Presented by CryptoLink.Tech

Volume 1 | Edition x | August 24, 2023

Opening Thoughts

We have come to a few conclusions this week, but I’ll start this off with arguably the most important.

Progress is everything.

Without progress is stagnation.

Stagnation leads to amoebas in ponds.

Amoebas in ponds are as good as death.

That is the CryptoLink team’s working motto for our off-site.

Welcome back to another edition of your favorite publication in web3, Chain Reaction!

You have probably noticed that it is a bit quieter around our place this week, don’t be alarmed. The CryptoLink team has completed 3 days of workshops and strategic planning that will shape the future of our journey.

I know I bring this up frequently…

But it is absolutely incredible to gauge the progress since last year this time.

Druuu made an interesting comment yesterday that I would like to share regarding the team we have here. In essence, the ratio of agreement/disagreement doesn’t matter. It is the 15%-20% of ideas tossed around that he would have never even considered that brings an immense amount of value to this team.

All of us come from very different places, backgrounds, cultures, and experiences coupled with an above average ability to critically think. This is our greatest strength and I believe it gives us an edge on a lot of the projects in the web3 space.

This off-site has been the most critical point in our existence and is providing a level of clarity, alignment, and efficiency that I have not seen outside of high-level sport.

We will always be making progress.

Never stagnant.

let’s jump into this week.

Fair Warning: This edition will be a bit shorter, I apologize! The team is grinding and the time difference is a bit tough. We will be back with a full length edition next week with all the bells & whistles.

CryptoLink Connect

This is where we normally get into the meat of the week for CryptoLink ecosystem updates.

This week we don’t have much for you on that front, though you know Arb and Eth are on the way soon.

During our workshops we have been hammering down our processes, strategies, big picture, short-term goals, and just about anything else you would expect out of a company with the intention of growth.

While there isn’t necessarily news in terms of a deployment or partnership, internally this is the best news ever.

We will walk away from this trip with the tools necessary to make this thing work.

We had a dream.

We have a vision.

World Of Web3

This section covers major recent developments and trends in the crypto and AI worlds.

Critical Vulnerability: Boosted Balancer Pools Hacked

Two days ago (Aug. 29) Balancer’s boosted pools were exploited.

Balancer took emergency protective action and was able to save 80% of the at-risk funds, leaving about $10 million still in LP and at-risk.

The $10 million is roughly 1.4% of the total Balancer liquidity.

The day of the exploit Balancer’s native token, BAL, saw about a 3% drop in the midst of a larger ~14% fall during the larger market sell-off over the last week. (CoinMarketCap 2023).

New Evidence: Multichain Madness

On July 15th Multichain officially announced the arrest of their CEO by the Chinese authorities though we didn’t get any answers on ‘why’.

We now have a few answers.

It seems to be a fact that the CEO used a fake ID to register the Multichain company, but the real dirt is still technically a rumor.

There are now talks that the arrest of the CEO was allegedly due to a money laundering investigation.

Hopefully more concrete info on this over the next few week.

Interchain Intel

Updates and insights from across different blockchain networks.

Regulatory Rumbles: Binance Shut Down Crypto Cards in South America, Middle East

Binance has ceased the operations of their crypto debit card in South America and the Middle East.

The BSC team did not give any reasoning as to why they shut down operations.

I’m not entirely sure what this is all about but intuitive minds would head down the regulation route.

Shopping With Crypto: Solana Pay Lands on Shopify

We love a good accessibility story.

USDC via Solana Pay has been added to the list of payment options on Shopify, amplifying the voice and use of crypto significantly.

Now, we have some juicy things planned for CryptoLink’s future offerings that I’m already speaking too much about…

But this is a monumental move in the direction of the ethos of our own company.

Huge shout out to Solana for getting the ball rolling on crypto exposure in e-commerce. This move will expose a much larger audience to a use-case of cryptocurrency and subsequently increase the validation for enterprise-level adoption.

Tech Trends

Here, we explore the latest technological advancements and innovations in the blockchain space.

This week we are taking a break on Tech Trends, tune in next week for more good stuff!

Decoded

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

Same scenario as Tech Trends here. Though, I’ll toss you a quick bone.

Final Byte: Wally’s Wisdom

As we wrap up our last day in Spain I’ll leave you with this promise.

This is the absolute best team for the job.

I am surrounded by the sharpest and most dynamic brains that I have ever been met.

Some days are slow, some months are brutally tough, sometimes it feels like we haven’t made progress.

We are always going to be making some sort of progress towards the success of this business. Nothing will be able to take that away from our ethos as a team.

To our advocates, you make our purpose worth it.

You have shown us support and encouragement around every single corner and because of that you are so much more than our community.

You are our friends, our family, our entire project.

Thank you.

I love you all, again I apologize for the short length of this week’s edition. Next week I promise to make it up to you with some good stuff.

Best,

Wally
Marketing & Branding
CryptoLink.Tech

ZEALY CODE: Memento Mori