GMX To Deploy On Solana, Jupiter Expands To Non-Crypto Assets & More

Welcome back!

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

• Solana Migration: GMX is in the process of deploying to Solana.

• Trade Everything: Jupiter to make RWAs, stocks, and forex tradable on chain.

• Embedded Wallets: What does Phantom’s Bitski acquisition mean for crypto?

The Ws don't seem to end: ETH spot ETFs have been approved, the creation of CBDCs has been averted, Circle is reshoring and preparing an IPO — the US is back! 

Open money on open networks is about to take off ⬇️

And in all of this, Solana is front and centre.

Now, let’s jump right into this week’s newsletter!

Click on any underlined heading/hyperlink to learn more.

Spotlight

New Onboarding Paradigm

The complexity of self custody and crypto wallets, coupled with security concerns, seems to deter many from entering the space.

Mainly, self custody involves understanding concepts such as seed phrases and private keys — which is a significant obstacle and comes with a steep learning curve, particularly for those who are not tech-savvy. Having said that, managing seed phrases and private keys is especially daunting because when these are lost or compromised, it often means that one's funds are gone. 

Security is another major concern. Multiple high-profile cases have made many potential users wary of entering the crypto space. Unlike traditional banking systems, where lost or stolen funds can typically be recovered, crypto transactions are irreversible. The lack of a safety net necessitates advanced security measures, such as multi-factor authentication and hardware wallets, which can further complicate the user experience.

To make the entry point to crypto easier and foster greater adoption, the use of crypto wallets needs to become seamless.

To achieve this, we need both frictionless accessibility and embedded wallets.

Regarding accessibility, wallets are gradually moving away from seed phrases and towards email sign-ups and logins — thus making signing in to crypto apps as easy as signing in to conventional apps such as PayPal or Venmo. Avoiding seed phrases could potentially be one of the biggest unlocks for crypto, but there's more! If we're able to introduce email access, other accessibility options — such as social login and “Sign in with Apple” — might be available sooner than we think.

As you can tell, I'm really looking forward to seed phrases becoming a thing of the past!

Having said that, hassle-free accessibility should further be complemented by embedded wallets. Essentially, embedded wallets are akin to account wallets of centralised exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, or Kraken — they are simply provided as a default upon signing up. What has been the standard for centralised exchanges will soon become more common for crypto apps as well.

To make it more comprehensible, let's look at a possible scenario: Emma is interested in trading NFTs and heard about Tensor, so she downloads the Tensor app on her phone. Next, she signs up and logs in to the app with her Gmail address — all powered by an embedded wallet. As she doesn't hold any assets in here embedded i.e. Tensor wallet just yet, she uses an integrated function that enables her to buy crypto with either her credit card, PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo. She buys some SOL. Next, she browses through Tensor and buys a Clayno — easy as pie. Fast-forward 12 months and Emma is now fully immersed into crypto and needs a wallet with more advanced functionality, so she downloads the Phantom app on her phone and gets cracking.

We're already seeing this vision play out. 

Just recently, Jupiter acquired Ultimate, a self custody wallet. Next, the juggernaut will probably integrate Ultimate as an embedded wallet and roll out the new Jupiter mobile app to a phone near you.

Also, Phantom recently acquired Bitski. The acquisition enables Phantom to provide users with easier accessibility via email/social, and developers with white-label embedded wallets for their protocols — thus bringing more delightful user experiences to the entire Solana ecosystem.

The new onboarding logic is simple: First, Web2 accessibility. Second, embedded wallets. And third, full wallets.

Chart Of The Week

News Bites

Solana Migration: GMX is in the midst of an independent deployment to Solana. Additionally, a whispering campaign is underway: friend.tech, Pendle, and Ethena seem to be discussing and considering a Solana deployment as well. These are speculations, of course, so let's see how the upcoming months unfold.

Trade Everything: Jupiter announced the Giant Unified Market initiative to bring multiple assets — crypto, RWAs, stocks, forex etc. — onto one unified Solana platform. It will be interesting to see if this works, as one pivotal problem remains: reliable data for after-hours trading. 

Reinventing Ticketing: XP, a ticketing platform, leverages Solana to optimise ticket prices. But that's not all! The platform also uses tamperproof NFTs (tpNFTs) to address ticket security and authenticity, both of which are major concerns on secondary marketplaces.

Infrastructure Growth: DePIN on Solana is going from strength to strength. Just recently, Ambient — a Solana-based DePIN project focused on collecting environmental data — raised $2 million and acquired PlanetWatch's network.

Memecoin Casino: Last week we talked about Meme Royale, a pump.fun competitor. Now, it seems as if a new competitor is launching every couple of weeks. The newest ones: whales.meme and pumpalot.xyz.

Caught In 4K

Weekly Take

Keks & Giggles

And that's a wrap!

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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.}