GM, frens! Ambire here with our weekly newsletter. Today we’ll talk about 2023 meme craze and PEPE in particular, FED and interest rate hikes, Alchemy releasing AI tools for blockchain devs, Apple delisting a messenger app over crypto tipping feature, three points of failure for future Ethereum by Vitalik, Snoop Dogg’s new NFT collection as well as other reads, let’s get down to it:

Is 2023 meme craze over?

Another memecoin craze exploded in 2023, leading with PEPE, and followed by other popular meme-based coins. These coins quickly rose in value as they gained attention and traction. However, now it seems that the hype was short lived and these coins fail to make a lasting impact.

Lookonchain recently reported their analysis of a whale transaction involving PEPE. The address 0x1497 sold its entire holdings, 972.84 billion tokens, for 514 ETH, equivalent to approximately $848,000. This transaction has lead some individuals to speculate about potential insider trading. Furthermore, the token’s value has experienced a significant decline over the past week. Further analysis reveals that the address is linked to FixedFloat, a firm specializing in cryptocurrency trading and investments. PEPE has also seen a decrease in trading volume, suggesting that the token may no longer be attractive to investors.

The whale transaction and rapid decrease in PEPE's token value raises the question: Is the 2023 meme craze over? As the memecoin market has seen a lot of volatility, it remains difficult to say whether the current trend is a sign of lasting decline or simply a temporary dip in value. There seems to be no reason to believe that the recent bearish sentiment surrounding memecoin is the end of an era, though.

The reason meme coins are successful is due to their supportive communities. These communities are passionate and involved, which helps the token withstand market fluctuations. By proposing community-based projects, promoting wider adoption, and exploring creative applications, meme coins can sustain their lifespan.

Moreover, meme coins that show flexibility in adapting to market trends and developing innovative solutions have a better shot at survival, so they may still have some life left in them yet.

Fed decides to keep interest rates steady

After more than a year of raising interest rates, the Federal Reserve (FED) chose to leave them unchanged at 5% to 5.25%. This news sent shockwaves through the crypto markets, as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) have both dropped a bit in the wake of this announcement.

The Fed’s decision to keep rates steady is in line with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s FedWatch Tool, which predicted a 98% chance of no change going into the meeting. The central bank’s Summary of Economic Projections also showed rates peaking at 5.6% in 2023, which means two more rate hikes may be on the horizon within the next four years.

So what does it mean for the crypto markets? Lower inflation is likely the reason why the FED decided to pause, which could mean a stable environment for digital currencies. Additionally, the FED’s decision to keep rates low may also help cryptocurrencies maintain their value but could also lead to a decrease in demand over the long term. Also in the long term, crypto may benefit from the FED’s decision since crypto is a much more efficient and cost-effective way to transfer money. In other words, people may still turn to digital currencies as the US Dollar weakens.

Alchemy releases AI tools for blockchain devs

Alchemy, a platform for blockchain devs recently introduced AlchemyAI - a suite of new tools that will use AI to help developers create and maintain decentralized applications faster and easier. The two flagship products offered by AlchemyAI are ChatWeb3 and Alchemy ChatGPT Plugin, both of which will be available in the coming weeks.

These tools are part of a larger trend of applying large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to blockchains. In theory, with such an AI non technical people would be able to utilize the same power of these tools and as regular devs, making the blockchain development space much more accessible and user friendly.

ChatWeb3 is a GPT-based in-app AI assistant that uses natural language processing to understand and respond to user input and queries regarding blockchain inquiries.

ChatGPT Plugin is a tool designed to help developers write and maintain their smart contracts faster and easier by automating the process of writing code. It is available via OpenAI’s Plugin Marketplace and uses Alchemy API endpoints to provide real-time blockchain information through natural language processing.

Alchemy’s new tools are part of a combined larger trend that seeks to combine AI and blockchain technology, with the ultimate goal of bringing more people into the blockchain space. The future for these tools looks promising, and as more people become comfortable with blockchain development, we may see an increase in the number of applications built on top of them.

Snoop Dogg launches 'Snoop Dogg Passport Series' NFTs to celebrate his tour

Snoop Dogg is probably the only single entertainer who stayed behind the crypto community throughout all of the ups and downs in the industry. Now, as summer tour approaches, he is launching a new NFT to commemorate his tour.

