Howdy crypto-heads, as we’ve added quite a few new members to the newsletter I’d like to give them a big warm welcome!
This newsletter is focused on current events in the crypto space, sharing projects and people I find interesting, and serving as a resource for upcoming crypto events; locally in Colorado and larger events across the U.S.
No worries if this isn’t something you’re interested in - just scroll to the bottom of this email and hit “unsubscribe”.
This weeks newsletter is all about:
Bitcoin retracing 20% and pulling altcoins with it
Some updates on a few DAO projects I follow/participate in
List of upcoming events related to decentralization and crypto
1. Bitcoin price action - Are we in a bear market?
With a pullback of nearly 20% for Bitcoin (and more for other cryptocurrencies) I’m sure many of you are wondering if it’s time to hibernate as crypto summer draws to a close…
Unfortunately I don’t have a crystal ball so the best I can do is lay out the information I find interesting and share my opinion on that.
First up, the on chain data is showing that a lot of people were borrowing money to long Bitcoin and this drop in price liquidated over $3B of their funds (primarily in futures markets). The silver lining here is that the folks participating in futures markets are mainly short-term speculators, not long-term investors who actually shape the fundamentals of a given market.
According to Blockware, “Broader market dynamics have only increased, the bull market is not over. Remember we had eight 20%+ pullbacks from March 2020 to March 2021. I don’t see anything to be concerned about.”
Having been in this space for a few years now I understand that the speculative nature of Bitcoin (and crypto in general) allows for large corrections like these. Furthermore, it is often the short-term, over-leveraged players getting liquidated that serve as a root cause for many of these pullbacks. Based on the above data it is my opinion that yesterdays drop in price was caused by exactly this.
After putting on my tinfoil hat I also find it veryyy interesting that this drop in price occurred while the country of El Salvador began their rollout to use Bitcoin as legal tender. There were quite a few negative articles about El Salvador’s move away from a US dollar based system that made me wonder if a narrative is being pushed.
**Disclaimer: El Salvador’s President is not a great guy. In fact, he has a tendency to strong arm legislation through their Parliament and rule in an authoritarian manner. His move to get out from under the United States influence via USD monetary control policy is something that I see happening in other places in the near future however.**
At the end of the day Bitcoin and cryptocurrency offer an alternative from the status quo, regardless if the status quo is US dollar hegemony (in the case of El Salvador) or a rapidly expanding wealth gap (in the case of American citizens). As more people begin to “opt-out” it scares those in positions of power because they are incentivized to perpetuate the status quo.
When this happens it is a common tactic to make alternatives like Bitcoin and crypto seem as unpalatable as possible which is why each one of us has a responsibility to talk with the people around us, sharing our beliefs in this technology and helping prevent false narratives from taking hold.
2. Let’s DAO it!
I’ve been interested in DAO’s for a hot minute now and there are some really cool things happening as they continue to mature. Obviously Metacartel is one of the OG’s when it comes to DAO’s but I wanted to bring some attention to 5 other DAO’s that you may not be aware of.
RaidGuild
SporkDAO
PlannerDAO
Gitcoin DAO
Shapeshift DAO
RaidGuild - https://www.raidguild.org
Through the MetaCartel network, we assembled a fellowship of the best builders, designers and hustlers in the space in order to make this future a reality...We believe in Web3 and are here to build it, use it, and propagate it. The profits from our work will be used to fund development of open source tooling and public goods.
For anyone who is building on Ethereum or inside the Web3 ecosystem RaidGuild is pretty much a 1-stop shop to get your idea off the ground. They offer consultations, design sprints, full stack development and even marketing - all while governing their “business” democratically through the members of the DAO who are the people actually doing the work.
SporkDAO - https://www.sporkdao.org
SporkDAO represents the final leg of the journey towards transitioning ETHDenver to a community owned ecosystem.
