Presented by CryptoLink.tech

Volume 1 | Edition 2 | June 29, 2023

Opening Thoughts

The date is June 21, 2022.

- I (Wally) had just recently joined the Printer.financial team in a small capacity.
- Tigger was still around. (iykyk)
- We had just done an AMA with DeLtA FiNaNcE. (lol)
- We were focused on auto-compounders.
- In 2 days, the Harmony Horizon Bridge would be hacked for ~$100m.
- We had no partners.
- We had no ferrets.
- BTC chart looked like this…

Fast-forward to today, June 29, 2022.

- Atlas, Cletus, and Wally are still kicking doors in the name of CryptoLink.
- Druuu and Pista joined the team in full-capacity late-summer of 2022.
- We have partnered with some of the most respectable names in web3.0.
- CryptoLink was birthed out of Printer.financial.
- AnyToAny.io and PaperDEX are coming alive.
- Atlas built the most robust and efficient validator network out there.
- We have ferrets.
- The Delta Finances of the world have started to thin out.
- The largest bridges continue to misstep.
- BTC chart looks like this…

We’ve come a long way, anon. I was trying to decide how to open the newsletter this week and started by looking back. I figured there wasn’t a better way to open than take you through the same journey my brain went on. I’ll let you decide for yourself if this means we are clawing our way back as a space.

Let’s jump into what happened this week, what’s happening, and what is going to happen.

Cryptolink Connect

We have a couple things on the docket this week for CryptoLink! First I want to thank everyone that came out to the Gauss Marketing Monday Twitter Space. Rob works hard to provide great guests and I do what I can to help the space along, but without the listeners the entire thing would be pointless, so thank you!

Here are the CryptoLink announcements for the week :)

Bonus Fireworks on the 4th?

I can’t promise anything, but I heard from a dev that heard from a dev that this 4th of July may be exciting for more people than just Americans.

I guess you’ll just have to stick around to find out!

CryptoLink on the Road: Cletus and Wally Take on NFT Detroit

This weekend Cletus and I will be heading to the ‘D’ to see what these Crypto/NFT events are all about. We're stoked to dive into this immersive NFT experience and explore the innovations in the space. More importantly, we can't wait to connect with fellow enthusiasts, engage in enriching discussions, and bring back a wealth of insights and stories to share with our Chain Reaction family.

But that's not all - we've got a special treat for our readers! Keep your eyes peeled for short-form videos capturing our NFT Detroit adventure. You'll get a behind-the-scenes look at the conference, our interactions, and of course, some fun moments featuring your favorite CryptoLink duo. So stay tuned for a fun-filled, NFT-packed weekend with Wally and Cletus!

Crypto Currents

There were a few events in the greater crypto social media world that I was considering covering in this segment this week. On the other hand, I also know that talking about them just brings more eyes to the platform of those that damage the image of blockchain technology. This is supposed to be a place to talk about innovation and new technology, not play independant journalist stoking the embers of a bunch of wannabe Spy Kids. So I came to a compromise.

Let’s dig into some real news in the web3.0 world, and if you care to hear my thoughts on the parasites plagueing our industry you can catch it in the “Final Byte” segment.

Mythical Games Secures $37M in Funding, Web3.0 Gaming Finds Success

Mythical Games, renowned web3.0 game publisher, has successfully raised $37 million in a Series C1 funding round, preserving its unicorn status with a valuation north of $1 billion. This round was led by Scytale Digital and saw participation from notable names such as ARK Invest, Animoca Brands, MoonPay, and Proof VC, amongst others.

John Linden, the co-founder and CEO of Mythical Games, stated that the newly secured funds will predominantly support the company's objective of reaching profitability by the end of the year.

The game publisher is making waves with its plans to expand in-game marketplaces and other revenue avenues. Furthermore, Mythical has its sights set on raising an additional $20-30 million in the upcoming months as the full funding round reaches its conclusion (Cointelegraph, 2023).

Mythical Games has worked with pretty serious entities in the past on NFT-based games, such as the NFL when making NFL: Rivals.

More on these guys in a little bit!

HSBC Takes a Crypto Leap: Launches Crypto Services in Hong Kong

Guess who's stepping into the crypto ring? That's right - HSBC, one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations, is rolling out its cryptocurrency services in Hong Kong. This move signals HSBC's willingness to adapt to the ever-evolving financial landscape, embracing crypto as a part of its service offerings.

This probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise with the recent news of Hong Kong legalizing crypto trading as HSBC is the largest bank in Hong Kong. HSBC has a shaky history and enough dirt to go around, but at this point what major financial institution doesn’t?

Hong Kong has the 7th largest stock market by market capitalization in the world (Statista, 2022).

Look out for more details as they emerge, and let's see how this traditional financial behemoth makes its mark in the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies! Stay tuned, folks.

Fidelity Joins the Bitcoin ETF Race Amidst Renewed Optimism

Word is Fidelity is set to file an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This move places Fidelity alongside other finance titans like BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco, VanEck, and Bitwise, all of whom recently submitted their applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs.

