The main topic is the launch of Coinbase's layer-2 blockchain Base's mainnet to the public on August 9. Key points include:
- Base has been operating on the testnet since late February and launched its "builder only phase" in mid-July.
- Users can start bridging their funds onchain to mint NFTs and experience Base.
- Base will kick off its Onchain Summer initiative, partnering with consumer brands like Coca-Cola and Atari.
- Base has seen over $68 million worth of ether bridged to the network and over $200 million in trading volume and transactions.
- The blockchain is partnering with Prop House to offer grants to builders building on Base.
- Onchain activity is growing quickly.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is acquiring a minority stake in Circle Internet Financial, dissolving their partnership and bringing the stablecoin USD Coin fully in-house, while also adding native support for USDC on six additional blockchains, bringing the total to 15.
Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin sends $1 million worth of Ether to Coinbase, sparking speculation about his intentions and potential impact on the cryptocurrency's value.
Coinbase's new Base blockchain, which operates as a layer-2 network atop Ethereum, has gained significant traction with its application Friend.tech attracting over 100,000 users and generating $25 million in fees, pushing its total value locked past $200 million and its transactions per second above Ethereum and rival layer-2 projects Arbitrum and Optimism.
Coinbase has released a plan called the "Base Neutrality Principles" to ensure decentralization and neutrality for its new blockchain, Base, without exerting control over it, in accordance with Optimism's vision for a "Superchain."
Coinbase is in talks with major Canadian banks to gain support for the crypto industry in Canada as it faces regulatory uncertainty in its home country, aiming to have the banks participate in the crypto economy in the near future.
Coinbase plans to list PayPal's stablecoin, PYUSD, signaling the convergence of traditional finance and the crypto economy and potentially challenging Tether's dominance in the stablecoin market.
The Tokenized Asset Coalition, consisting of industry leaders such as Coinbase and Circle, aims to promote the tokenization of traditional financial assets on a blockchain to bring the "next trillion dollars of assets" on-chain through education, advocacy, and fostering adoption of public blockchains and decentralized finance.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong discusses the company's base layer 2 blockchain network, interest in flatcoin, and the need for regulatory clarity in the crypto industry, suggesting that the courts, congress, and the CFTC could provide clarity and that there could be a new SEC chair in 2024.
The lack of clear crypto regulations in the US has caused significant issues for the industry, leading to collapses and a weakening of America's position as a financial hub, according to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. He emphasizes the need for clear rules that recognize the innovation potential of the technology while protecting consumers. Armstrong also highlights the potential benefits of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and Coinbase's role as custodian in many ETF applications.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong predicts that cryptocurrencies will be a prominent topic in the 2024 US elections as the gap between current crypto policies and the needs of Americans becomes more apparent.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed in an interview that the exchange is interested in developing the next generation of stablecoins, including the concept of flatcoin, which would be backed by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or purchasing power rather than a fiat currency.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong confirms that the crypto exchange will integrate the Lightning Network, a move that will significantly speed up bitcoin transactions and make it a more viable payment option.
Teams in Asia are increasingly playing a significant role in the development and research of cryptocurrency technology, particularly in the areas of exchanges, mining, and innovation in smart account crypto wallets, according to Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum.
Coinbase's layer 2 blockchain, Base, has experienced a surge in daily transactions, reaching an all-time high, with the increase mainly driven by a decentralized social network platform called Friend.tech.
PayPal expands its crypto services with new on-ramps and off-ramps for cryptocurrencies in the United States, Franklin Templeton files for a spot Bitcoin ETF, Coinbase integrates the Bitcoin Lightning Network, and Meta is developing a new AI model to rival OpenAI's system.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong advocates for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and suggests legal action to establish a legal precedent, while MakerDAO's founder believes decentralized stablecoins could dominate the crypto market, and Polygon CEO acknowledges the success of their $1 billion investment in zero-knowledge proof rollups. Additionally, market surveillance firm Solidus Labs reveals that decentralized exchanges have become a hotspot for wash trading, and a DeFi advocacy group petitions to stop a patent troll from targeting DeFi protocols. Despite a mixed week for the top 100 DeFi tokens, the total value locked into DeFi protocols remains above $49 billion.
Petra, a crypto wallet developed by Aptos Labs, is integrating Coinbase Pay into its applications to address the challenges faced by web3 users, aiming to streamline onboarding and offboarding processes and improve user experience and accessibility in the crypto space.
Crypto is poised to create a new investable asset class globally and will revolutionize the internet, requiring new business models, metrics, and research structures, as well as a framework to analyze value flows within the tech stack, particularly in relation to Ethereum's layer 2 solutions.
