Bitcoin Price: US$ 20,627.48 (-0.88%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 1,590.44 (-1.80%)
A Primer for Web3 Distribution
- In 2020, 91% of the $175B gaming industry revenues came from digital sales. Things are only expected to go up from here, with the market for digital games estimated to reach $560B by 2028.
- Before diving into the current digital distribution landscape of games and the future of Web3 distribution, it is important to first understand how far we have come. In the early 1980s, companies like GameLine and Intellivision allowed console owners (Atari 2600/PlayCable) to buy specialized cartridges, dial-up, and rent games or play directly via a cable TV connection. In 1987, Nintendo released its disk writer kiosks. This Japan-only release allowed players to visit these kiosks and copy any available games to a floppy disk that could then be kept forever and played on their Famicom console (known in western markets as the NES).
- From 2004 to today, multiple companies have adopted the digital distribution service model, including Steam, Good Old Games (GOG.com), EA’s Origin, and the Epic Games Store (EGS). Post-2010, the adoption of mobile gaming resulted in the meteoric rise of Apple’s App Store (for iOS devices) and Google’s Play Store (for Android devices). By 2020, 91% of the total $175B game industry revenue came from digital sales.
- Continue on Delphi…
- Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin weighed in Sunday on the regulatory debate surrounding crypto, providing his thoughts on what industry rules should—and should not—include.
- Regulation could make crypto more palatable to mainstream financial institutions and legitimize cryptocurrencies as an asset class. But new rules and policies could also alter the industry’s DNA, particularly as it relates to principles like censorship resistance and decentralization.
- Buterin said he believes preserving the latter should be the priority.
- “I don’t think we should be enthusiastically pursuing large institutional capital at full speed,” he said. “Regulation that leaves the crypto space free to act internally but makes it harder for crypto projects to reach the mainstream is much less bad than regulation that intrudes on how crypto works internally.”
Surging Popularity of Ethereum Staking Keeps Lid on Yields
- Ethereum staking appears to be the new favorite way for crypto traders to capture yield – so popular, in fact, that it’s driving the yields lower.
- That’s a consequence of the formula used to calculate the yields under the Ethereum blockchain’s month-old “proof-of-stake” model: The staking yields are awarded in ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain. And the total amount of ether available for staking yields is divided between all the accounts that are staking. So the more ether that’s sent to the blockchain for staking, the lower the percentage that’s available for each staker.
- According to Coinbase Institutional, the staking yield post-Merge looks to be about 4%- 5%, well below the 9%-12% that the analysts initially forecast.
BNY Mellon, Nasdaq Say Institutions Want TradFi To Handle Their Crypto
- Institutional investors are looking for familiar names to provide their crypto services, and Wall Street is delivering.
- BNY Mellon, America’s oldest bank and one of the more crypto-friendly institutions, said earlier this month that select institutional clients will be able to hold and transfer bitcoin and ether through its new crypto custody offering. Nasdaq said in September it would be looking into offering similar services. Boston-based State Street has been plotting its crypto custody plans since March 2022 when it revealed its partnership with crypto-native Copper.
- The trend is not surprising, Talia Klein, BNY Mellon’s head of digital asset custody commercial product, said during a Blockworks webinar this week.
- “We’re seeing a lot of institutional interest [in crypto,]” Klein said. “As you think about what is prohibiting others from getting into the space, what we’ve seen is that people require an institutional grade provider.”
- In a research report published alongside its custody announcement, BNY Mellon reported 70% of institutional investors surveyed would “increase their digital asset activity if services like custody and execution are available from recognized, trusted institutions.”
FTX’s Bankman-Fried to let ‘Crypto Twitter take the wheel’ on digital asset policy
- FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried could back off lobbying for crypto legislation, the exchange boss hinted days after igniting a contentious policy debate.
- “Crypto Twitter, take the wheel,” Bankman-Fried said in a Twitter thread.
- For days, Bankman-Fried has been embroiled in a dispute over crypto policy regulation. He published a lengthy crypto policy blog last week that was met with scorn by some industry insiders. Critics were particularly frustrated by Bankman-Fried’s views on how to regulate decentralized finance projects.
- Bankman-Fried went as far as to debate ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees for two hours on Friday. The live-streamed program was hosted by the crypto podcast Bankless. A day later, Bankman-Fried said he’d leave the future of the crypto policy debate to others online — even if he disagrees with their views.
- “I won’t push against the community’s strategy,” Bankman-Fried said. “Even where I think it might not be the most effective way to accomplish the goal.” A spokesperson did not immediately comment on Saturday.
- Behind the scenes, Bankman-Fried has pressed lawmakers to pass a market regulation bill filed by Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and John Boozman, R-Ark. The Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more regulatory power over crypto exchanges. A recent draft of the bill would also allow for a decentralized finance study that would influence future policymaking.
Bank of America seeks crypto public policy expert to draft bills, spot ‘key risks’ to business
- Bank of America is seeking a crypto policy expert to keep tabs on digital asset regulation and identify “key risks” fintech could pose to its business.
- The posting of the job ad for a public policy analysis and insights manager for crypto comes as large institutions and lawmakers take a more serious look at digital assets.
- “We seek a policy analysis and insights manager who will identify emerging issues and evaluate the potential impact to the enterprise, with a primary focus on fintech/cyber/AI/crypto/stablecoins/blockchain,” Bank of America wrote in the job posting.
- The candidate for Bank of America’s crypto job would be responsible for analyzing policy proposals, drafting legislation, developing advocacy strategies and building coalitions within the industry. The role would also entail writing bill amendments and comments to regulators, along with drafting testimony to present to lawmakers and regulators, among other tasks.
- The role would also involve identifying “key risks that emerging financial technologies and fintech business models may pose,” according to the job posting.
Elon Musk could bring more crypto into Twitter: Bloomberg
- Billionaire Elon Musk entered Twitter headquarters carrying what appeared to be a bathroom sink, then the Tesla and SpaceX CEO left with the keys and $44 billion less in his wallet as he completed his takeover of the company and ended a months-long saga on Friday, according to multiple reports.
- Bloomberg today suggested several ways that Musk, who has had a complicated relationship with cryptocurrencies, might bring more crypto into Twitter, including using blockchain to reduce the presence of bots, a subject that had ignited a legal battle between Musk and the company that threatened the acquisition.
- Musk, Bloomberg pointed out, is a freedom of speech champion of sorts who may lift Twitter’s bans against some users. This position might align him with many crypto believers in the decentralization of blockchains, which Musk has at times discussed using to reduce spam and promote free speech, though he has also declared that “blockchain Twitter isn’t possible.”
- A Musk “super app” expanding Twitter into messaging, games, payments and more may be in the cards, Bloomberg said, and digital assets may play a part in that. NFTs may also enter the picture, though Musk has shunned them in the past.
WisdomTree Triples Down on Future Blockchain Focus
- WisdomTree executives went as far as to say blockchain-enabled digital wrappers are the future of asset management — while the ETF-focused fund group gets set to roll out its digital assets consumer app in the first quarter of 2023.
- The company’s leaders on Friday doubled down on its shift to a focus on digital assets during WisdomTree’s earnings call, reiterating its goal to bring fixed income, equities and commodities into the digital world through blockchain-enabled funds and tokenized exposures.
- “Crypto’s interesting, but the real opportunity is blockchain-enabled finance,” Chief Operating Officer Jarrett Lilien said during the call. “It’s a mistake to confuse crypto, which is a use case for the blockchain…with the broader opportunity we’re pursuing.”
