Steaker Biweekly Bulletin 2022 Oct. #4

✨ Focal Points at a Glance

• Prominent public chain Aptos launched its mainnet
• Tech giants Google & Apple indefatigably deploy their resources in Web3 as sentiment remains bearish
• U.S. CFTC racked up crypto enforcement and exerted more authority to
  oversee and regulate digital assets

🌟 Prominent Blockchain Startup Aptos Has Launched Its Mainnet

All eyes were on Aptos on October 18, a prominent Layer 1 project described by some as a “Facebook spinoff,” as Aptos Labs announced that they had successfully launched their blockchain mainnet called Aptos Autumn.

Thanks to the fact that the technical backbone of Aptos Labs is two former Meta engineers, this project received $350M in investment before its launch from some top institutions such as a16z, FTX Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Binance Labs and reached a valuation of up to 4B US dollars.

The strong, eye-catching project team along with the industry’s top-notch investment institutions are the main reasons why Aptos caused such a sensation and set off a wave of discussion in the crypto space prior to the official launch of Aptos.

Aptos promises to build the most secure and scalable Layer-1 blockchain. The use of their unique smart contract programming language - Move, originally devised for Meta’s Diem stablecoin project, helps make some major breakthroughs in the mainnet’s key security and extensibility.

From the perspective of handling transactions, the Aptos Autumn blockchain has its innovative pipelined approach to process multiple transactions simultaneously, achieving higher trading volume and enabling faster transactions. Aptos claimed to reach 100K transactions per second (TPS) in its finalized version.

According to AptoScan, the trading volume on the Aptos Chain has reached over $11.8M as of press time. CoinGecko indicates that currently, Aptos ranks 47th in the crypto market by total market cap, reaching $1.211B. This shows that the transactions on the network remain highly active.

Read more: Aptos Mainnet “Aptos Autumn” Officially Launched After More Than 4 Years Of Deployment（Binance）

☁️ Google & Apple Turn Web3-Focused Even in the Bear Market

More and more world-famous businesses are plunging into Web3. Google announced at Google Cloud Next 2022 that a key partnership would be formed with one of the leading crypto exchanges – Coinbase – to popularize cryptocurrency payments for all ages.

In the future, Google will be positioned in stages to enable users to pay for cloud services via cryptocurrency payment by integrating Coinbase Commerce – a platform that helps supercharge crypto payments worldwide. The vice president and general manager of the platform at Google Cloud, Amit Zavery, said that Google would explore using Coinbase Prime, a service for storing and trading cryptocurrencies, to accelerate their investment in Web3.

Read more: Google selects Coinbase to take cloud payments with cryptocurrencies and will use its custody tool（CNBC）

The tech giant Apple dropped a bomb earlier last week on October 25, tightening its regulations on NFTs and stating that apps selling NFTs must now follow the new policy of AppStore, their in-app purchase system.

Under the new rules, apps that sell NFTs may not use their own mechanisms or NFTs as a medium to unlock content or functionality. The rules also stipulate that these apps cannot include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct users to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchases.

At first sight, it seems that Apple’s new policy harms NFT integration and restricts the accessibility and in-app exchanges of NFTs and cryptos. But if we look at this problem from another angle, those who wish to sell NFTs in the future must operate within Apple’s ecosystem. The implication here is crystal clear: Apple must have foreseen the broad spectrum of use cases of NFTs and the development of the Web3 sector in the near future and does not want to let go of this significant potential revenue opportunity – they aspire to be the pioneer.

Read more: Apple Restricts Using NFTs to Unlock Content, Features in Apps（Decrypt）

🔑 CFTC Has Exercised More Authority to Regulate Cryptos

The CFTC, short for Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is now actively pushing for greater authority over cryptocurrencies to create a better, safer crypto economy. According to a copy of the still-in-progress draft of the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) released on October 20, software developers are specifically excluded from being counted as digital commodity brokers.

The draft also orders the CFTC to provide a report on the DeFi market size and protocols within 180 days of the enactment of the bill and to liaise with foreign regulators to ensure that U.S. rules harmonize with international ones.

At present, cryptocurrencies are facing a dilemma about whether they should be defined as “securities” or “derivatives” under the supervision of the U.S. government. Regardless of whether the SEC (short for Securities and Exchange Commission) or the CFTC is in the driving seat, the future direction and development of cryptos will be deeply affected by the one that monitors their operations in the long run.

Read more: Developers Excluded From Broker Label in New DCCPA Bill Draft（CoinDesk）

Steaker’s Trends of the Month

🏀 Oh My PLG! Steaker & P. LEAGUE+ Join Hands to Bolster Professional Basketball in Taiwan

Steaker has entered into a major sponsorship with the Taiwanese men's professional basketball league - P. LEAGUE+ (PLG), becoming their official chief sponsor & partner. Those who apply the referral code “OhMyPLG” to sign up for Steaker and complete the KYC process will be able to earn 5 USDT as a gift for newbies along with lifetime portfolio offers. Wait not and go invite your family and friends to sign up for Steaker to enjoy more referral bonuses! There are more exclusive offers coming soon, so stay tuned!

📰 NOWnews interviewed Founder of Steaker - Wilson Huang

NOWnews’ exclusive interview with Wilson has been published just this month. Wilson not only shared with us his career development in the Web3 sector, his original intention and opportunity of establishing Steaker, and his fascinating insights into the current industry trends, but he further divulged a secret plan early next year. For more comprehensive information regarding this interview, please visit Steaker’s “Media.” Also for your information, NOWnews is an online news website in Taiwan, and for now, reports from this platform will only be in Chinese.