Also today, why a new job vacancy at Disney is seriously bullish for non-fungible tokens and the metaverse.
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Editor's Note: Should We Explore Reversible Crypto Transactions?
Molly Jane Zuckerman writes...
A study publicized last week by Stanford University put forward an interesting theory — with so much theft in crypto, what if crypto transactions could somehow be reversed and money returned?
At first glance, you may be tempted to say…doesn't that defeat the entire point of a decentralized, immutable ledger? The whole point of blockchain is that blocks are permanent and cannot be altered, right? Isn't this the entire crux of the argument that split Ethereum into two chains after the multimillion-dollar DAO hack?
The researchers were quick to point out that their reversible transaction idea for Ethereum is not a universal proposal for all, and in fact, isn't really "reversible" at all. Instead, it's an "opt-in standard" that gives a short window after transactions for those involved to contest the transaction and provide evidence to a decentralized court of judges that will vote on the funds being returned. Plus, the same researchers added that their idea is just the starting point for discussion, there's no actual "reversible" technology being built here (yet.)
While crypto theft is definitely a huge concern in the space — hundreds of millions of dollars are stolen a year in phishing attacks, social engineering scams, poorly audited code — creating a highly specific list of edge cases and rules and DeFi "courts" to reverse (but not really) formerly immutable transactions may not be the answer. We've written before about the differing successes with DAO governance, and the issues with getting token holders to actually participate and vote on proposals. This "reversible" solution to crypto crime, as one Twitter commenter wrote, sounds suspiciously like…traditional banking: "I'm not here for TradFi 2.0."
However, the researchers did point out that their exploratory proposal did come from the horse's mouth himself, aka a four-year-old tweet from Vitalik Buterin: "Someone should come along and issue an ERC20 called "Reversible Ether" that is 1:1 backed by ether but has a DAO that can revert transfers within N days."
If Vitalik tweeted it, then (in the Stanford researchers' eyes) why not explore it? It may be easier to create a "reversible" Ethereum DAO than to change human nature and get hackers to just stop hacking, at the end of the day.
Bitcoin's lowest weekly close since 2020 😑
Bitcoin has suffered its lowest weekly close since December 2020. The world's biggest cryptocurrency was languishing at $18,875 on Sunday night — ending the latest seven-day period at levels not seen since the early days of the bull run. It follows a week of interest rate hikes and gloomy economic data, with analysts pointing to a "sell everything" climate that has also seen stocks take a battering. To make matters worse, the U.S. dollar is also continuing to gain strength, piling further pressure on the markets. It could be argued BTC hasn't fared as badly as other asset classes over the past week — especially considering it's clinging on to $19,000. BTC's 12-month low stands at $17,708 — a level that hasn't been seen since June.
Buterin wants more coins to move to PoS 👀
Ethereum has successfully made the switch from a Proof-of-Work to a Proof-of-Stake network — but Vitalik Buterin doesn't want to end here. The blockchain's co-founder has revealed that he would like to see major altcoins move over to PoS because of its environmentally friendly credentials. At Messari's Mainnet conference, he said: "I hope Zcash moves over and I am hopeful Dogecoin moves to PoS soon." Zcash's founder and CEO, Zooko Wilcox, revealed that he thought Ethereum's plans for The Merge were exciting but would never work. Buterin admitted some cryptocurrencies will never switch to Proof-of-Stake — but added that he hopes some will achieve a "middle ground" and embrace a hybrid model.
Disney hiring top lawyer to work on NFTs 🔥
This is a big deal. Disney is hiring an experienced corporate attorney who is familiar with NFTs, blockchain, DeFi and the metaverse. The vacancy was quietly uploaded to LinkedIn over the weekend, and shows that the entertainment giant is getting serious about digital collectibles and virtual worlds. Successful applicants would be tasked with providing "full product life cycle legal advice and support for global NFT products." Candidates are also warned that new projects could be rolled out "on an accelerated and aggressive timeline." Disney's CEO Bob Chapek is championing a concept called "next-gen storytelling" — and he believes that the metaverse could play a starring role in this. The company released a small NFT collection last year.
The other side of pig butchering scams 🚨
Pig butchering scams are a devastating new trend in crypto. Victims are befriended online by strangers, and duped into putting their life savings in fake investment schemes. But there's another side to the story: many of those running these scams are victims themselves. More than 150 Indian people are believed to be trapped in Myanmar after being enticed to move abroad for high-paying roles. They're now trapped — without passports and phones — and being ordered to scam people halfway around the world. In some cases, they're held under armed guard. Although 32 have been rescued so far, dozens more may need help. Some have only been released after paying a ransom of up to $7,000.
Why buying NFTs on iPhone apps is hard 😞
Ever wondered why major NFT marketplaces don't let you buy digital art through their iOS apps? Well, a lot of it's got to do with the 30% cut that Apple takes for in-app purchases. According to The Information, most trading platforms take a 2% or 3% commission whenever they sell a crypto collectible. By contrast, Apple demands 30% of what an NFT sold for — a policy that would drive marketplaces out of business. Executives at top NFT brands told the news outlet that Apple's policies are harming their business models at a time when trading volumes are already suppressed because of the bear market. They argue that, if Apple's policies were to be softened, it would serve as a huge boost during a time of difficulty.
Bitcoin ALMOST had a different name 😱
Sometimes in life, it's worth reflecting on the road not traveled. And one crypto enthusiast has claimed that Bitcoin almost had a very different name. Or Weinberger — who specializes in recovering lost wallet passwords — has been delving into domain name registrations back in 2008. On August 18, Bitcoin.org was registered by an organization called Anonymous Speech LLC. But one day earlier, it had also registered Netcoin.org. All of this indicates that Satoshi Nakamoto was agonizing over whether his flagship cryptocurrency should be called Bitcoin or Netcoin. With the benefit of hindsight, some on Crypto Twitter think Bitcoin is a much more attractive name — with some suggesting that Netcoin sounds a little bit nerdy.
