Weekly Report: New York resolute on blocking PoW mining

• Planned launch of EFT Securities and Cosmos ETPs delayed
• Volt Capital’s Imran Khan predicts DAOs will touch $1 trillion in AUM by 2032
• New York is closer to endorsing a two-year moratorium on PoW mining
• Ethereum layer two Optimism seeks to embrace governance structure
• EPL Club Liverpool reportedly eyeing a crypto shirt sponsor

Launch of three crypto ETFs in Australia dealt with a delay

Last week, three exchange-traded funds and the first of their kind in Australia were scheduled to list on the Cboe Australia. However, hours before going live on April 27, the securities and derivatives exchange said that products would be delayed pending prior checks. Cboe Australia held back in detailing the delay, only promising an update in the coming days.

According to a report by the Australian Financial Review, the snag was caused by an executing third-party broker as both ETF Securities and Cosmos were set to launch their ETPs. However, the news outlet notes that a prime broker delayed issuing approval of the products as an automated market maker hadn’t been appointed. 

Kanish Chugh, the head of distribution at ETF Securities, one of the entities issuing the ETFs, said neither EFT Securities nor the exchange was at fault for the blip. Even then, both ETF Securities and Cosmos failed to name the “service provider downstream,” who they say needed a longer time to support their trade.

DAOs predicted to reach $1 trillion in AUM over the next decade

Founder of crypto venture fund Volt Capital, Imran Khan, has predicted that decentralised autonomous organisations could see the value of assets they hold under management rise to in excess 0f $1 trillion.

Speaking to Business Insider, the creator of Web3 accelerator Alliance believes this growth is set to come propelled by the use case that  DAOs would remedy the lack of trust in capital and transactions over the internet. He adds that the rise of DAOs would disrupt specific market niches, such as the creation of startups, as the communities formed by these organisations address real-life problems.

Khan described DAOs as part of the natural evolution of online communities and as said they define “one of the best social coordination tools in the world.” He believes their progression will eventually eliminate centralised entities and the risks characteristic of them. 

Data shared by market intelligence platform Messari last week shows that the DAO scene is blowing up. The treasuries of these unmanned organisations held in excess of $11 billion in crypto as of the end of last year. There still isn’t much decentralisation as $4.2 billion of the total was held in UniSwap and BitDAO.

New York is a step closer to blocking PoW mining operations

New York lawmakers have passed a bill to establish a two-year moratorium on the mining of Bitcoin in the state. The bill passed early last week, now heads to the Democratic-controlled Senate, whose approval would likely establish some of the most comprehensive crypto regulations today.

The moratorium, if implemented, would prevent any new miners using non-renewable energy sources from setting up in the Big Apple over the next two years. The bill also effectively directs that the renewal of permits for existing entities that intend to expand their endeavours are also banned.

The bill comes as part of the city’s efforts to satisfy the ambitious climate target it established back in 2019 with the adoption of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). New York committed to reaching net-zero carbon status by 2050 and, in the short term, cutting the emissions by 40% by 2030.

Crypto proponents have already voiced their opposition to any such regulation, arguing that it would destabilise geographical interests and affect the job market with the migration of miners.

 Notably, the bill also requires the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to study and report on PoW mining within a year.

L2 solution Optimism opens a new chapter, embracing community ownership and governance

Ethereum layer two scaling solution Optimism has announced that it is now at the latter stages of its current structure of operation, revealing an intention to adopt a governance-centred mechanism of operation.

Optimism Collective, which Optimism described as a large-scale platform to conduct digital democratic governance towards a sustainable decentralised ecosystem, would be proctored by the Optimism Foundation.

The new governance structure, tagged Optimism Collective, would see the creation of two wings – a Token House and a Citizens House. The Token House would be established by community members who participate in ‘Airdrop #1’ to gain the OP token. Token holders would be able to vote and participate in governance matters, including “protocol upgrades” and “project incentives as a part of a Governance Fund.” The Citizens’ House would reign over public goods funding and serve to decentralise power from the layer two chain.

Further, the two Houses are seen to propagate growth by powering the distribution of funds generated by Optimism for communally beneficial endeavours.

English Premier League Club Liverpool reportedly eyeing crypto shirt sponsor

Famed English Premier League (EPL) football club Liverpool is eyeing to cop a crypto entity as its new club sponsor. As reported by The Athletic, should Liverpool find an agreement with the crypto exchange/ blockchain platform, which it is reportedly in talks with, then it would be the first English football club to adopt a crypto shirt sponsor.

Liverpool’s current deal with Standard Chartered runs until 2023, and it’s expected the EPL giant will likely find an agreement with a new sponsor before then. While various numbers have been thrown around, the club is in a prime position to ink a money-spinning deal, owing to current pitch performances, in addition to its renewed allegiance to Nike.

Crypto entities have in recent times frequently targeted gaming competitions and sporting franchises to establish awareness with the mainstream public. Recently, Binance sponsored the Jan-Feb Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), several crypto entities have partnerships with Formula 1 teams, and also not to forget the Staple Center’s $700 million renaming into Crypto.com.