1/ Bitcoin halving & Runes launch - ✅

Up next? Stacks Nakamoto upgrade.

Here's why it matters and Stacks protocols to follow: 🧵 2/ Growing interest in Bitcoin L2s narrative and multiple tokenless protocols on Stacks make it a good bet to focus attention.

The upgrade brings Bitcoin finality and greater MEV resistance, but that's boring technical stuff that degens don't really care about.

1/16 Runes Protocol launches in 2 days: Ready to FOMO in?

Hold up.

There are few reasons to stay bearish for now: 2/16 Pre-rune token market is hot.

Runestone, RSIC, and PUPS are already pumping, promising holders shiny new Rune token airdrops.

And FOMO threads keep coming...

But, like the NFT frenzy post-JPEG reveal, the market could soon cool off.

Here's why:

1/13 Karak, the first Eigenlayer's rival, has entered the restaking games.

If Eigenlayer restaking terrifies you, brace for twice the degeneracy.

Here's why: 🧵 2/13 At first look, Karak seems like a copy of Eigenlayer:

dApps on Eigenlayer are known as Actively Validated Services (AVS), while on Karak they are termed Distributed Secure Services (DSS).

AVS/DSS are new protocols secured by restaked assets.

Don't fade the Bitcoin ecosystem.

I had 0 #BTC before this bull run.

Now, Bitcoin and BTC assets are a big % of my portfolio.

Yes, BTC won't pump 100x, but BTC Ordinals/Runes will and already do!

I bought Nodemonke at 0.03 BTC, now it trades at 0.47 BTC - up by 1466%.

Ansem just pumped $PUPS yet most degens trade it on Solana when on Bitcoin Unisat marketplace PUPS trade at a discount.

With Runes protocol expected to bring memecoin trading degeneracy to Bitcoin in just 14 days, it's time to learn about BTCFi.

If Runes & BTCFi sounds too complicated, just learn by doing!

There's big knowledge asymmetry to profit from: learn before degens join the party later on.

Just do it:

1) Install @XverseApp, @unisat_wallet or/and @okxweb3

2) Get some BTC: Bridge from ETH via @THORChain or @garden_finance

3) Buy any Ordinal on @MEonBTC (can find below $100 USD) just to learn how it works

4) Trade any BRC20 on @unisat_wallet marketplace

5) Try Runes testnet on @XverseApp and mint Runes to get ready for Runes mainnet.

BOOM! You're already ahead of 98% of CT.

You'll get many questions on the way: go ask the community.

We are all learning here. I was like Crypto Nova: Didn't see much value in BTC for max gainz.

But I chase Zero-to-One innovations in crypto and Ordinals/Runes is the one this cycle.

Playing with all Bitcoin dApps and NFTs has been fun (and profitable) so far.

https://twitter.com/CryptoGirlNova/status/1776185481895477362

1/8 Hot market: No one wants to hold stablecoins.

On-chain leverage is spiking, driving up demand for stablecoins.

Here's how crazy the market is and the best opportunities it offers: 🧵 2/8 On-chain traders are bullish:

Ipor Index reveals borrowing rates soaring from 1%-2% to around 37% for USDT on Aave v2 in just a year.

Traders borrow stablecoins to either buy more crypto or explore ever increasing on-chain opportunities.

1/13 Uniswap V4 launch is just around the corner.

It's not just an upgrade; it's a transformation from protocol to platform.

Imagine the iPhone finally getting the Apple Store.

And here's why it worries me: 🧵 2/13 First, some alpha:

Uniswap v4 will launch shortly after the Ethereum Dencun upgrade.

The v4 includes EIP-1153: Transient storage that is needed for Uniswap v4 to reduce network costs.

Few are paying attention, but $UNI might see some action after the launch.

1/ How to choose which narrative to invest in?

Amid numerous tokens, narratives, and "alpha" threads on X, where should you focus?

Here's my framework & the narratives I follow: 🧵 2/ I believe the success of any crypto ecosystem is driven by three key elements:

1️⃣ Technical Innovation

Technical innovation is the key to progress that generates excitement for new projects.

Without technical innovation the industry would stagnate and fade away.

1/ Something huge is brewing in the BTCfi space.

21k Ordinal NFTs (RSICs) airdr0pped to Bitcoin OG wallets, now worth $2k each.

By holding RSICs, you'll get a token of Rune Protocol, the new Bitcoin token standard set to dethrone $ORDI & BRC20s... 🧵 2/ I say "something" because things are blurry and uncertain.

It's so new that information is scattered among English, Mandarin, and other languages.

This thread is an attempt to share what I know and get clarifications from the community.

But this is how it all started:

1/7 When will Ethereum ($ETH) pump?

This year, it suffered a -24% drop against $BTC.

