Crypto optimism FTW!

Blockchain communities are arguably the most upbeat places to be in all of tech right now. Telos is a great example.

Photo by Tim Mossholder via Unsplash

Re-sharing below the latest edition of #Web3 Weekly, my regular newsletter about decentralization. This installment covers Aug. 22–28, 2021. If you’d like to get #Web3 Weekly in your inbox every Sunday, please subscribe here.

A mini-thread by investor Elad Gil got me thinking the other day. In just a few teweets, I think he very accurately summarized the deep optimism in the crypto community right now as a subculture of the broader tech world. He captured the eagerness to build cool shit just for cool shit’s own sake, to worry about monetization later, and how this differs from the increasingly corporate Silicon Valley tech scene.

As if on cue, a crypto community I’ve participated in myself promptly provided a great example of just the stuff Gil was talking about: The developer team for Telos, an application-focused chain, found a major security bug in Ethereum. They promptly shared this with the Ethereum team, which fixed the bug as a high priority on Tuesday, and both systems benefited.

Of course, this is exactly what open source is supposed to be all about. It’s also worth mentioning the bug discovery happened in the context of Telos preparing to launch their own Ethereum Virtual Machine, to allow the Telos network to run apps built for the other platform. (Full disclosure: I own some of the Telos network’s native token, TLOS, as well as some ETH.)

The bug fix and upcoming EVM launch are undeniably great milestones for Telos, which is still a guppy ($250 million market cap) compared to the whale that is Ethereum ($375 billion market cap). But the project definitely has great momentum right now, so let’s hope it continues. That includes an influx of interest in the TLOS token from the Ethereum community since the bug announceemnt; hence the 125% rise in TLOS price for the week.

See? Sometimes monetization really does take care of itself if you just do the right thing first. 😀

The week’s other headlines:

• The Ethereum Name Service released full compatibility with traditional web domains. The open protocol’s announcement means website owners can now use their traditional .com domains as Ethereum wallets or serve their .com sites on the Ethereum network. ENS also published a handy how-to guide for setting up such integrations.
• The recent rally in bitcoin’s price near $50,000 has not been accompanied by increased trading activity, according to data from Arcane Research. The trend is a worrisome sign for bulls who would like to see the token’s gains continue.
• Women and people of color have been especially eager to invest in crypto lately, even to the point of favoring the category over stocks, according to a new survey by the University of Chicago.
• Binance Smart Chain’s recent struggles may hold lessons for other app-focused blockchain platforms looking to steal Ethereum’s crown, CoinDesk reports.
• El Salvador’s official bitcoin wallet is scheduled to go live on Sept. 7. The rollout is part of the country’s recently announced plan to recognize bitcoin as legal tender.
• More than three-quarters of financial pros believe crypto will rival or outright replace traditional fiat money within 10 years, according to a new survey by Deloitte.
• The Girl Scouts are encouraging digital literacy among their members. The venerable nonprofit has unveiled a new merit badge for girls who learn how to identify online misinformation, distinguish between public and private information, deal with online harassment, and do a bunch of other things that apparently escape the grasp of many adults these days. Bravo!

That’s it for now. Thanks for spending some time with the newsletter today! A full revision history of it, including earlier drafts, is available here. If you’d like to get updates like this in your inbox every Sunday, please join our email list here.

As ever, a quick disclaimer: This newsletter is intended for journalistic purposes only, not as investment advice. For the latter, please DYOR and consult appropriate financial pros to make the most suitable choices for your needs.