Rebuilding Connections

Overview of Decentralized Social Networks

The Impact of Ethereum’s Shapella Upgrade

Introduction Ethereum will complete the final stage of its transition to proof of stake in a month. After the upcoming “Shapella” upgrade (a portmanteau of “Shanghai” and “Capella”), over 16 million ETH of staked Ether can be withdrawn from the Beacon Chain. This headline figure alone has created confusion and some angst among users, investors, and traders about the possible impacts Shapella has on demand/supply flows for ETH and related tokens.

Extractable Value

Introduction In the early 1800s, the five sons of Mayer Rothschild branched out from their base in Frankfurt, establishing branches in London, Paris, Vienna, and Naples. They built out an information network, using carrier pigeons, couriers, and chartered boats to shuttle information across Europe faster than anyone else. Through this network, the Rothschild received news and information faster than anyone else, which they leveraged to make fortunes in arbitrage and trading. Famously, it also enabled Nathan Rothschild to hear of Napolean’s defeat at Waterloo a full 36 hours before London’s official messenger.

On the Merge

The Merge is coming soon. Ethereum will transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, improving its security and sustainability. Still, questions linger about what the Merge actually does, how it impacts various stakeholders, and when it will actually arrive. This report covers the current state of the Merge, key implications leading up to and after the Merge, and a range of measures to gauge market sentiment.

Navigating Zero Knowledge

Introduction One of the most pressing challenges that the Ethereum network faces is scalability. This issue was first evident during the viral CryptoKitties in 2017 — the sensation led to a six-fold increase in total network requests, resulting in transactions taking hours to confirm. More recently, the Cambrian explosion of applications built on Ethereum, including decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and NFT projects, has reintroduced the urgency of finding a scaling solution. Ethereum’s network only accommodates roughly 15 transactions per second (TPS), a far cry from the

Automated Market Makers (AMMs): Versioning Up

Summary Automated market makers (AMMs) form the backbone of decentralized finance. They allow users to trade assets, create new markets, and earn yields, all available 24/7 and without a central entity. Since their inception, they have grown to execute over $180 billion of trading volumes.

Decentralized Identity: Passport to Web3

Introduction The internet was created without a native identity layer for people. Because of this, the issue of digital identity was relegated to websites and applications. This siloed approach may have been appropriate for the early days of the internet, but with billions of people now online, its drawbacks are becoming more apparent. Usernames and passwords continue to be the dominant paradigm, despite being

Arweave: Enabling the Permaweb

The Arweave Protocol is designed to provide decentralized, scalable, and permanent on-chain data storage. Much like how Ethereum is the world’s computer, Arweave can be thought of as the world’s hard drive that never forgets. The protocol uses a combination of innovative blockchain technologies and clever game theory design to create a healthy and sustainable network.

An Introduction to NEAR

Alternative smart contract blockchains continue to gain traction. Whereas Ethereum used to command >95% of market share in total locked value (TVL) at the beginning of last year, it now holds only ~65% market share today. TVL by Chain — Share of Total