A spot Bitcoin ETF, a publicly-traded investment vehicle tracking Bitcoin's price directly, has long been anticipated and would potentially usher in a wave of institutional money into crypto. However, the SEC has historically rejected such applications due to manipulation concerns in the market (lol). This tide may be turning, as industry sentiment seems to be growing, partially fueled by BlackRock's recent application for a spot Bitcoin ETF. Experts say BlackRock typically files for ETFs only when it's confident of approval, though I’m not sure it takes an expert to come up with that hot-take.

Interchain Intel

Aright let’s jump into some more chain specific news here, shall we?

Escaping Ethereum's Grip: Mythical Games Seeks Speed in Polkadot Migration

Remember that game studio that raised $37 million recently?

They also just had to migrate their ecosystem from Ethereum to Polkadot, and I think these types of moves have larger implications than we think.

Mythical Games has a new game coming out soon, Nitro National World Tour, as well as over 1m downloads on its current game NFL: Rivals.

So this clearly begs the question - can Ethereum and other major networks even support enterprise-level adoption if it can’t scale with one game?

Good thing we have Gauss, eh?

Bonus: check out this article I found about Bank of America commenting on Ethereum speeds - https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2023/03/23/ethereum-usage-will-drop-if-the-blockchain-doesnt-increase-its-throughput-bank-of-america/

Polygon 2.0: Infinite Scalability?

A few weeks ago PolygonLabs tweeted about their new and shiny Polygon 2.0. They left it vague at the time and promised that they had found the solution to “unlimited scalability” and “unified liquidity”.

They are calling it a network of L2s that are all connected to eachother via the “value layer”, which Polygon says will connect the L2s as seamlessly as the current web interface users interact with daily. The goal is to be able to scale infinitely with many chains rather than bottleneck throughput with one chain.

Now, one would assume that their “interoperability” simply means between the many Polygon chains that the “value chain” will be comprised of.

I guess we will simply have to wait and see as they continue to roll out new information.

Tech Talk

Here, we explore the latest technological advancements and innovations in the blockchain space. This week I’m going to talk about a tool that has been around since before my time in DeFi, yet I find myself introducing it to others frequently.

Unleashing the Llama: Deep Dive into DeFi Llama's Data Tracking Prowess 

If you haven’t heard of or used the DeFi Llama platform, seriously take a look at it.

When I was introduced to the wild world of DeFi there were two platforms I was told were a “must-use”. One was DEX Screener and the other was DeFi Llama.

DeFi Llama offers open and transparent on-chain DeFi statistics and data from a ton of different chains and projects. At CryptoLink we use DeFi Llama regularly to get a guage on the market for bridging and even DEXs. Without such a tool it would be incredibly difficult to compile the data that we need to pitch our business.

For traders and daily DeFi users, the tool offers a sense of navigation in a space overpopulated with scams and nonsense.

From daily volumes to treasury wallet analytics, DeFi Llama has you covered and at no cost.

I don’t get paid to shill a platform like DeFi Llama but I think it’s time to start giving props where props are due. People should know about and use platforms like DeFi Llama to better navigate the space and also inform themselves to become educated users of blockchain technology.

Decoded

In this section, we decode complex blockchain and cryptocurrency concepts into understandable language. This week we are going to keep it close to home!

Bridging the Gap: Decrypting the Mystique of CryptoLink's Bridge Validators

If you have been around the CryptoLink ecosystem for any length of time you have probably heard about “Bridge Miners” or “Bridge Validators”.

The official term these days is Bridge Validator, and it’s not as complicated as it sounds I promise.

If you understand how any Proof of Stake (PoS) network works, you have a leg up on everyone else. If not, no problem.

So, simply put, PoS means people stake their assets to run a validator. Their validator helps the throughput of the network and in-turn they get rewarded in network gas coins.

CryptoLink uses a similar method for our cross-chain network validation with a few tweaks.

Users stake Paper-Native LP to run a validator. For validating transactions and helping decentralize our bridge they are rewarded in the gas coin of the network they are validating on!

Simple enough and a huge win-win! CryptoLink’s bridge becomes decentralized and more secure while the validators get rewarded in tokens that have real value.

Next time someone asks about those “bridge miner things” you know how to answer!

Final Byte: Wally’s Wisdom

The space is getting pretty thin these days, anyone can see that. However it seems to be increasingly more difficult for crypto’s #1 marketing vehicle to talk about the real advancements.

I’m talking about “Crypto Twitter” and the gang of good ole boys that write the majority of the narratives that paint the space with memes and LARP.

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen BitBoy v Ben.Eth and Shillin Villain (Alex) v. Frank DeGods absolutely sweep the rest of CT off the table to make room for their overwhelming amount of BS.

Let’s recap what the previously mentioned personalities have provided to the growth of the space:

- Countless scandals (receipts all over Twitter)
- Tokens that do nothing at all
- NFTs that also do nothing at all
- Bad press at every turn

It’s truly sad to see the entirety of CT plagued with useless verbal spats on spaces and claims of lawsuits that don’t matter. That’s why I didn’t want to spend the time covering these in Crypto Currents. I’m just going to call them all wombats and move on.

(I wouldn’t be mad if some boxing matches happened over this, nothing would make me smile more than watching a bunch of grifters beat the s*** out of eachother)

Thanks again for being a part of the Chain Reaction this week! I can’t tell everyone how much we appreciate the support. Remember to subscribe if you haven’t and stay linked for more updates and newsletters!

Best,

Wally, CMO CryptoLink.Tech