Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Web3, Decentralization, DAOs
16z: 2023 State of Crypto (and Index)
16zcrypto | Daren Matsuoka, Eddy Lazzarin, Robert Hackett, Stephanie Zinn | Apr 11, 2023
Image: a16crypto
Overall, the 2023 report reflects a healthier industry than market prices may indicate, and a steady cycle of development, product launches, and ongoing innovation.
- a16crypto created the State of Crypto Index, a regularly updated and interactive index to track the industry’s growth.
- Blockchains are seeing growth in active users and engagement, with active addresses reaching an all-time high of 15 million last month. The number of active addresses has doubled in the past two years, driven by a diverse range of apps and services, including on-chain games. DeFi and NFT activity are also on the rise, with an increasing number of people purchasing NFTs in recent months. In addition, decentralized exchanges saw trading volumes exceeding $100 billion last month, marking the third consecutive month of positive growth.
- The number of active developers in the crypto industry has steadily increased over the last three years, with almost 30,000 developers contributing to or building on crypto projects last month. This trend is likely due to the influx of developers during the 2020 bull run, who are now sticking around.
See: Kaiko CEO Predicts Hong Kong as the Next Crypto Hub Due to US Crackdown
- Blockchains are scaling through innovative new approaches and technologies, with a proliferation of protocols and projects working to facilitate more transactions. "Layer 2" (L2) scaling solutions, for instance, accounted for 1.5% of the total fees paid on Ethereum last year, and now account for 7%.
- Breakthroughs in previously impractical technologies are becoming a reality, such as "zero knowledge" systems, which will unlock new blockchain scalability and privacy-protecting applications, as well as AI applications. Research, developer activity, and usage in this area are all showing positive trends.
- The U.S. is losing its lead in web. The proportion of crypto developers based in the U.S. has fallen by 26% compared to the rest of the world between 2018 and 2022. Thoughtful regulation could encourage crypto builders to innovate and grow these technologies safely in the U.S.
- Zooming out shows steady progress across key indicators, including market cap, developer activity, and funding activity over the last decade. Short-term volatility obscures the more predictable price-innovation cycle, where price swings propel new ideas forward.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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OpEd: Decentralized AI Can Help Protect Humanity
Coindesk | Michael J. Casey | Apr 14, 2023
Image: DALL-E/NCFA
In order to prevent the potentially destructive impact of AI on humanity, we need open-source innovation and collective governance that is possible through blockchain protocols and Web3, rather than the monopoly defaulting structure of Web2.
- The recent alarmist demand for a six-month pause or even a militarily enforced shutdown in AI research – from people with experience, money and influence in the artificial intelligence industry – is founded on some fundamentally flawed thinking that will encourage the same destructive outcome for humanity that we seek to avoid. That the U.S. government is simultaneously orchestrating a crackdown on the crypto industry, a field of open-source innovation that develops the kind of cryptography and network coordination technologies needed to manage AI threats, makes this an especially dangerous moment for all of us.
- Lessons learned from the centralized and ad-driven Web2 economy, where a small group of data-aggregating behemoths became the beneficiaries of "surveillance capitalism" by using personal data to shape human behavior and maximize ad revenue.
- AI development under the same monopoly defaulting structure could lead to an even more exploitative system, but the solution is not to halt the research, but to incentivize AI developers to subvert the model.
See: HyperCycle: Paving the Way for a Groundbreaking Path to AGI
- Update capitalism: Market capitalism system worked for the analog economy, but the internet age requires a new model of decentralized ownership and governance.
- Crypto technology could help define what that future looks like, even if we need guardrails for it.
- Jacob Steeves, a founder of decentralized AI-development protocol Bittensor, who believes in building open ownership of AI where if someone can contribute, they can own it.
- Concerns of regulatory capture in the AI industry.
- OpenAI, a private company that recently took a $10 billion investment from Microsoft, could benefit if the demands of the open letter calling for a six-month pause in AI development are implemented, making it difficult for competitors to challenge OpenAI's dominance in the industry.
