buenos días,

in pursuit of the sacred and profane, i found myself wandering the neon-lit streets of mexico city at 3am, following whispers of an underground seances in candlelit courtyards, projections of golden ratios dancing across colonial walls and mezcal flowing like prophecy.

The kind of divine vibe that makes you question if the ancients had it right all along. every uber ride feels like crossing through dimensions, each taqueria a temple to perfectly portioned pleasure. now that i've returned to the material plane, disfruta some mostly accurate reporting below.

me encanta

xx, c

Unichain launches mainnet offering cross-chain DeFi with fast transactions and low fees for token launches and liquidity provision. Christie's launches its first AI art dedicated auction, marking a significant milestone for AI in traditional art markets. Story Protocol reveals $IP token economics with 58.4% allocated to ecosystem and community development. Their mainnet launches Thursday and $IP claim and checker go live the same day. Berachain goes live with Proof-of-Liquidity consensus, launching $632M airdrop. Central African Republic launches $CAR meme token for national development.

Elon Musk proposes moving U.S. Treasury transactions onchain. Czech National Bank considers 5% Bitcoin allocation, while Middle Eastern sovereign funds reportedly accumulate positions. US Crypto Czar explores strategic Bitcoin reserves as post-Russia sanctions drive dollar diversification. Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev released from prison. The Senate has a new stablecoin bill to work on.

RSVP to Refraction and Chipped events at EthDenver.

MegaETH

What makes crypto unique is composability. For MegaETH, this means rethinking blockchain architecture entirely. While most L2s try to replicate L1s, MegaETH argues this is fundamentally wrong - consensus and execution should be distinct. By outsourcing consensus to Ethereum and optimizing purely for execution, they're achieving 100k TPS with 10ms block times.

Instead of incentivizing shallow engagement through airdrops, they're curating what they call the "Mega Mafia" - 17 hand-picked teams building applications that weren't possible before. The thesis? Actual innovation needs focus. Autonomous World Engine is building an onchain Roblox with composable elements. Noise is enabling real-time trend trading. Euphoria is turning options into an intuitive "tap trading" game.

MegaETH's fundraising approach shows an emerging trend in legal token distribution that combines regulated and open access channels. The Echo sale raised $10M from 3,200 accredited investors at VC terms, selling out in record time. This is complemented by The Fluffle - 10,000 soulbound NFTs representing 5% of token supply, with a novel KPI-based vesting mechanism that accelerates as milestones are hit. By whitelisting 880,000 wallets based on onchain activity, they maintain AML compliance while enabling broader participation. The dual structure creates a legal framework for both accredited investors and community ownership, potentially setting a template for compliant token distribution.

The key legal innovation is using NFTs as a wrapper for token distribution. Since these are soulbound (non-transferable) NFTs with KPI-based vesting, they likely fall outside traditional securities frameworks while still providing ownership exposure.

This creates a new paradigm: regulated primary fundraising through Echo for accredited investors, followed by broader but restricted distribution through non-transferable NFTs. It's a blueprint for compliant community ownership without the traditional airdrop pitfalls. The approach also solves the "retroactive community selection" problem - rather than incentivizing shallow engagement, they can reward wallets that have genuinely contributed to ecosystem's development.

The Next Wave of Token Platforms

A few more fascinating experiments launched last week at the intersection of AI x token issuance. Clank Tank lets anyone pitch their idea through a Farcaster cast, with AI agents deploying up to 3% of reserves into promising projects. Their buy/burn mechanism on the TANK token creates a self-sustaining ecosystem - if they pick winners.

Product Clank takes a different approach - imagine Product Hunt but every launch gets its own "community distribution engine." It's a natural evolution - people already announce on Product Hunt for attention, why not let them capture that value directly?

ƒlaunch introduces a v4-powered memecoin launch platform with auto-buybacks from trading fees, sniper-resistant fixed price auctions, and creator revenue tools. The platform represents a growing trend of protocols building on Uniswap v4's hooks to optimize memecoin market dynamics through novel price discovery and MEV mitigation mechanisms.

