Fake Solana Ad Wreaks Havoc, Tensor vs Magic Eden, Monad 💜 Solana & More

Welcome back!

This is J264G and this week I’ve got these titbits for you:

• Global Payments: Worldpay integrates Solana payment rails.

• Solana 2024: Delphi releases new reports incl. OPOS highlights.

• Monad 💜 Solana: Keone talks about Monad's & Solana's similarities.

Admit it, this was you in the last couple of weeks ⬇️

I get it, you were getting ready for the ETF announcements tomorrow — carry on young Padawan 😏

Now, let’s get right into it!

Click on any underlined heading/hyperlink to learn more.

Spotlight

Curating Crypto

When browsing through X, you can't avoid stumbling across countless crypto ads that promote frauds or scams.

Granted, crypto is a relatively new concept for many people — making them susceptible to these ads and other nefarious shenanigans. However, even seasoned crypto-natives are not immune to fraudulent schemes, let alone well-crafted social engineering campaigns.

As crypto increasingly permeates mainstream finance, I can't help but think that the responsibility falls squarely on us all to proactively foster a culture of security.

At the heart of this endeavour lies the critical role of user education.

We shoulder the responsibility of enlightening users about the inherent risks, intricacies, and nuances of our industry — helping them make informed decisions and thereby fortifying defences against malicious actors.

Central to this educational initiative is the creation of resources and guidance on security best practices.

Educating users on the significance of robust password management, two-factor authentication (*please stop using SMS 2FA*), secure wallet usage, and the recognition of phishing attempts forms a fundamental cornerstone.

Having said that, creating content around these topics is the bare minimum.

We also need to get security updates, advisories, and alerts into the hands of existing and new users. The onus rests on us to proactively communicate potential risks, emerging threats, and precautionary measures.

Only by going the extra mile will we be able to build up a pre-emptive shield against malevolent schemes that target unsuspecting users and engender trust.

Look, talk is cheap.

So, how can security education look in practice? 

Let's take Phantom, for example.

Phantom has been working on numerous verticals that focus on curating crypto, minimising the threat of frauds and scams right from the outset.

• Discovery

A small percentage of users have been able to leverage Phantom's new discovery feature — allowing them to quickly see what’s trending across apps, tokens, and NFTs. In case you don't have access to the feature just yet, you can always head over to the explore page to get up to speed.

• dApp Browser

As part of its standard offering, Phantom also provides a browser for trusted dApps — no need to look these up on search engines with scammy ads or on untrustworthy X profiles.

• Quests & Shortcuts

An unrivalled user experience is at the core of everything Phantom does. One way Phantom onboards new users is through Quests — basically gamified experiences. For NFTs, Phantom has launched a unique feature as well: Shortcuts. Phantom Shortcuts are the “Linktree of NFTs”, i.e. a one-click, in-wallet menu with all relevant links and actions you can take with a specific NFT.

Obviously, Phantom is just one example. There are many other teams which are pushing the frontiers on user education as well — making our industry a little safer, one day at a time.

I’m looking forward to more and more players in the Solana ecosystem and beyond shaping a culture of vigilance by curating crypto, so that we can leave this current environment — which is bustling with frauds and scams — behind us.

Chart Of The Week

News Bites

Turning Point: While Magic Eden still attracts more NFT traders, Tensor is increasingly outpacing the incumbent regarding volume traded. As such, Tensor's volume, at times, is as much as 6x higher than that of Magic Eden.

Developer Report: Solana released one of its first developer reports. Among a stable number of developers and a better retention rate, another interesting finding is that tooling on Solana has improved and is closer to parity with other ecosystems.

Solana ERC-20: The equivalent of Ethereum's ERC-20 on Solana, Token-2022, has been rebranded to “Token Extensions”. The full suite of functionalities of the programme should go live with the adoption of 1.17 on Mainnet.

Global Payments: Worldpay, the largest payment processor in the world, has integrated Solana for its blockchain payment rails — mainly for USDC settlements.

Solana 2024: Delphi Digital has released its “Year Ahead” reports, highlighting Solana in general, and Firedancer, payments, and DeFi innovations in particular.

Monad 💜 Solana: Read what Keone Hon — Co-Founder/CEO at Monad Labs — has to say about Monad's and Solana's similarities.

Caught In 4K

Weekly Take

Keks & Giggles

And that's a wrap!

If you'd like to reach me, respond to this newsletter or reach out to me on X.

Talk soon!

J264G

_{DISCLAIMER
None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research. Lastly, please be advised that we discuss products and services from our partners from which our team members may hold tokens/equity.}