- With the U.S. government's hostility toward crypto, a worrisome convergence emerges that could harm the open-source innovation needed to avoid AI's dangerous capture by self-serving centralized interests.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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After Shanghai Upgrade, ETH Passes $2k
Coindesk | Sam Reynolds, Omkar Godbole Apr 13, 2023
We are seeing a sell the rumor buy the fact redux, one observer said, explaining ether's post-Shanghai upgrade rally.
- Ether rose to $2,003 on Thursday, reaching the highest point since August. The rally to an eight-month high comes off the back of a successful network upgrade called Shanghai, or Shapella. The upgrade implemented during Asian hours enables withdrawals for users who have staked their ether, a process that helps secure and validate transactions on the blockchain.
- Heading into the pivotal hard fork, analysts were divided on how the backward-incompatible upgrade would influence ether's price, with some anticipating an investor rush to liquidate holdings.
See: PayPal Launches MetaMask Web3 Wallet Integration to Enable Ethereum Transactions
- Overall the demand for unstaking ether has been moderate, as a sizable portion is currently held at a loss. The biggest unstaker so far has been Kraken, which is shutting down its staking service for U.S. users as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Over 77% of ETH being withdrawn has been from the exchange Kraken and the majority of withdrawn ETH by validators outside of this is rewards, not rewards plus original stake. This is a more constructive than the market had potentially anticipated.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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HyperCycle: Paving the Way for a Groundbreaking Path to AGI
The Debrief | | Mar 27, 2023
Image: HyperCycle Toufi Saliba and Dr. Ben Goertzel
A new company called HyperCycle is enabling artificial intelligence systems to connect in an unprecedented fashion, allowing them to cooperate and compete at the smallest modular levels and bringing the world closer to–and ensuring a safer–global AI network.
- The founder of HyperCycle, Toufi Saliba, says the ideas behind this potentially earth-changing undertaking are not new but have been growing for nearly a few decades amongst the world’s top computer scientists.
- Artificial General Intelligence, AGI has become somewhat of Holy Grail for engineers and programmers working in the exciting yet controversial field of blockchain. That’s because, in its current form, blockchain offers a number of advantages, primarily in information and financial/transactional security, while also facing a wide range of real-world challenges.
- Friction and cost challenge: Among the challenges of current blockchain systems (like cryptocurrency) are the massive amounts of friction as they have quickly become a third party in transactions. “The friction in those interactions may not be significant for us humans, especially when you look at a single interaction. When two or more AI modules exchange values, they need the response A- Immediately and B- Without a cost that is comparable and sometimes higher than the value itself.”
See: How Can We Improve Fighting Financial Crime With Artificial Intelligence?
- Cooperative AI: “The internet of AI, aka cooperative AI, where AIs can cooperate at the smallest modular level, will introduce certain capabilities that are not currently provisioned, and certainly unprecedented,” said Saliba. “Imagine SIRI and Alexa both are cooperating behind the scenes to provide you with the best outcome.”
- with TODA/IP and HyperCycle, the transactional “cost” is dramatically reduced by taking advantage of a decentralized approach, where individual AI systems can work together without having to go through a centralized server for each and every transaction.
- Saliba and his co-founder, Dr. Goertzel, compare this to the neurons in a human brain working across connections as opposed to having to connect to a central part of the brain for each and every transaction.
- It is this new approach to managing and transferring data packets across a global network that allows Toda/IP and HyperCycle to operate efficiently and at the individual transaction level, similar to the way individual neurons within the human brain operate. In effect, by sharding the data to the smallest packet while also maintaining backward compatibility, HyperCycle is building an infrastructure that essentially operates like [human brain] synapses.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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US Treasury Demands DeFi Adhere to Anti-Money Laundering Rules
BNN Bloomberg | , | Apr 6, 2023
Image: Unsplash/Freddie Collins
Decentralized financial transactions, including those done with virtual currencies, need to comply with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, the US Treasury Department said in a new report.
