Today in America

FTX is reportedly close to finalizing a term sheet to buy BlockFi for $25 million, OpenSea suffers an email data leak, Arbitrum pauses its Odyssey campaign, and Ankr suffers a DNS hijack. Read more: https://ether.fm/303

Optimism teases a potential governance launch, the Ethereum Foundation publishes a financial report, Truffle releases an extension for VS Code, and The Sandbox is looking to raise a $400 million funding round Read more: https://ether.fm/231

Huntingdon Valley Bank submits a MakerDAO Collateral Onboarding Application, Reddit seeks engineers for a new NFT platform, ImmutableX partners with Venly, and BlockVision adds support for NFT APIs on Arbitrum. Read more: https://ether.fm/207

Ethereum developers successfully shadow-fork the Goerli testnet, Orbiter Finance adds support for ImmutableX to its bridge, Gnosis Safe releases a transaction builder, and Element Finance announces a new NFT PFP collection. Read more: https://ether.fm/206

Australian Bank ANZ launches an AUD pegged stablecoin, Yield Protocol adds support for fixed rate ETH lending, XCOPY raises over $20 million from an open edition NFT, and Ramp Network supports purchases for ETH on Arbitrum. Read more: https://ether.fm/205

Figure reveals plans for crypto backed mortgages, GameStop releases a beta version of its NFT marketplace, Element Finance opens applications for delegates to its DAO, and Rocket Pool changes node operator commissions to a fixed fee. Read more: https://ether.fm/204

More than 12k validators are pending activation for staking, Optimism will be rolling out calldata compression this week, ethereum netflows on exchanges decrease as the merge approaches, and GitPOAP, poaps for software contributions, is set to launch on April 7th. Read more: https://ether.fm/203

The Kiln Ethereum merge testnet is now live, NFT marketplace Quixotic rolls out rarity rankings, MetaMask surpasses 30 million MAUs, and ConsenSys raises a $450 million Series D. Read more: https://ether.fm/196

The EU rejects a proposal to limit the use of PoW mining, Ethereum's Merge is predicted to go live sometime in June 2022, Yuga Labs acquires the CryptoPunks and Meetbits NFT collections, and more than 10 Million ETH are now staked on the Beacon Chain. Read more: https://ether.fm/195

Quick Take Crypto.com suffers a $34 million hack due to an exploit related to 2FA. Multichain urges users to revoke token approvals amid smart contract vulnerability. The Gas Station Network adds support for meta transactions on Optimism. Drips Network launches its protocol for streaming payments and NFT memberships.   Read more: https://ether.fm/144

Quick Take Ethereum's price falls by 15% amid a sell-off in tech stocks affecting global markets. Meta, Facebook's parent company, is reportedly working on its own NFT marketplace. Adidas Originals releases a new NFT collection in collaboration with Italian-luxury brand Prada. NFT lending protocol Themis has launched on mainnet   Read more: https://ether.fm/143

Quick Take Twitter rolls out verified NFT profile pictures for Twitter Blue subscribers. ENS releases a first version toolkit for offchain resolution of domain names. BitDAO opens a proposal for a $200 million zkSync development fund. NounsDAO gives Bud Light a beer-themed Noun in exchange for a Super Bowl commercial feature. Read more: https://ether.fm/142

Quick Take OpenSea acquires crypto wallet Dharma Labs for an estimated $110 million. Coinbase NFT announces a partnership with Mastercard to support credit card purchases. Aave governance votes to deploy V3 on Arbitrum and Optimistic Ethereum. Optimism announces they are working on an additional 30% reduction on transaction fees.   Read more: https://ether.fm/141

Quick Take OpenSea releases a list of 20 initial members for its NFT Security Group. Optimism-based dex ZipSwap raises 1100Ξ through an Initial Liquidity Offering (ILO). Snapshot announces release of Snapshot X, a voting framework built on StarkNet. Argent adds support for Aave to its zkSync wallet.   Read more: https://ether.fm/145

