Web 3 and the Metaverse Are Not the Same

PLUS: Six crypto predictions for 2022, what's up with generative art and more |

The biggest crypto news and ideas of the day  Dec. 24, 2021 If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here. Sponsored by     Welcome to The Node.   Questions? Feedback? We'd love to hear from you! Simply reply to this email.   –Daniel Kuhn Today's must-reads Top Shelf Happy Friday to all and merry Christmas to those who celebrate. For the long holiday weekend, we at CoinDesk have gathered a few recent articles, essays and op-eds you might want to read. No better gift than a good read.    PANTERA'S PREDICTIONS: Pantera's Paul Veradittakit makes six predictions about crypto in 2022. This year, we saw decentralized finance (DeFi) swell to a $100 billion+ industry, bitcoin (BTC) reach a price peak of $69,000, massive ecosystem growth for companion blockchain networks (layer 2) such as Arbitrum and alternative chains like Solana, over $22 billion in sales for non-fungible tokens (NFT) and more mainstream and institutional interest than ever before. Can that keep pace?   STABLECOIN SUCCOR: Jake Chervinsky, head of policy at the Blockchain Association, writes about why the U.S. should support the nascent stablecoin industry rather than pursue a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Stablecoins are already expanding the reach of the U.S. dollar, but if the government were to restrict stablecoins in favor of a CBDC, that trend could quickly reverse. U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota makes a similar case.     WEB 3 VS. META: Web 3 and the metaverse are not the same, argues culture commentator Annie Zhang. "What people missed is the innovation and focus Meta was pushing for was largely on hardware and a 3D user consumption and input interface that, quite frankly, does not exist today. Facebook is trying to solve the immersion problem," she writes. Web 3 might have higher ambitions – even if Jack Dorsey doesn't want in.    GENERATING GENERATIVE ART: Joshua Davis is among hundreds, maybe thousands, of creators who have made life-changing amounts of money from the non-fungible token (NFT) boom. But he didn't make his mil selling profile jpegs of zombie gophers wearing polo shirts. Davis is just one of the many "generative artists," or those who use new tools like machine learning to automate the creation of art, who have finally found a home in the world of crypto, writes CoinDesk's David Z. Morris.   THE DAO DIVIDER? What's next for Friends With Benefits, the buzzy new decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and social club? Designed to be open to all who purchase various tiers of the group's tokens, FWB, (75 will get you access to the group's sprawling, multifarious Discord server, with dedicated chat rooms for everything from memes to music), the price of this social token is subject to the market. Is FWB pricing out future friends, asks CoinDesk's Will Gottsegen? A message from Nexo When it comes to buying, borrowing or earning on your crypto, you won't find and easier, safer way to do it than Nexo. Right now you can earn $25 worth of Bitcoin for each friend you refer. And the best part is that your referral gets $25 in BTC too! How it works? It's quite simple – sign in to your Nexo account, copy your unique link and start referring like your life depended on it!   And here's what'll happen next: you and your referrals will both get $25 in BTC within 30 days of them passing Advanced Verification and topping up the equivalent of $100 or more of any asset supported on the Nexo platform.   There's no limit on the number of people you can refer, so invite as many friends as you'd like! Join Nexo and start earning free BTC with your friends! What others are writing... Off-Chain Signals Andreessen Blocks Jack! Jack Unfollows Winklevoss! Bitcoin vs Web3 Feud Continues (Decrypt) Bitcoin investor PlanB's stock-to-flow price model has failed (Protos) Wall Street Is No Fun Anymore (Bloomberg) A brief history of Gitcoin from 2017 - 2021 (Gitcoin) A message from NowRX This company's share price increased 1,650% from 2016 – Own a piece today!   NowRx is disrupting the $480B retail pharmacy industry using proprietary software and robotics to provide a more personalized, hassle-free pharmacy experience.   In 2020, the company saw revenue grow 90% YoY and this year they're on pace to top $22M. Oh and did we mention their telehealth service grew over 3,000% since January?   Don't miss your chance to own shares of this high-growth startup!   Invest in NowRx Sponsored Content   Coinbase: Building a Secure Crypto Infrastructure for Institutional Investors   As the largest publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., Coinbase often serves as a bridge for institutional investors between traditional finance and the world of digital assets. And with the launch of its prime brokerage, Coinbase now has an integrated product that provides institutional investors with a suite of services including trading, analytics and secure custody.     Using the same regulatory, compliance, insurance, and security practices and standards that leading banks follow as its starting point, Coinbase then invests heavily in adapting and strengthening them so they're tailored to the unique aspects of digital assets.  The Chaser... 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