The Protocol: Polymarket Bets Pay Off as Memecoin Memorializes 'Dwebate'

As someone who has been following and participating in the ever-evolving world of blockchain technology for quite some time now, I find these recent developments incredibly exciting. The collaboration between Form Labs, Tether, and TRM Labs to combat financial crime using USDT on Tron is a significant step forward in ensuring the safety and integrity of our industry. This move sends a clear message that illicit activity will not be tolerated in our community.

This week’s edition of The Protocol features a cryptocurrency perspective on Tuesday’s presidential debate, which was as strange and absurd as one could anticipate.

ALSO:

Ethereum Foundation’s shrinking wallet.
Friend.Tech in low places.
Coinbase’s Base relies on special formula to vault toward top of Ethereum layer-2 rankings. (Spoiler alert: It ain’t the tech.)
Nearly $50 million of blockchain project fundraisings.
Tether, flush with cash, expands global empire.
Top picks from the past week’s Protocol Village column: Livepeer, Polygon Labs, Tron, Tether, Snapshot Labs, Starknet, Fractal Bitcoin.

Network news

The Protocol: Polymarket Bets Pay Off as Memecoin Memorializes 'Dwebate'

Polymarket bettors had an extra screen to keep an eye on during Tuesday’s debate. (Sam Reynolds)

Engaging Discussion: On Tuesday night, it was captivating to watch the U.S. presidential debate between Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. However, the excitement didn’t stop there. The action on prediction-betting site Polymarket and meme coin launchpad Pump.fun kept things lively as well. Throughout the debate, it appeared that the odds on Polymarket were leaning more towards Harris emerging victorious from the encounter. Around 40 minutes into the debate, crypto-friendly money manager and former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci wrote on Twitter, “Trump just getting destroyed,” along with a screenshot of the Polymarket odds.

In addition to the main event, there were numerous side wagers involved, and a multitude of memecoins emerged – such as DWEBATE, DOMALA TRUMPIS, PEPEDENTIAL DEBATES, and WW3. These memecoins either poked fun at the entire spectacle or recorded some of the standout quips. Not all these memecoin names were suitable for a family-friendly blockchain technology newsletter. Some Polymarket wagers yielded significant profits when Trump asserted – incorrectly, as reported by the Wall Street Journal – that migrants were eating dogs in Springfield, Ohio. This claim also led to the creation of new memecoins like EATING DOGS AND CATS.

Anyone coming to the debate hungry for a crypto policy discussion went home hungry, for what it’s worth: There wasn’t a single mention of Bitcoin or digital assets. That didn’t stop crypto twitterati from sounding off.

During the recent debate, a comment made by the former President Donald Trump sparked the emergence of at least 12 memecoins labeled “Run spot run” on my analysis platform, Pump.fun. I noticed this interesting trend unfolding on my end.

ALSO:

ETH

Coinbase Layer-2 Success Shows Power of Marketing Over Cutting-Edge Tech

A graph from the blockchain data supplier, Token Terminal, indicates that our network has been rapidly growing over the past few months, whereas other Layer 2 solutions have seen a decline. (Token Terminal)

Among the swiftly expanding group of layer-2 blockchains constructed on Ethereum, Coinbase’s own creation, Base, doesn’t particularly distinguish itself as a technological trailblazer. In fact, it was developed and launched last year utilizing code from another team – Optimism, which offers an OP Stack framework to effortlessly set up new layer-2 networks.

As an analyst, I find it noteworthy to highlight that my research reveals Base has swiftly ascended to the second position in the L2Beat industry leaderboard, holding an impressive 18% market share among 74 active layer-2 networks. Arbitrum’s Arbitrum One remains at the top with a 40% share, but Base has surpassed more established, formidable competitors such as Starknet, Polygon, and Optimism – projects renowned for their innovative prowess in the blockchain space.

However, it’s been discovered that the competition for dominance in blockchain technology, similar to other industries, heavily depends on marketing skills and financial resources to draw in customers – not solely on who possesses the most advanced tech. Moreover, Coinbase has significantly contributed to Base’s expansion by running promotional campaigns and events, such as the recently concluded “Onchain Summer.

The question is if this activity can continue over a long period. Are the users genuinely involved with genuine requirements on the blockchain, or are they simply explorers testing out different protocols on Base for fun? Do these users capitalize on temporary promotions and tasks to accumulate additional wealth in cryptocurrency, or do they consistently use it with the expectation of receiving token rewards in the future?

Click here for the full story by Ian Allison and Bradley Keoun

Money Center

Fundraisings

Vibhu Norby, CEO and co-founder DRiP (DRiP)

DRiP, a creator engagement platform on Solana, has raised $8 million in seed funding led by NFX, with participation from Progression (founded by ex-TikTok exec) and Coinbase Ventures. The funding will support mobile app development, creator tools and user growth, according to the team.
An upcoming vape-to-earn project wants to use token incentives and blockchain-enabled vapes to make nicotine addictions additions go up in smoke. Called Puffpaw, the project intends to sell specialty vapes that record their user’s smoking habits on the blockchain. It will reward them in their tokens for gradually reducing their nicotine intake. The quit-smoking project raised $6 million in seed funding led by Lemniscap Ventures.
Others (please see details in Protocol Village column): PIN AI ($10M), Nytro Lab ($8M), Fountain ($3.5M), Blocksense ($4M), Ammalgam ($2.5M), Cork Protocol ($2.15M), DeFi.Gold ($2.22M)

Deals and grants

Sonic SVM, a project to scale the Solana blockchain to gaming-quality speed and throughput, plans to sell as much as $12.8 million worth of validator nodes in its HyperGrid, a decentralized framework designed to support new application-specific networks. The sale, scheduled for the week of Sept. 16, will be the first in the Solana blockchain ecosystem and will include 50,000 “Hyperfuse nodes” in 20 pricing tiers, according to the team. Proceeds will go into the project’s treasury for general purposes, including supporting the development team and grants, CEO and co-founder Chris Zhu said in an interview.
Blockchain data provider Nansen said it bought staking platform StakeWithUs, as CEO Alex Svanevik looks to expand beyond data provision into offering investment services for institutions and retail traders. While the purchase price was not disclosed, a spokesperson for the company said it was a seven-figure sum.
Blockstream Mining Raises Fresh Round of Note That Offers Exposure to Bitcoin Hashrate

Data and Tokens

Ethena’s Yield Machine Sees $1B Outflows as Crypto Market Cools – But There’s Good News
Tether’s $100M Investment in LatAm Agriculture Firm May Be a Tokenization Play
Crypto Fund Outflows Were Most Since March Last Week as Bitcoin ETFs Bled
NEAR’s Faked X-Takeover Marketing Ploy Grabs Attention, Derision: ‘Dumb as f-ck’

Regulatory and Policy

Singapore Investigating Seven People for Providing Worldcoin Services
India and Nigeria Lead The World in Crypto Adoption Again, But Indonesia is Fastest Growing: Chainalysis
Uniswap Labs Settles CFTC Charges Over ‘Illegal’ Margin Products