Ethereum's Dencun Update

The Breakdown First Five - Thursday, March 14, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Saylor Looking for Another $500M

Microstrategy is fundraising again, offering $500M in convertible notes. The last issuance closed just last week and was 30% oversubscribed. Of course it went straight back into buying Bitcoin. There seems to be no lack of demand for Microstrategy debt, with last week’s issue already trading at 40% above par. The stock is in the midst of a brutal short squeeze, with 20% short interest and microstrategy shares trading at a 70% premium to the underlying Bitcoin. 

4. Gemini/Genesis Lawsuit Can Continue

A motion to dismiss from Gemini and Genesis has been denied, allowing the SEC to move their case forward. The judge found that the SEC had “plausibly alleged” that Gemini Earn was offering unregistered securities. The case will now proceed to discovery and then trial, though no date has been set. This isn’t the end for Gemini with lawyers confident they will “ultimately prevail.”

3. El Salvador Dumps Taxes

El Salvador has dropped income taxes to zero for international investments and money transfers. The tax reform is the latest in a string of measure to attract wealthy migrants, especially Bitcoiners. In December, El Salvador introduced a new path to citizenship for Bitcoin investors who make a donation to the government. Billionaire investor Tim Draper thinks pro-Bitcoin policies will make them “one of the richest and most innovative nations in the world.”

2. Sphere Wif Hat

Solana memecoin traders have successfully crowdfunded $650,000 to put a hat on the Las Vegas Sphere. There is a long history of novelty memecoin advertising, from the Dogecoin sponsored 2014 Jamaican bobsled team to plastering the London tube with Shiba Inu posters in 2021. Opinions diverge on whether this is the top signal or just another hilarious chapter in memecoin history. 

1. Dencun Upgrade Completed 

Ethereum developers have pulled off another live upgrade without a hitch. Blocks continued to be produced throughout, but now they have blobs in them. The Dencun upgrade introduces blobspace for layer 2 proofs, slashing fees on rollups by over 99%. Swaps at fractions of a penny are clearly a huge improvement, but the new design space opened up by cheap transactions has even larger implications for new products. Congratulations to the devs.