WhiteboardCrypto Newsletter - May 31

Welcome back to this week's edition of our WhiteboardCrypto Newsletter!

Ethereum’s Pectra impact report

The Pectra update went live in early May and promised lower fees, space for more transactions, and many other things. Coin Metrics released a report analyzing how that’s going so far, and if they are hitting the metrics they promised. Not all the validators have upgraded yet, so the full effects aren’t realized, but the costs have gone down and the space for transactions has gone up.

Learn more here.

Crypto community torn

Last week, we wrote about the hack on the defi protocol Cetus, on Sui’s blockchain. In a bold move, the Sui network has voted in favor of an action that overrides the attackers’ control of their wallets and allows the funds to be recovered. $60m has already been laundered off-chain, but $160m is currently locked in the attackers’ Sui wallets since the validators refused to process the transactions. The ability to take control of wallets will be approved in a one-time event for only the two wallets known to be the attacker’s, but it has raised serious concerns about censorships and decentralization. The Sui network has 114 validators, 99 of which voted in favor.

Learn more here.

Audit reports or transparency?

Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) Michael Saylor was asked if he would disclose the wallet addresses that hold the company’s BTC investments for transparency purposes, and he ultimately said no, stating that sharing wallet addresses opens an attack vector for hackers, state actors, etc. This is true, and that’s why we always suggest not making your wallet address public. But it’s a tricky matter when it comes to institutional holdings, especially since investors want proof that they are investing in what they intend to. Instead, Saylor suggested institutional-grade audits to prove their holdings. So, what do you think—private audits or public addresses?

Learn more here.

ICOs make a comeback (kind of)

Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs, are used when a crypto company wants to raise money, often in the early stages of their launch to help support development of their product. They god a bad reputation because of how many scammers rugpulled their investors, and they also stand on shaky legal ground with some jurisdictions considering them securities. What if there was a way to make sure investors are safe and the ICOs follow all the proper regulations?

In comes Cobie’s new project, Sonar. It’s a public token sale platform meant to help projects self-host legal and safe(r) public token sales in the form of auctions, options, points systems, and more, directly on-chain. Support currently exists for Hyperliquid, Solana, and Cardano, and may include other chains too. Being new, and thus untested, there’s no guarantee as to its safety, and ICOs will always carry some risk because of how early in a project they are, with no guarantee that your investment will grow.

Learn more here.

US SEC clarity

While this isn’t a binding statement, the US SEC put out a statement clarifying that staking crypto does not constitute a security. This is great news for crypto firms and validators. Also this week, traders who lose assets need to take responsibility and not expect bailouts.

Learn more here.

Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something!

- Theodore