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This week in crypto…

Everything you need to know to stay on top in Web3

🙏🏽 Earthquake relief

This week, a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria. Our hearts go out to the affected. It was great to see the Web3 community come together once again to fundraise and provide assistance to people in need. Companies like Binance, Avalanche, Tether, Bitfinex, OKX, and Kucoin already pledged millions in donations.

Meanwhile, a renowned Turkish artist Refik Anadol started an ETH donation wallet, with intentions to send money to Ahbap, an organization providing aid in the region. 👏🏽 If you wish to donate, make sure to DYOR. So far, Ahbap emerged as a trusted organization and Refik and Haluk Levent’s fundraising efforts are supported across crypto Twitter and the Turkish community.

❌ Super Bowl bans crypto ads

Last year became famous as the Crypto Bowl due to ads by FTX, Coinbase, and Crypto.com. This year, Super Bowl decided to ban crypto ads. Possibly due to the FTX crash, possibly due to the general market sentiment, but definitely a strong sign of the bear.

🚘 California DMV to go on-chain

Despite the bad reputation malicious actors can bring to crypto, the technology continues to win. This week, California DMV announced it would work to move its record-keeping to blockchain and issue ownership titles as NFTs. DMV is currently testing blockchain-based solutions using a Tezos fork and if all goes well, they will roll out consumer-facing apps. More here.

🗞️ In other news

🦊 Consensys launches MetaMask Learn, a learning platform that helps users navigate self-custodial wallets.

💲 Binance temporarily suspends USD bank transfers.

🖼️ Crypto Twitter discusses NFT open edition minting.

TLDR: Intro to tokenomics, part III 🧩

In the last two weeks, we learned about tokens and the key factors that comprise tokenomics. Catch up on parts I and II as we dive into the final part of the series.

This week, we’re breaking down game theory: a concept that underlines the majority of blockchains and blockchain-based projects. ✅

In essence, game theory is useful to predict and understand how people make decisions when they have overlapping, conflicting, or mixed interests and in situations their choices affect others.

Game theory can be applied in computer science, economy, politics, psychology, and many other disciplines.

➡️ Considering that blockchain systems often bring these fields together, it’s no wonder game theory found a natural application in analyzing network incentives, user behavior, voting mechanics, or market conditions in blockchain networks.

When it comes to tokenomics, game theory is particularly useful in understanding the behavior of market participants and in designing token incentives that align with the goals of the network.

➡️ For example, game theory can be used to design token reward systems that encourage desirable behavior (such as contributing to the network's security or growth) and discourage undesirable behavior (such as hoarding or attacking the network).

The most common examples of game theory as applied to blockchain are consensus mechanisms.

Game theoretical principles are used to understand the incentives miners and validators need to act honestly and contribute to the security of the network, versus acting selfishly and compromising it.

Whether applied to large systems like blockchains or the functioning of DAOs or token-based projects, game theoretical principles can create more stable and effective token economies.

Want to dive in deeper? Check out this piece on game theory in DeFi and this explainer on Bitcoin’s incentive design. Bonus points: Learn about the Nash equilibrium.

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See you next week!

​Dusanka​