity issues.

The Vault DAO solution interfaces with popular wallets like MetaMask and Rainbow, as well as the WalletConnect network, enabling users to connect commodities housed in “cold” storage to their Vault DAO, Taub said. As for where the assets are actually held, Taub added. “In the end, neither your NFTs nor your cryptocurrency are held by us. This multisignature wallet is where you have full access to it, explained Taub- “So that’s how I sort of see it: I feel secure knowing that I’m guarding against accidentally clicking a link and losing all of my belongings, as well as secure knowing that I still own them.”

The collapse of the terraUSD (UST) stablecoin, the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency lender Celsius, and the liquidation of hedge fund Three Arrows Capital were all factors that contributed to the crypto bear market, according to a new report from Telstra Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on data. Despite these factors, Web3 developer interest has remained high. The analysis, titled “Blockchain Open-Source Developers Signal Strength of Web3 Community,” looked at developer activity on the Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin blockchains. The data researchers gathered information from various sources, including the code repository GitHub, to examine 1,000 active firms that contributed to more than 30,000 open source projects throughout the chains.

Saad Siddiqui, general partner at Telstra Ventures, said: “We looked at the number of monthly active contributors to their GitHub repositories, and we noticed that despite very big downturns in price over the last few months, [contributions] generally stayed pretty strong.” “The most frequent contributions remained with Ethereum and Bitcoin. A little bit more Solana decrease occurred, but not nearly as much as would have been predicted from the price decline.”

Why did the highest monthly active contributor reduction occur in Solana? Head of Telstra’s data science division, Jonathan Serfaty, said, “My impression is that, strictly anecdotally, the communities for bitcoin and Ethereum have been around for a long time and they’ve faced downturns like this before. They have a core group of developers and collaborators that have stayed with it through difficult times and are still expanding it.”

The most well-liked industry sectors for Web3 developers were not singled out in the survey, but Siddiqui emphasized the importance of tooling projects that support application development. Serfaty agreed, saying, “I believe broadly speaking, we’re seeing three sorts of apps that are being produced in the blockchain realm.” Redesigning current systems is the first step. The second involves established, conventional businesses using blockchain for their own internal use cases and generating new sources of income. The third is blockchain applications for people who are familiar with cryptocurrencies.

Lazy 8ight Yacht Club (L8YC) understands that only approximately 3% of the world knows about crypto, NFTs, and the utilities offered by the blockchain. The NFT luxury hospitality company focuses on educating the other 97% of the population via frequent Discord AMAs and Twitter Spaces, as well as through their user-friendly website, complete with Web0 (real world) yacht captains and hospitality partners available to answer questions. People generally fear what they do not know, therefore L8YC aims to be completely transparent, utilizing integrity in their dealings with members.

In addition to private luxury events in Web0, and one-of-a-kind traversable mega-yacht NFTs, L8YC provides unprecedented yachting services and unique experiences through its exclusive hospitality partnerships. L8YC’s experienced in-house sales team assists with yacht sales needs, whether one is looking to buy their first boat, or trading up for something new. L8YC experts guide clients every step of the way, and Lazy 8ight’s experienced captains also offer one-on-one custom consulting, both virtually, and in-person. The NFT and luxury hospitality company assists boat owners with a vast array of topics, like engine room 101, navigation, yard period consulting, and safety at sea. L8YC members enjoy day charters on one of L8YC’s yachts, starting at just $300. With full and half days options available, holders enjoy steeply discounted access to over 500 day charter yachts, both across the U.S., as well as internationally. L8YC’s in-house team of charter brokers help plan the perfect charter, whether an overnight excursion in Mykonos, or a week-long trip to Alaska. Lazy 8ight designs everything, from the itinerary and activities, down to the vessel itself, all while negotiating the best rates.

Additionally, Lazy 8ight offers private chef services. Their catering partner, The Herbal Chef, curates high-end nights to remember, with the option of CBD & THC infusion to enhance multi-course meals. Chris Sayegh, and his team, create luxury catering for events, offering options like caviar stations, raw seafood bars, luxury buffets, prime beef carving stations, king salmon filets and more. L8YC is also pleased to now offer event security, through their partner, Security & Consulting, and their team of experienced military special operations individuals, ex-law enforcement, and retired members of the intelligence communities. Lazy 8ight’s security partner utilizes extensive training to ensure events are safe and secure, while providing the highest quality close protection, surveillance, and counter measure programs to prominent clients, VIPs, select corporations, and organizations, worldwide.

Be sure to visit Lazy 8ight Yacht Club’s website at http://L8yachtclub.com for minting and luxury hospitality service inquiries, or visit their Discord, Twitter, Medium, and Instagram pages on social media to stay up-to-date on current L8YC news.