🗑️ Developers Abandon FriendTech

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The developers behind FriendTech, the once-booming socialfi platform, appear to have abandoned the project. The team transferred control of FriendTech’s smart contracts to Ethereum’s burn address, making it impossible for anyone to update the contracts in the future.

Fractal’s controversial Bitcoin sidechain is live. Despite the project claiming 20-fold throughput gains over Bitcoin, critics are highlighting that 50% of Fractal’s FB tokens were pre-mined at launch.

EtherFi has tapped Scroll as the settlement layer for transactions executed via its upcoming web3 credit card.

Plus, digital assets post early-week gains, Fantom launches a testnet for its upcoming Sonic network, a “vape-to-earn” project raises $6 million, and Travala teams up with Skyscanner.

✍️ In today’s newsletter:

FriendTech team revokes control over contracts
Fractal deploys Bitcoin sidechain on mainnet
Scroll to settle EtherFi’s crypto card transactions
Crypto markets stage minor comeback
Fantom launches Sonic testnet
Investors back Puffpaw’s vape-to-earn proposition
Skyscanner supports crypto through Travala partnership

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📈 Markets in the last 24 hrs:

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Check out our podcast with Sebastian Serrano, the co-founder and CEO of Ripio, one of the largest crypto platforms serving the Latin American market.

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️🔥 FriendTech Transfers Control Over Its Contracts To Burn Address

FriendTech’s developers appear to have shuttered the project after transferring control over the platform’s smart contracts to Ethereum’s burn address. The move comes after FriendTech’s adoption evaporated to just a few thousand dollars worth of trades from 394 traders after soaring to $20 million from tens of thousands of users 12 months ago.

🚢 Fractal Ships Bitcoin Sidechain But Faces Pre-Mine Controversy

Fractal Bitcoin has entered the race to scale the oldest cryptocurrency network with the mainnet launch of its Bitcoin sidechain. However, onlookers are unhappy with Fractal’s tokenomics, with half of FB’s supply already pre-mined at launch.

🤝 EtherFi Partners with Scroll for Crypto Card Settlement

EtherFi, the largest liquid restaking protocol, has tapped Scroll, a Layer 2 network, as the settlement layer for its upcoming crypto credit card, EtherFi Cash. The card will allow users to either borrow USDC against their restaking portfolio or convert their funds into USDC to make payments.

📈 Crypto Markets Inch Higher Ahead of U.S. Inflation Data

Digital assets are off to a bullish start to the week after suffering a sustained run of losses. BTC and ETH are up 3% over the past 24 hours, while DOT and SOL gained 2%, with investors anxiously awaiting inflation and consumer price data later this week.

🌐 Fantom’s Rebranded Blockchain Sonic Labs Launches Testnet

Fantom launched the testnet for its highly-anticipated Sonic Network, which quickly hosted more than 100 million transactions. Fantom plans to ship the network as part of a major rebrand and overhaul.

🚬 Want to Quit Smoking? Vape-to-Earn Is Here

Puffpaw attracted $6 million from investors backing its novel “vape-to-earn” value proposition. The project will offer tokenized incentives to vapers in exchange for recording data on their nicotine consumption to a blockchain.

✈️ Crypto Travel Agency Travala Joins Skyscanner

Skyscanner now supports payments using more than 100 cryptocurrencies after teaming up with Travala, a crypto-native travel platform. “We’re making travel planning more accessible and flexible for the growing number of travelers who prefer alternative payment methods,” said Skyscanner’s head of hotels, Sanja Vukik.

🌍 ELSEWHERE

Harris campaign criticized for ignoring crypto in policy statement (CryptoSlate)
Japan's Largest Power Company TEPCO is Mining Bitcoin Using Renewables (Bitcoin Magazine)
Snapshot X launches to enable gas-free onchain voting via Starknet (The Block)
Congress Is Having Its First Hearing on DeFi. What Does the White House Think of It? (Unchained)