Scenius Sync (Issue #100)

The 100th Sync!

Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.

Welcome to The Scenius Sync.

Our mission with this concise publication is twofold:

1. Share the essential stories driving the crypto industry and markets.

2. Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.

If you find this newsletter valuable, please subscribe and share The Scenius Sync with your network 💪

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Essential News 🗞

1. IBIT and FBTC ETFs hit $10 billion AUM in weeks, smashing previous record of three years

   • The spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from BlackRock and Fidelity beat the previous record for a fund reaching $10 billion in assets under management in a fraction of the amount of time it took the previous record-holder. Prior to the bitcoin ETFs, the record speed for an ETF to reach $10 billion in assets was held by JEPQ who did it in 647 trading days (nearly three years). IBIT got there in 49 days, FBTC in 77 days

2. Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto launches political action committee

   • In a May 10 announcement on X, Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto project revealed it has launched a PAC for roughly 450,000 members to contribute to candidates running in the 2024 U.S. elections. The initiative, launched by Coinbase in 2023, reported on its website that users had donated more than $86 million toward supporting pro-crypto initiatives in the country.

3. FTX claims rise above 100 cents on the dollar on back of bankruptcy plan

   • FTX claims have risen above 100 cents on the dollar following the estate’s draft recovery plan that estimates the majority of creditors will see a recovery rate of 118%.

4. FalconX Settles With CFTC for $1.8M Over Failure to Register as Futures Commission Merchant

   • FalconX will pay $1.8 million to settle newly-announced charges from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that the crypto trading firm violated commodities laws by failing to register as a futures commission merchant (FCM). Through its “Edge” product, FalconX acted as a crypto prime broker, offering institutional clients – including some based in the U.S. – with access to various crypto exchanges to trade derivatives, including futures and swaps, the CFTC said.

5. WisdomTree’s Crypto Business Goes Live in New York Against Big Shareholder's Wishes

   • WisdomTree's digital asset app, which offers users access to bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum's ether (ETH) as well as dollar and gold tokens, on Thursday became available to customers in New York, even as CEO Jonathan Steinberg is under pressure from shareholders as a result of the investment company's push into decentralized finance.

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Innovation & Adoption 💡📈

1. Arbelos raises $28M for derivatives-focused exchange

   • In the week’s largest funding round, Arbelos Markets raised $28 million for a principal trading firm specializing in crypto derivatives. Dragonfly led the seed round, which also drew participation from FalconX, Circle Ventures, Paxos and Deribit, among others.

2. Reebok jumps into digital wearable game 

   • The sports brand announced a new feature in partnership with Futureverse called “Reebok Impact” — an AI-powered tool where users can send a photo via Instagram direct message and in return receive “a custom sneaker in the colors and style of the image.” Users can create up to four pairs for free and send the file to games like Fortnite and Roblox. 

3. Eigenlayer launches EIGEN token — but it’s nontransferable till September

   • Ethereum restaking protocol Eigenlayer has launched its token-claim process, or “airdrop,” for Season 1, Phase 1 rewards, according to a May 10 blog post from the protocol’s development team. The claims process will allow users who are owed the new EIGEN token to finally acquire it, after weeks of waiting. However, EIGEN is currently nontransferable, so users cannot sell it. According to the post, EIGEN will become transferable after the team implements new features in the coming months. The tentative target date for these implementations is Sept. 30. The claim process will close on Sept. 7, and users who do not claim before that date will be unable to receive their tokens. 

4. Pudgy Penguins sold 1M plushies in 12 months

   • On May 13, the founder of the popular Pudgy Penguins NFT project revealed that sales have soared to over a million in the past year as it continues expanding into retailers around the globe. The sales milestone follows the May 12 announcement that Pudgy Toys with Pudgy World were now available in the United States retail giant Target.

5. ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees launches generative AI platform Venice

   • Venice offers services such as generative conversation and image creation,  but it does not hold user data. Additionally, Venice aims to omit any form of censorship on the platform. Voorhees notes that while privacy and user-sovereignty undergirds Venice, it is not a crypto app. However, the platform uses blockchain for permissionless payment, in addition to web3 infrastructure for local browser storage and end-to-end encryption. "Venice will utilize the Morpheus decentralized AI network as it launches, and already anyone holding a MOR token enjoys access to a free Pro account," Voorhees addded.