Sup, nerds!

Here’s what you’re getting in today’s edition:

• 💅 This is cool: Web3’s killer app is…

• 🔎 This seems important: BTC halved. No one cared.

• 🤝 Partner: Pssst…got that dog in you? Let ‘em know.​

• 🔪 Let's dissect this: A post-halving update on Runes

Terms used in this edition (click for an explanation, or ask Web(GPT)3!):
Web3, crypto wallet, fiat, bull cycle.

💅 This is cool:

Web3’s Killer App Is…

In one sentence: Web3’s killer app is already exists — it’s payments — specifically permissionless global payments that are easy to integrate and require no local licensing.

This might be hard to hear but…

Web3’s ‘killer application’ probably isn’t going to be a game or social platform…it’s way more boring than that.

Nope. Web3’s killer app is probably something that already exists. Something most of us already use.

Payments.

Please, please — hold your jeers.

It sounds like a painfully unsexy feature (and it is) — but the ability for apps to integrate a global payment system with a few lines of code and no prior permissions is way bigger than it seems.

For example:

Elon Musk has long stated his intention to transform X/Twitter into an ‘everything app,’ starting with payments…but to do so in the US, the company needs money transmitter licenses in all 50 states.

In January, it was reported that X gained a transmitter license in Utah…in March, rumors started to swirl that NY and CA were about to grant similar permissions…perhaps by the end of the year ‘X payments’ might be a thing?

But if this were to be a pure crypto play?

X could simply integrate a crypto wallet, and be done with it.

Avoiding the state-by-state red tape by letting folks exchange fiat for crypto elsewhere before transferring it over (e.g. buy crypto on Coinbase → send it to their crypto wallet).

Another example is Telegram’s TON Foundation.

They just launched their Telegram wallet in 6 new countries (Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Turkey, India, Argentina, Brazil).

Which is huge! But has only just rolled out because the Telegram wallet supports fiat-to-crypto transactions (which requires certain licensing).

Point being: crypto payments are the faster horse in the ‘global payments’ race.

Here’s why you should care about these sort of developments:

Combined, X and Telegram have a daily active user base of 1.145B (X 245M, Telegram 900M).

If crypto wallets get integrated globally to each platform, and 2% of the combined user bases converted to active crypto payment users over the next year or so…

That would equal ~23M new daily active crypto users.

For context, right now, Bitcoin and Ethereum have ~1.1M daily active users — combined.

More users = more demand for coins/tokens = higher crypto prices.

🥇 Want the news before anyone else?

🔎 This seems important:

Here’s Why the BTC Halving Was Such a Non-Event (Price Wise)

In one sentence: The halving isn’t like a light switch that turns the bull run on/off, it’s more like a landmark — we know prices tend to run up post halving, but we don’t know exactly when.

On Friday, the Bitcoin Halving took place — cutting the daily flow of new Bitcoin entering the market in half!

Making Bitcoin scarcer than it EVER has been before, kickstarting the start of a new bull cycle!

And…and…

And nothing really happened to Bitcoin’s price after that…in fact it stayed range bound at around $65k all weekend.

So what’s up with that?

Well, the halving isn’t like a light switch that turns the bull run on/off — it’s more like a landmark. We know prices tend to run up in the months post halving, but we don’t know exactly when — it’s just ‘some time’ after the halving.

(Typically between 1-6 months).

The good news?

So far, prices haven’t crashed — which is something that has tended to follow halvings of the past.

(It’s usually a ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ kind of event).

Guess we’ll have to hurry up and wait 🧘

🤝 Partner:

Pssst…got that dog in you? Let ‘em know.

We got bored over the weekend, so we made this.

Benefits include:

• Deep unseriousness

• A dog, wif (but not limited to) a hat

• All sales support the newsletter (kinda like Patreon, but you actually get something in return).

Enjoy.

🔪 Let's dissect this:

A Post-Halving Update on Runes

In one sentence: The Rune protocol has launched and is already seeing hundreds of projects created - but can it live up to the hype?

ICYMI the Rune protocol is a new project by the creator of Bitcoin Ordinals (we wrote about how it works here) that launched at the same time as the BTC halving.

Like Ordinals, it lets people ‘etch’ (i.e. mint) tokens on-chain.

The two main differences are:

1. Ordinals are ‘non-fungible’ (one-of-a-kind) while Runes allow you to create fungible tokens on the Bitcoin network.
   
   This opens up all kinds of possibilities like stablecoins built on top of BTC, or new types of governance tokens.
   

2. The Rune protocol reduces the amount of ‘Unspent Transaction Outputs’ (UTXO’s - more on that here).
   
   In theory this means less congestion on the Bitcoin network, which should result in cheaper transaction fees.

Before the halving there was a ton of excitement about Runes so it’s no surprise that within the first few days there are already a few hundred Runes projects.

The great thing about Runes so far (and Ordinals that came before it) is that it has lead to an increase in the number of developers excited about contributing the the Bitcoin project again.

Unfortunately, just a few blocks after the halving, Runes minters have already paid over $5M USD in transaction fees.

As the dust settles, and the first mover advantage fades over time, it will be interesting to see if Runes is the next narrative to push BTC back to it’s all time highs.

Can it live up to the hype?

Only time will tell.

How to Mint, Buy, and Sell BTC Runes