Ep. 105: It Will Never Be The Same (Weekly News)

Dec 14

Recorded live on 𝕏 Spaces December 13th, 2023

This week brings a major upgrade to the show: new professional equipment, a theme song and unlocked potential thanks to supporters of the show! Also, Hedera gets a new president, the Governing Council teases a new member in their October meeting, FSCO goes live on the Hedera mainnet, Bitcoin ETF rumours and network struggles, music NFTs, Flutterwave makes major moves for African payments and the real struggles of a bull market. This is a big one folks! Next week will be the last episode of the year...

Tune in live on 𝕏 Spaces Wednesdays at 12pm ET / 9am PT for the weekly news. Recordings available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube and other major platforms the following day.

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Top Stories of The Week

1. The New Hedera President
Charles Adkins has been appointed as the new President of the Hedera Council, bringing a wealth of experience in web3 technology, finance, government, and consumer brands to the role. Adkins previously held key roles at prominent web3 organizations such as Aptos and Polygon, as well as in the U.S. Department of the Treasury and leading marketing for big brands like Nike, Disney and Red Bull. Basically, this is a huge win for Hedera and the community, I break it all down on the show. Read the official announcement here.

2. FSCO Goes Live on Hedera
Fresh Supply Co (FSCO) has integrated Hedera's Token Service into its Continuity API, boosting transparency and efficiency in supply chain financing. This integration enhances transaction verifiability using tokenization and connects to both banking and Mastercard networks, facilitating better financial decision-making and expanding digital asset opportunities in the supply chain sector. Could this be contributing to the TPS increase on the Hedera mainnet? I share my thoughts on what all of this means.

3. Governing Council & Minutes
In a recent Council meeting, there were updates on hbar fund allocation, a proposal for a Board oversight committee, and plans for addressing network economic targets and treasury management. Announcements included upcoming elections for various positions and progress in the search for a new President (which we now know the results of), alongside updates on prospective Council member nominations. There's a lot to un-pack from the October meeting minutes... maybe even a few rumours?

4. Transaction Dip & Rip
Hedera recently saw a massive, sudden drop in transactions and then a sharp spike to new heights. This happened around the same time as the FSCO use case was announced and a rumoured new governing council member was voted on. As of this episode, the mainnet is running at 3k TPS average with many in the community un-packing what exactly happened. I dive into some of the nuance on the show.

5. BTC ETF Rumours Continue
Recently, news swirling around the upcoming Blackrock Bitcoin ETF has picked up with two major developments: Blackrock has updated it's submission and Google has updated it's ad policies relating to crypto funds. This leads speculators to believe that the likelyhood of a BTC spot ETF being approved in Q1 2024 is increasing dramatically.

6. Carbon Offset Credit Talk
I shared a clip from my conversation with Matt Smithies, CTO of Dovu, from episode 104 of the show to social media. The revelation was that these carbon offset credits are regular NFTs and that Hedera NFT ""degens"" might be the engine that begins the new multi-trillion dollar, tokenized carbon offset market. Additionally, Rob Allen (of the Hedera Governing Council) provided further context on my post.

7. Hedera Music Ecosystem
I share my thoughts on how music NFTs are set to become a new wave in the web3 space, especially on Hedera. My own prediction is that music will be the fastest growing NFT sector in 2024 with Hedera leading the charge thanks to efforts for standardization of metatada enabled by the community, especially the Hashgraph NFT Working Group.

8. Flutterwave Money Transmission
Flutterwave, an African payment tech company, has obtained money transfer licenses in 13 U.S. states, enhancing its service coverage to 29 states. These licenses, crucial for the Send App which aids in U.S.-Africa money transfers, mark significant progress in Flutterwave's commitment to regulatory compliance and customer fund safety. The company, underlining its mission to connect Africa with the world, plans to expand its licensing in the U.S. and internationally to improve remittance services. Read the full story here.

9. BRC-20 and Ordinals
I talk briefly on the struggles being experienced on the Bitcoin network due to the additions of BRC-20 coins and Ordinals causing spikes in transaction fees and a bloated mempool. Additionally, the risk of the network being forked grows as detractors on both sides dig their heels in.

10. The Struggles of a Bull Market
With the bull market approaching, I share a few thoughts and sentiments on the Hedera community and how we have to balance a few important things. On one hand, we have to remain diligent to scams, but on the other hand, we can't reject new, vibrant (and maybe overbearing) community members or fall into the trap of gatekeeping. Growth and mass adoption depend on openess and good education.