But here are four catalysts that could lead to ETH finally breaking out: 🧵 2/7 Money is actually flowing to Ethereum.

Yet, investors prefer to buy discounted Grayscale ETH, which is up 298% YTD compared to +98% for ETH.

The discount has reduced from -59% to -20% this year, and when it closes down, more money will flow to spot ETH.

1/9 Are VCs getting FOMO?

Fundraising amounts have finally picked up, reaching $2.15B in November.

The flow of VC money helps to identify the newest trends.

Here's where all that cash went: 🧵 2/9 Wormhole's $225M raise at a $2.5B valuation is the most prominent one.

Then there's @ritualnet - sovereign execution layer to integrate AI into any protocol on any chain for monetization.

@blur_io raised additional $40M to build an Optimistic Rollup L2.

Avalanche, Thorchain, and Solana are more decentralized than Ethereum.

At least according to the Nakamoto Coefficient. It's a measure of how many entities can collectively shut down a blockchain.

It's determined by the number of node operators that control more than one-third of the stake on the network.

A higher Nakamoto Coefficient indicates a more resilient and decentralized network.

Actually, Mina is the most decentralized and resilient PoS network against manipulation.

Ethereum is at the bottom with just 2!

Seems counterintuitive for Ethereum to be at the bottom.

What am I missing?
Interestingly, this Coefficient was firstly proposed by Balaji S. Srinivasan and Leland Lee in 2017.

Project teams are likely having Zoom calls to discuss the timing of their token launches.

They've been delaying private sale investment news and waiting for the market to heat up before launching their tokens.

So, I expect the launch of new, shiny tokens soon. With new capital flowing in, new job opportunities will pop up.

More people will learn about crypto, invest in it, and share the crypto mission with their friends.

They'll become the new DeFi users and help build innovative products that we haven't seen yet.

1/14 What's @VitalikButerin's biggest concern for Ethereum? What keeps him motivated?

And what's next non-speculative meta in crypto that he sees?

There was an AMA with Vitalik on @farcaster_xyz and 99% of CT missed it.

Here are the best questions & answers from his AMA: 🧵 2/14 Q: What's your biggest concern for Ethereum's future?

Vitalik: The risk of crypto stagnation, loss of privacy and open internet infrastructure, and the big techno-political questions being decided by AI without proper incentives from big actors.

(Full answer in screenshot)

1/14 Imagine merging Uniswap, Maker, Compound, Aave, and Curve.

The result?

Fluid - a revolutionary liquidity layer for lending, borrowing, and trading that combines the best DeFi has to offer.

Here's how it works: 🧵 2/14 @0xfluid is the result of 1.5 years of hard work by the Instadapp team.

Yet, their journey started in 2018, even before the term 'DeFi' was coined.

Since then, they've built a 'middleware' protocol that attracted $1.8B in TVL, becoming the 10th largest protocol in DeFi.

Liquid Restaked Token (LRT) - Get ready for the new ponzitokenomics era

We're currently in a pre-bull season, where the technical groundwork is being laid for innovative money printing and the creation of compelling narratives.

Eigenlayer's restaking and LRTs are on the top of my list for the echo bubble money printing to come. And restaking plays a key part in it.

Restaking on EigenLayer allows ETH restaking to multiple protocols known as Actively Validated Services (AVS) thereby securing multiple networks/services simultaneously with Pooled Security.

Bridges, oracles, sidechains are just a few examples of AVS, but crypto degens will surprise us with some crazy new concepts for AVS.

The key benefit for AVS is enhanced security by tapping into Ethereum's consensus layer. Yet, you will love it for higher yields, and airdrops.

The Problem and The LRT Solution

EigenLayer's model is innovative but has a major drawback—once your Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) are locked, they become illiquid. Oh, the irony, right?

Liquid Restaked Tokens (LRT) offer a solution by unlocking this liquidity and adding another layer of leverage to boost yields.

The core advantages of LRT include:

• Liquidity: Unlock previously staked tokens to use elsewhere in DeFi

• Higher Yields: Increase returns through added leverage

• Governance Aggregator: No manual work required as DAOs or protocols manage restaking

• Compounding Yields: Save on gas fees while optimizing yield

• Diversify and Reduce risk

You won't need to do any 'due diligence' yourself; let the DAOs do it for you*

*Terms and conditions may apply.

Why I'm Bullish on LRTS:

• LRTs: Potential for killer ETH yields. Ethereum staking yield (~5%)+ rewards from Eigenlayer restaking (~10%)+LRT protocol token emissions (~10% and more) = 25% yield on ETH even before the bull market starts.

• Airdrops: EigenLayer, AVS, and LRT tokens.

• Liquidity & Leverage: LRTs could unlock liquidity, boosting DeFi TVL and ETH prices in a similar way to DeFi Summer 2020, that will also end up in a crash.

