Georgia on My Mining

Good morning. Today we've got a new web3 social media platform, tokenized real-estate, a crypto coalition, and more!

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 8:08am ET):

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Top 5:

1. Texas gets the headlines, but is Georgia the real home of crypto? The Peach State currently accounts for more than 34% of computing power in the world's largest mining pool, Foundry USA. While Foundry's mining pool is not representative of the full set of US miners, Georgia's growth as a crypto mining center is a testament to the state's recruitment efforts which include:

- Low power prices
- Green energy options including solar and nuclear, allowing miners to brand themselves as "emission-free"
- Renewable energy credits to offset any emissions
- Access to day-ahead power prices so miners can slow down operations in anticipation of rate spikes

SSS (sat-sized summary): Georgia is making a compelling case to recruit crypto miners to the state. Their offer includes cheap energy, access to renewables, and day-ahead power price access.

2. Home in Florida for sale with deed being minted as an NFT. The four-bedroom home is priced at $650,000 and is being sold at auction by blockchain startup Propy. After the auction, the deed will be minted as an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain which cuts down closing times and confirms the buyers ownership. Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, and adviser to Propy says, "the traditional real estate sale process is arduous and broken … It’s an opaque, dated, and unnecessarily lengthy process, full of risks such as wire fraud." The upside for real estate NFTs is huge, but Propy still faces some major hurdles. First, the existing US regulatory environment around crypto and NFTs is unclear. Second, in order to make a purchase the home buyer must have enough ether to finalize the transaction. There's not much Propy can do about the former, but as for the latter, the company is exploring options to provide buyers with crypto loans when purchasing real-estate backed NFTs.

SSS: Tokenization of real-estate addresses major issues in the closing process like wire fraud risk and the length of closing time. Propy, a blockchain startup, is looking to use NFTs to tackle these issues and capitalize on a new generation of tech-friendly home buyers. It's a major opportunity, but the company faces regulatory uncertainty and challenges with buyers having enough crypto to complete the sale.

3. Aave launching new web3 social media platform. Aave, a DeFi lending protocol, on Monday announced a new social media platform called Lens. In the announcement, Aave founder Stani Kulechov described Lens as an "open, composable [Web 3] social media protocol to allow anyone to create a non-custodial social media profile and build new social media applications." The announcement comes at a time when the debate over de-platforming, censorship, and free speech is reaching a fever pitch. The time may be ripe for a new player in social media, but past experiences (e.g., Parler) have shown that it is hard to move users from platforms with extremely strong network effects.

SSS: A new decentralized social media platform is launching called, Lens. The company is backed by Aave, a DeFi lending protocol, and plans to offer users a "non-custodial social media profile," and the opportunity to "build new social media applications."

4. The Crypto Market Integrity Coalition has assembled. And while that name sounds like an SEC enforcement division, it's actually a newly formed industry organization created by several big players to "crack down on crypto market manipulation." The coalition, which includes Circle, Anchorage Digital, and Huobi, is asking other crypto companies to sign a pledge of market integrity in the face of increased regulatory scrutiny around the world. In the US, regulators have dragged their feet thus far and no clear regulatory policy has emerged...yet. But it's clear that regulation is coming and the formation of this group seems like a tacit agreement that some regulation would actually be good for industry in the long run.

SSS: Goodbye rug pulls? The Crypto Market Integrity Coalition has formed to "crack down on crypto market manipulation." The crypto industry has largely operated without broad regulatory requirements, but those days are coming to an end and this group is trying to get the industry in line ahead of time so that policymakers don't have the ammo to impose overly-strict regulations.

5. Sequoia Capital leads $450 million investment in Polygon. The layer 2 solution is built on top of the Ethereum blockchain and offers faster and cheaper transactions than users would experience interacting directly with the Ethereum network. Polygon may be familiar to readers that have either purchased or launched an NFT on OpenSea, where the protocol is widely used to avoid high Ethereum "gas fees" (basically transaction fees). The funding round led by Sequoia Capital's India office also included SoftBank, Galaxy Digital, and Tiger Global. Polygon plans to allocate $100 million into funding new projects on the network with the remainder of the funds serving as "buffer money" for the team to continue expanding and improving the platform.

SSS: Polygon, a layer 2 protocol on the Ethereum network, raised $450 million  to fund new projects on the network and further expand on the platform's capabilities. Polygon's main value prop is fast transactions with low fees, and the network has been extremely successful supporting over a billion transactions since its inception.

Updates and other stories:
- FTX to Give Away Bitcoin as Part of Super Bowl Ad Campaign...Read More
- Maple Finance Issues...Read More
- New York Fed Blog Casts Doubt on Stablecoins' Use as Payments...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.