Cryptocurrency
‘Massive’ crypto use cases to surface by 2030 — Coinbase exec
Coinbase launched Base, its new blockchain, in late July, and it has already become a major player among Ethereum-based layer-2 chains.
On Sept. 21, for instance, the chain notched some 677,000 transactions, with 870,163 “new addresses seen,” according to Etherscan.
By comparison, Arbitrum, a prominent layer 2 that launched in June 2021, had 925,000 transactions and 54,233 new addresses on the same day.
Base is now hosting hundreds of decentralized projects, Jesse Pollak, head of protocols at Coinbase, told Cointelegraph at Messari’s Mainnet conference in New York City on Wednesday, Sept. 20, including decentralized inflation oracles, restaurant rewards projects, an insurance aggregator and everything in between.
A major force behind the Base project, Pollak sat down with Cointelegraph at Mainnet for a Q&A encompassing Coinbase’s vision for its new platform, the rising promise of decentralized applications (DApps) and the evolution of blockchain technology.
Cointelegraph: You’ve said Base was created with a “clear vision: bring the next million builders and billion users on-chain.” Those are big numbers. How long will they take to achieve?
Jesse Pollak: It’s less about Base specifically and more about a billion users coming on-chain — embracing the power of this new platform [i.e., blockchain] that’s transparent, open, global — and developing apps that can improve people’s lives. Base is obviously going to play a big role in that, but it’s much bigger than just us. We really see our role as helping grow that pie.
CT: And the timeline?
JP: I see it happening this decade, i.e., one million developer jobs by 2030. There’s already been massive change in the 2020s — not just in the industry but the entire world. It’s going to happen faster than people might expect.
CT: What still needs to be done before we see mainstream adoption?
JP: Three high-level things need to happen. First, we need to make it cheaper for people to use these apps that are being built. We’ve done the first few orders of magnitude of cost reduction with Base. The same app might have cost $5 or $10 to use now costs 5 to 10 cents.
But we don’t think that’s enough. We really want to lower it so far that the cost is almost imperceptible to users.
Second, we want to make it easier for people to use these apps. A lot of that is building better wallet experiences.
Third, we need to have better identity infrastructure on-chain. Today, most consumer borrowing in the United States and other developed countries is under-collateralized borrowing in the form of credit cards or buy-now-pay-later arrangements. And almost none of this is possible on-chain now because we don’t have reliable identity systems.
So, to enable that next wave of big use cases, we’ll need lower costs, better wallets and better identity.
CT: You’ve said that what most people have done with crypto until now is speculate on the crypto markets, and it’s time to move on. Has it been a mistake to focus so much on the market price of Bitcoin, say?
Pollak: I don’t think it’s wrong if you look at the way that technology life cycles evolve. Carlota Perez, for instance, writes that financial bubbles are almost inevitable when you have meaningful technological innovation like the internet or electricity. You have this S-curve of adoption. [See chart below.] In the beginning, a lot of innovation is fueled by speculation as people see potential in the technology. This speculation draws in capital, which basically funds the innovation and eventually leads to impacts that change the world.
CT: Where are we now?
JP: We’ve reached the point where it’s time to move out of that [speculative] phase and into the phase of really bringing utility to everyday people. The infrastructure is ready.
Even two years ago, if you wanted to use an app on Ethereum, it was going to cost you $5 or $10 or $100. That’s just not something that is supportive of building everyday use cases.
CT: Speaking of Ethereum, why did Coinbase decide to build its layer 2 on the Ethereum blockchain? Did you ever consider using another mainnet?
JP: We actually looked three times at building a chain: In 2018 and 2020, and then most recently in 2023. And the first two times, we looked at building an alternative layer 1, one which would have been competitive with Ethereum. Our takeaway was we didn’t want to put ourselves on an island disconnected from the rest of the ecosystem.
The third time, we looked at all of the options: Ethereum, alternative layer 1s, layer 2s, etc. What felt natural to us about Ethereum was it is the largest crypto ecosystem by value, by activity, by developers — by order of magnitude or two — and so by building Base as an Ethereum layer 2, we could both contribute to scaling Ethereum and be a part of this ecosystem that’s larger than us.
CT: What about Ethereum’s oft-discussed scalability shortcomings, including network congestion and sometimes ballooning fees? Have those been largely solved through extensive use of layer-2 rollups like Optimism and Arbitrum (and now Base), where transactions are “batched” and added to the mainnet in a single lot?
