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The U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken is stretching out its boneless body, unfurling its tentacles, and shambling onto the shore.

No, it’s not the latest stage of its pseudopod evolution — Kraken has its eyes on a higher prize.

Kraken intends to enter the Layer 2 game by finding a friend to grab by the suckers that can help the exchange scale to rival Coinbase or Binance.

But while Kraken has its rectangular pupils locked on Layer 2, how will our tentacled friend contend with the most dominant players?

Espresso Shots

☕️ Mini Altcoin Season

With Bitcoin reaching up to $35,871 on November 7, its performance may have ushered in a “Mini Altcoin Season.”

Bitcoin seems to have provoked serious activity in the derivatives market, with Solana, Cardano, and XRP all posting double-digit percentage gains in the past week.

Ripple’s XRP hit nearly 14% in the past week, trading at $0.69 as of writing.

Cardano’s ADA also did well, with 20% gains in the last week.

While Solana’s SOL came in third, with a respectable increase of nearly 14% in the past seven days, as of writing.

Mini Altcoins, much like Mini M&Ms, are more fun and delicious than full-sized Altcoins, both because they come in a tube as well as the altered ratio between chocolate and candy coating.

☕️ Coinbase Brings on National Security Experts

Coinbase has added four national security experts to its Global Advisory Council.

The new additions include Mark Esper, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Stephanie Murphy, former congresswoman and national security specialist for the Department of Defense, Frances Townsend, a former Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor for the Bush administration, and David Urban, an advisor on Trump’s 2016 campaign and a political commentator for CNN.

As Coinbase continues to battle legal troubles in the U.S., these inclusions represent the exchange’s latest steps toward transparency, compliance, and heightened security.

“With deep national security expertise, Esper, Murphy, Townsend, and Urban will help the Council examine what consequences will result from regulatory uncertainty for crypto in the United States, including the long-term economic and national security impacts” reads the official statement from Coinbase.

Rejected applicants Inspector Gadget, Robocop, and McGruff the Crime Dog are reportedly headed to a cop bar to drown their sorrows in rail whiskey.

☕️ Caroline Ellison on “Arthur”

An old clip has resurfaced featuring a young Caroline Ellison as a talking head on “Arthur,” PBS’s educational cartoon starring the eponymous talking aardvark.

The clip in question reportedly dates back to 2003 and features several Massachusetts children, notably Ellison, talking about their favorite scary stories in the Cambridge library.

Caroline Ellison pleaded guilty to seven charges including wire fraud and conspiracy for her role in the FTX disaster. Ellison testified against Bankman-Fried as part of her plea deal, but is still awaiting sentencing.

“Arthur,” historically, has handled issues such as bullying and peer pressure, even delving into more nuanced topics such as autism acceptance and the public response to the September 11th attacks.

But Caroline Ellison must have missed that episode teaching kids about the dangers of white-collar crime.

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Polled Brew

Spilling the Beans

Kraken Takes a Crack at Layer 2 👊 🎯

Layers are important, they add fundamental depths and build on what’s already there.

Without layers, a seven-layer nacho dip is just queso and a sheet cake is just a pie.

How are you supposed to get cozy on those cold winter nights without layers of quilts and comforters?

Well, we know layers are an important part of the quality of human life, but layers are just as important when it comes to crypto. Layer-2 solutions are a vital development in crypto that allows for better scaling for the massive amount of data that flows through a blockchain.

But before we get into Layer 2, let’s start with Layer 1. Layer 1 is the infrastructure that supports a blockchain. Layer 1 is sometimes referred to as the “mainnet;” in short, the main network.

Layer 2s, as you might have guessed, are built on Layer 1s. These are off-chain solutions that allow for better scaling, management, and the reduction of potential bottlenecks.

It might help to think of blockchains like airlines. Layer 1 is the bare essentials; the pilots, the planes, and the runways for take-off.

But Layer 2 is the help desk at the front of the gate. They handle customer complaints, check luggage, and help find last-minute flights.

You don’t need those desks to run an airline, but they make things a hell of a lot easier.

This is why there are already several notable Layer-2 solutions in play. There’s Coinbase’s Base L2 network, Binance’s opBNB, Polygon, and Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.

Now, Kraken is looking to throw its hat in the ring.

Kraken has announced that it’s seeking a partner to develop its own Layer-2 network.

Kraken is considering partnerships with Polygon, Matter Labs, and Nil Foundation, as well as several other potential candidates, according to reporting from CoinDesk.

But Kraken itself has remained relatively mum on this subject.

“We’re always looking to identify and solve for new industry challenges and opportunities," a Kraken spokesperson told CoinDesk upon further prompting, in the report. "We don’t have anything further to share at this time.”

Though Kraken is keeping quiet, a job posting on its website offers further proof of the exchange’s Layer-2 ambitions.

For example, Kraken is seeking a Senior Cryptography Engineer.

The posting states: “We are enthusiastic about open source, Layer 2 technologies, zero-knowledge proofs, multi-party computation, and continuously strive to explore the potential of on(-)chain scaling solutions.” But maybe most importantly, the position will require the “Design and implementation of layer 2 solutions”.

So, what would it mean for crypto to have another Layer-2 solution in the mix?

Yes, we all struggle under the auspices of late-stage capitalism, but there is one aspect that certainly works in favor of the consumer, and that’s competition.

When serious competitors emerge into a space, it holds the entire industry accountable to firmer standards and greater levels of accessibility.

To return to that aviation metaphor, if one airline is going to offer free snacks, every airline is going to be expected to offer free snacks.

Competition holds businesses accountable. Not only does it offer more variety and choice for the consumer — it also creates an implicit system of checks and balances.

And if one of these Layer-2 solutions drastically increases in quality and efficacy, it becomes an arms race to match that standard or face obsolescence.

While Kraken’s Layer-2 launch is still in the preliminary phases, we know that this inevitable rollout will only be good for the space, and everyone in it.

We’ll be eagerly watching this development as it moves along, but for now, we’re excited to see Kraken… get crackin’ on Layer 2.

Crypto 101

Layer 3(+): You better believe the layers can keep going up.

Layer-3 solutions further increase blockchain operability and integration. Followed by Layer 4, the consensus layer which ensures that all nodes agree on a validation.

Naturally, this is followed by Layer 5, which includes user-made decentralized applications, smart contracts, and chaincode.

The Last Sip

The Last Sip: Yes, Caroline Ellison appeared on “Arthur” as a child. But Sam Bankman-Fried was actually supposed to appear on “Sesame Street.” Unfortunately, at the time his afro was so large that it would have taken more than three puppeteers to manipulate it, so the segment was cut due to budgetary constraints.

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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