For those of you who have participated in ETHDenver over the years, the SporkDAO has been created to “take control” of the event and ensure it’s values are aligned with the community who attend it. You can actually claim some SPORK token on their website if you’ve attended in the past and if you’d like to have an active role in the DAO you can apply to be on their Board of Stewards.
Full disclosure, I am a member of this DAO. To apply to be on the Board of Stewards you have until the end of the month - https://forum.sporkdao.org/t/sporkdao-board-of-stewards-role/53
PlannerDAO - https://www.plannerdao.io
PlannerDAO is a decentralized movement owned by financial planners. Our mission is to democratize access to wealth building strategies around the globe. We bring a diverse set of talents, skills, and experiences, which we use to promote economic sovereignty for all individuals.
Full disclosure, I am a member of this DAO. Geared more towards those in the financial planning space (or vendors, brokers, and others associated with it) this DAO offers a certification for advising clients about blockchain and digital assets along with offering access to the more knowledgeable DAO members for help navigating the crypto and blockchain space as a registered advisor.
Gitcoin DAO - https://gitcoin.co
Now that products like Gitcoin Grants have become a cornerstone of the Ethereum funding ecosystem, it’s extremely important that its ongoing development be managed directly by and for the Gitcoin community.
The launch of Gitcoin DAO is the first step towards an ongoing evolution of Gitcoin. As we grow from millions to billions of dollars allocated to digital public goods yearly, it is important for this process to be accomplished alongside the community actually contributing to these public goods.
Started back in May 2021 the Gitcoin DAO aims to decentralize the governance of Gitcoin, a really cool company that has created a system for supporting Web3 projects via quadratic funding.
Helpful links: Intro the DAO and the main forum for DAO coordination and participation
Shapeshift DAO - https://shapeshift.com
To align with the ethos of decentralized finance, ShapeShift, founded in 2014, has begun dissolving our corporate structure, evolving into a community-owned and governed crypto platform. Our entire codebase and technology shall be open-sourced in the coming months. These changes are designed to bring ShapeShift further in line with the true vision of immutable, decentralized finance. Through this transition, our intention is to build a powerful community around an open-source, self-custody, multi-chain crypto platform for the world.
If you’re like me and have used the Shapeshift platform to trade cryptocurrency in the past it was a really exciting thing to see the announcement about the Shapeshift DAO. To bootstrap membership in the DAO, the governance token FOX has/is being airdropped to those who have used Shapeshift or other services in the decentralized finance world.
Full disclosure, I am a member of this DAO. To check your eligibility for the FOX airdrop head over to https://fox.shapeshift.com/airdrop. To learn more about Shapeshift’s roadmap for decentralization you can check out https://shapeshift.com/shapeshift-decentralize-airdrop.
3. Upcoming events for the savvy crypto-head
In no particular order there are some really cool events coming up, both in-person and virtual!
MCON - Metacartel’s “Cryptopalooza” of fun, learning, and experimental growth that is in person and being held right here in Denver on Sept 15, 16, and 17th. Unfortunately tickets are sold out for the main event during the day but this calendar has a bunch of side events that you can still attend.
Denver Crypto Group’s Trading Class - A 90 minute session all about technical and basic quantitative analysis of crypto markets. Sign up for the next class on September 11th using this form.
Unfinished Live - A 2 day event that begins on September 23rd for “Exploring a decentralized future where new technologies enable a stronger democracy and a fairer economy.” This is both virtual and in person if you live in NYC. If you use the promo code NEWPUBLIC100 to sign up the ticket is free!
Denver Crypto Group’s Investing Class - A 90 minute session focused on vetting projects in the cryptosphere and creating a portfolio for yourself that properly manages risk. Sign up for the next class on September 14th using this form.
Denver Crypto Group meetup: Securing your cryptocurrency - A free in person event in Aurora on September 22nd where I’ll cover setting up a Ledger Nano hardware wallet and present about how to safely secure your cryptocurrency using cybersecurity best practices. 6:30pm-8pm in meeting room B at the Smoky Hills Library, 5430 S Biscay Cir, Centennial, CO 80015.