JP: If you look at the history of Ethereum, the original vision was: We’re going to do all this at layer 1, and we’re going to scale up through sharding. But around 2020 and 2021, as layer 2s emerged, the Ethereum community and core development groups basically said: What if we changed our strategy where instead of trying to introduce all of this complexity at layer 1, we build the infrastructure to enable innovation at layer 2?
That was something that Vitalik [Buterin, Ethereum co-founder] wrote about a lot. And over the last two years, that’s what happened. Coinbase supported an initiative over the last year-and-a-half called EIP-4844, for instance, that introduced data availability for rollups, leading to reduced fees and more transaction throughput.
But do I think we’ve solved the problem? No. These things take years to solve, and I think we are now two to three years into making those investments, and we have another two to three years or more potentially to go. But I think we’ve made a lot of progress.
You can see this at L2Beat. [See chart below]. Two years ago [Sept. 21, 2021], there were eight transactions per second [on average] on layer-2 projects and 13 TPS on the Ethereum mainnet. Today, there’s 58 TPS on layer 2s and 11 TPS on the Ethereum mainnet. So we’ve gone from less than 1x to 5.7 times faster in two years.
CT: Are you surprised that a “buzzy” social media DAPP — Friend.tech — was initially Base’s biggest performer after its summer launch? Its fees surpassed $1 million in one 24-hour period. Still, maybe this wasn’t the serious use case that some critics were hoping for.
JP: Well, when the first social apps launched on the internet, some people looked at them and said, hey, these things are toys. When are we going to go do the serious stuff like bringing newspapers online? If you look at where we are today, social apps are used by billions of people every day. They will continue to be a way that people connect, and social apps will play a critical role on-chain.
What’s powerful about this next generation of on-chain social apps is that they will enable people to have sovereign ownership. They will continue to own their creativity, and they’ll continue to be in control — rather than the large corporations that are controlling them now.
CT: Can you tell us about a DApp launched on Base that excites you?
JP: Check out Blackbird, a customer engagement platform for restaurants. You walk into any participating restaurant, you tap your phone, and it instantly knows who you are. They customize the experience for you. Repeat visitors can earn rewards. It’s in 10 or 15 restaurants now in New York City but is soon expanding into California. A lot of people are talking about it on Twitter.
CT: Where will blockchain finally find its “killer app” — to do for the cryptoverse what email did for the internet? Or has it already emerged in your view?
JP: There won’t be one killer app. There will be many killer apps. We’re starting to see some of those emerge. The one with the most real-world adoption is stablecoins. If you look at the total volume of stablecoin transactions over the last year, it’s a massive number. It will be a big driver of economic freedom in the decade ahead. It gives people in places like Argentina or Turkey access to a stable currency like the U.S. dollar.
But stablecoins won’t be alone. We will see many on-chain applications that will change people’s lives for the better.
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[PRESS RELEASE – Zurich, Switzerland, December 6th, 2024]
Ocelex is positioned to launch as a MetaDEX and liquidity layer on Zircuit, a zkEVM-based Layer 2 ecosystem designed for scalability and security. With its focus on capital-efficient innovation, community-driven participation, and 100% revenue sharing among token holders, Ocelex aims to create a transparent and inclusive DeFi environment.
Zircuit’s infrastructure, which includes AI-driven sequencer security, provides a strong foundation for decentralized applications. Recent developments, such as the token generation event (TGE) of the $ZRC token, have increased attention on the ecosystem. Ocelex’s launch will leverage this momentum to establish itself as Zircuit’s primary decentralized exchange, prioritizing liquidity, accessibility, and growth within the DeFi sector.
Ocelex as the First Lynex Expansion
As the first franchise expansion of Lynex—the leading liquidity protocol on Linea—Ocelex builds on a proven foundation. Lynex has achieved over $3.5 billion in trading volume and distributed $7.5 million in revenue to token holders, positioning it as one of the top-performing ve(3,3) DEXs. Ocelex continues this legacy by introducing Automated Liquidity Management (ALM) aggregation, a feature designed to simplify liquidity management through automated strategies. This approach reduces risks like impermanent loss while ensuring consistent yield for liquidity providers (LPs).
Strategic Partnerships and Pre-Launch Momentum
Even before its official launch, Ocelex has established key partnerships and secured significant Total Value Locked (TVL). These partnerships include:
- EtherFi, Kelp, and Renzo for LRTs (liquidity restaking tokens).
- Lido and StakeStone for LSTs (liquid staking tokens).
- StakeStone and Elara, two leading money market protocols to ensure seamless, integrated liquidity flows for users.