Quick Take Adidas enters into web3 with a teased partnership with BAYC, PUNKS Comic, and Gmoney. ConstitutionDAO's $PEOPLE token surges to a new ATH of $0.169 despite the DAO's closure. Universe.xyz marks the first NFT marketplace to launch on Optimism. Zapper Finance surpasses 1 million MAUs and $10 billion in total transaction volume.   Read more: https://ether.fm/089

Quick Take Crypto Twitter debates over leading L1 solutions amid rising transaction fees. DeFrag launches a lending protocol for NFT loans backed by put options. Polygon submits a proposal to deploy Uniswap on the Polygon PoS network. Rarible launches a messaging feature that lets users communicate directly on the marketplace.   Read more: https://ether.fm/083

Quick Take ConstitutionDAO loses the auctioned U.S. Constitution to Citadel CEO Ken Griffin. TIME Magazine adds ETH to its balance sheets from a partnered deal with Galaxy Digital. Aave launches its institutional arm Aave Arc to provide a regulated sandbox for DeFi. Connext Network adds support for bridging to Optimism directly from other sidechains and L2s   Read more: https://ether.fm/079

Quick Take ConstitutionDAO raises over $40 million. StarkWare releases StarkNet Alpha 4 on the Gorli testnet. ConsenSys raises $200 million at $3.2 billion valuation. Polygon commits $1 million to Gitcoin grants.   Read more: https://ether.fm/078

Quick Take NFT aggregator Genie.xyz is now live for all users. Saddle Finance reveals the launch of its $SDL governance token and airdrop. OKEx, Houbi Global, and Blockchain.com will add support for direct fiat off and onramps to zkSync. Polygon reveals plans for Polygon Miden, a STARK-based EVM-compatible Rollup.   Read more: https://ether.fm/077

Quick Take Paraswap launches $PSP token airdrop, but less than 2% of wallets on the exchange are eligible. MetaMask works with Ledger and releases fix for Chromium connectivity issues. Uniswap adds support for single basis point liquidity pools to help reduce slippage on stablecoins. Argent releases Argent X, its first StarkNet browser wallet.   Read more: https://ether.fm/076

Quick Take Ethereum Name Service (ENS) launches its public token airdrop to more than 137k wallets. Matter Labs raises $50 million in Series B funding for its zK-Sync scaling solution. Coinbase releases a fully standalone Coinbase Wallet browser extension. Across Protocol launches an Arbitrum to L1 Ethereum fast bridge. Apple CEO Tim Cook admits he owns Bitcoin and Ethereum.   Read more: https://ether.fm/070

Quick Take Axie Infinity launches “Katana” DEX built on the Ronin side chain. Loopring surges amid speculation of GameStop NFT marketplace partnership. Nethermind adds composability support to its Warp EVM to Cairo transpiler. Immutable partners with instant gaming company Playco to support NFTs across mobile games.   Read more: https://ether.fm/065

Quick Take Ethereum Name Service (ENS) launches a DAO and governance token airdrop to .ETH domain holders. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will offer Ethereum micro futures starting December 6th. MakerDAO releases the Dai Direct Deposit Module (D3M) on Aave. Coinbase has launched Bitcoin-backed loans of up to $1 million without a credit check.   Read more: https://ether.fm/062

Quick Take Investors of dog-themed project AnubisDAO were rugged out of $60 million. Cream Finance was hacked for $130 million, marking the protocol's third hack this year. Uniswap surpasses $500 billion in total trading volume. DevconVI is planned for Fall 2022 in Bogota, Colombia.   Read more: https://ether.fm/060

Quick Take CryptoPunk #9998 has sold for 124k ETH via a flash loan purchase. Joe Biden's $1.85 trillion spending package extends the constructive sale rule to cryptocurrency. Ethereum's Altair upgrade deployed smoothly with over 95% validator participation. ImmutableX partners with ESL Gaming to launch CS:GO NFTs on Ethereum.   Read more: https://ether.fm/059

Quick Take Mark Zuckerberg announces Facebook will now be called Meta. Coinbase becomes #1 most popular application in the U.S. App Store amid SHIBA rally. Nifty Gateway launches an NFT aggregator to cross-list NFTs from other marketplaces. ETH stakers will be entitled to block rewards, tips, and Miner Extractable Value (MEV) after the merge.   Read more: https://ether.fm/058

