Sam on the brink?

Good morning! Welcome to The Daily Moon. Remember Visionrare? It was an NFT game for “fantasy startup investing” that folded just 24 hours after launch in October 2021. Now the founders behind the company have raised funds for a decentralised job network, Job Protocol. Companies on this web3 network will offer USDC “bounties” of up to $25,000 to anyone who refers candidates. Ambitious.

The markets were startled by Alameda's precarious finances. Bitcoin slipped below $20,000 and Ethereum fell to ~$1,460. Nasdaq rose in early trade. Back home, Sensex and Nifty were shut for Guru Nanak Jayanti.

MATIC’s Magic Touch

One look at the seven-day crypto charts and you’ll know. Bitcoin is down ~4%, Ethereum fell ~7%, and Musk-favourite DOGE crashed ~31%. But Polygon (MATIC) is a clear outlier, up ~26%. The reason? The blockchain is claiming to be the newfound hub for businesses.

Go onStarbucks, JP Morgan, and now Instagram. A bunch of companies have tapped Polygon for their web3 ambitions. Here’s what has happened so far:

1. Starbucks has built its web3 loyalty programme, Starbucks Odyssey, on Polygon. Members can unlock digital merchandise and NFT collectibles on the platform.

2. JP Morgan completed its first DeFi trade on Polygon. This opens up opportunities for cross-border transactions on the blockchain.

3. Instagram users can mint and sell Polygon-powered NFTs on the social media platform. The partnership opens new monetisation routes for creators.

That’s not all. Unique use cases have emerged on Polygon. For instance, web3-based Franklin Payroll has launched crypto plus a cash payroll platform on Polygon. And this fully complies with US laws.

What’s next?Data economy solutions firm deltaDAO has introduced an upgrade on Polygon. Called Web3 Gaia-X Ecosystem, this will be a decentralised data management solution. Close to 350 companies, such as Airbus, Amazon, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Siemens, and Volkswagen, are Gaia-X members.

The blockchain’s daily users and fee collections have spiked almost 200% since August. With MATIC steady above $1, the next rally to $1.5 may be in sight.

What’s Up With Alameda?

Billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) trading firm Alameda is not having the best week. On Tuesday, a decentralised autonomous organisation, BitDAO, asked Alameda some tough questions. Then came a major twist. Binance signed a deal to buy SBF's crypto exchange FTX.

What happened here?Coindesk reported last week that the majority of Alameda’s $14.6 billion assets are in SBF’s FTT coin. Its current FTT assets are more than the current market capitalisation of FTT. This means Alameda cannot sell FTT without a loss.

This made people nervous. Traders are hedging against a potential slide in FTT, which has fallen by over 74%. Solana slid ~20% over rumours of SOLs' selloff by Alameda to raise funds. Bitcoin also fell below $20,000. There is a Coinbase angle to this too.

Now what?BitDAO and Alameda had a deal. Alameda bought 100 million BIT tokens by converting 3.36 million FTTs last year. Alameda was required to hold the BIT tokens for at least three years. BitDAO wanted Alameda to prove it has kept its promise. Amidst the Binance-FTX deal, at least Alameda kept its promise.

ICYMI SBF offered to help Elon Musk buy Twitter, then backed out. Wonder why?

Ripple Under Whale Attack?

Ripple’s under the weather. Whales moved $190 million worth of XRP tokens from wallets to exchanges. The token fell ~6.3% because whales typically shuffle tokens only when they want to sell.

Whales make the moveThis isn’t an isolated incident of whale activity. Last week too, whales moved $428 million worth of XRP. Of this, $230 million was transferred to an escrow wallet, which meant preparation for an XRP selloff. But some call it a “pump” to shake the market.

A ripple effectA Ripple ally LBRY lost a case against the SEC, which seems to be similar to the one XRP is battling. Lawyers believe the SEC will use this judgement against XRP. Ripple investors are spooked.

A Digital Euro Is Coming. For Real

Legislating crypto seems to be on every government’s mind. It has been on the European Union’s agenda since 2020. It will soon present a legislative proposal detailing what the EU wants to do with digital currency.

Tell us moreEuropean Central Bank President Christine Lagarde spoke about the legislation in a speech on Monday at a conference. The decision to launch the currency will only be taken after October 2023, after an investigative study concludes.

Why does it matter?The EU’s study of introducing a mainstream CBDC has made many heads turn. Not in a good way. At the very least, it is not taking a hardline stand, unlike the US. The EU is taking a slow approach, but is probably one of the few global jurisdictions to consider a truly digital currency. Good news. Maybe.

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