What's Happening in Stacks?

Proof of Research ("PoR") is your go-to resource for everything Web3. We provide cutting edge crypto and financial analysis so you can thrive in the wild world of Web3!

A weekly update for all things Stacks. While not exhaustive, this list best encapsulates Proof of Research’s top signals for the week. Each tweet is the beginning of a thread worth a deeper dive.

MEGAPONT

mrk @mrkmcknz

1/ Bit of a bumper presentation from myself over on the @MegapontNFT Twitch channel. You can find the stream VOD here: twitch.tv/videos/1558128… I am going to walk through the entire presentation on Twitter because watching me waffle for close to an hour is 🥱

twitch.tvTwitchTwitch is the world’s leading video platform and community for gamers.

Megapont update from Mark titled, “Bear Market Building.” Megapont rolled out Apollo, a no-code smart contract generator for Web3. Apollo supports Stacks, Ethereum, Solana, & NEAR. Apollo will replace APESTogether in everything but legal structure. Upcoming Megapont utility includes: (1) unique and no-cost entry to Kong-Fu; and (2) Unique MSA Apes Together space suit at no cost. Megacoin and the DAO will receive a decentralized orderbook supported by Byzantion. In partnership with Ryder, the .mega namespace will go live August 17th. Alpha Drop: Kong Fu participation with Bitcoin Lightning!

BATTLE ROYALE

Cory Klippsten @coryklippsten

Stacks is an affinity scam, $STX is a sh*tcoin, and I wouldn't trust anyone who works for them. If you have their ".btc" in your handle and DON'T mean to be associated with @Stacks, be aware that Bitcoiners may assume you're a big sh*tcoin fan.

Last week this Cory Klippsten tweet kicked the proverbial Bitcoin hornet nest. All Bitcoin ecosystem participants (Bitcoiners, Liquid, Stacks, RSK, Lightning, Maxis, etc.) were involved. In a pleasant development, the Stacks community forcefully engaged in the debate and pushed back against the typical epithets and attacks.

The fight got so hot that even crypto twitter OG, Cobie, who knows nothing about Stacks got sucked in.

Cobie @cobie

@namcios @gckaloudis @coryklippsten @Stacks Gonna try and address this bit by bit, bc you make some good points, but none are inherently anti-token IMO. In your second tweet, you mention tokens are often used for scams. I totally agree. There has been reg-arb and froth. But many tokens are effectively "protocol equity".

Specifically, Cobie helped steer the debate towards a more constructive end, defining the differences between tokens/coins and private equity. Further, he even cemented the comparison using the example that Liquid itself holds a shitcoin in the form of Blockstream private equity.

Cobie @cobie

@namcios @gckaloudis @coryklippsten @Stacks Out of interest, why is a token/coin a worse (“or scammier”) ownership model than private equity? Doesn’t Liquid effectively have a shitcoin too, in the form of Blockstream equity?

More Cobie: Some tokens are now “proxy equity,” where the only way to own the project is the token. These are mostly run by good faith actors. These projects deserve the opportunity to be judged on their merits, not their classification as token.

Cobie @cobie

@coryklippsten @namcios @gckaloudis @Stacks Some tokens are proxy equity now. In many token projects no equity actually even exists — the only way to own the project is the token. It’s a small number of projects operating this way but the good actors that do it this way are imo superior to priv equity ownership model.

Lyn Alden also joined in the token vs. equity discussion. Her personal belief is that “tokens are equity securities” has always made sense. And if “tokens are equity securities” is philosophically acceptable, then scrutiny must come down on the project’s sustainability, whether the founder’s economic incentives align with value creation, and whether the marketing is honest. Asking these questions will raise the level of discourse from “shitcoin” and “scammer” to “how are you generating value for your community” and “what levels of protection have been provided to the community against insider self-interest?” A more mature conversation focused on these points will drive tokenomics forward in a more ethical and productive manner.

Lyn Alden @LynAldenContact

@cobie @coryklippsten @namcios @gckaloudis @Stacks The "tokens are equity securities" argument has always been made sense in my view. The question is whether a given token is a value-destroying penny stock or an actual business. In real VC, investors lock up money for many, many years. They don't want fast exit liquidity.

Said another way:

Mike 🌪️as (🏌️‍♂️, ⛳️) @mdudas

startup equity is altcoins without liquidity

And it wouldn’t be a party without Udi taking a baseball bat to the hornet’s nest. The Net Net: Since Stacks complied with the SEC in their Reg A+ registration, maximalists should be satisfied since they are satisfied with the tokens on Blockstream’s Liquid that serve El Salvador bonds.

udiverse @udiWertheimer

@cobie @namcios @gckaloudis @Stacks i’ve seen people in this thread praising ideas like tokens on blockstream’s chain that serve as El Salvador bonds, because they’d be compliant with El Salvador’s securities laws from that position, STX should be ok too, no?

udiverse @udiWertheimer

@cobie @namcios @gckaloudis @Stacks btw, not that it matters to me at all, but the initial offering of STX was actually registered as a security offering with the SEC and was fully compliant if someone thinks tokens are bad because they lack this (i don’t), then they should be happy about STX

A DÉTENTE?

JakeBlockchain.btc - Built on Bitcoin Podcast @JakeBlockchain

Thinking of hosting a weekly #bitcoin spaces with a few rules: 1) No excessive use of “Shitcoin” 2) Lightning, Stacks, RSK, Liquid and Bitcoin proper are all equal to discuss. 3) That’s it. Maybe good vibes is 3. What say the community?

As a result of the vitriolic Twitter warfare coming from all bitcoin participants, Jake Blockchain proposed a weekly Bitcoin spaces hosted by him. Lightning, RSK, Stacks, & Liquid are all invited to talk in a civil and respectful manner. The idea is to create a more productive and impactful discussion on all things Bitcoin. The Bitcoin ecosystem is growing up and needs all its major players to productively engage with one another. This will likely be painful to start but may eventually turn into something that is a tremendous positive for the bitcoin community.

NEW PROTOCOL STARTUP IDEA PROPOSAL

tycho.btc 🍊 @TychoOnnasch

Here's a DeFi protocol startup idea you can build on @Stacks today that will have product market fit on day 1👇

Tycho proposed a “Fully Decentralized Bitcoin Hashrate Perpetual Futures” product. BTC Miners have a lot of unhedged risk (BTC price, electricity cost, & mining difficulty). Here he discusses the problem at hand and how hashrate futures on Stacks are the answer. 

CHECKMATE’S POV ON THE MERGE

_Checkɱate 🔑⚡🦬🌋 @_Checkmatey_

Ok Folks, this thread on why I believe the #Ethereum Merge is a Monumental Blunder blew up. I have not had a single Ethereum person respond with a convincing counter. Here is a video I prepared with my full scale, good faith case outlaid for discussion youtu.be/gyP0uxxB6V8

_Checkɱate 🔑⚡🦬🌋 @_Checkmatey_

In one move, the US Government has demonstrated that they OWN #Ethereum DeFi. Folks, us all a favour, ditch the move to Proof-of-Stake so you don't hand consensus to them as well. That way, you will live to fight many more days Unless a regulated chain is what you want fro NGU https://t.co/bK4LEZUO1h

Stack’s community’s very own Checkmate led the charge as to why Ethereum should not go through with the merge. Watch this 45-minute video to better understand why ETH’s Merge to Proof of Stake will more than likely kill decentralized Ethereum. Checkmate has made himself the leading voice on this discussion and brought the not-talked-about risk to the forefront of the conversation. This may potentially save many small ETH holders from severe loss.