TLDR Crypto 2022-01-18

BTCS, a blockchain-technology-focused company, recently announced the first-ever dividend payable in bitcoin by a NASDAQ-listed company. Shareholders are able to elect to receive a one-time dividend of 5 cents per share in either bitcoin or cash. The announcement resulted in BTCS’s stock rising more than 40% in one day. BTCS is still down nearly 50% since its debut in September.

SundaeSwap, a decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Cardano blockchain, is set to launch on January 20. Cardano (ADA) prices recently jumped 13% in 24 hours in anticipation of the launch. SundaeSwap will use smart contracts to match token trades between users and distribute a portion of trading fees back to investors. The launch will be a beta rollout with limited features. Existing transaction size limits on the Cardano blockchain prevent the DEX from implementing fully decentralized governance.

Polygon is now implementing the London hard fork (EIP-1559). The core purpose of EIP-1559 is to change the fee market mechanism by introducing a base fee for transactions to be included in the next block. Users will still be able to pay a priority fee for faster transaction times. The update means that there will be fewer users overpaying for transactions. It will also make Polygon's token (MATIC) deflationary, which will have a broad effect on the Polygon community.

Ethereum exploded into public consciousness in 2021, with core protocol upgrades, decentralized autonomous organizations becoming viable, and the introduction of a mainstream creator economy and Layer 2 (another network that provides additional functions like payment scalability and off-chain computation). It is the most in-demand blockchain, moving approximately $11.6 trillion last year, more than double Bitcoin. This article looks at key stats and developments in Ethereum over 2021 in detail, explaining the technological developments and how they contributed to growth.

Cryptocurrency markets can be manipulated. On July 26th last year, there was a temporary spike in Bitcoin's price that was caused by market manipulation. This article looks at the July 26th Bitcoin short squeeze to show how markets are manipulated. It uses millisecond order book data from Binance to demonstrate clear price manipulation. The article also looks at the media manipulation campaign behind the squeeze and explains how fake news can spread quickly and seem real.

Decentraland now has a population of roughly 800,000 registered profiles, with its city expanding by 3,300% in 2021. Its token, MANA, has appreciated more than 4,100% in the same time, with a current market cap of $6.5 billion. This article looks at Decentraland, exploring its origins and what you can do in the world, its token, community, and system of governance. It also discusses the metaverse, Meta's effects on the market, digital real estate, and other metaverse platforms.

Crypto.com temporarily paused withdrawals after a small number of users reported suspicious activity on their accounts. The site claims all funds are safe, but a user reportedly had 4.28 ETH stolen from their account. The alleged perpetrators may have bypassed some of the site's security features, including two-factor authentication. Crypto losses from hacks, scams, and other malicious activities exceeded $10.2 billion in 2021.

In 2018, Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the US president at the time, sent an email to the US Treasury Secretary asking for a group of people to brainstorm about the government creating its own digital currency. In the email, Kushner suggests that a digital currency could be a way to reduce waste, fraud, and transaction costs when paying out entitlements. He links to an article discussing how the US should create a cryptocurrency and make it legal tender. It is unknown whether the email was ever responded to. The email is available in the article.

Last year, Spice DAO pooled millions of dollars to buy a copy of the story bible for director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s adaptation of the novel Dune. The decentralized autonomous organization plans to produce an original animated series inspired by the book. Its inaugural governance proposal received 95% approval from token holders. Over the next four months, Spice DAO aims to gain physical custody of the book, scan every page, hire a social media agency, and present a film treatment and budget for a community vote.