Crypto Super Bowl
Good morning. Super Bowl Sunday is coming and with it a barrage of crypto ads, some of which could even make you some money. In addition to some Super Bowl coverage, we've got our 9th Altcoin Friday, Binance investing in Forbes, and more! Happy Friday!
Bonus Content Coming Soon: I'm close to having my notes out from Messari's Crypto Theses for 2022. I'll include a link to my notes in this newsletter, however, the full report is definitely worth a read. The report is now in podcast form and can be found here.
Market Update (as of 6:41am ET):
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Top 5:
1. Welcome to the crypto Super Bowl. A Super Bowl ad can cost up to $7 million or about 162 bitcoin. Even with that astronomical price, you're likely going to see multiple advertisements from crypto exchanges. Crypto.com, famous for ads starring Matt Damon, will have a spot, but they have not confirmed if Damon will be featured. Additionally, FTX, will be giving away bitcoin based on the time their ad airs during the game. The Super Bowl provides an opportunity to reach pretty much every demographic in America and will serve as somewhat of crypto coming out party. It's exciting to see crypto on the main stage, but some are comparing the ads to Super Bowl XXXIV which saw spots from companies like Pets.com who didn't even survive through that year. 30-27, Rams.
We're giving some #bitcoin away!
— FTX - Built By Traders, For Traders (@FTX_Official) February 7, 2022
How much? $1 million worth?! $1.5 million worth?!!?! We don't actually know yet.
The later our Big Game ad airs, the more #bitcoin you can win. See you Sunday! #FTXcontest
No purchase necessary. Subject to T&C: https://t.co/L7o8Jz25TT pic.twitter.com/mfA0q2FIFG
SSS (sat-sized summary): Crypto ads are taking over the Super Bowl. It's a massive opportunity to reach a wide range of American (and global) consumers, but some are questioning if we are seeing a rerun of the dot-com bubble.
2. NFT owners are taking out loans backed by Bored Apes, CryptoPunks. Step aside van Gogh, the crypto elite are using their NFTs as collateral for loans and one startup, Arcade, is making that their business. The platform specializes in matching NFT owners with lenders and has more than $20 million of NFTs currently in escrow. Just this week, one borrower put up two Zombie CryptoPunks as collateral for a $3 million loan. A typical Arcade loan lasts 3 months with 20% annual interest. It's a niche, high-end market, with clients typically leveraging their NFTs to invest borrowed funds in other ventures. All loans are peer-to-peer and occur on the blockchain.
SSS: I love this concept and the possibilities that come from peer-to-peer NFT lending/borrowing. We've talked about it before, but when NFTs have utility as part of the package (e.g., access to events, gaming functionality, etc.) they can more easily become income-generating assets rather than just an asset that can be pledged as collateral.
3. Altcoin Friday #9 - XRP, from Ripple Labs ($XRP)
Overview:
- Current price (as of this writing) of $0.8193
- Market capitalization of $32.2 billion (6th overall)
- XRP is a digital asset built for rapid payments between financial institutions. It runs on the XRP Ledger, a blockchain that can settle transactions in 3-5 seconds
- XRP is used as a bridge currency by financial institutions when exchanging between multiple fiat currencies
- Financial institutions currently using XRP include: Bank of America, American Express, Santander, and hundreds of others across more than 50 countries
SEC Lawsuit:
- The SEC is currently suing Ripple Labs for fundraising through an "unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering" (the sale of XRP tokens) which began in 2013
- Ripple argues that the SEC has no real rules to govern initial coin offerings (ICOs) and that there are many other examples of fundraising in crypto where the SEC has taken no action
- The court case is ongoing and Ripple was recently ordered by the judge to unseal documents containing legal advice from their lawyers from to the token sale
Value Prop:
- XRP is specifically designed for payments between financial institutions and payment speed is the #1 feature, with most transactions occurring in 3-5 seconds
- Low cost transactions ($0.0002 / per transaction)
- Scalability - up to 1500 transactions a second can be processed currently and the network has the ability to scale for more
- On-demand liquidity - eliminates the need to pre-fund accounts when conducting cross-border transactions
- Line-of-credit services provided by Ripple to facilitate transactions using XRP
Note: Additional research from Messari can be found here, while the XRP docs can be found here
4. Binance is taking a $200 million stake in Forbes. The funds from Binance will replace half of the $400 million originally pledged by institutional investors in August and will assist the publisher in its move to go public via a SPAC. The move makes Binance the second largest Forbes shareholder and puts a crypto company at the heart of a hundred year old publishing company. It's a big bet from Binance that crypto content will be a growth area moving forward. If anyone from Binance is looking for other content investment opportunities, please see the email address at the beginning of this newsletter.
SSS: Binance makes a $200 million investment in the business magazine and content company, Forbes. The move is an indication that Binance believes future content creation will play a major role in the web3 ecosystem.
Does the U.S. give the 94,000 BTC back to Bitfinex who is:
— Dylan LeClair 🟠 (@DylanLeClair_) February 8, 2022
1) The parent company of Tether, a $77B offshore dollar stablecoin
2) Working directly with El Salvador to supersede the USD and the incumbent monetary order with BTC & alternative financing via volcano bonds
Updates and other stories:
- Bill in Tennessee would allow the state to invest in crypto and NFTs...Read More
- Documents detail concerns that Bitfinex hack suspects would flee...Read More
- 'Future-Proof': Why FarmVille Creator Zynga Is Making NFT Games...Read More
Weekend Read:
The Digital Freedom Alliance - Ryan Selkis' strategy to take a more offensive approach to crypto policy
Top Sharers of the Crypto Top 5:
1. Donna Y. - Nashville, TN
2. Jake Y. - Greenville, SC
3. Forrest H. - Evansville, IN
External Resources:
1. Cryptopedia from Gemini - if you see a word, acronym, or phrase in this newsletter that you don't understand, there's a good chance you can find an explanation here
2. Crypto Explainer+ - intro level courses on Bitcoin, Ethereum, decentralized finance, NFTs, and more
3. Crypto Jobs! - looking for a new job? Check out this page from Anthony Pompliano with hundreds, if not thousands of listings
Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter shall not be understood or construed as financial advice. I am not an attorney, accountant or financial advisor, nor am I holding myself out to be, and the information provided is not a substitute for financial advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation.