This Week in Crypto
February 24, 2023
Welcome to this month’s last episode of This Week in Crypto, where we capture some of the most critical information that made headlines this week. In this episode, we are taking a look at the following vital headlines:
Key Takeaways
- Battle of the L2s
- Spotify starts testing NFT solutions
- Uniswap NFT marketplace offers ERC20 payment
- The rise of initial sensor offerings
Battle of the Layer 2
In the area of Layer 2 solutions, the game is on. While Arbitrum has reached an all-time high in unique wallet addresses, it has also surpassed Ethereum in terms of daily transactions. With the recent increase in interest in Arbitrum, an increasing number of new projects have been launched on the Layer 2 solution, contributing to the overall spike in trader activities.
However, there is another Ethereum-based Layer 2 entering the industry. Crypto giant Coinbase has announced that it is introducing Base, a Layer 2 solution on Ethereum designed to be ultra-compatible, efficient, and fast. While this is a huge vote of confidence in Ethereum from Coinbase, it is yet unclear how fast the Base ecosystem will flourish.
The battle of Layer 2 on Ethereum is just starting, and it is bound to be an interesting observation for all traders and holders alike.
Spotify Tests NFT Solutions
Music streaming platform Spotify has announced that it is looking to test NFT solutions in partnership with Overlord. In this new pilot program, Spotify is looking to enable NFT-gated playlists to allow artists to offer exclusive playlists to patrons, while also launching an NFT holder-curated playlist to allow for an extension in its current product offerings.
Once enabled, Spotify users will continue to be able to enjoy their current playlists while also having the opportunity to purchase exclusive NFTs from their favorite artists for increased access.
Uniswap NFT Aims to Outperform
Uniswap has announced that its NFT platform now supports payment in most ERC-20 tokens. Unlike other NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea and LooksRare, Uniswap NFT marketplace will no longer require ETH and WETH as the sole transaction currency for NFT purchases. Utilizing the re-routed swap feature, Uniswap NFT allows users to purchase NFTs with most ERC-20 tokens that have added sufficient liquidity to Uniswap.
This new move, aimed to outperform Opensea and Looksrare in engineering efforts, has been celebrated by the larger crypto community. Since the announcement, there has been a moderate increase in the usage of the Uniswap NFT marketplace.
The Rise of Initial Sensor Offerings (ISO)
Those who tuned into the MXChats yesterday would have heard more about the Initial Sensor Offerings (ISO), and MXC’s vision of becoming the Web3 space for blockchain-enabled IoT projects to successfully build, launch, and operate. In its essence, ISOs are aimed to be the launchpad equivalent for tokens building innovations using IoT technology.
In the next upcoming weeks, the MXC community will be able to find out more about what ISOs are, how they work, and what the miners and token holders can expect in return. Stay tuned!
