Elon Musk just bought Twitter...here's what that means for crypto
GM, we take the latest Web3 news and translate it into plain old English - so you can stay up to date, without your eyes glazing over.
In today’s edition:
Elon Musk just bought Twitter...here's what that means for crypto
Will the Web3 version of Netflix be built off the back of a 'crypto dating show'?
RESOURCE: What is DeFi and how does it work?
Bored Ape Yacht Club's Instagram got hacked (and $2.7M of NFTs were stolen)
Terms used (click for translation):
NFTs.
Elon Musk just bought Twitter...here's what it means for crypto
Holy moly.
It actually happened!?
The Twitter board accepted Elon Musk's bid to buy the platform for $44 billion - subject to the approval of shareholders.
Here's what that could mean for the crypto space:
A better reputation.
Elon has proposed a crackdown on spam bots & scams, many of which target tweets within the crypto community.
A lift in broader crypto prices.
How is it that Elon buying Twitter and the crypto market are connected? They're not. At least not directly.
But tweets from Elon have single-handedly pumped (and crashed) Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu in the past, so the market might connect these dots and see the change as a reason to buy in.
(Don't believe us? Dogecoin is up ~26% on the news. That's +$5.3 Billion in value added) Woof!
Less privacy (?)
Ol' Musky has suggested that human authentication of accounts should be required. Will this take away from the privacy and anonymity that makes Twitter unique from its competitors?
The answer is: probably. To what degree is yet to be seen.
More broadly, Elon has previously voiced his intended changes for the platform.
Here're the changes/possible effects for Twitter as a whole:
Change:
Make Twitter "an inclusive arena for free speech", while abiding to any limitations governed by US law.
Effect:
What happens when social media stops acting as an echo-chamber? Do we get a healthier discourse and a better understanding of differing view points, or an absolute shit fight of opinions?
...we honestly have no idea.
Guess we're about to find out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Change:
Make the Twitter source code open-source, so members of the public can see how the algorithm works and scrutinize its biases.
Effect:
A better understanding of how Twitter works. Oh, and a TON of work for the team tasked with sorting through suggested changes.
Change:
Add a time sensitive 'edit' option for tweets.
Effect:
The rate of spicy drunk tweets will collapse. RIP. No more Covfefe.
Will the Web3 version of Netflix be built off the back of a 'crypto dating show'?
'Uh oh. This is bad. We might be in a bubble.'
That's what we thought when we first started reading this article.
It was all because of the opening line:
"[Mad Realities] just raised $6 million after launching what might be the first-ever crypto dating show."
When people start putting stupid money behind (seemingly) dumb ideas, it usually means we're in a bubble.
The good news is:
They didn't raise $6 million to fund a crypto dating show - they did that on their own dime, raising funds through NFT sales, as a proof of concept.
The $6M cash injection is actually funding the broader goal of creating a 'Web3 version of Netflix'.
The basic concept being that fans and creators co-fund projects together, and as a result, share in the profits.
(Imagine betting on the next generation's version of Friends or Seinfeld)
And yes, creating 'a decentralized Netflix' off the back of a crypto dating show does sound kind of insane...
Then again, Facebook and YouTube each started with a 'dating use case' as their focus - so why not the Web3 version of Netflix?
Resource of the day
What is DeFi and how does it work?
(learn in 16:25)
Bored Ape Yacht Club's Instagram got hacked (and $2.7M of NFTs were stolen)
Q: How do you trick even the most savvy of crypto users into thinking you're legit?
A: You hijack a verified (and highly trusted) social account.
The scam, played out on Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT holders, went a little something like this...
Hackers got control of BAYC's Instagram acc.
They advertised a distribution of free NFTs to existing holders, as a thank you for their support (this is known as an 'airdrop', and is quite common in Web3).
Many users, thinking it was legit, clicked what turned out to be a malicious link provided by the hackers.
Once a user clicked the link, it gave control of their wallets to the hackers.
The hackers stole their NFT collections.
Yeah, not good.
But ok, someone at Yuga Labs (the creators of BAYC) must've gotten lazy with their passwords, right?
Nope. That's the scary part...
An email from the firm stated:
"Two-factor authentication was enabled and the security practices surrounding the IG account were tight."
The reactions from the community are...mixed.
Some blame Yuga Labs:
“I’m at the point where I have to sue yugo over this hack. Im not walking away from $300k because their shit was hacked.”
Others blame the users:
“It’s like watching a bunch of people run into a burning building with free money spray painted on it”.
Your Daily Dose of Web3
OpenSea acquires Ethereum NFT aggregator Gem in push for ‘Pro’ users
Meta is opening a physical metaverse-themed store in San Francisco
Decentralized Twitter project ‘Bluesky’ says it’s unaffected by Elon Musk purchase
Alright, that’s it for this fine Tuesday!
Love to the family,