Ethereum L2 Upgrades unlock Cheaper Tx's, Unified Liquidity and ZK for all EVM chains!
EIP-4844 Upgrade, Polygon's AggLayer, and Market Analysis highlights this week!
Today marks the Ethereum Improvement Proposal EIP-4844, known as the Dencun upgrade. This upgrade only affects Layer 2 blockchains settling on Ethereum and not the Ethereum chain itself, but the reduction of costs is fairly significant.
If you haven't experienced the benefits of using Ethereum on Layer 2 chains yet, I highly recommend learning now to avoid being left behind. I am personally excited for Base, zkSync, Linea, and many other Layer 2 solutions because they have raised hundreds of millions of dollars but have yet to release a token. The best part is, they will be releasing it for free to those who use the chains. Thousands of dollars for free. What more incentive could you have to try using these blockchains more?
Other EVM Chain Improvements:
One of the most significant discussions I recently had was with Brendan Farmer, the Co-Founder of Polygon, regarding the latest updates from Polygon, including the AggLayer and Type 1 Prover.
Polygon AggLayer Update:
Polygon's AggLayer is a new type of scaling system for blockchains. Previously, there were only monolithic and modular blockchains. Aggregated blockchains combine the best aspects of both, integrating liquidity and reducing costs across all EVM chains.
Polygon themselves explain it best, so I’ll leave their explanation here:
“The aggregated blockchain synthesizes the benefits of both architectures with ZK proofs, effectively unifying liquidity across the entire Polygon ecosystem. With unified liquidity, users on every chain have access to the highest level of capital efficiency and cross-chain assets and projects, building a web3 network that feels like a single chain.
The AggLayer is neither an L2 nor a shared sequencer. It's a decentralized protocol that facilitates atomic, synchronous composability across aggregated chains without sacrificing sovereignty. Non-ZK scaling solutions cannot achieve this.
If that sounds a little complex, let's just say that it makes your web3 experience feel like you are on a single chain instead of switching between different L1s and L2s.
Unifying liquidity, lowering costs, and increasing speeds. It's amazing to see Polygon come out with a technology that helps not just the Polygon blockchain itself but all EVM chains, revolutionizing the space!
Polygon Type 1 Prover:
Polygon's second update is also much bigger than Polygon itself. Type 1 Prover enables all EVM chains to bring ZK Zero Knowledge compatibility on-chain. There’s a lot to unpack so I highly suggest watching the video with Polygon’s Co-Founder to explain it all. It’s great to see an altruistic blockchain update which will upgrade not just Polygon, but all EVM chains!
I also spoke with Lingo, the loyalty platform that aims to onboard the next billion users into Web3.
Loyalty platforms in Web2 are significant, but every year they become less lucrative, either due to expiring or devalued points systems.
I'm interested in Web3 loyalty rewards points programs that actually increase in value over time, similar to cryptocurrencies. I spoke with the Founder H.M Rawat about the economics behind their new loyalty systems and how Web3 can enhance redeeming value for travel, shopping, and more around the world.
Bitcoin is at new all-time highs, and with that comes many new entrants in the cryptocurrency scene. Sadly, it also brings more newcomers being duped and scammed through crypto schemes, especially those who are using crypto for the first time.
Thankfully, there are fraud recovery programs to return stolen funds for those who happen to get scammed, using chain analysis and other criminal intervention methods. I spoke with Lionsgate Network, who have already helped hundreds of people recover their lost funds, primarily from romance and dating schemes, but also in other situations. Always be vigilant when someone asks you to send cryptoassets, as there is no returning funds once they are sent.
Lastly, I spoke with an OG in the space, Ishan Bhaidani, the CEO of SCRIB3, about the current state of the crypto markets, where he sees the biggest opportunities, and how he was the first to call out FTX as a red flag months before they collapsed.
It’s a very interesting discussion, but all in all, it sounds like he believes Ethereum is the most promising asset for appreciation in the coming months, and almost everyone is underexposed to not having enough ETH. I tend to agree with him.