The question isn't whether these platforms succeed, but what they represent: the market's growing sophistication around token launches. We're moving from pure speculation to curated ecosystems with aligned incentives.

Farcaster's Integration Evolution

After years of staying small, Farcaster is finally pushing for scale through strategic integrations. Coinbase Wallet (100M+ potential users) will embed Farcaster, focused smartly on frames/mini-apps rather than trying to be "crypto twitter."

This matters because it solves crypto's biggest distribution problem. Instead of fighting App Store restrictions or begging users to install another wallet, developers can reach users where they already are. It's a masterclass in leverage - using Coinbase's distribution to bootstrap Farcaster's network effects.

David Tso (dave.base.eth) 🛡️

@davidtsocy

Mini apps + @farcaster_xyz’s open social graph is the easiest way to get distribution and go viral on @base

Case studies:
- @Farcade_AI the future of mobile gaming
- @henlokart become the next racing champion
- @stokefire_xyz grow your village onchain
- @BracketHQ live sports…

215

4:30 PM • Feb 10, 2025

Can Art Save Ethereum?

Jack Butcher sparked an interesting conversation: what's more valuable to a chain - 10,000 sought-after NFTs or equivalent liquid capital? While money chases yields across chains, cultural artifacts create lasting network effects.

jack

@jackbutcher

unironically

what is the value of 10,000 sought after digital objects like punks vs the equivalent amount of liquid capital ($1b or so) to a chain

I believe you already know the answer

Cozomo de’ Medici

@CozomoMedici

I had a feeling digital art would save Ethereum

287

5:04 PM • Feb 6, 2025

It's not just about prices - it's about persistence. Every major civilization built infrastructure to house its art. Perhaps crypto's endgame isn't about TPS or token design, but about becoming the infrastructure that houses digital culture. As Solana optimizes for speed, Ethereum might find its moat in becoming the settlement layer for digital art and culture.

The market seems to be learning this lesson. Native tokens come and go, but cultural artifacts endure. In a world of infinite liquidity, scarcity might not be financial - it might be cultural.

jack

@jackbutcher

to expand on the idea of culture as moat

technology is a vehicle to deliver culture

the beatles produced meta objects (songs) that persisted beyond the technologies on which they were carried

record, tape, cd, minidisc, mp3, streaming platform, etc

jack

@jackbutcher

there is a very pragmatic reason for leaders, patrons etc to support and champion non-fungible objects on their infrastructure

culture is the only moat

111

5:32 PM • Feb 6, 2025

Live & online Fridays at 10am PT / 1pm ET.

Vance Spencer

@pythianism

Internet Capital Markets

Maybe the simplest frame of todays onchain activity is the following: there are far more people that have a desire to launch a token than there are who have the ability to be a public company CEO. There are almost 7M tokens launched in the past year vs.…

74

6:27 PM • Feb 11, 2025

Lenny Rachitsky

@lennysan

The @duolingo team just published their internal handbook sharing how they build product, hire, experiment, and build a brand around "wholesome and unhinged"

Lots of good ideas to borrow/steal for your own team.

Check it out: blog.duolingo.com/handbook/

10.7K

5:47 PM • Feb 10, 2025

Nathan Beer 📸🦒

@beercandid

this is the solana pvp trenches

OSF

@osf_rekt

Whatever this sport is looks incredible lol

4

4:21 AM • Feb 7, 2025

jaivin 🎨

@jaivinwylde

i met a guy today who synthesized his own adderall because he ran out

you can just do things

82.3K

6:40 AM • Jan 10, 2025

Boring_Business

@BoringBiz_

Three levels of wealth

> No LinkedIn
> LinkedIn
> No LinkedIn

164.6K

2:25 PM • Feb 6, 2025

ppigg

@s4m31p4n

The stanford crashout experiment

71

4:58 PM • Feb 12, 2025