Terminal 3— Empower a more equitable digital future

Why stablecoins are building a new global banking system
Our newest blog post is a little different, an interview with Daren Guo, co-founder of Reap. Reap is a Hong Kong-based stablecoin infrastructure platform that lets businesses issue cards, manage business accounts and expenses, and make global payments using stablecoins.
Reap was acquired by Payward, the parent company

Tether: Crypto’s most controversial firm wants to be tech’s biggest player
The final installment of our three-part series on Tether, the backbone of Web3 which makes tens of billions per year, looks at the future as it bids to grow its influence from the stablecoin leader to one of the most powerful firms in technology.

How controversy from day one didn’t kill Tether: it created Web3’s top company
This is the second in our three-part series looking at Tether, the shadowy company behind the world’s most traded cryptocurrency—the USDT stablecoin.

Inside Tether, the insanely profitable stablecoin firm that’s Web3’s backbone
GM,
This week is the first of a three-part series on Tether, the company behind USDT—the world’s most traded stablecoin—which has grown into a multi-billion dollar business that holds more US bonds than many countries and is charging into AI and other areas.

Why decentralized ID is the hottest thing in Web3 right now
GM,
Decentralized identity is the hot topic in Web3 right now.
The launch of a token for the billion-dollar valued Humanity Protocol and World’s big-name partnerships with Tinder, Razer, and Visa mark a turning point: decentralized ID is finally going mainstream.
As AI blurs the line between

Stablecoin payment adoption is rocketing— and this is only the beginning
GM,
Shopify, Stripe, PayPal, Visa, Uber, Apple, Google… these are some of the companies that have integrated or are considering integrating stablecoins into their business.
We wrote about the potential of stablecoins nearly 18 months ago, but the concept of digital money has rapidly gained traction even over that short

Can MANTRA regain trust and momentum after a 95% token price drop?
GM,
Launching a token can make founders of Web3 startups rich—and in far quicker time than it takes to be acquired or go public in an IPO. Cryptocurrency markets are liquid, but that can also spell peril for companies if their token price falls.

Circle IPO: A unique money printing model that will divide investors
GM,
Circle’s IPO has been talked about for a number of years, and finally it just took a big step to reality after the US firm—which issues the popular stablecoin USDC—filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The growing convergence between traditional payment and finance and Web3
GM,
This week we’re looking at the growing convergence between traditional finance and payments and the Web3 industry. This year alone, billions have been spent on acquisitions both ways, and companies on both sides are likely to increasingly look like each other.

Best,
Jon

3 big takeaways from the record $1.5 billion ByBit hack
GM,
It’s been a month since Web3’s largest ever hack took place: ByBit lost $1.5 billion at the hands of North Korea-affiliated hackers. The audits are in, the real-time stories have been written, but what are the bigger takeaways from this catastrophic event?

The SEC Just Flipped on Crypto: What It Means for Web3
Dropping a 2-year-old Coinbase lawsuit signals a major shift in US crypto regulation

USA, AI and developers: what does 2025 have in store for Web3?
Our predictions for this year and our review of last year’s forecasts

Our 10X recap of Web3 in 2024
GM,
Happy New Year! We enjoyed a restful festive period here at SO WHAT and we are excited to be back.
How excited you ask?
Excited enough to 10X our annual recap, which includes 30 must-note topics from the year that was 2024.

How Bitcoin looks at $100K compared to $1K
GM,
The world of Web3 is crazy at the best of times, but it’s been a particularly wild ride over the last few weeks since Donald Trump won the US Presidential election.

Meet Pump.fun, the memecoin factory making $1M a day
GM,
One of the most lucrative companies in Web3 today may also be one of the most controversial.

We will never know who created Bitcoin—and that’s a good thing
GM,
This past week has been dominated by Satoshi Nakamoto, after HBO released its long-anticipated documentary aiming to answer the question of who created Bitcoin.

Token2049: a Web3 carnival with 20K people and Ethereum-Solana showdown
This is probably the most important Web3 event in the world

Prediction markets have blown up around the US election—are they here to stay?
GM,
More than $1 billion has been wagered on the 2024 US election using a Web3 service that could break out into the mainstream.

Telegram is essentially a Web3 company now
GM,
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest on August 24 in France has sparked major discussions across the Web3 space.

Why crypto’s most polarizing figure is worrying Bitcoiners
GM,
Bitcoin is the front door to Web3, but this month it has been a major talking point after one of the industry’s most controversial figures became involved in a key asset that bridges Bitcoin to the rest of Web3: that’s wrapped BTC, aka WBTC.

North Korea has made over $3B from Web3 hacks—here’s how
GM,
$3 billion.
That’s an estimation of just how much money North Korea has made from cryptocurrency hacks between 2017 and 2023.

Tokenized funds are on the rise—no wonder JPMorgan wants a piece of the action
GM,
Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs said it plans to launch its first tokenized funds.

Anonymous and accountable: how blockchain can change the game for polls
GM,
Speaking your mind online can come at a price in some countries—even just indicating your preference can be costly in some, too. This week we are looking at how blockchain technology can have a tangible impact on free speech and opinion online.

