Did A Single NFT Purchase Change Washington’s Mind on Crypto?

As a researcher, I’d put it this way: I was granted access to the elite May event after acquiring one of the limited-edition tickets. This ticket was mine solely because I had purchased 100 Trump “Mugshot Edition” digital collectibles in the past.

In the interview with CoinDesk, Pletnev, the German co-founder of Quasar Labs, shared his amusement by saying, “I found it quite amusing, being a non-American.”

Subsequently, the gala got rescheduled for a date when Pletnev couldn’t attend. He passed on his ticket to Ryan Selkis, the creator of Messari – a renowned crypto data and analytics platform, as well as an influential voice in advocating pro-crypto policies.

Selkis ended up on stage and touted the crypto revolution. So did Polygon‘s Mihailo Bjelic.

At his Palm Beach, Florida residence, Trump expressed his unequivocal support for cryptocurrencies. Previously, he had criticized digital currencies as mere fads with no tangible value.

After the grand event, a popular meme on X highlighted “Trump NFTs” and “Ryan Selkis’ visit to Mar-a-Lago” as the initial triggers in a series of events that led to the much-anticipated approval of ether ETFs. This breakthrough marked a significant milestone for the fusion of digital assets and conventional finance.

From my perspective as a researcher studying crypto policy, some observers believed that the approval of the crypto-related executive order was inevitable regardless of the circumstances. However, others saw it as a concession from the Biden administration, indicating that the crypto industry had gained significant influence and recognition as a political powerhouse within both major parties.

In just two days following SEC approval, the House, led by Republicans, passed the FIT21 bill with notable Democratic backing. Notably, this bill also received endorsement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Democrat who had previously voiced reservations about the legislation.

As an analyst, I would rephrase it as follows: “Five days ago, Schumer seemed opposed to cryptocurrencies. But what other factors could have influenced his change of heart? Was it not the unexpected appearance of Ryan Selkis on stage with Trump, his public endorsement of crypto, and the collective realization among Crypto Twitter that they might align with Trump’s stance?”

Quasar’s new vision

Excited by the current buzz surrounding new policies, Pletnev is unveiling a comprehensive overhaul of his Quasar protocol with a focus on making decentralized finance, or DeFi, investments more straightforward.

As a crypto investor, I firmly believe that the real achievement for cryptocurrencies lies in expanding their user base beyond what traditional finance can offer. If we fail to bring more people into this space, there’s a risk of merely swapping one elite group – financial oligarchs – for another – technocrats. Such an outcome would be disappointing.

At the heart of Pletnev’s “Yield for All” concept lies the implementation of Layered Staking Assets (LSAs). These innovative assets merge the functions of staking and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) to produce a unified token that generates interest automatically.

As a crypto investor, I find staking to be an increasingly preferred strategy in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) landscape. By staking my digital assets with a blockchain network, I contribute to its security and validation processes, thus earning rewards in the form of interest. Simultaneously, I can employ a strategy called “re-staking” where I reinvest these earned rewards into other yield-generating DeFi platforms like EtherFi or Lido. Furthermore, some platforms even offer the possibility to borrow against my staked assets, thereby amplifying my overall returns.

If you find this explanation complex, I understand. Quasar intends to make things clearer with its LSAs, which are financial instruments representing distinct trading strategies that can be directly bought. Each LSA contains a collection of crypto assets allocated across several DeFi platforms. These assets generate returns from these protocols and will be managed according to the investment plans embedded in Quasar’s smart contracts.

As a crypto investor, I’ve found that Decentralized Finance (DeFi) can be quite complex. With new projects and protocols emerging all the time, keeping up with the latest developments feels like a full-time job. That’s why I believe we need to simplify DeFi for the average person. Instead of leaving things as they are and expecting users to become experts in each individual project, we should aim to wrap DeFi in a user-friendly package. By doing so, we can make it accessible to a wider audience and help more people benefit from this exciting new frontier in finance.

Quasar Finance debuted its mainnet in 2023 as a decentralized asset management solution built within the Cosmos blockchain system. This platform relies on and will persistently employ Cosmos’s Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol to ensure seamless compatibility across multiple blockchains.

Quasar’s method shares some similarities with established yield platforms such as Yearn. These platforms streamline DeFi by automatically deploying user funds into predesigned trading strategies, acting as one-stop trading solutions. Similarly, Quasar functions in the same manner: Users can invest crypto into “vaults” that follow specific trading strategies and necessitate minimal intervention from users.

Using LSAs, as stated by Pletnev, Quasar is making additional efforts to ensure fungibility, decentralization, and easy usage for its platform.

Yield for All?

As a crypto investor, I’ve come across Quasar, an intriguing DeFi protocol with the “Yield for All” tagline. However, due to concerns over potential US financial regulations violations, this project is currently unavailable in my home country. In light of this limitation, it’s no surprise that Pletnev chose to engage in U.S. politics to navigate these regulatory complexities and expand Quasar’s reach.

As a researcher, I can share that I attended Draper University, which is located in the Bay Area and is run by Tim Draper – a renowned venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. My current position would not have been attainable without the opportunities provided by the United States. There’s no other way around it.

As a researcher, I find it hard to comprehend that individuals in a certain nation are deprived of utilizing existing opportunities due to their geographical location. In response, I decided to acquire the Trump NFT as a means of advocating for cryptocurrency and bringing attention to its potential benefits.

As an analyst, I’ve uncovered that Quasar Labs has managed to secure a total investment of $11.5 million from esteemed investors such as Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, HASH Capital, CIB, and Shima. In the latest financing round revealed in January, Quasar Labs was valued at an impressive $70 million. Meanwhile, the QSR governance token issued by the platform is currently priced at around $0.11 cents, while its fully diluted value stands tall at $67 million.