Dispatch #150: Coin to The People

Jul 28, 2023•3 min read

In this patch of your weekly Dispatch:

  • Worldcoin drops 🪙
  • Elon lets the DOGE out 🐶
  • Maker’s moves 💃

The Big Idea

Enter Worldcoin 🌐

Some will find the project name and goals intriguing and others will dismiss it in the sea of cryptocurrencies. Whichever camp you’re in, Worldcoin (WLD) was the most talked-about new asset this week and since it is already listed on Nexo, we thought we’d give it the light of day on Dispatch too.

Worldcoin is the brainchild of Sam Altman – the founder of OpenAI and ChatGPT – and Alex Blania. Altman is also the former president of the Y Combinator start-up incubator and this formidable resume helped him secure $250M in investment rounds from leading VC companies including a16z, Khosla Ventures, Bain Capital Crypto, Blockchain Capital, and Tiger Global.

As for the technicalities behind the WLD token – it’s an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token, which will be distributed on the Optimism network with a maximum supply of 10B coins. As for its mission, the project states it as: “building the largest identity and financial network as a public utility” with shared ownership. It is as grand as it sounds.

But it is another potential development that has sparked the interest of the internet (pun intended) – the introduction of universal basic income (UBI) via Worldcoin tokens. Some were quick to embrace the concept of potentially eliminating poverty and famine through crypto, while others pointed to the not-so-successful attempts in some countries to adopt such welfare programs.

Only time will tell how that pans out, but we have to give it to crypto and Worldcoin for bringing up the major topics of economic freedom and personal privacy out of the darkness and into the mainstream.

(currency-data: wld button: Buy)

The Latest In…

Elon Musk Wakes up the DOGE

As divisive as he may be, Elon Musk’s influence on the tech industry is undeniable. A mere tweet, (for a lack of a newer word) is enough to spark debates, multi-billion dollar lawsuits, and significant price rallies. This week, DOGE skyrocketed by 20% with the main culprit possibly Musk and a promotional tweet of then-Twitter's-now-X’s new logo, which was originally shared by a Dogecoin designer. Here’s some more DOGE/Musk trivia:

  • Musk has been advising the developers of Dogecoin since 2019, including on making DOGE a cheaper BTC alternative.
  • Tesla accepts Dogecoin, but details on its usage remain undisclosed.
  • There are rumors about the potential integration of Dogecoin into a social media platform for payments.

The Latest In…

Maker Is Making Moves

MakerDAO’s MKR token surged almost 30% to over $1,200 after the DeFi protocol introduced a buyback program. The price rally was seen as an opportunity for Andreessen Horowitz to sell $7M worth of MKR. Just to calm spirits down, a16z manages over $35B in assets, so the potential reason for the selling eludes us.

The Latest In…

The Fed Returns to Hiking

The Federal Reserve has cranked up interest rates this week with a 25bps increase to 5.5% – the highest since 2001. Credit where credit is due, the Fed’s task is no easy feat – bringing down inflation with rate hikes will put pressure on employment figures but surging costs are becoming unbearable worldwide.

The Fed's “dual mandate” from Congress aims to achieve “maximum employment” and stabilize prices in the sweet spot of a 2% inflation rate. The end goal is to get people spending and investing instead of stashing cash under their mattresses. Since the rate-hike journey began in March 2022, it's been a bumpy ride but with the end goal in sight, we hope for a smooth landing.

The Week’s Most Interesting Data Story

HODLers be Holding

HODLing has been a preferred strategy when it comes to interacting with Bitcoin and now we have the numbers to back that. A whopping 75% of the circulating supply is controlled by long-term BTC holders with a combined wallet balance of 14.52 million BTC – nothing better than optimism and confidence in the space from the players themselves.

Hot Topics

What the Community Is Discussing

Bitcoin adoption visualized.

It’s lonely at the top.

As one social network rebrands, another one evolves.

What to Watch for Next Week:

  • Is Web3 making a comeback?
  • Will regulation catch up to DeFi?
  • How profitable is Bitcoin mining?