Presented by CryptoLink.Tech

Volume 1 | Edition 3 | July 6, 2023

Opening Thoughts

Hello and welcome back to another edition of Chain Reaction by CryptoLink! We have plenty to get into this week with some very exciting in-house announcements, so let’s get right to it!

Cryptolink Connect

We had a couple big things happen in the CryptoLink world over the last week!

Cletus And Wally In Detroit!

Cletus and I made our first appearance at an in-person NFT event last weekend in Detroit! While the event was focused primarily on music NFTs and cannabis-related utility (lol) we were able to make some pretty solid connections with a couple projects in the traditional NFT space.

One of those projects was The Wild Guardians. Cletus and I had a couple really great discussions with their Founder, Chris, and are looking forward to having some fruitful business calls in the future.

Another solid connection we made was with Andrew from the Listening Room over on Cardano. Neither of us were aware of how robust the NFT scene on Cardano is becoming, but it sounds like we may have to get over there sooner than later. 😶‍🌫️

All in all it was cool to meet some people in the space actually building things. While we were there I also met not 1, but 2 real-life humans that support “The Network” and are in the Shillain Villain fan-club. To be completely honest I was shook to meet someone in person that legitimately believes in some of the Crypto Twitter LARP that goes on. Is this bottom? Are we back?

I have no clue what to make of this. lol

Launch Process Imminent: AnyToAny Alpha is LIVE

That’s right, anon. The wait is finally over. AnyToAny is actually pushing transactions through and CryptoLink is driving revenue!

Right now we are in a closed Alpha phase, however, barring any failures or weird bugs you can expect the public launch to be within the next few days!

Alpha testers are reporting cross-chain any token swaps between 10-15 seconds! Stay tuned for links to go live to the public and remember to spread the word.

Zealy Campaigns Continue

Our second Zealy campaign has started so make sure you stop by the CryptoLink Zealy community to climb the new Sprint Leaderboard! Cletus and I added some new quests and changed the format for gating certain quests as well, so it may feel and look a little different the next time you stop by.

Crypto Currents

This section covers major recent developments and trends in the crypto world while also diving into a bit of AI news from time to time! We had another wild week in Crypto with BTC price rising and Larry Fink saying some interesting things about BTC on Fox Business, lets jump into it all!

ChatGPT’s Browsing Takes Unexpected Turn: Disabled Until Further Notice

Not crypto news technically, but something that will affect a ton of people who work in the web3.0 space over the time its deactivated.

OpenAI's ChatGPT Browse feature, which allowed users to access subscription-based content without subscriptions, was deactivated just a week after its launch on the iOS app. The decision came after OpenAI discovered that the feature displayed content in unintended ways, potentially bypassing paywalls.

The company expressed its commitment to respecting content owners' rights and temporarily disabled the Browse feature to address the issue. Users had found a workaround by providing ChatGPT with URLs and requesting the AI chatbot to retrieve the full text, even from behind paywalls.

OpenAI's president, Greg Brockman, assured that the team is working to bring back the browsing feature soon, but no specific timeline was provided.

This definitely leaves me with more questions than answers regarding how paywalls actually work. Regardless, those of us paying $20/month for access to features like browsing are left without a tool that we have started to shift our work around over the last few months.

BlackRock CEOs Optimisitc Stance: BTC is an International Asset

Larry Fink went on Fox Business on July 5th with some very bullish things to say about BTC.

Normally just one person talking about crypto isn’t much of a pot-stirrer, but Fink is CEO of the World’s most powerful investment managment firm and they just filed for that ETF we talked about two weeks ago. 👀 

Fink also went as far as to say BTC is similar to “digitizing gold”.

Larry Fink's optimistic remarks signal a growing acceptance of Bitcoin and its potential role in the global financial landscape. The CEO's perspective, combined with BlackRock's influence in the asset management industry, may contribute to wider adoption and recognition of cryptocurrencies as legitimate investment assets.

Interchain Intel

Updates and insights from across different blockchain networks. This week brings you another web3.0 game from a HUGE publisher plus more!

Ubisoft Makes an Epic Entry into Web3.0 Gaming with ‘Champions Tactics’

You know I love a good web3.0 game!

Ubisoft, one of the world's largest game developers, has made a significant entry into Web3 gaming with 'Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles' on the Oasys blockchain. This move showcases Ubisoft's commitment to exploring blockchain technology in gaming and offers players the chance to engage in thrilling tactical battles with mythical champions.

As a major industry player, Ubisoft's venture into Web3 gaming signifies a significant endorsement of blockchain technology and its potential impact on the future of gaming.

