Sup, nerds!

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

• 💅 This is cool: Web3’s version of Uber

• 🔎 This seems important: The market is in a mood

• 🤝 Partner: Your AI-powered investment compass​

• 🔪 Let's dissect this: What is the ‘infinite mint hack’?

• 💡 Bellwethers in Web3: Erin Redwing, Open Ordinals Institute

Terms used in this edition (click for an explanation, or ask Web(GPT)3!):
Web3, DeFi, smart contract, tokenomics, liquidity.

💅 This is cool:

We Just Ran the Numbers on ‘Teleport’ (Web3’s Version of Uber) and It’s Wrinkling Our Brain…

In one sentence: By leveraging open crypto networks, Teleport (the web3 ride sharing app) is able to undercut Uber by 60%.

A new technology’s first ‘killer application’ is rarely sexy.

• Computer’s had word processing

• The internet had plain text on a screen

• And smart phones had mobile email access

(If you ask us — smart phones didn’t get sexy until the launch of the Jeremy Renner Fan Club app. No? Ok. Moving on).

This is all to say: we think the consumer driven adoption of web3 technology will likely come through a combination of gaming and social applications…

But they won’t be web3’s first killer application. We already have that — and it’s payments. (Sexy? No. Powerful? Yes.)

Specifically: open payment networks — which are reaching a point where they are cheaper, faster, and easier to access (globally) than traditional options.

And it’s allowing new businesses to hijack long-established, third party networks — all while staying dangerously competitive on price.

Take Teleport (the web3 version of Uber) for example:

Teleport and Uber are essentially just pieces of software that match drivers with passengers.

Difference is…

Uber has to pay for private infrastructure, real estate, 32k+ employees and interest payments on its $9.5B in debt — all while answering to shareholders that want to see month-on-month revenue growth.

Which is partly why Uber, takes — get this — 45% of each fare!

The other side of that spend goes towards paying into a vicious downward spiral of incentives and advertising.

Uber drivers feel like they’re not being paid enough → so they leave at a higher rate → so Uber then spends on marketing to attract new drivers → offering them sign up bonuses → which come out of the pocket of existing drivers…

(Repeat).

But the Solana-based TRIP network does a bunch of heavy lifting right out of the gates…

Developers, like the folks behind Teleport, can come in and build a sleek app interface, and avoid the need to invest as heavily in infrastructure, real estate, and head count.

The main problem Teleport needs to solve is attracting riders/drivers, which they’ve been able to do in early testing, largely through word of mouth.

They’re able to take a 15% cut of fares (as opposed to Uber’s 45%) and pass the savings on to the riders/drivers.

Which, after just one weekend of test operations in Austin, helped to double their overall driver count.

Will it scale?

No idea!

But its lowering rider/driver costs, while the lowered barrier to entry for competitors to join the TRIP network provides a solid incentive for Teleport to keep their prices as low as humanly possible.

We love to see it!

🥇 Want the news before anyone else?

🔎 This seems important:

The Market Is in a Mood, but It’s To Be Expected (Here’s Why)

In one sentence: Market sentiment is in the gutter right now, but this point in the four year crypto cycle is historically choppy — with prices grinding sideways within a range for months on end.

In the past week:

• BTC dropped from ~$70k to ~$64k

• ETH went from ~$3.6k to ~$3.4k

• While SOL dipped from ~$160 to ~$130

So what happened?

Was it the sell pressure coming from the European markets? The continued outflows coming from the Bitcoin ETFs? The lack of new narratives?

These things all played a part, sure.

But if you need a definitive answer — and apologies in advance for using technical language — but:

The vibes are off.

I.e. Market sentiment is in the gutter right now, and folks aren’t buying crypto in the volumes they were a week back.

As a result, prices are sliding.

Good news is — zooming out, this is all par for the course.

Historically, this point in the four year crypto cycle is notoriously choppy — with prices grinding sideways within a range for months on end.

It’s boring as anything, but we’re still on track for higher prices!

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🔪 Let's dissect this:

The ‘Infinite Mint Hack’ and What You Can Do About It

In one sentence: The ‘infinite mint hack’ is when a malicious actor changes the smart contract code, letting them mint more tokens than the total supply.

We just heard of something pretty horrifying.

It’s called an ‘infinite mint attack’.

Here’s how it works:

You know how some crypto projects have a limited supply?

Take BTC for example - only 21M BTC ever have been, and ever will be, created.

Which is super important for the project’s tokenomics.

(I.e. The way an investor can gauge value by analyzing supply and demand).

Look, we’re not developers, far from it, but what we know is that each time tokens are minted, somewhere in a project’s smart contract code lies the specific number for the total supply.

But what happens if a hacker is able to change that number? What about if they turned that number from 10M to 10B (for example)?

Then, when minting new tokens, they can mint an infinite amount.

At first it may be hard to tell. If the project has significant liquidity, chances are the hacker will be able to sell some of the tokens without being noticed.

…until they’re caught.

Which will then likely tank the price of the existing tokens and ruin the party for all of the good actors who invested because they believed in the project.

This is exactly what happened a while back during the Paid Network hack.

The way for companies to overcome the infinite mint hack is through frequent smart contract audits - and for investors, it’s always best to find out when the most recent smart contract audit was completed before investing heavily in a project.

Stay safe out there!

💡 Bellwethers in Web3

"Bellwether's in Web3," is a daily profile series recorded live with Nolcha Shows and Movement Labs in collaboration with Bellwether Culture. Check out the latest video below.

Interview: Erin Redwing,
President of the Open Ordinals Institute

Erin Redwing is the President of the Open Ordinals Institute, Co-Founder and CEO of Inscribing Atlantis, and Co-Host of Hell Money Podcast. She is an astrologer who followed the stars to Bitcoin.

Follow: @realizingerin (Twitter), @realzingerin (TikTok) & @InscribAtlantis