DOT’s ETF-ectively on the way?! (May 19th to May 25th)
This week’s top story will be covering what this ETF could mean for Polkadot. And building on the sentiment of defining moments, we will also include the week’s defining news in the Polkadot ecosystem.
With Ethereum leading the headlines it’s a good opportunity to dive into Polkadot’s leading Ethereum Virtual Machine parachain, with our profile report. Furthermore, Moonrise signifies the latest iteration on the way for Moonbeam.
If you're interested in contributing to this very newsletter, consider the finders role on our Discord, where you could be rewarded along the way. Our finders program continues to fuel the news section every week. It’s great for getting minds sharp as the next stop on the events calendar is Consensus 2024 in Austin, Texas.
The full newsletter can be enjoyed via this link.
Dodow, Chief Editor
Top Story Of The Week - DOT defining News
Written by yay.oi
You would've heard by now that the SEC approved eight spot ETH ETF applications on Thursday. What this means for Ethereum is an implication that the SEC does not regard it as a security, which has been a point of contention for many tokens.
Already there is chatter about which token will be next. Many have suggested Solana, but there's a problem. As recently as November 2023, the SEC has explicitly labeled SOL, along with many other tokens, as a security.
Polkadot, on the other hand, does not feature on the SEC's list of securities. Since November 2019, the Web3 Foundation has been cooperating with the SEC to ensure that Polkadot fulfilled the requirements to be classed a non-security.
By November 2022, the Web3 Foundation declared that Polkadot had morphed from a security into software. They achieved this through careful compliance measures regarding the offering, selling, and marketing of DOT tokens along with achieving true technological decentralization.
The decentralized governance structure of the Polkadot DAO ensures that everything from treasury spends right down to the code-changes protocol level are decided by the stakeholders. It's just like Gavinus Silvanus Meridius said in The Gavliator, Polkadot is “the only true DAO”.
So, with all of the measures that Polkadot has taken to comply with SEC requirements, does that mean that DOT could jump the queue and become the next spot ETF? At this stage it still looks unlikely.……
Check out our full newsletter for the full story
The Moonbeam way!
Written by Dodow
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the most widely adopted blockchain execution environment in Web3, boasting the largest developer and user base due to Ethereum’s network effect. Many blockchains have chosen to use it to instantly entice users with the familiarity of UX/UI as well as tap into a plethora of Solidity developers.
As recently reported by the Kusamarian, when it comes to EVM adoption on the Polkadot Network, Moonbeam currently stands out as being the leading parachain, with 130K daily transactions in April and 6 million new accounts added within a one year period.
Founded by Derek Yoo of Purestake and now Moonsong Labs, the approach is simple: an Ethereum-compatible smart contract platform that makes it easy to build natively interoperable, decentralized and permissionless applications..…….
General News
Written by Dodow
Polimec protocol is now live. With 2M of Apillon's NTCR token set for sale, the evaluation period has started.
The fifth wave of the Polkadot Blockchain Academy (PBA) has kicked off in Singapore. The big cohort is made up of both in-person and remote students this time.
The first couple of Parachains who used coretime to renew their chains on Kusama have been revealed. First is Interlay/Kintsugi, and this is followed by Centrifuge/Altair. This was done using Lastic's coretime marketplace, and the cost was 5KSM. Additionally, the renewal burned 15KSM across the first 3 chains. InvArch's canary, Tinkernet, also renewed.
Unnamed Parathread 3358 has won Polkadot Auction 70 with a self funded bid of 300 DOT.
Does WagMedia have a shot at the Oscars with "The Gavliator", a developer's revenge?
Velocity Labshas been awarded a Web3 Foundation Decentralized Futures grant, to transform Polkadot into an innovative DeFi hub.
NFT & DEFI News
Written by Dodow
Blockchain Gamer has named Mythical as the number one blockchain game company of 2024.
KodaDot has onboard a number of artists and their work will be featured at Berlin blockchain week.
A star collection listing on Singular! Get set to mint your Youdles on 31st May. Price is 1K ASTR.
Bifrost put out an official statement about the vDOT incident to reassure users. It’s important to recognise the protocol and underlying DOT remained safe throughout.
Juicy APRs as you swim in the Omnipool. HydraDX announces launch details of the Polkadot Hydration campaign, which is set to start from June 10th.
Governance & Events News
Written by Dodow
OpenGov Ref 722, which is to open channels between Asset Hub and Sora, is failing. Alice und Bob raises the debate: should common good parachains (i.e. system chains) be permissionless?
Pendulum referendum to accept HRMP with Bifrost. The plan is to use vDOT as collateral for the Spacewalk bridge.
You can meet Conor Daly at Consensus 2024 on 30th and 31st May, between 14:00-16:00 local time.
Taking stage at Consensus 2024 on 31st May 11:00-11:45 local time will be Web3 Foundation CEO Fabian Gompf and Parity Technologies Interim COO Chrissy Hill.
Birdo hosted Centrifuge’s CEO Lucas Vogelsang to discuss how Real World Assets are transforming crypto markets on May 24th.
Irina Karagyaur hosted guests from Harbour Industrial Capital to discuss the new ecosystem fund on May 23rd.
The Real Vision Spaces where Gavin Wood and Raoul Pal do a deepdive on Polkadot was held on May 23rd. NOTE: This is part of the treasury backed partnership to educate.
Extras
Awesome cover art created by Dodow.
The White Rabbit won 5 DOT for the Wag Challenge on May 15th, the competition was to literally look for treasure and uncover the Easter eggs.
For all you budding creators out there, don't hesitate any longer – join us now! There are plenty of rewards awaiting your creativity.