#164 - What caused last week's crypto crash?

Plus, new Ethereum standard brings trad banking features

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Today,

  1. What caused last week's big crypto crash?

  2. Why ERC-4337 is a big deal for your wallet

  3. New segment: Artist of the day ๐ŸŽจ

Plus, all the web3 headlines, memes, and Tweet of the day.

Top 24hr collections ๐Ÿ“ˆ

via OpenSea

  1. Owls - 8,157 sales earning 3,138 ETH (30%)

  2. BAYC - 37 sales earning 2,711 ETH (155%)

  3. MAYC - 130 sales earning 2,008 ETH (47%)

  4. Clone X - 408 sales earning 1,930 ETH (116%)

  5. Otherdeed - 349 sales earning 1,456 ETH (79%)

#1 What caused Thursday's crypto crash?

Last week saw 2023's first consecutive weekly downtrend for crypto markets.

On Thursday evening, that downtrend became a Slip 'n Slide for Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC).

BTC plunged 4.5%, reaching a two-week low of $22,259 before regaining slightly.

That meant a $20 billion market cap reduction, with Ethereum seeing a similar drop:

Why the downturn? ๐Ÿค”

Silvergate.

The pioneering corporate bank pivoted to crypto in 2014 and has provided financial services to basically every major crypto exchange and lender.

(Coinbase, Circle, Paxos, Kraken, as well as FTX and Gemini.)

Recently, it's become clear that Slivergate isn't in a good place.

  • The bank reported disastrous Q4 losses of over a $1 billion, mostly related to FTX's collapse.

  • Last week, they suspended their crypto payment network and delayed filing their annual report.

  • Silvergate has said that potential unreported losses may have left them "less than well capitalized."

  • A DoJ investigation into Slivergate's business with FTX is underway.

"Less than well capitalized." I love a good euphemism. ๐Ÿ˜‚

In response, Coinbase and other exchanges have stopped banking with Slivergate.

And with so few institutional banking options available to crypto companies โ€“ many are worrying about the potential fallout.

Also bad for crypto sentiment this week

IMF director Kristalina Georgieva was quoted as saying that a full crypto ban "should not be taken off the table." ๐Ÿ˜

Cardano, Avalanche, and Polygon's coins all saw drops of around 5%, with Dogecoin faring even worse.

Strap in!

Notable Tweets โœ…

On the web3 wire

The first nuclear-powered US bitcoin mine goes online โ˜ข๏ธTeraWulf's Nautilus Cryptomine facility contains 8,000 mining rigs running at 1 EH/s.

Crypto analyst says ETH could drop to "just a few hundred dollars" ๐Ÿ˜ฑNicholas Merten thinks a correction like previous bear markets could have a devastating effect on the price of ETH.

Ordinals creator is not a fan of Yuga Labs' TwelveFold auction ๐Ÿ‘ŽMany criticized the auction format, which required unsuccessful bids to be paid before being refunded.

#2 Why ERC-4337 is a big deal for your wallet

After years in the proposal stage, a new Ethereum standard was approved and announced at the ETH Denver conference last week.

Called ERC-4337, it introduces smart accounts to Ethereum, which should make interacting with the blockchain way more user-friendly.

What does "smart account" mean?

Basically, your Ethereum wallet can now be customized with smart features to โฌ†๏ธ usability, security, and better app/shopping experiences.

So what can you do with an ERC-4337 wallet?

  • Wallet recovery. For the first time, you'll be able to recover your wallet, even if you lose your seedphrase โ€“ through a trusted persons network.

  • Bundle transactions. Set approvals and sign multiple signatures at once (sign less = more secure).

  • Sponsor transactions. Cover the gas costs for a new customer, fan, or friend.

  • Pre-approve transactions. Set permissions for specific apps or time windows.

It's a big upgrade for the network โ€“ and another step towards readying web3 for mass adoption. ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘

Listen to a discussion on ERC-4337 in yesterday's ZenDaily.

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Artist of the day ๐ŸŽจ

New segment!

Here, we'll share pieces from some of our favorite NFT artists.

It's a moment of calm reflection for your mornings. ๐Ÿ˜Š

Statement: "Uncanny eye candy."

Links:

Meme of the day

C U tmrw! ๐Ÿ‘‹

What we're reading this week

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