Quick Take SuperRare hits $34 million in monthly trading volume. SuperFarm launches NFT marketplace built on layer2 platform ImmutableX. 600k ETH has been burned since the implementation of EIP-1559. Arbitrum opens permissionless token bridging for all ethereum assets.   Read more: https://ether.fm/055

Quick Take Reddit is looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to build its new NFT Platform. Mojito, the NFT commerce suite behind Sotheby's Metaverse, raised $20 million in funding. Ethereum Altair's upgrade is scheduled for October 27th. More than 50% of stakers have upgraded. The Weekend joins the board of directors for Tom Brady's Autograph NFT platform.   Read more: https://ether.fm/051

Quick Take Hacker steals 88 ETH in a mint scam targeting members of the CreatureToadz NFT Discord channel. Andrew Yang reveals a 1-of-1 NFT drop for his Forward Party campaign. Animoca Brands raises $65 million in new funding at a $2.2 billion valuation. WalletConnect releases WalletConnect Cloud, a new portal for developers to register APIs.   Read more: https://ether.fm/050

Quick Take Facebook uses Coinbase Custody for its new Novi digital wallet. Coinbase announces a multi-year partnership with the NBA and WNBA. Martha Stewart cashes in with the launch of her own NFT collection. NY's Attorney General orders Nexo and Celsius to cease operations amid securities claims.   Read more: https://ether.fm/049

Quick Take Sotheby's launches its own Ethereum-based NFT marketplace called Sotheby's Metaverse. Intel will not lock out miners amid release of its new graphics cards. Ethereum Name Service metadata update includes refreshed NFT images. Hop Protocol bridge now supports ETH between layer2 networks. Read more: https://ether.fm/044

Quick Take Coinbase revealed it will launch a Coinbase NFT marketplace in late 2021. Arbitrum will upgrade its network to Arbitrum Nitro, promising cheaper and faster transactions. StarkWare has partnered with Nethermind to build infrastructure elements for StarkNet. Yuga Labs, the artist behind BAYC, has signed a deal with music manager Guy Oseary.   Read more: https://ether.fm/042

Quick Take Compound Finance has an estimated $150 million worth of COMP at risk of being exploited. Infinity, a decentralized NFT marketplace, launched offering an airdrop to OpenSea users. Coinbase has implemented EIP-1559 for 95% of its Ethereum transactions. Ethereum Name Service has added NFT support for ENS profiles.   Read more: https://ether.fm/040

Quick Take MekaVerse marks the most anticipated NFT drop with over 172k registered wallets. Altair Beacon Chain upgrade is scheduled for late October. Validators are required to update client software. Cool Cats and CrypToadz NFTs reach their first million dollar sale. Ethereum-based blogging platform Mirror.xyz has opened up for all users.   Read more: https://ether.fm/037

Quick Take StarkWare will launch StarkNet Alpha in November Axie Infinity raised $152 million in Series B funding TikTok will release a series of NFTs on Immutable X U.S. Bank offers Bitcoin custody, Ethereum to come.   Read more: https://ether.fm/035

Quick Take CrypToadz by GREMPLIN reaches 13Ξ and more than $88 million in total trading volume. Utopia Labs exits stealth mode to build infrastructure tooling for DAO payments and accounting. Bank of America makes remarks on DeFi and NFTs in it's latest Digital Asset Primer. Context releases beta version of Web 3.0 app for following crypto wallets.   Read more: https://ether.fm/034