Ocelex’s strong pre-launch performance underscores its potential to play a key role in Zircuit’s ecosystem growth. With a current TVL of $4.6M and total trading volume of $13.3M, Ocelex has already secured a solid foothold in the DEX category.
A Community-First Approach
Ocelex follows Lynex’s community-centric strategy with an airdrop that prioritizes long-term alignment. 45% of Ocelex’s initial supply will be airdropped to Lynex veLYNX holders who have locked tokens for one year or more. This approach rewards loyal participants while fostering ecosystem stability. Locking veLYNX has historically provided some of the most consistent yields among ve(3,3) protocols, a trend Ocelex aims to replicate.
The Upcoming Public Sale
The Ocelex public sale begins on December 9th at 10:00 UTC and will run for 60 hours in a Dutch auction format. The auction ensures fair market pricing, starting at $0.30 and decreasing to $0.06.
Key Sale Details:
- Tokens for Sale: 2,000,000 $OCX (2% of initial supply).
- Minimum Price: $0.06 | Starting Price: $0.30.
Following the sale, the Token Generation Event (TGE) will commence, marking the start of liquidity mining and distributing tokens to pre-miners and airdrop recipients.
For a comprehensive overview of the public sale, refer to this article or watch the accompanying short video.
Ocelex Public Sale Projections
Ocelex’s Dutch auction public sale lets the market decide its valuation and launch price, starting at $0.30 and decreasing linearly to $0.06.
Community airdrop recipients, who will receive 50% of the initial supply as governance tokens, also stand to benefit from higher sale prices. With interest in Ocelex as the next big ve(3,3) DEX on Zircuit, the auction is expected to be highly competitive, following in the footsteps of Lynex, Aerodrome, and Thena.
Ocelex’s Growth Potential
Ocelex has the potential to secure substantial TVL on Zircuit, a network with over $2.5B in total value locked (TVL). This potential is modeled on the success of other ve(3,3) protocols:
- Aerodrome: Secured 41.56% of Base’s $3.85B TVL ($1.6B), with an FDV of $2.5B. Ocelex could achieve $1.039B TVL with a similar share.
- Lynex: Commands 4.7% of Linea’s $494M TVL ($23.2M) with an FDV of $29M. Ocelex could secure $117.5M TVL with comparable performance.
- Thena: Captures 1.47% of BNB Chain’s $5.8B TVL ($85M) with an FDV of $565M. Ocelex could achieve $36.75M TVL with this share.
Ocelex Key Metrics:
- Dominant Case: $1.039B TVL (41.56%).
- Moderate Case: $117.5M TVL (4.7%).
- Conservative Case: $36.75M TVL (1.47%).
With an FDV range of $6M to $30M, Ocelex presents an undervalued opportunity for early participants, particularly when compared to Aerodrome’s $2.5B FDV or Thena’s $565M.
The Future of DeFi with Ocelex and Zircuit
Ocelex combines Lynex’s successful model with Zircuit’s technical infrastructure, aiming to serve as a cornerstone for DeFi activity. With strong pre-launch momentum, strategic partnerships, and a focus on community alignment, Ocelex is positioned to deliver value and scalability for users and the broader DeFi ecosystem.
About Ocelex
Ocelex is the first expansion of the Lynex brand, launching as a franchise on Zircuit, an emerging Layer 2. Ocelex democratizes sophisticated liquidity strategies, seamlessly connecting everyday traders with expert-level capabilities. It features a competitive ecosystem of Automated Liquidity Managers (ALMs) and strategists, all striving to optimize returns, minimize risks like impermanent loss, and boost overall efficiency for every user.
Users can learn more about Ocelex through the following links
Website: www.ocelex.fi/
DApp: app.ocelex.fi/
Discord: discord.com/invite/rTkZNbNggh
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Cryptocurrency
Lingo Secures Strategic Partnership with Stewards Investment Capital for RWA Revolution
[PRESS RELEASE – Trou Aux Biches, Mauritius, December 5th, 2024]
Lingo, the token revolutionizing RWA with its community-first model, has announced a strategic partnership with Stewards Investment Capital. This collaboration can solidify Lingo’s position as an anticipated RWA token launch in 2024, combining viral product, gamified users experience with 25 years of institutional and investment expertise.
Building a Consumer-First RWA Ecosystem
Lingo is the first RWA token tailored for a mass audience, utilizing real-world assets to fuel its unique rewards ecosystem. By building a diversified RWA portfolio, Lingo delivers tangible, lasting value to its growing community of over 2 million members and 8 million app users.