Farcaster, the billion dollar Web3 social project, has ambitious plans
It may not have huge user numbers but its goal to connect social networks and apps fulfills an ambition Twitter once held.

Telegram’s aborted blockchain project came back from the dead and is now the hottest platform in Web3
GM,
Web3 is all about taking unfair advantages.

Inside Base—the blockchain Coinbase launched to reach a billion users
GM,
Coinbase is one of the leading names in Web3. When it makes a move, the industry sits up.

A controversial trademark claim may sour this year’s most-anticipated Web3 launch
GM,
Matter Labs is the story of the year.

Tornado Cash brings privacy to Web3—legal cases against it could dampen future innovation
GM,
The trial of the developers behind a Web3 platform called Tornado Cash is dividing public opinion.

Decentralized identification could fix the broken mess of secure data storage, but it’s a long road with many hurdles
GM,
It’s been an eventful few weeks for the concept of decentralized, blockchain-based identification.

Here’s what we learned from the first Bitcoin Asia event
GM,
Bitcoin continues to be the story of Web3 this year, so you know we had to attend the inaugural Bitcoin Asia event.

DePIN is Web3’s buzziest topic—and it could be key to the AI revolution
Decentralized physical infrastructure network are offering new ways for cloud computing, mobile networks, EV charging and much more

Bitcoin’s halving is complete—what happens next is pivotal for all of Web3
GM,
It finally happened.

The past, present and future of Bitcoin’s new and exciting developer landscape
GM,
Bitcoin, Bitcoin, Bitcoin. The upcoming halving is all that Web3 is talking about.

Memecoin season is here—and there’s a lot more to memecoins in 2024
GM,
Dogecoin. Pepe Coin. Dogwifhat. Degen. Shib Inu. Bonk. Based Fink. Jeo Boden.

Starbucks’ voyage into Web3 loyalty is over—but not because of NFTs
GM,
Starbucks became the biggest global brand to dive into NFTs when it announced a Web3 loyalty program called Odyssey in September 2022.

DAOs could be Web3’s most disruptive feature—but they haven’t taken off yet
GM,
We wrote about Nouns DAO, one of the most prominent DAOs in Web3 back in September, but this week we are looking at DAOs in more detail after the US state of Wyoming introduced a new law that permits them to operate as non-profit organizations.

Mobile, AI and the search for killer apps: the future of Solana
GM,
It may seem obvious now, but when Solana launched in 2020, there was no real alternative to Ethereum.

The rise, fall and recovery of Solana—the original alternative to Ethereum
This week we begin a new series looking at Solana, a blockchain firm that might just be the most interesting company in Web3.

Airdrops: How free crypto tokens could change the future of marketing
GM,
Can you imagine earning $7,000 for owning a JPEG?

Stablecoins: The essential but controversial bridge between crypto and stability
GM,
This week’s issue is the final in our series into how the Web3 space is maturing in 2024. These are hugely influential assets

Real World Assets are a buzzword but also Web3’s trillion-dollar opportunity
GM,
Welcome back to SO WHAT and the latest in our series of deep dives into how the Web3 space is maturing in 2024.

ETFs will change the game for Bitcoin—we just don’t know how yet
GM,
Last week, we started a series exploring three ways in which digital assets will mature in 2023, and today’s installment dives into way #1: US Bitcoin ETFs.

Web3 grew up in 2023—here's how we expect it to mature in 2024
GM!
Welcome to 2024.

Our 3 biggest takeaways from Web3 in 2023
GM,
Today, we have a special review of the year that was 2023 through the eyes of Web3.

Ordinals have made Bitcoin fun again—but also divided once more
GM,
This week we are diving into a controversial topic: Bitcoin Ordinals aka NFTs on the Bitcoin network.

Two of Web3’s top media outlets sell to crypto exchanges—will they lose their integrity?
GM,
This week’s issue is the second of a two-part series on media.

The complicated and conflicted relationship between Web3 and media
GM,
Welcome back, we’ve been on a long hiatus but are back with the first of a two-part series on the media in Web3.

Fan Tokens come under fire as supporters continue to lose money
GM,
This week we’re looking at sport and Web3 and a polarizing debate around fan engagement.

Hong Kong regulator goes transparent after two Web3 hacks hit hard
GM,
September was a tough month for Hong Kong’s Web3 community.

Nouns DAO—the pioneering project that lost $27M but remains in good health
This week we’re looking at Nouns DAO, a unique Web3 organization that is pushing barriers with a decentralized and free-spending approach to building a community that’s entirely open source.

We went to the largest Web3 event in Asia so you didn’t have to
GM,
As promised last week, we’re dropping insights from Token 2049 in Singapore, an annual event that attracts more than 10,000 people.

It’s event season—and Web3 events are like no others
GM,
A private yacht party

A-list international DJs debuting new tracks

A dozen hot pink Ferraris

No. This isn’t Gary’s Christmas list. This week, we’re talking about the crazy world of crypto conferences.