Quick Take Synapse Protocol releases fast bridging support for Arbitrum. NBA player John Wall is criticized for the launch of his copy-paste “Baby Ballers” NFTs. Golem releases “Thorg” Ethereum mining desktop application for PC. TIME Magazine releases TIMEPieces NFTs.   Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take Snoop Dogg reveals himself as pseudonymous crypto Twitter personality Cozomo de' Medici. MakerDAO launches the official DAI Token Bridge for Arbitrum. DEX aggregator 1inch adds support for Arbitrum. Digital contract platform OpenLaw rebrands as Tribute Labs, focusing on legal DAOs. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take Ethereum-based fantasy soccer game NFT trading cards platform Sorare raised $680 million. SEC Chair Gary Gensler criticizes crypto, referring to stable coins as “poker chips.” QAnon leader sells NFTs to fund a private project. NFT artist pplpleasr and publication Fortune donated over 200 ETH to free press organizations. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take Uniswap releases Auto Router - advanced smart order routing algorithm for better priced trades. Binance abandons “decentralized headquarters” business model amid global regulatory scrutiny. The U.S. Treasury is reportedly working on a highly anticipated report on stablecoins. OpenSea's Head of Product resigns after accusations of flipping NFTs on insider knowledge. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take AMC's CEO announces the chain will accept Bitcoin and Ethereum for online sales by the end 2021. Nate Chastain, Head of Product at OpenSea profited on flipping NFTs based on insider knowledge. Infura releases the public beta of Infura Transactions, a relayer service solution. More than 300k ETH has been burned since the London fork on Ethereum. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com Gitcoin: https://gitcoin.co/grants/3502/today-in-ethereum-flash-briefing-podcast

Quick Take Apple denied Gnosis from listing its Ethereum wallet because it supports the storage of NFTs. Arbitrum was offline for 45-minutes due to a bug causing its sequencer to get stuck. An attacker attempted a 550 block reorg attack with false PoW on Ethereum. Zapper Quests Season 2 begins next week, with new NFTs and rarity levels. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take More than $1.6 billion is staked on layer2 yield farming meme project ArbiNYAN. Lobby Lobsters NFTs voted to donate 1,000 ETH to crypto lobbying group Coin Center. Options protocol Lyra announced the launch of its 750,000 $LYRA liquidity mining program. Immutable, the startup building L2 protocol Immutable X, raised $60 million in a Series B funding round. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take Sotheby's auctions off 101 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs for $24 million. A bug on OpenSea has resulted in 42 NFTs being accidentally burned. Aave founder Stani Kulechov sells an NFT for 350 ETH. NFT platform “SZNS” raised $4 million. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take Christie's will conduct Art Blocks NFT bidding in ETH. Arbitrum will open token bridging for all tokens on October 22nd. Ethereum gas fees fall as the NFT boom settles down. DAOMaker suffers a $4 million hack amid questionable practices. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take Ethereum reaches its first negative issuance day due more ETH being burned than minted. The SEC investigates Uniswap Labs, seeking information about how investors use Uniswap. Loot NFTs hit the 20 ETH price floor AGLD tokens surpassing $7. Sushiswap unveils Shoyu NFT platform with v1 launch set for November. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take Loot NFT creator Dom Hofmann announced the creation of 1.3 million more Loot. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren told the New York Times that cryptocurrency is the new “shadow bank.” There is now more than $1 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL) on Ethereum layer 2. More than 200k ETH has been burned since the implementation of EIP-1559. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take Loot holders receive 10,000 $AGLD tokens Twitter is reportedly working on an Ethereum tipping feature MakerDAO will launch a Custom DAI Gateway for Arbitrum and Optimism. SuperRare collectors received their first royalty payout Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

Quick Take Lending protocol Cream Finance suffered a flash loan attack, losing 462m AMP and 2,804 ETH. Arbitrum, a layer 2 scaling solution by Offchain Labs, has officially launched on mainnet. Larva Labs, the company behind CryptoPunks, signed a licensing deal with United Talent Agency. Loot Project text-only NFTs hit a floor price of 6.7 ETH. Newsletter: https://todayinethereum.substack.com

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Quick Take  Nearly 100,000 children in the United States tested positive for the coronavirus in July. Pfizer has entered into an agreement with Gilead Sciences to manufacture remdesivir. Larry Kudlow struggled to explain Trump’s executive orders during an interview with CNN. Upwards of 20 to 50 percent of people may already  have T cells that recognize the new coronavirus. Newsletter: https://inamericapod.substack.com