We travel to Europe because that continent has things America simply doesn’t: Buildings that are more than centuries old, affordable healthcare, and babies that smoke. You get the idea.

And while we’re typically content on home turf, sometimes we yearn for a flat in a city where chocolate croissants are more plentiful.

But this time, a novel crypto development in Europe has us green with envy.

And it compels us to ask: Will a new stablecoin revolutionize European crypto?

Espresso Shots

☕️ Ethereum Futures ETF?

We’re over the moon as rumors abound regarding a possible, accelerated launch for the first Ethereum Futures ETF in the United States.

VanEck, the $80-billion asset manager, has confirmed the release of its upcoming VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF.

“The Fund will invest in standardized, cash-settled ETH futures contracts traded on commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),” read the press release. “Currently, the only ETH futures the Fund intends to invest in are those traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.” However, VanEck also noted that none of their proposed funds will directly invest in crypto.

An Ethereum ETF would be huge for crypto, not just ETH. And despite the SEC’s slow uptake to these kinds of applications, the agency will likely accelerate the ETF review before the next government shutdown.

It’s just a matter of getting the SEC’s attention… back to the futures.

☕️ An End to “Decentralization Theater”

Chainlink Co-Founder Sergey Nazarov spoke to Decrypt to decry what he sees as widespread “decentralization theater” in the blockchain industry.

“We are using the word for adoption rather than actual decentralization,” said Nazarov. He feels that decentralization may just be the latest flavor in business buzzwords designed “to attract capital.”

Nazarov’s comments may be prompted by the $200 million Mixin Platform hack, leading consumers to believe that Mixin was far more centralized than it purported to be.

Nazarov feels that only Chainlink, Bitcoin, and Ethereum are meaningfully decentralized, which should be the ultimate security measure, and pointed to his own company’s record of operating for four years, hack-free.

We’re disappointed to learn that “decentralization theater” is a marketing strategy and not, as we hoped, two puppets fighting with sticks on the blockchain.

☕️ Gensler was defeated by Pokémon

As SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is forced to continuously assert himself in his criticism of all things crypto, it seems a “Pokémon” metaphor may have slipped through his guard.

During the House Financial Services Committee’s latest SEC oversight hearing, Rep. Richie Torres pushed Gensler on his security stance, using Pokémon cards as an example.

“Suppose I were to purchase a Pokémon card,” Torres asked. “Would doing so constitute a security transaction?”

“You can purchase a Pokémon card — I don’t know what the context is, but if you’re just purchasing a Pokémon card,” replied Gensler.

“If I were to purchase a tokenized Pokémon card on a digital exchange via blockchain, is that a security transaction?” Torres continued.

“I’d have to know more,” said Gensler. Before Torres countered that, “So for you, the process of tokenization is what transforms a non-security transaction into a security transaction?”

This caused Gensler to launch into his standard, “If the investing public is anticipating profits based upon the efforts of others and exchanging funds, that’s the core of the Howey Test,” which isn’t exactly the answer to the question.

As Gensler fumbled, somewhere nearby an announcer cried, “It’s super effective!”

Spilling the Beans

Stablecoins Take a Euro Trip 🌍

American stablecoin development has been stuck in the mud. Or, like a snail, it’s been moving so slowly that we couldn’t tell it’s moving.

But if you’ve spent any time with little kids, or were at one point a child yourself, you know that one of the cardinal rules of daycare is that if a child loses interest in a toy, they’ll become a lot more interested once someone else is playing with it.

Competition is the name of the game. We want what somebody else has.

And maybe Europe’s latest crypto development can put some fire under American regulators.

Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin that is pegged 1:1 with the American dollar, just announced it has joined forces with the Stellar Development Foundation for its latest project.

Circle will be releasing EURC, a euro-backed stablecoin, on the Stellar network.

“The bedrock of Circle’s deep alliance with the Stellar Development Foundation is our shared commitment to advancing financial inclusion and offering mobile-first, near-instant, and low-cost payments solutions to people worldwide,” said Rachel Mayer, Circle’s vice president of Product, who announced the new collaboration at Stellar’s annual Meridian conference in Madrid.

Stellar isn’t the first blockchain network that EURC has been available on, EURC was already accessible from the Ethereum and Avalanche networks.

But hopefully, EURC’s availability on Stellar will bring the stablecoin to new users, such as those without traditional banking access.

There’s also a philanthropic bent to the development, as EURC will be integrated into the Stellar Aid Assist program, which provides the distribution of relief funds to individuals caught up in humanitarian crises.

And EURC’s cross-border payments and integration will be seamlessly integrated under Europe’s coming, 2024 MiCA regulations.

MiCA, or The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, is a clear regulatory framework established for crypto business within the EU.

MiCA provides licensing guidelines and no-nonsense regulation to the 27 participating countries.

MiCA will provide stricter crypto regulations than some of the countries currently have, or, as in Spain’s case, MiCA will replace currently nonexistent crypto frameworks.

It’s a mystery to us why the U.S. hasn’t simply copied or made some tweaks and adopted its own, MiCA-based framework. Surely, 50 states are easier to regulate than 27 nations that are thousands of years old, with a tendency to declare world wars on each other.

The EURC is only the latest development made possible by Europe’s forward-thinking crypto stance.

Now, FOMO usually doesn’t lead to the best decision-making. It can make your trading volatile, and if you’re experiencing FOMO, you’re probably getting in too late anyway.

You shouldn’t let fear govern your actions. If “Star Wars” has taught us anything, it’s that fear can lead you to hurt your friends’ feelings, start some ill-advised lightsaber fights, and ultimately end up breathing through a respirator.

But like anxiety, a little FOMO can be a powerful motivator.

America doesn’t like to lose out on industry, and crypto is nothing if not an exciting, profitable new industry.

Hopefully, Europe’s continued innovations in crypto will inspire American policymakers just sweaty enough to start smashing that MF “Approve Crypto Regulation” button.

Crypto 101

Front-End Development: We’ve all become fairly familiar with the term “UI” or “User Interface,” which is the development and coding that makes the buttons and designs on the apps we use smooth, appealing, and user-friendly.

Front-End Development, ironically, is the more intricate coding that takes place behind the scenes to make that UI scalable, replicable, and fault-tolerant.

The reliability of these apps is crucial to the future of DeFi, and Front-End Developers are a huge part of what makes it all tick.

The Last Sip

The Last Sip: Here’s the clip of Gensler’s failed Pokémon take. We can only assume that the next representatives questioned Gensler on Magic: The Gathering followed by several minutes of Yu-Gi-Oh metaphors.

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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MicroStrategy Signals Institutional Confidence Despite Bitcoin Stagnation
Source: CoinDesk + CoinTelegraph

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