- The 39-page report, which was commissioned by the Biden administration, concludes there are several risks associated with DeFi technology, which has no exact definition but includes self-executing transactions between two or more people based on the same blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies.
- As various countries, including the US, deliberate on how to regulate cryptocurrencies and virtual assets, a report has surfaced advocating for more stringent rules around the technology. The report also emphasizes that firms and individuals must adhere to the already-established laws regarding money laundering and terrorist financing. According to the report, many institutions and users are currently not following existing regulations.
- The report’s findings, which recommend some changes to the law, come as the Biden administration is considering a broader regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and other forms of payment conducted with blockchain technology. The administration in September called on the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators to “aggressively pursue investigations and enforcement actions against unlawful practices.”
See:
Linklaters: Crypto and DeFi: Understanding the Risk Landscape and Tackling the Shifting Outlook
Bank of Canada Paper: Fragility of DeFi Lending
Brian Nelson, the Treasury undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence:
Capturing the potential benefits associated with DeFi services requires addressing these risks. The private sector should use the findings of this assessment to inform their own risk mitigation strategies and to take clear steps, in line with AML/CFT regulations and sanctions obligations, to prevent illicit actors from abusing DeFi services.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Planning to Invest in Blockchain Games? You Have 10 reasons to Do So
March 29, 2023
Blockchain technology has been around for over a decade now and has the potential to revolutionize a wide variety of industries.
However, using blockchain technology in the gaming industry is a relatively new concept for many people.
Blockchain games use blockchain technology in their design and development, making them unique and potentially more valuable than traditional games. Top-notch blockchain technology gives gamers a whole new experience with some amazing features.
So, if you’re looking for a profitable investment option, take a look at these ten reasons why you should definitely invest in blockchain games.
1. Ownership and Asset Monetization
One of the most significant advantages of blockchain games is that they allow players to own and monetize their in-game assets.
In traditional games, players invest time and money to acquire in-game assets but have no ownership over them.
With blockchain games, players can own their in-game assets, which are recorded on the blockchain and become the player's property. This means players can sell, trade, or even rent out their in-game assets for profit, just like real-life properties.
2. Secured Environment
Another reason to invest money in some of the best blockchain games is that they provide the most security for your assets. In fact, blockchain has the most secure background, allowing you to keep all the money you earn from playing the game.
Thanks to the wonders of blockchain technology, you can withdraw your deposits at any time, even if the game is no longer around.
3. Decentralized System
A huge advantage of blockchain games is that they operate on a decentralized system, which is great news for investors. Traditional games are centralized, meaning all game data is stored on a central server owned and controlled by the game developer.
The centralized system in traditional AAA games often becomes vulnerable to hacking, cheating, and other forms of fraud.
Blockchain games, on the other hand, operate on a decentralized system, which is far better than traditional systems. In this new system, the game data is stored on a distributed network of nodes, making it much more secure and transparent.
4. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
The use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in various game assets has been one of the key features of blockchain games. The tokens used in blockchain games are unique and cannot be replicated, which makes them valuable and secure simultaneously.
Furthermore, NFTs are stored on the blockchain, so it's nearly impossible to delete or alter them under any circumstances. The effective use of NFTs is also a good reason to invest in blockchain gaming startups.
5. Transparency and Fairness
Blockchain games offer transparency and fairness to players, which is quite rare compared to traditional games. In traditional AAA games, the developers usually determine the outcome of the game, and players have to trust that the game is fair.
On the contrary, blockchain game development is based on smart contracts that are visible to everyone on the blockchain.
This allows the game to be 100% fair and transparent for all kinds of players who play these games. This also means that players can trust the game's outcome as cheating becomes virtually impossible.
6. Global Audience
Since blockchain games are run on a distributed network of computers, they can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
As a result, blockchain games are getting global exposure and attracting gamers from different countries. This also creates a variety of built-in marketplaces where players can buy, sell, and trade in-game assets on a global scale.
7. Having a strong community
Because of the built-in marketplaces, players can easily reach out to one another and form a strong community for themselves.