The success of 'Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles' has the potential to shape the trajectory of Ubisoft's Web3 experiments and drive the mass adoption of blockchain technology in gaming.

Ubisoft is behind some of the largest games in the world such as ‘Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege’ and the ‘Assasins Creed’ series.

Coinbase’s Base Nears Mainnet Launch

Coinbase's layer-2 network, Base, is getting ready for its mainnet launch with just one criterion left to fulfill. They have conducted rigorous security audits both internally and externally, passing four out of five launch criteria.

The team feels confident after not finding any critical code bugs, which gave them the green light to proceed. The audits included a testnet hard fork, an infrastructure review, and Optimism's "Bedrock" upgrade.

The final criterion is demonstrating testnet stability. Base aims to be a cost-effective and developer-friendly network for decentralized applications, built on Ethereum and powered by Optimism's layer-2 network.

We’ve been waiting on this for a few months now and I still don’t really know what to think about it.

On one hand Coinbase has a fairly reputable name and can reach an audience that most blockchains cannot.

On the other hand, do we really need another L2? 🙄

Tech Talk

Here, we explore the latest technological advancements and innovations in the blockchain space. This week I found an interesting topic to cover that isn’t necessarily blockchain-related, but one could draw some interesting conclusions from the news. Let’s jump in.

Twitter’s Money Moves: Granted Money Transmitter Licenses in 3 States

In a significant development, Twitter Payments LLC, a subsidiary of Elon Musk's Twitter social network, has obtained money transmitter licenses from Michigan, New Hampshire, and Missouri. These licenses allow the company to provide transfer services or payment instruments, aiming to facilitate the secure transmission of money between parties.

While the specific offerings of Twitter Payments are yet to be unveiled, it is initially anticipated that the platform will offer fiat currency transaction services, similar to established providers like Stripe, Venmo, and PayPal.

However, sources suggest that Twitter Payments has aspirations to expand into cryptocurrency services and may even introduce its own token through a project called "Twitter Coin," alongside the introduction of a proprietary wallet. (CoinTelegraph, 2023)

This development bears particular significance for the cryptocurrency community due to Elon’s pro-crypto stance. With Musk at the helm of both Tesla and SpaceX, both of which have made significant investments in Bitcoin, the integration of cryptocurrency services into Twitter Payments could offer a gateway for increased adoption and mainstream acceptance.

I’m sure the $DOGE maxis are having a field day with this one!

Decoded

In this section, we decode complex blockchain and cryptocurrency concepts into understandable language.

Liquid Staking: Unlocking The Potential of Your ETH

Imagine you have a valuable asset, let's say a rare Pokémon card. You love its value, but you also want the flexibility to use it when needed. Liquid staking works similarly. Instead of locking up your entire Ethereum stash for staking, you can stake a portion and still enjoy the benefits while maintaining the freedom to use your ETH.

Here's how it works: You deposit your ETH into a special app, like a safe storage box for your Pokémon card. The app takes care of staking your ETH for you and, in return, gives you a special token representing your staked funds, like a card that mirrors the value of your Pokémon card.

With this token, let's call it stETH, you can freely move, store, spend, or even trade it just like any other token. Meanwhile, your stETH continues to earn staking rewards, similar to how your Pokémon card's value might increase over time.

Take Lido, for example. It allows you to stake any amount of Ethereum and receive stETH tokens in return. These stETH tokens can be used as collateral for loans or other purposes, while still earning you daily staking rewards.

So, just like having the flexibility to use your Pokémon card while still enjoying its value, liquid staking lets you stake your Ethereum without fully locking it up, providing you with liquidity and rewards at the same time.

Stay tuned as we continue to decode complex DeFi concepts, making them more accessible and understandable for everyone. Remember, the world of crypto is full of exciting possibilities, and we're here to help you navigate through them.

Note: This is a simplified explanation and does not cover all technical details. Please do your own research and consult reputable sources before engaging in any staking or DeFi activities.

Final Byte: Wally’s Wisdom

Another week, another banger thrown out on Thursday morning!

The excitement this week really revolves around the AnyToAny Alpha going live, meaning AnyToAny.io is going live to the public ANY DAY NOW!

I will say that with all the news in the last few weeks, games launching in web3.0 from big publishers, Blackrock and Fidelity, and meeting real life humans that actually degen into things like “The Network” makes me feel like we might be making a comeback.

For now we just keep building cool things until the rest of the people show up.

Thank you for being part of our chain reaction this week! I hope this gives you a little extra value every week. Stay linked for more updates next week!

Best,

Wally, CMO CryptoLink.Tech

ZEALY CODE: FERRETLAUNCHER