Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is pushing for a decentralised Twitter alternative. In a post, Dorsey highlighted that a solution to Twitter’s censorship issues is by making a platform resilient to corporate or government control.
Markets Spotlight
Note: Market prices captured in US$ at the time of reading. Explore more on Crypto.com/Price.
News Snaps
Apes are staking high.
Over $30 million worth of tokens were staked in one day, after the Ape Foundation opened staking for its APE currency. Holders are able to stake their APE tokens or Bored Ape/Mutant Ape NFTs to earn rewards.
Ethereum’s Shanghai pushes back ‘The Surge’.
Ethereum’s developers are prioritising staked ETH withdrawals for the network’s next major upgrade, Shanghai, delaying the implementation of ‘The Surge’, the network’s sequel to ‘The Merge’.
Starbucks is brewing loyalty NFTs.
Starbucks launched a beta test of the ’Odyssey’ loyalty programme, which combines customer loyalty rewards with NFT collecting and other gamified elements. Participants can engage in interactive ‘Journeys’ to earn ‘Journey Stamps’ in the form of Polygon-based NFTs.
Warner Music releasing music NFTs.
Warner Music Group, the third-largest music company in the world, will release music NFTs through LGND Music, an online Polygon-based marketplace that will offer songs as NFTs. It is set to launch in January 2023.
Proof of Reserves is live.
Crypto.com released its audited Proof of Reserves, enabling users to verify that their crypto assets are fully backed (1:1) on the platform.
What’s Ahead
Cronos announces mainnet upgrade.
Cronos announced the pre-release version of its upcoming V1.0 mainnet upgrade, which will feature key improvements like a prioritised Mempool, optimised node storage, IBC token transfer memo field, IBC incentivisation, and custom tx indexer.
The mainnet timeline and guide will be released soon, ahead of the actual upgrade in early 2023.
NFT Spotlight
There’s still time to run the pitch with Crypto.com’s World Cup Ball of Fortune, the unique gamified NFT experience where traders have a chance to win exclusive prizes, including an upgrade to the Obsidian Crypto.com Visa Card.
Until 18 December, participants can receive up to five Team NFTs per day by completing qualifying transactions. Each NFT increases your chances of winning one of our exclusive prizes — so make sure to trade daily!
Sign up for Crypto.com’s World Cup Ball of Fortune for your chance to win!
Product Picks
Review Your Crypto Tax Positions Instantly and at No Cost
As the year ends, there’s no better time to review your crypto tax status and plan ahead for the next year. Featuring an intuitive interface and full integration with 30-plus popular exchanges and wallets, Crypto.com Tax allows you to generate crypto tax reports in just a few steps and at no cost at all. Learn how to get started here.
New Feature on Crypto.com NFT
Eyeing a collection on Crypto.com NFT? You can now add it to your watchlist for easy access. Simply look for the star icon on the collection’s page and click ‘Add it to your watchlist’. Furthermore, you can now gain deeper performance insights with the aggregated daily sales data chart. Check it out on Crypto.com/NFT.
Crypto Level Up
NFT Games
Did you know you can not only collect NFTs, but also play with them?
In a nutshell. NFT games mix the worlds of finance and gaming, where players can earn tokens or NFTs as they play.
Ownership. Unlike traditional games, NFT games give players ownership and control of their assets, including their avatar, weapons, and land.
Requirements. To get started, players need to set up a compatible crypto wallet to interact with the game, purchase, and store their NFTs.
Let’s play. Some of the most popular games are Axie Infinity, Gods Unchained, The Sandbox, and DeFi Kingdoms.
Learn More About NFT Games in Crypto.com University
Crypto IRL
Let the holiday season begin! – Our friend @darrend00 on his vacay with Crypto.com Royal Indigo Visa Card.
Decoder
Side Chain
Also known as a secondary blockchain, a side chain is a separate blockchain that is connected to the main blockchain. It allows for the transfer of assets between the main and the side chains. Because a side chain can be programmed with certain optimisations in mind, such as making transactions faster, it enables developers to test features and use cases that are not available on the main blockchain.
This Week in Crypto History
Bitcoin breaks the $20,000 ceiling
On 16 December 2020, Bitcoin broke the $20,000 level for the first time. While the prior run-up was driven by retail speculation, this rally had been led by rising institutional interest, with big-name investors like Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller moving their own assets into crypto, with additional tech firms like Square and MicroStrategy adding bitcoin to their balance sheets.
That’s it for this week’s Snapshot. Want more? Head over to our Insta feed for bite-size crypto lessons.