Institutional backing has been a cornerstone of Lingo’s strategy. Its investor network collectively manages more than $3 billion in assets, and the advisory board includes former executives from BlackRock, Google, and Booking.
Investment Partnership
Stewards Investment Capital, with over 25 years of experience in RWA management, has deployed more than $1 billion across the United States and South Africa. This proven track record across diverse asset classes makes Stewards a partner to propel Lingo’s ecosystem forward.
Together, the two organizations will deploy capital into carefully vetted RWA products, combining Stewards’ institutional expertise with Lingo’s innovative model. The partnership ensures the sustainability of the rewards ecosystem by leveraging Stewards’ institutional-grade expertise.
Lingo’s Unique Approach to Rewards
At the core of Lingo ecosystem is its groundbreaking model: transaction fees are reinvested into real-world assets, potentially generating yields that fuel rewards for the community. This novel approach has positioned Lingo as an upcoming pioneer in consumer-first RWA space.
By combining forces, Lingo and Stewards Investment are set to redefine how communities can benefit from real-world assets in the digital age.
For more information, users can visit: Lingo website – http://mylingo.io
Stewards Investment Website – https://stewardsinvestment.com
About Lingo
Lingo is building the gamified, RWA-powered rewards ecosystem for the next billion in Web3. The main goal is to reward the community with real-world benefits consistently and exponentially, powered by real-world assets that generate true value for the ecosystem.
The premise of Lingo is very simple: To create an ever-growing rewards ecosystem that generates real-world community rewards, regardless of token and market volatility.
Stewards Investment Capital is a boutique investment advisory firm with over 25 years of experience as part of the Stewards Group of Financial Companies. Strategically located in Mauritius, South Africa, and the USA, the firm specializes in crafting niche investment solutions for high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors, driven by a high-alpha approach.
Stewards’ commitment to its investors is rooted in its mission to grow and nurture their wealth, build lasting fortunes, and create enduring legacies to achieve real freedom. Recognized by Global Private Banker, Africa Global Funds, and Global Finance, Stewards continues to foster close relationships with its investors, delivering exceptional service through innovative offerings and positioning itself as a preferred global investment partner.
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has dismissed the idea that Bitcoin could replace the U.S. dollar, likening the cryptocurrency to gold as a speculative asset rather than a store of value.
Powell shared these views during his appearance at The New York Times DealBook Summit in Manhattan.
Powell’s Argument
When asked whether Bitcoin’s popularity reflects a lack of faith in the U.S. dollar or the Federal Reserve, Powell said, “I don’t think that’s how people think about it.” He went on to describe Bitcoin as a highly volatile asset used for speculation rather than as a stable store of value.
“It’s just like gold, only it’s virtual,” Powell said. “It’s very volatile, it’s not a competitor for the dollar, it’s really a competitor for gold.”
These remarks come at a time of heightened speculation about Bitcoin’s role in global finance. It has seen a significant price rise in recent weeks, driving its market capitalization to over $2 trillion.
According to CompaniesMarketCap.com, the cryptocurrency is now the seventh-largest asset globally. Bitcoin ranks behind gold, which has an estimated market value of $18 trillion, and five major American companies, including Nvidia, Alphabet, and Meta.
Powell’s conservative stance on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is consistent with his previous statements. In 2021, he similarly criticized Bitcoin for its volatility, arguing that it failed to serve as a reliable store of value or medium of exchange.
At the time, he referred to all cryptocurrencies as speculative investments that would not replace the dollar but could rival gold as an alternative asset.
Following the 71-year-old’s reappointment as Federal Reserve Chair in 2021, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz expressed concerns, stating that his leadership would likely hinder market growth.
“People are getting pretty bearish on crypto,” Novogratz said at the time.
Concerns Under Powell’s Leadership
Under Biden’s administration, the Federal Reserve has been accused of playing a key role in “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” an alleged effort to stop the growth of the U.S. cryptocurrency industry by cutting crypto firms’ access to traditional banking services.
In August 2024, these allegations were reignited after the Fed directed Customers Bank, a crypto-friendly institution, to tighten its risk management and compliance measures. This prompted Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss to declare that Operation Chokepoint 2.0 “is alive and well.”
Crypto’s banking issues began years ago, intensifying after the collapse of FTX, which triggered stricter regulations against blockchain companies.
This included mandates from the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve that discouraged banks from serving crypto firms. As a result of this, many crypto-friendly banks like Silvergate Bank, Signature Bank, and Silicon Valley Bank have since been forced to close.
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