#Web3Weekly: Oct. 16-22, 2022

Re-sharing below the latest edition of #Web3Weekly, my regular newsletter about decentralization. Thanks to this week’s sponsor TechCrunch for supporting the newsletter’s coverage of all things decentralized.

As a special offer for #Web3Weekly readers, TechCrunch is offering a 30% discount on general admission passes to their upcoming conference titled TC Sessions: Crypto.

The event takes place Nov. 17 in sunny Miami, with an awesome lineup of speakers who will cover every aspect of blockchain and web3. To redeem the #Web3Weekly discount, just be sure to apply the code “w3w” when you purchase your ticket here.

On to the latest headlines about decentralization:

• Venture giant Andreesen Horowitz participated in just seven funding rounds with crypto startups in the third quarter, down from their peak of 26 deals in last year’s fourth period. The drop is symptomatic of a broader slowdown in crypto startup investment by venture capital firms. Crypto VC activity fell 50% industrywide in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, according to Fortune magazine.
• The Bitcoin network took over an hour to verify one new block of transactions last Monday. (For all the non-technical folks reading this, let it suffice that’s not good. At all.)
• Trading activity in non-fungible tokens plunged to $1.68 billion in the third quarter, down 77% compared to the second period, according to new research by the data site NonFungible.
• Links between cryto and traditional banking continue to grow. The Tether stablecoin is coming to 24,000 ATMs in Brazil next month through a partnership with SmartPay. MetaMask partnered with Sardine to ease transfers of crypto to fiat money. Meanwhile, both Mastercard and Fidelity announced new services for institutional crypto traders.
• Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital received initial court approval for a proposal to sell its remaining assets to the exchange FTX for $1.4 billion. Voyager’s creditors must now vote on the plan by Nov. 29. If it passes, the creditors would recoup 72% of their losses, according to court filings.
• Ex-Meta employees announced the launch a new application-focused blockchain called Aptos. The project has raised more than $350 million from venture investors.
• New woes among web2 social networks: Forbes reports that TikTok’s China-based parent ByteDance had plans to track the location of specific users in America. The Mozilla Foundation published an independent study of users’ ability to give feedback that affects which videos YouTube’s algorithm recommends to them. The system does not effectively prevent “unwanted” recommendations, including videos with spam and misinformation, Mozilla says. Separately, the Washington Post reports that Twitter may cut its workforce significantly in the months ahead regardless of whether its sale to Elon Musk goes through.
• Where in the world is Do Kwon? South Korean authorities confirmed to Bloomberg News they believe the fugitive Terraform Labs co-founder recently passed through Dubai, but they’re not sure where he was ultimately headed. Meanwhile, he seems to have podcaster Laura Shin on speed dial, and Interpol is looking for him in the metaverse. Hmmm…
• A hacker revealed his identity and returned $67 million obtained in a recent breach of Mango Markets.
• The collaborative journalism project Future Tense is tracking proposals to reform Section 230. The 1990s-era U.S. law covers (or doesn’t at this point) many issues around online privacy and liability.
• A Norwegian court ruled against Craig Wright, who claims he is Satoshi Nakamoto, in his dispute with a bitcoiner who has mocked that assertion on Twitter.
• The inaugural American Metaverse Summit & Awards is now set for March 2023 in Miami. Nominations for the awards portion of the event are welcome through Nov. 15 here. (Thanks to reader Lisa Lopez for alerting me to this one.)
• Behold Pan Solo! The New York Times reports that a baker in Benicia, California, has made a life-size bread sculpture of Han Solo imprisoned in carbonite. The bakery calls this masterpiece “Pan Solo,” in the tradition of previous works like the “Pain-dou-lorian,” “Baby Dough-Da,” and “Dough-ki,” based on the Marvel character Alligator Loki.

That’s it for now. Thanks for spending some time with the newsletter today! If you would like to receive updates like this in your inbox every Sunday, please join our email list here.

As ever, a brief disclaimer: This content 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 individual needs.

Best wishes for a healthy and productive week ahead.