Bitcoin for Burritos

Good morning. Today we've got coverage on NFT insider trading scandals, a Zcash privacy update, and a longer piece from Arthur Hayes. All that and more, enjoy!

Market Update (as of 9:14am ET):

My asks from you:
- Forward to your friends, family, and anyone that would be interested (check the Top Sharers leaderboard at the bottom of this email to see where you stand!)
- If you're new, hit that pink subscribe button just below this section
- Send any and all feedback to jmaxxyoungii@gmail.com
- Add us to your Contact List so this newsletter doesn't end up in your spam folder

Top 5:

1. Former OpenSea employee charged in first-ever NFT insider trading case. Earlier this week, prosecutors in New York’s Southern District charged and arrested Nathaniel Chastain, a former OpenSea product manager in connection with an NFT insider trading scheme. At OpenSea Chastain had the responsibility of selecting which NFTs were featured on the site's homepage. This information was kept confidential until going live on the site and would generally drive a large jump in prices for the featured NFT as well as for other work by the same artist. From June to September 2021 Chastain would secretly buy NFTs before they were listed on OpenSea's homepage and then resell “at profits of two- to five-times his initial purchase price.”

2. Blockchain toolkit Alchemy launches Solana developer platform. The company currently offers an Ethereum developer toolkit service and styles itself as the Amazon Web Services of web3. Founded in 2020, Alchemy is known for building tools that simplify common Web3 tasks and is now valued at $10.2 billion. The "official partnership" with Solana will help to accelerate building on the blockchain and a Solana toolkit will be available in the coming weeks. Alchemy has also started tailoring its services for other blockchains such as Flow and Polygon.

3. Dework just raised $5 Million. Could it become LinkedIn for DAOs? Dework aims to connect potential DAO contributors to projects that match their skillsets and eliminate the friction of searching out DAOs and attempting to connect with members via Discord. The platform, which launched in December, allows users to choose from a list of DAOs and open bounties and can direct users to recommended DAOs after answering a few questions. Dework also allows users to create a profile, which acts as their resume.

4. Zcash nixes trusted setup, enters new era with major network update. Zcash Network Upgrade 5 (NU5), the first major update to the Zcash privacy coin network since November 2020 was launched this week. NU5 will shift Zcash to the Halo proving system, which facilitates private and trustless digital cash payments on mobile phones. Additionally, NU5 will allow users to route all transactions sent to their address to a shielded pool keeping transactions confidential by default.

5. Shut it Down! from Arthur Hayes. Another longer piece from the former BitMEX CEO and another deep dive into inflation, politics, war, Fed actions, and crypto prices.

Updates and other stories:
- Chipotle will now accept cryptocurrency in US stores...Read More
- Solana halted by bug linked to certain cold storage transactions...Read More
- Bank of England to rescue collapsing stablecoin issuers...Read More

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.