paul.nft
@veradittakit
MP at @panteracapital; boards at @alchemyplatform @m0foundation @valrdotcom @pintuid @markets_edx @starkwareltd; seeds: @arbitrum @omnifdn; blockchain/crypto
Crypto Trends and Predictions for 2025
1/ Coming off last week's @CoinDesk article, I dive into general trends in 2024, a review and rating of my predictions last year, and 8 predictions for 2025.
open.substack.com/pub/veradiverdict/p/8-predictions-for-2025
2/ Some notable events this year: Ethereum’s Dencun Upgrade, the U.S. election, crypto ETFs, Wyoming's DUNA, the wBTC controversy, Robinhood’s Well’s notice, @HyperliquidX’s near $2 billion airdrop, Bitcoin hitting $100,000, and SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s January resignation announcement.
Stablecoins: The Trillion-Dollar Opportunity
Partner @Ryan__Barney and Junior Partner @masonnystrom explore Stablecoins as the Trillion Dollar Opportunity in their recent article. Let’s dive into why!
veradiverdict.com/p/the-trillion-dollar-opportunity
Investment in Sahara AI: Creating an Inclusive AI Economy
1/ @PanteraCapital co-led the $43M investment round into @SaharaLabsAI. Sahara AI’s mission is to create a more open, equitable, and collaborative AI economy that is as easy as possible to participate in. Let’s dive into their vision.
2/ The current AI stack has more or less settled into the following distinct layers:
• Data collection and Labeling
• Data is gathered from various sources and must comply with licensing requirements. Data is labeled based on the task at hand.
• Model Training and serving
• Data is fed into the model, which adjusts its internal parameters (weights) to minimize errors. This is computationally expensive and time-consuming.
• AI agent creation and deployment
• User experience of creating an AI agent typically involves using tools like TensorFlow, requiring technical expertise.
• Compute resources
• Model Training requires expensive processing.
OmniFDN: Unifying Ethereum's Economic System
Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap has shown promise in effectively scaling the network, but it has come at the price of UX and liquidity fragmentation.
Up until now, there have been a lack of simple, elegant, easy solutions to these issues.
One of the most promising solutions is @OmniFDN.
Omni’s innovative architecture enables users to instantly access applications on one rollup even if they hold their funds on another. This unique model circumvents core blockers that have traditionally prevented Ethereum from being presented as a unified economic system.
Yesterday, Omni announced a purpose-built coordination protocol empowering solvers—sophisticated market participants—to route liquidity to destination rollups on behalf of users. This design leverages the abstraction of common complexities associated with blockchain systems, allowing for seamless interactions between rollup networks.
Under this new design primitive, when a user initiates a transaction, they deposit funds into a smart contract on their origin rollup. A solver then fulfills the user’s intent on the destination rollup, confirming the transaction and releasing funds. This streamlined process allows users to perceive it as a straightforward deposit into the desired application, sidestepping the complexities of cross-rollup transactions.
Omni’s solution is fully backwards compatible with existing wallets, eliminating the need for software downloads or upgrades. With this approach, the complexities that have long hindered cross-rollup transactions are no longer a concern. Users are no longer subject to messaging delays between rollups, the challenges of transacting across multiple networks, or the need to leave applications to utilize bridging protocols.
By removing traditional barriers, Omni is bridging Ethereum closer to the cohesive user experience of monolithic blockchains while leveraging the scalability and lower fees that rollups offer. This solution not only enhances the user experience but also sets a new standard in the industry.
Omni’s chain abstraction goes beyond just making rollups work together; it marks the beginning of a new paradigm—rebundling. Solvers manage cross-rollup delays, allowing users to enjoy a seamless experience. This innovative liquidity model transforms how users engage with decentralized applications, presenting a future where multi-chain interactions are truly seamless.
By simplifying user experiences and providing the scalability necessary for the ecosystem to thrive, Omni Network is laying the groundwork for a more integrated blockchain landscape. As we look ahead, this is an exciting point in time where we are not just future-proofing Ethereum; we are redefining its potential.
Building MEV Architecture: The Stakeholder Struggle
1/ We @panteracapital led the $10M total fundraise for @aprMEV, the MEV research and Liquid Staking layer of Monad.
Let’s learn about aPriori’s problems and opportunities of building MEV architecture 🔍🧵
open.substack.com/pub/veradiverdict/p/meva-and-apriori
2/ The stakeholders that compete to build blocks make or break the blockchain itself; if block production stalls or incentives encourage predatory behavior, the integrity of the chain crumbles and users disappear.
EverclearOrg: Solving Liquidity Fragmentation
Start/ @EverclearOrg launched yesterday and is the first Clearing Layer that coordinates the global settlement of order flows between chains, solving liquidity fragmentation for modular blockchains. Let’s take a deeper look at what intent bridges are, and why Everclear is the silver bullet. @PanteraCapital
veradiverdict.com/p/clearing-layer
2/ There are dozens of active L1 blockchain and with the advent of rollup services, the number of L2 chains has also exploded. Reducing the tradeoffs of moving crypto across chains unlocks value for all chains, improves user experience, and creates tighter spreads for users.
Redefining Restaurant Loyalty with Crypto Apps
1/ Value-adding consumer apps in crypto are necessary to adopt users. @blackbird_xyz is redefining restaurant loyalty by making the process fun for users all the while using the blockchain to advertise, track usage, and launch targeted incentive campaigns.
veradiverdict.com/p/fly
🏒 2/ When a diner visits a partnered restaurant, they tap their phone on a Blackbird-labeled puck, which gives them FLY loyalty points for checking in. Through the app, users can receive targeted advertising and discounts from the restaurant, like a free drink on a second visit, a dessert on the fifth, or an extra omakase course on the 10th.
Investing in Sentient AGI: Building the Future of Artificial General Intelligence
1/ We @panteracapital co-led the $85 million seed round for @sentient_agi, an organization aiming to create the first community-built open Artificial General Intelligence
open.substack.com/pub/veradiverdict/p/open-agi
Let’s learn about how Sentient is building towards this vision. 🔍🧵
2/ Over the past few years, two new holistic problems in AI development have emerged:
• Resource management: AI development is not cost-scalable
• Incentive alignment: AI is made for people, but its development and rewards are decided in boardrooms
Investing in Crypto Gaming Future
We @PanteraCapital are doubling-down on our commitment to the crypto gaming ecosystem with our newest investment: the $18m Seed financing round of @npclabs_org, the creators of @b3dotfun. 🧵👇
1/ Crypto gaming is undeniably a major breakthrough. Standards like ERC-721 for NFTs make in-game items truly ownable and tradeable like real-world assets, leading to more liquid & dynamic game economies.
The Dynamics of Data and Decisions in Crypto
1/ At @PanteraCapital we’ve observed that crypto is one of the most fast-moving and multidisciplinary technologies today. In such a complex sector, data-informed decision-making is critical.
2/ However, something that’s often overlooked in crypto is Demand Elasticity—how user behavior changes with price shifts. Let's put our ECON 100 hats on and dive into why this matters. 🎩🧵