TLDR Crypto 2022-02-16

Coinbase remittances 💰, why ETH fees drop 📉, understanding MakerDAO 💡

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Innovation & Launches

JP Morgan is first bank to enter the metaverse with a virtual 'Onyx lounge' (2 minute read)

JP Morgan has opened up a virtual lounge in Decentraland. The Onyx lounge provides a foothold for the bank to explore its role in the digital world. A virtual bank could operate much like a bank in the real world by facilitating crossborder payments, foreign exchange, financial assets creation, trading, safekeeping, and customer service. JP Morgan plans to serve content creators who want to commercialize their creations within the metaverse.

VR Platform Cyber Teams With Rarible for Virtual NFT Marketplace (2 minute read)

Virtual reality platform Cyber and Rarible have teamed up to create a virtual NFT marketplace that will let consumers browse NFT collections through an immersive VR experience. The Cyber VR app can run on mobile phones and the Oculus, widening the market for potential buyers. It will showcase NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain. Rarible launched in 2019 as a protocol for NFT issuance and decentralized apps. Its RARI token has a current market capitalization of $54.5 million.

Coinbase lets immigrants send remittances to Mexico via crypto and pick it up at retailers (3 minute read)

Coinbase is letting people send money from the US to Mexico through cryptocurrency. It will waive fees for the service until March 31. Afterwards, users should expect to pay less than what they currently pay through other services. Recipients will be able to cash out crypto into local currency at over 37,000 locations, or they can choose to keep it as crypto on their Coinbase account. Users who hold their crypto in Coinbase can convert it and invest in any of the cryptocurrencies that Coinbase supports.
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Guides & Resources

Maker: Past, Present and Future (8 minute read)

Maker (DAI) has evolved quite a bit since 2020 when it was just a protocol for issuing loans against various ERC20 tokens. Scaling a stablecoin requires over-collateralization with real-world assets, and no algorithm can get around this fact. This article discusses the protocol's past, present, and future, covering how it survived the March 2020 crash, the switch to direct lending, and the path to DAI becoming a global reserve currency.

Why Are Fees on Ethereum Dropping? (2 minute read)

EIP 1559, an update to the Ethereum ecosystem, was activated in early August 2021. The update made it so every transaction required a set base fee to be included in a block. The base fees paid are sent to a burn address to counteract inflation. This change reduced fee volatility, making spikes less intense during token launches, but this also meant that fees could take weeks to fall back down. Transaction fees have dropped overall, resulting in an increase in network activity.
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Miscellaneous

OpenSea launches verified customer support to fight Discord scammers (3 minute read)

OpenSea and NFT communications platform Metalink have partnered to provide OpenSea customers a direct channel for support, feedback, updates, and other information. Scammers have made millions by posing as customer service agents on OpenSea's official Discord server. The new system will verify users and connect them with authenticated OpenSea support representatives. OpenSea's Discord will remain active and will still be used for official messaging from the company.

LooksRare team cashes out $30M in WETH, faces community backlash (3 minute read)

The team behind LooksRare, an NFT marketplace, has cashed out 10,500 WETH estimated to be worth around $30 million through popular crypto mixing tool Tornado Cash. The community responded with heavy backlash and the price of the LOOKS token dropped by nearly 15%. A member of the team went on Twitter to say that the team never intended to keep their earnings a secret. The team has been working on the platform for over six months without any monetary compensation and had fronted its seven-figure development cost before launch.

How the Marshall Islands Is Trying to Become a Global Hub for DAO Incorporation (2 minute read)

The Republic of the Marshall Islands has become the first sovereign nation to recognize decentralized autonomous organizations as legal entities. DAOs in the nation will have the same privileges as limited liability corporations and will be able to hold real estate. They will not have to register separate LLCs. The island nation aims to become a hotbed for DAOs. It may be attractive to investors as the island is not subject to US federal laws while still having access to US Postal Services, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the US Military.
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