The Memecoin Dilemma: Fueling Adoption or Derailing Progress? | Analyst Round Table

Summary

In this episode of ZeroX Research, the team discusses various updates in the crypto space, including Zerion's L2 announcement, Starbucks' closure of their NFT platform, and the rise of meme coins. They also delve into the legitimacy of meme coins and their impact on the market, highlighting the significant trading volumes and revenue generated. The conversation touches on the potential risks and frothy market sentiment surrounding meme coins, emphasizing the need for awareness among investors.

Takeaways

• 📈 The podcast discusses various updates in the crypto space, including Zerion's L2 announcement and Starbucks shutting down their NFT platform, Odyssey.
• 💡 The hosts debate the efficacy of L2 solutions and the potential for wallets to leverage them, comparing it to MetaMask's potential influence.
• 🚀 Starbuck's closure of Odyssey is seen as a disappointment, with the hosts noting the platform's UX issues and the high cost of earning rewards.
• 🤔 The conversation touches on the challenges of Web3/Web2 partnerships, especially from a consumer perspective, and the need for native teams to succeed.
• 💰 The hosts discuss the draining of My Lady treasury and the impact on NFT valuations, as well as Uber's Southeast Asia branch, Grab, allowing crypto onramp options.
• 🌐 The podcast highlights the importance of ZK bridging and interoperability between chains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, with Polyhedra CL's strategic funding round indicating market interest.
• 🔧 The successful implementation of Ethereum's 444 upgrade is celebrated, with a focus on the reduction of L2 transaction costs.
• 🎉 The hosts discuss the Avo airdrop and the performance of the Micro Strategy pair trade, highlighting the company's financial maneuvers.
• 📊 The podcast features a discussion with Mag, co-founder of Skip, about their partnership with dydx and the development of their order book discrepancy dashboard.
• 🔮 The concept of 'Stinky', a tool for sovereign chains to build their own Oracle, is introduced, with potential applications for DEX teams like dydx.
• 🛠️ Updates on the Block SDK are provided, with chains like Osmosis and Neutron adopting it for free transactions and MEV lanes.

Q & A

What is the significance of the 30% APY being offered by a certain platform mentioned in the transcript?

The 30% APY (Annual Percentage Yield) being offered represents a high return on investment, which is significant because it indicates an attractive opportunity for investors. However, the speaker notes that they are only seeing 18% of that return, with the rest being held in EtherFi tokens, highlighting a potential discrepancy between promised returns and actual earnings.

What is the main reason behind Starbucks shutting down their NFT platform, Odyssey?

Starbucks is shutting down the Odyssey platform due to lack of traction and a suboptimal user experience. The platform required users to engage in complex tasks to earn stamps, which were then exchanged for NFTs and rewards. The process was not user-friendly, and the rewards were not substantial enough to maintain user interest and participation.

What was the main challenge faced by Starbucks in their attempt to integrate NFTs into their customer loyalty program?

The main challenge was the lack of product-market fit. The user experience was clunky, requiring customers to interact with their website, wallet on Polygon, and trade stamp NFTs, which was not appealing to the users. Additionally, the rewards, such as a free coffee, required a significant amount of stamps, making the process less attractive.

What does the term 'L2' refer to in the context of the transcript?

In the context of the transcript, 'L2' refers to 'Layer 2' solutions in blockchain technology. These are protocols or platforms built on top of an existing blockchain (the 'Layer 1') to improve its scalability, speed, and cost-efficiency. For instance, Zerion's announcement about an L2 solution for wallets is discussed, indicating a trend in the industry to leverage Layer 2 technologies.

What is the significance of the implementation of 444 on Ethereum?

The implementation of 444 on Ethereum is significant as it represents a successful live upgrade to the network. This upgrade likely refers to a protocol upgrade aimed at improving Ethereum's performance, possibly related to its transition to Proof of Stake (PoS) and the introduction of sharding, which are part of Ethereum 2.0 upgrades.

What was the main takeaway from the discussion about the My Lady treasury being drained of 110 NFTs?

The main takeaway was that the draining of the My Lady treasury resulted in a significant drop in the floor price of the NFTs, indicating a strong correlation between the availability of NFTs in the market and their value. This event highlights the volatility of the NFT market and the impact of large-scale transactions on asset prices.

What is the role of the 'Block SDK' mentioned in the transcript?

The Block SDK is an open-source software development kit that allows blockchains to split their blocks into different lanes with varying ordering and execution rules. It has been adopted by chains like Osmosis and Neutron, primarily for enabling free transactions and for implementing mev (miner extractable value) lanes, where a portion of the block space is dedicated to transactions that the network wants to subsidize.

What is the 'Slinky' tool developed by the team behind Skip?

Slinky is a tool that allows for the creation of a sovereign, stake-native Oracle using a validator set of the user's choice. It is designed for high performance and can deliver a large number of currency pairs with low latency. The tool is aimed at enabling new permissionless markets in a verifiable and safe way, potentially expanding the range of available markets significantly.

What is the 'stinky' project mentioned in the transcript?

The 'stinky' project is not explicitly defined in the transcript. However, based on the context, it could be a project or initiative related to the development of tooling for sovereign chains, possibly in relation to the work being done by the team behind Skip.

What was the main reason for the disappointment expressed towards the Starbucks Odyssey platform?

The disappointment stems from the platform's failure to engage users effectively. The user experience was not smooth, and the rewards system was not enticing enough, requiring a large number of stamps to earn a significant reward, such as a free coffee. This led to a lack of product-market fit and ultimately the decision to shut down the platform.

What does the acronym 'L2' stand for in the context of blockchain and Ethereum?

In the context of blockchain and Ethereum, 'L2' stands for 'Layer 2', which refers to solutions built on top of the base blockchain layer to improve scalability, reduce transaction costs, and increase transaction throughput. These Layer 2 solutions are essential for handling more transactions without compromising the security of the main blockchain.