Other Crypto News:
Bank of America and Wells Fargo, 2 of the largest U.S. banks, are now offering Bitcoin ETFs to clients
BlackRock & Fidelity now hold 331,560 BTC worth over $23.4 billion for their spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Bitcoin surpasses the Swiss Franc to become the 13th largest currency in the world.
VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF Sees Record $200 Million Inflows After Slashing Fees
Hong Kong investors call for quick approval of Bitcoin ETFs in HK
Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade causes ‘Blast’ layer 2 outage
Market Analysis:
#BTC Bitcoin:
With Bitcoin reaching new all-time highs almost every day, it looks like the sky is the limit on where it can go. Be cautious with leverage or borrowing capital, though, as it will become volatile as its price rises.
With the bull market confirmed, dips are for buying. Major institutions will look for any way to acquire Bitcoin cheaper, including engaging in funny business. Expect dips that could last less than a day before reaching the $70k market, while Bitcoin continues to range between $70k-$73k.
Even a dramatic fire sale on Bitcoin down to the red 200MA line is not out of the question. These dips are almost purely for flushing out leverage players and those who have liquidation points.
We have a new EngineeringRobo AI trader that provides us with Buy and Sell figures, and whether assets are bullish or bearish on every timeframe. It’s an incredible update to EngineeringRobo. I would highly recommend trying it out if you’re looking for extra confirmations on whether to buy or sell, or if assets are breaking out to new all-time highs.
$ETH Ethereum:
While the expectation was for Ethereum to outperform Bitcoin leading up to the BTC halving and Ethereum ETF launch, the chances of an Ethereum ETF launch on May 31st are now at 31% according to Polymarket. Even if it isn’t approved, eventually in Q3-Q4, it could be approved, providing investors more time to accumulate ETH before take-off.
According to EngineeringRobo AI and the ETH/BTC trading pair, Ethereum is looking slightly less bullish than Bitcoin. Though it’s important to note that since January 1st, 2024, Ethereum has actually outperformed BTC by a small margin, so both assets are doing very well. Though ETH/BTC broke back up into the channel and has recovered slightly, it could still range for a few months before it moves up significantly. It doesn’t look like it’s going to outperform BTC before the halving, which is in 1 month's time.
Altcoins:
The two hottest narratives in the past month have been AI projects and memecoins.
One of the biggest winners recently has been Fetch.ai - $FET. Other potential AI projects include OCEAN, AI, AGX, BDP, OBI, and more.
Regarding meme coins, here are some on Solana. Most are very risky, but for the gamblers out there, go wild! WIF, BONK, and MYRO have already seen multiples in the markets. There are also other meme coins to be found on the Avalanche network (COQ), Injective Network (NINJA), and others popping up all the time. Be cautious as meme coins can drop very quickly.
Airdrops:
Linea Park Part 4:
Earn LineaXP (which has a direct connection to the airdrop) in the second of six weeks of the Linea Park challenge. This week is easier as you only need to mint a few free NFTs to qualify for a larger Linea airdrop. Start here!
LayerZero Airdrop Number of Transactions:
LayerZero has suggested that the total number of transactions is a significant factor in determining whether you will qualify for one of the largest airdrops yet to come, $LayerZero.
In previous airdrops, the requirement was to have at least one transaction in three separate months. If the snapshot has not yet been taken, it may still be possible to start now.
Wormhole Bridge:
The #W airdrop was announced, and individuals who transacted even smaller amounts across the wormhole bridge, facilitating the bridging of assets between different chains, qualified for the airdrop. It appears that the average user received almost $5,000 in free W, although the token is not yet listed. Its price is being speculated on futures markets. The claim will be available in the future, and you can check if your wallet is eligible here.
If you didn't qualify, there are still many more airdrops you can potentially participate in, which can be found on the drop-down menu on Wenser. Newer airdrops like Hyperlane and DeBridge will offer ample time for farming with a low chance of a snapshot already being taken.
If you’re looking for even more Airdrop alpha not in my newsletter, please join my Telegram for daily updates on how to capture the most value out of the Web3 ecosystem.
Thanks for reading!
-Ashton Addison, CEO of Crypto Coin Show