The UNI token experienced a significant price surge, jumping from $7.24 to as high as $11.99 in less than an hour.

The surge followed a proposal by the Uniswap Foundation to upgrade the Uniswap Protocol Governance, allowing the collection of protocol fees and distributing them pro-rata to token holders who have staked and delegated their UNI votes.

This proposal aims to collect protocol fees and distribute them proportionally to token holders who have staked and delegated their UNI votes, while still allowing governance to manage core parameters around fees. Following this announcement, the price of the UNI token surged by over 40%, from $7.24 to $10.22, in less than an hour.

Erin Koen, the governance lead at Uniswap Foundation, emphasized that this proposal would enhance the resilience and decentralization of Uniswap Governance, particularly as the protocol faces increasing challenges in maintaining its market leadership. Koen highlighted the necessity of governance changes, including mandatory delegation for UNI token stakers, to uphold Uniswap's leading position.

Devin Walsh, the executive director of the Uniswap Foundation, stated that this upgrade would establish a more robust governance system for Uniswap. Blockworks research analyst Matt Fiebach expressed confidence in the proposal's success, attributing it to the Foundation's support, extensive research, and development efforts. Fiebach noted the Foundation's thorough engagement with major stakeholders, enhancing the proposal's credibility.

Walsh emphasized the proposal's aim to incentivize active and thoughtful delegation, which is crucial for the Protocol's long-term success. He acknowledged the collaboration with top-tier grantees like Scopelift, Gauntlet, Avantgarde, and Agora in developing the proposal, highlighting their contributions to its quality.

In summary, the proposed governance fee switch has sparked optimism among UNI token holders and the broader Uniswap community, leading to a significant price increase for the token.

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Reddit Reveals $BTC & $ETH Balance Sheets📑

Reddit, in its S-1 filing for its upcoming public offering, disclosed that it holds a small amount of Bitcoin and Ether on its balance sheets.

The company stated that it invested some of its excess cash reserves in Bitcoin and Ether, as well as acquired Ether and Matic as payment for sales of certain virtual goods. However, as of December 31, 2023, Reddit did not hold digital assets other than Bitcoin and Ether for treasury purposes.

The filing emphasized that the net carrying value of Reddit's cryptocurrencies, primarily Bitcoin and Ether, was immaterial for the periods presented. The company noted that it limited its treasury holdings to Bitcoin, Ether, and any other cryptocurrencies that regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would likely not view as securities.

Reddit has a history of involvement with cryptocurrencies, including its Polygon-based NFTs known as Collectible Avatars and blockchain-based rewards called Community Points for popular subreddits like /r/CryptoCurrency. However, Reddit sunset the Community Points program last October due to regulatory and scalability issues.

To go public, Reddit needs approval from the SEC. The company confidentially filed its paperwork with the regulator in December 2021 and seeks to trade its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RDDT. The underwriting for Reddit's IPO is led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Bank of America Securities, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and others.

Reddit acquires cryptocurrencies in exchange for goods and services and assesses its holdings quarterly for impairments. However, any subsequent price increases in its holdings will not show up until the cryptocurrencies are sold. While Reddit believes cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have significant potential, the company acknowledges uncertainty regarding their long-term adoption by consumers and businesses.

Andreessen Bets Big On EigenLayer💰

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has made a significant investment of $100 million in Eigen Labs.

This investment was confirmed by Ali Yahya, General Partner of Andreessen Horowitz’s blockchain-focused investment fund a16z crypto, who led the Series B round.

EigenLayer's protocol allows users to re-stake validators' ether stakes natively or via liquid staking tokens, allocating those funds to economically secure third-party protocols. Yahya expressed excitement about the partnership with EigenLayer, highlighting its potential to unlock innovation on top of Ethereum by unbundling cryptoeconomic security from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

The initial phase of Eigenayer’s protocol was rolled out on the Ethereum mainnet in June 2023, allowing users to deposit Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) from various staking projects. Since then, the protocol has expanded to include additional LSTs from various projects.

Despite a decline in venture funding in the blockchain space, this significant investment underscores confidence in EigenLayer's protocol and its potential for innovation in the blockchain ecosystem. EigenLayer has seen substantial growth, with its total value locked (TVL) reaching around $8 billion, according to DeFiLlama data.

The investment from Andreessen Horowitz marks a significant milestone for EigenLayer and reinforces its position as a key player in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Ethena Labs Star Studded Cap Table⭐️

The recent chaos surrounding Ethena Labs' fundraising announcement highlights the complexities and challenges within the crypto space.

Initially, a press release circulated by public relations firm Wachsman claimed that Ethena had raised $14 million from several prominent investors, including Dragonfly, Brevan Howard Digital, Avon Ventures, Franklin Templeton, PayPal Ventures, Maelstrom, and major derivative exchanges like Binance, Bybit, OKX, Deribit, Gemini, among others.

However, an updated version of the press release removed most of these investors, leaving only DragonFly, Bybit, OKX, Deribit, and Gemini. It was clarified that PayPal is not involved in the fundraising, Franklin Templeton's commitment is pending, and Brevan Howard and Avon Ventures have not yet closed their commitments. Despite the confusion, Maelstrom is confirmed to participate in the new round, and the total fundraising amount remains at $14 million.

The inclusion of derivative exchanges in the initial announcement caused further confusion, as they were actually investors in a previous investment round and not participating in this one. Ethena's co-founder, Guy Young, described the situation as an honest mistake, attributing it to last-minute changes not reflected in the initial press release.

Ethena's USDe token aims to provide a synthetic dollar alternative in the stablecoin market, leveraging ether liquid staking tokens and short ETH perpetual futures positions to maintain a stable value. While this investment opportunity offers attractive yields, it also comes with its own set of risks, including exposure to counterparty risks of partner protocols and derivatives exchanges, as well as liquidity risks in the futures market during times of crisis.

The chaotic release of information surrounding Ethena's fundraising underscores the challenges of navigating the crypto space and the importance of accurate and transparent communication in such announcements.

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