This also gives a platform to dedicated players who are passionate about the game and its economy. These players can be a great asset to the blockchain gaming communities and can help to expand the industry even further.
8. New Revenue Streams
As players can truly own the assets they acquire in blockchain games, they get the opportunity to create new revenue streams.
Players can earn money in the gaming world by either being really good at the game or earning tokens by completing specific tasks that are assigned to them within the game. This means both players and developers can get financial support by trading digital assets in built-in marketplaces.
On top of it, new revenue streams from blockchain games also attract investors and open the door to endless possibilities.
9. Potential for Growth
The gaming industry is one of the largest and fastest-growing industries in the world, with billions of players worldwide. Although blockchain games are relatively new to the business, their growth potential is significantly higher than in other sectors.
According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the blockchain gaming market is projected to grow from $56 million in 2020 to $1.6 billion by 2026. Blockchain games have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57.2%, which can potentially give significant returns in the future.
10. Early Adoption Advantage
Investing in blockchain games right now will allow you to get an early adoption advantage which can turn out to be crucial in the future. It’s because blockchain games are still a relatively new concept, and few investors know their potential.
Investing in blockchain games in the early stages could give you a head start in this emerging market. As the industry grows, you might be able to yield a significant return from your blockchain game investment.
Conclusion
Blockchain games offer you a unique and exciting investment opportunity if you’re interested in the gaming industry. As blockchain technology continues to evolve, blockchain games have the potential to be one of the most profitable sectors in the digital world.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Court Tests the Liability of DAOs and Their Makers: What You Need to Know
Coindesk | Sam Reynolds | Mar 29, 2023
Image: Unsplash
Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) are beginning to look like general partnerships in the eyes of U.S. courts.
- A U.S. court in California has ruled in favor of plaintiffs who alleged that the bZx protocol, and governance token-holding members of its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), were negligent and liable for losses resulting from a hack that drained its treasury.
- The putative class action against bZx, its founders, software developers Leveragebox LLC and Hashed Labs LLC was initiated in July 2022.
- Drained wallets: The case stems from the $55 million hack of decentralized finance (DeFi) lender bZx in 2021, which resulted because a developer downloaded an email attachment containing malware. Not only did the attacker drain the wallet of the BZRX token, but other digital assets like ether. This is on top of other hacks the protocol suffered in 2020, one of which was for $8 million, while two others that occurred were for $630,000 and $350,000.
See: Sushi DAO Head Chef Served With SEC Subpoena
- While the court dismissed some of the claims, such as claims that founders Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner are personally liable for breaching fiduciary duty, the fact that it allowed the negligence claims to proceed has created a landmark ruling in the relatively murky topic of the liability of governance token holders in DAOs.
- The decision implies that DAO members might be held liable for negligence, potentially undermining the already challenged decentralized nature of DAOs, while providing a defense for founders who have seen their creations accused of wrongdoing.
- Does a DAO have duty of care and fiduciary liability? Before the court was the question of whether all persons holding BZRX tokens are part of a general partnership.
- The court found that the bZx protocol meets the definition of a general partnership because of how the token holders can both suggest and vote on governance proposals, including hiring and dispersing treasury assets to token holders in the same way that a corporation authorizes dividends.
- The involvement that token holders have in the business via participation in governance protocols also means they have a duty of care, the court found, including that the protocol was properly maintained and had sufficient security measures.
- The court found that the bZx protocol meets the definition of a general partnership because of how the token holders can both suggest and vote on governance proposals, including hiring and dispersing treasury assets to token holders in the same way that a corporation authorizes dividends.
See: Ooki vs CFTC: Emerging Questions on Legal and Tax Status of DAOs
- Are DAO founders personally liable? The court found that complaints against developers Leveragebox LLC and Hashed Labs LLC failed to provide the necessary elements to establish claims of negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and joint and several liability.
- "Because Plaintiffs have failed to allege that the Moving Defendants had actual authority to control the bZx DAO, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to allege joint and several liability,” the docket reads.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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