The Snoop Dogg Passport Series is an evolving tour poster that will give holders access to exclusive content, special merchandise, artwork and experiences. Each time Snoop stops at a new city, the passport will evolve into something else, including new items and experiences. Snoop Selects is also part of the series which will include hand-picked artwork and exclusive merchandise from the rapper.

The tour starts on July 7 in Vancouver and fans who acquire the NFT will be able to access all kinds of special events throughout the tour. It's an interesting approach to rewarding loyal fans for their support while also providing them with something unique and memorable.

The collection is going to be minted with help from Transient Labs and WME, and it can be purchased for around $42 or 0.025 ETH through Crossmint or various crypto wallets. Snoop Dogg's son Cordell Broadus has also been involved in the project, with both of them being active participants when it comes to NFT collection and crypto investments. With the launch of this NFT, Snoop Dogg is staying true to his mission of making sure Death Row Record becomes “the first major label in the metaverse”. Or something like that. Either way, he stays loyal to his crypto fans and is launching something special for them.

Vitalik: three points of failure that could affect Ethereum's future

In one of the posts, Vitalik Buterin the Co-founder of Ethereum stated that the success of Ethereum will be determined by three simultaneous changes - layer-2 scaling, wallet security, and privacy-preserving features.

But what does that mean exactly?

Vitalik explains that layer-2 scaling is essential in order for Ethereum to execute transactions without overloading the blockchain network. Currently according to him, each transaction on Ethereum costs 3.75 USD and if there's another bull run, it can go as far up as 82.48 USD. This makes mass adoption of any product built on Ethereum nearly impossible due to its high cost. Since Ethereum is a blockchain platform, it needs to scale in order for its use cases to be viable. This reliance on L2s can be seen as a potential failure point because of its complexity by some, but Vitalik believes that this is how the network was configured to operate and is necessary in order for it to succeed.

The second point of failure according to Vitalik, relates to smart contract wallets. Outdated smart contract wallets, to be exact - they have caused some issues due to complexities from the user experience side of things when users take control of multiple addresses at once. To ensure that wallets secure crypto assets, Buterin explains that wallets would must secure the data by implementing a zero-knowledge tech stack since wallets are not just protecting authentication credentials anymore but also important transaction data.

The last point of failure Vitalik touches on is privacy-preserving features, which are essential in order to reduce the amount of data that can be collected and used by third parties. These privacy features can be implemented through the use of various technologies such as Zcash, which allows for users to remain anonymous when conducting transactions. He believes that this is not only necessary to give people control over their data but also in order for Ethereum to reach its full potential. Although one has to wonder how well the goverments and other organizations will react to such technology.

Well, for one it was interesting to know where Ethereum is heading straight from the man himself. It's clear he's got the right ideas but it still remains to be seen what route Ethereum will take and how successful it will become. Nevertheless, the potential of the platform is still immense.

Apple to delist a social media app from app store over crypto tips function

One of the decentralized Nostr-based apps called Damus is getting ready to face a major setback. Apple has issued a warning letter that the app would be removed from its platform due to the “Zaps” feature that allows users to tip others in BTC.

Damus employs the Lighting Network widget to facilitate Bitcoin payments and tips for its users. Unfortunately, this feature has violated Apple’s policy prohibiting any form of a tipping function other than those given by the company.

Crypto tipping became more prominent nowadays, with Twitter and Reddit allowing users to tip each other with crypto. Apple even approved the “Game of Birds” app which included Bitcoin tipping in 2015, but now seems that their stance has drastically changed.

The creator of Nostr protocol, Walker, took to Twitter to voice his frustration over the delisting. He noted that Apple’s decision was wrong because Damus was not selling any digital content.

For now it seems like another example of Apple’s stance on crypto-enabled apps. The company tends to reject any app that allows users to “mine, send and receive” digital currencies. Apple has not released an official statement on the matter, and it remains to be seen whether they will reverse their decision or not.

Other worthy reads:

Interesting thread on Uniswap v4 from xulian:

crvUSD benchmark from curvecap:

Thoughts on current crypto landscape from ChainLinkGod

The fun page: our weekly meme collection

That's all for now, frens.

We'll see you next week. And remember, the market conditions are temporary, but our commitment to building a better DeFi is here to stay. Thanks for joining us and we look forward to seeing you back next week. Cheers!

Yours, The 🔥 Team

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