Jack Dorsey is at it Again

Hey Monday. Some crazy stuff is going on with Ethereum and Jack Dorsey. Not together though. Ethereum. Jack Dorsey. Although his name comes up enough it’s easy to understand why you might think they’re together. They’re not though. At least not this time. Moving on.

Today's Topics:

• Jack Dorsey and Web5

• Ethereum delays

• Mastercard makes buying NFTs easier

• Quick Links

While We’re Stuck on Web3, Jack Dorsey has moved on to Web5

Twitter’s Jack Dorsey has once again shown us that it’s his world and we’re all just along for the ride. As we continue to develop and innovate for Web3, he’s completely bypassed Web4 and is now focusing his efforts on Web5. Primarily, a truly Decentralized Web Platform designed for decentralized applications.

We’re not sure what Dorsey has against the number 4, but he’s announced that he’s building an “extra decentralized web platform.” He intends to create a new internet that gives users control over their data and information.

Through 'TBD' - a subsidiary of Square - Dorsey has made it clear that he is ready to move on from Web3. Of course, his disdain for Web3 is no secret, which might be why he skips Web4 altogether. He wants to put as much distance between himself and Web3 as possible.

But how will Web5 work? Let’s run through a quick example.

Let’s say you use a certain app to store all your digital photos. If you leave this app for another one, you have to take the time to download all your photos or you lose them. With Web5, all those photos of Pops passed out on the La-Z-Boy are stored on the blockchain under your account. When you move from one app to the next, your photos come with you because they belong to you.

Pretty cool, right? Of course, there are a few problems. User adoption for one. Plus the need to get app developers on board. Still, it’s fun to think that you’ll have control over the platform instead of the other way around, isn’t it?

Ethereum delays “Difficulty Bomb”

While Jack Dorsey was blowing everyone away with his web5 announcement, Ethereum's core developers were discussing whether to delay its “difficulty bomb.” This catalyst is a key component in moving Ethereum from its current proof-of-work consensus mechanism over to proof-of-stake.

The difficulty bomb was implemented to make mining Ethereum an impossibility. Its intention is to increase block difficulty until validating new transactions requires near-infinite resources. As a result, proof-of-work on the Ethereum blockchain would cease to exist. However, if the difficulty bomb is implemented before The Merge takes place, the financial fallout could be disastrous.

After some serious deliberation and back and forth - which in our minds plays out like a heated ping pong match - the decision was made to delay the bomb by two months. Will this impact the Ethereum network migration affectionately referred to as “The Merge?” That remains to be seen.

Mastercard makes it easier to buy NFTs

On Friday, Mastercard announced that it will work with several NFT marketplaces to make it easier for cardholders to get their hands on their favorite non-fungible tokens. The Sandbox, Nifty Gateway, Spring, Candy Digital, and Immutable X are partnering with Mastercard.

Through these NFT platforms, users can buy an NFT without the need to purchase crypto - so long as they’re using a Mastercard credit or debit card. Mastercard says this new feature is simply the company listening to its users and giving them what they want.

With more than 2.9 billion Mastercard holders across the globe, don’t be surprised if this has a significant impact on the NFT market.

Quick Headlines

Celsius pauses withdraws then proceeds to tank - Not a fun weekend for some.

https://www.helium.com/ - The project prepares its “network of networks” expansion by launching new MOBILE and IOT tokens.

It’s Solano, not Solana - After Jack Dorsey (we swear we know about other people) misspelled - intentionally or unintentionally - Solana in one of his recent tweets, the project responded with a troll of its own.

Really dumb or incredibly smart? - Brian Armstrong fires back after a petition to remove Coinbase executives due to multiple missteps and mismanagement of the platform

Bitcoin improvement proposals - Want to learn more about Bitcoin improvement proposals (BIPs) and how they work? Check out this piece by Emi Lacapra for the answers to all your BIP questions.

Tron DAO buys $50M in Bitcoin - To offset the failures that befell Terra, the Tron DAO is increasing the amount of capital it has backing its USDD stablecoin.

Funding News:

Huobi launches $1B investment venture - Despite criticisms that Web3 is controlled by venture capitalists, Huobi Global launched a $1B investment venture aimed specifically at Defi, Web3, and NFT projects.

Coinhouse gets $42.5M in funding - French crypto company Coinhouse - a digital asset and service provider - received 40 million Euros from True Global Venture in a round of funding

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Disclosure: We are a newsletter for information only. We are not financial advisors nor do we claim to be. Consult your legal, investment or tax advisor. Crypto is risky. Do you own research.