📔 Weekly Journal: Happy Easter 🐣
Your guide to getting ahead on the digital frontier (& the weekend!). Today, the usual market news & treats plus ABCs of what NFTs can do as well as Bhutan's new Self Sovereign Identity
Image conjured in Midjounrey, prompt: “Easter metaverse scene Salvador Dali style --ar 14:10 --v 5”
Welcome to the Easter edition of The Weekly Journal 📔, your guide to the latest news & innovation in digital assets, emerging technology, and our exciting path to the Metaverse. This is week 18 of the 520 weeks of newsletters I have committed to, a decade of documenting our physical and digital lives converge.
New subscribers are encouraged to check out the history & purpose of this newsletter as well as the archive.
Enjoy your long weekend! 😎
Ryan
Here’s what you’re getting today:
📈 Market update: NZ OCR rate increase & Binance issues in AUS
🗞️ Interesting news: Why Eth is surging and exclusive David Bowie NFTs
👓 Read of the week: The ABCs of novel NFT use cases
🎥 Video of the week: Learn about Bhutan’s Self-Sovereign National Identity platform
🤖 This week’s AI showcase: An AI tool dedicated to making scientific research accessible and understandable for all
✅ Weekly poll: Vote for the topic of next weeks Wednesday W.O.W
Market update 📈
🥝NZ
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the Official Cash Rate (OCR) .50% points to 5.25% , the highest since the 2008 financial crisis, due to rising inflation. However, University of Auckland economist, Dr Robert MacCulloch, stated that will likely induce a recession and cause immense pain to mortgage holders and the unemployed. The Reserve Bank argued raising interest rates is the primary tool to reduce inflation, as it limits spending and reduces demand. MacCulloch said most central banks are holding off from increasing interest rates as inflation is dropping and called the Reserve Bank's approach dangerous.
🦘Aussie
On Thursday ASIC cancelled the Australian financial services license of Oztures Trading Pty Ltd, which trades as Binance Australia Derivatives (Binance). As a result, clients won't be able to increase or open new positions with Binance after 14 April 2023. While ASIC has repeatedly warned potential crypto users about the risks involved, the regulator recognizes the potential benefits of crypto as an innovative and exciting asset class. As the industry evolves, ASIC remains committed to working with the government and other stakeholders to promote a safe and transparent crypto environment for all Australians.
🗺️ Crypto Market Heatmap
BTC flat over the last week with ETH up due to upcoming Shanghei update discuessed below (size of the blocks are market share, colour & % show the change over the last week)
🤔 Sentiment levels are still firmly in the greed zone, with Market Cap steady and volume up.
🗞️ Interesting News
🎶 A rare, unreleased version of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" is being sold as a non-fungible token (NFT) by Gala Music, a subsidiary of Web3 startup Gala Games. The limited edition collection features Bowie-inspired artwork and will debut on April 14th. Each NFT owner will have exclusive access to the 2002 co-produced track by Bowie and music producer Larry Dvoskin. The Bowie estate previously collaborated with OpenSea NFT marketplace for a charitable collection called "Bowie on the Blockchain," but it faced criticism from his supporters. Gala Games is known for its Web3 gaming but has also expanded into music and film.
🏦 A new US government report on criminal use of decentralized finance highlights the potential for privacy-enhancing tech to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism via cryptocurrency. The report notes that zero-knowledge proofs can be used to verify AML/CFT checks without disclosing personal information. However, the report also warns that the use of non-public blockchains by non-compliant entities will heighten AML/CFT risks. Most self-proclaimed DeFi businesses in the US are financial institutions subject to anti-money laundering obligations. Aztec co-founder Zac Williamson is confident that zero-knowledge technology can preemptively ensure compliance.
🇪 Ethereum's price surpassed $1,900 for the first time in almost eight months, as traders anticipate the upcoming Shanghai and Capella upgrades that will enable ETH stakers to withdraw their tokens for the first time. While the upgrades may result in up to $4.2 million worth of ETH being sold each day, their success will also cement Ethereum's reputation as a well-functioning technology. This has led investors to bet on a successful outcome for the upgrades, driving up the price of ETH.
👓Read of the Week
My favourite read this week was The ABCs of NFTs (what you can do beyond simply buying and selling NFTs) by William M. Peaster:
It’s a misconception that the only thing you can do with NFTs is collect and trade them. Of course, the NFT ecosystem is incredibly nascent, but there does already exist a compelling and varied range of different things you can try with NFTs, and these use cases are pointing to many more possibilities going forward.
As a reminder of just how teeming the NFT space is in the here and now, let’s go over the “ABCs of NFTs” — my take on a different NFT-related verb for each letter in the Latin alphabet:
A few of my favourites from his awesome article:
D for “Draw” — OKPCs are dynamic NFTs whose surface you can change with your own pixel illustrations! Think of it like an onchain Etch-a-Sketch toy.
I for “Insert” — Projects like Charged Particles make it possible to insert NFTs into other NFTs, similar to how you might store multiple documents within a single folder.
L for “Loan” — On peer-to-peer lending platform NFTfi, lenders can propose loans on available NFT collateral, specifying loan amount, duration, interest rate, and so forth. If loans go unpaid, lenders receive the underlying NFT collateral.
X for “(E)xplore” — Check out events around Ethereum’s metaverse scene where virtual land is managed and organized via NFTs.
Video of the week 🎥
Bhutan recently launched the world's first Self-Sovereign National Identity platform, which is a national platform based on SSI and portable digital credentials for all citizens, businesses, foreign workers, and tourists. Jacques von Benecke, the CTO, gave a guest presentation at the Trust Over IP Foundation's Ecosystem Foundry Working Group meeting on March 16, 2023, where he described the development process, technical and non-technical challenges faced, and future plans for the project. This is an impressive milestone for Bhutan and a significant advancement in the field of digital identity management.
This week’s AI showcase🎨🤖🎵✍🏼
Each week I showcase something amazing generated by an AI-based tool. AI is disruptive, challenging industries and driving innovation. My vision of the emerging Metaverse predicts the use of many AI tools to enhance how we work, learn, play and socialise.
The last few months has seen AI tools for specific use cases mature, and this is an example. Consensus.app is dedicated to making scientific research accessible and understandable for all, leveraging AI technology to democratize scientific evidence and promote informed decision-making. Users can access a wealth of scientific research in an easily consumable format.
The team behind the website consists of experts in machine learning, science, and technology from top institutions, who work collaboratively to create a consensus and drive positive change.
I tried it out with a favourite topic of mine (see below) but give it a go yourself and let me know what you think in the comments.
Weekly Poll ✅
Help choose what you would like to learn about on Wednesday
That’s all for this week! If you have any organisations in mind that could benefit from learning about emerging technology, be sure to reach out. Educational workshops are one of many consulting services I offer.