Ethereum is about to change forever (?)
GM, we take the most important / interesting Web3 news and translate it into plain old English. Here’s what you can find in today’s edition:
Ethereum is about to change forever (?)
Gucci, Spotify & Meta are all scrambling to hire Web3 developers. But why is it so hard?
Why did Bitcoin (the libertarian sweetheart) go up, when faced with regulation?
Ethereum is about to change forever (?)
Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us with missed release dates for two years straight, shame on us.
The release of Ethereum 2.0 has been much like nuclear fusion, or our latest commitment to getting in shape - it's always 'just about to happen'.
That being said, today we got some news with an edge of credibility. Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin is confident that the next era of Ethereum will arrive within the next few months.
Don't toy with us, Joe. Our hearts can't take much more.
So what is this big change that Ethereum 2.0 is bringing? Put simply:
- Greater energy efficiency, which will be needed if Ethereum is going to play host to global digital currencies.
- Cheaper transaction fees (aka 'gas fees'), which is desperately needed for ETH to compete with the likes of Visa and Mastercard.
- Staking, aka the ability to lock your Ethereum in an account and earn interest on your holdings (~4-7% per year). This will be key to disrupting the legacy banking system.
Regardless of when it happens, ETH2.0 won't just be a massive change for the Ethereum network, but the Web3 landscape as a whole.
Gucci, Spotify & Meta are all scrambling to hire Web3 developers. But why is it so hard?
What happens when an entire generation of developers makes millions (if not billions) of dollars by building in a space, before it hits the mainstream?
You get a bunch of highly skilled professionals, who would rather invest their time into their own projects.
This article underlines the demand for Web3 developers - Gucci, Spotify & Meta are all scrambling to hire them, but it's tough!
The distribution of wealth within Web3 is allowing the best minds in the industry to say 'thanks, but no thanks', to the entrenched behemoths of Web2.
This poses an interesting conundrum for the future of the Web2 industry: what do you offer someone who has full autonomy over their lives and their income? Someone who can say:
"Oh, you have a slide at Google headquarters? I'll put one in my house."
"You've got a masseuse at Facebook? I'll get one on call."
"You have a community of like minded people? I'll build my own."
This isn't to say these companies don't have a future in the space, but our money says they won't be able to transfer their monopolies from Web2 to Web3.
Why did Bitcoin (the libertarian sweetheart) go up, when faced with regulation?
Bitcoin shot from ~38k to ~41k after the US government announced plans to create regulatory guidelines around crypto.
Which seems strange given the Bitcoin communities' fierce libertarian streak...
This happened because the crypto markets, like all markets, love certainty.
As we mentioned last week, clear regulation will give investors & founders guidance on what is ok and what will get them in front of a grand jury.
This regulation will be seen by many on the sidelines as a 'green light' to start building.