• Timing: We're in early stages. Real action kicks off when EigenLayer's deposit limits lift and new AVS protocols requiring restaking launch.

The Upcoming "LRT Wars"

LRT (ponzi)tokenomics look promising, at least in a short term.

New AVS on Eigenlayer will compete for restaked $ETH by alluring ETH with their own tokens and creative stories. Early AVS will have the liquidity advantage due to fewer options.

Choosing an AVS takes time and expertise; users will naturally favour the highest rewards.

Here's the twist: LRT governance tokens.

New AVS could more efficiently guide deposits their way by influencing LRT protocols rather than offering direct rewards, similar how veToken bribes work.

For example, a new Bridge X could directly entice Eigenlayer restakers, or more smartly aim at LRT protocols holding large restaked ETH reserves.

The result? Increased demand for LRT tokens, especially successful ones. Expect interesting DAO vote competition among AVS.

But beware of token inflation as LRT tokens will be used to attract your precious ETH principal.

Upcoming Landscape: Protocols to Watch

EigenLayer is still in initial mode and new AVS protocols requiring restaked ETH & LRT protocols will soon flood the market.

A few promising LRT protocols are:

• Stader Labs
• Astrid Finance
• InceptionLST
• RestakeFi

All are currently on testnet. Established names like Lido and Rocket Pool may also join the race, but for the sake of higher yields and airdrops I hope they don't.

How Could it All Collapse?

LRTs essentially stack leverage upon leverage, similar to the early days of DeFi, making the system more vulnerable to market volatility and systemic failures.

What's more, even Vitalik and EigenLayer's co-founder caution against risky re-staking practices that could harm Ethereum's security.

Yet, from what we've learned about crypto degeneracy, restaking will probably be overused. Pushed to the maximum by launching AVS that don’t need access to Ethereum’s consensus layer.

And while Ethereum will be alright, the sheer number of new AVS and LRTs will dilute the dollar amount and attention entering the sector, leading to price collapse of their governance tokens.

But this comes later.

First, the leverage needs to be built in the first place. Which will be fun.
I first shared the full LRT story to my blog subscribers last week.

I invite you to subscribe to my blog so you don't miss a thing.

You'll find the link in the tweet below 🫶

https://twitter.com/DefiIgnas/status/1702318226947072019

1/ You need to survive three crypto cycles to make it.

One for learning, one for earning, and one for building generational wealth.

As I gear up for my 3rd cycle, this bear market feels like déjà vu, giving a sense of what's coming next: 🧵 2/ I started 'investing' in crypto in late 2017, driven by FOMO.

I thought I was ahead of the game.

I diversified and believed I was making smart choices, but in the end, I got rekt.

A common newbie story.

1/8 Multisig wallets offer the highest level of protection to keep your assets safe.

Yet they are cumbersome to set up and inconvenient to use.

Fortunately, Instadapp has just launched Avocado Multisig to change the game: 🧵 2/8 If you think you don't need a multisig wallet, you might want to think again.

Similar to how 2FA requires two separate forms of identification to access your CEX or email, multisig wallets also eliminate the risk of a single point of failure.

V. Buterin also uses it.

1/12 Two days ago I did a survey on blockchain user activity, and results are surprising:

- 17% of voters never used Ethereum mainnet
- 34% never made a Bitcoin transaction

Here are the other top 7 insights from the survey: 👇 2/12 First, the #Cardano community is hella strong.

The survey attracted more fans from Cardano than from other chains, with 6.3K participants in the Cardano survey vs. ~2.7K for other blockchains.

Still, 64% of respondents have never used Cardano.

1/10 Paradigm's investment in Friend tech led to a surge in buyers purchasing shares.

Users are smelling opportunities from airdrops to a new narrative emerging in crypto.

A short 🧵 2/10 First, interesting that the deal may have been sealed months ago.

The "Seed round?" invitation is dated three months prior.

Wondering if viral popularity prompted Paradigm to invest or if the deal was already completed?

https://twitter.com/friendtech/status/1692588652172640666

1/10 Are we going 📈 or 📉?

Here are some market metrics to consider:

First, the decline of BTC on exchanges is bullish.

But other metrics present a mixed picture: 👇 2/10 Stablecoin market cap is down: Bearish as buying power is lower.

1/15 Did you know that MEV problem is older than Ethereum itself?

The frontrunning issue was first mentioned on Reddit in 2014: a year before Ethereum first launched.

Yet it continues to cause controversy to this day.

Here's the short history of MEV and it's current state:🧵 2/15 Reddit user 'Pmcgoohan' discovered the miner frontrunning issue in Ethereum's pre-Genesis draft paper.

He explained what we now call 'sandwich attack' to earn 'an immediate profit.'

'It seems like a big problem to me, and one fundamental to the way ethereum operates.'