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Pendle, ETH ETF, and Eigen Layer Airdrops
Shaun Ko
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Key Takeaways
13 min read
  • Cold Wallet Strategy: Discussing two-cold wallet setup and security measures.
  • Nansen Features: Exploring smart wallet search and label usage for risk management.
  • Macro Insights: Considerations of macroeconomic impacts and Raoul Pal's perspectives.
  • Blockchain News: Sharing articles on topics like the Macbook "exploit" vector.
  • Investment Strategies: Insights into Raoul Pal's ETH calls and stUSD yield opportunities.
  • ETF Approval: Speculations on the likelihood of ETF approval and its market impact.
  • Trading Discussions: Conversations on trading experiences with tokens like Pendle.
  • EtherFi and Projects: Evaluations of EtherFi's potential and discussions on other projects.
  • Beam and Merit Circle Buybacks: Observations on buybacks and BEAM and MC tokens.
  • Degen Token and SIPHER: Discussions on the rise of the Degen token and SIPHER.
  • Arbitrum Ecosystem: Consideration of the bullish sentiment towards Arbitrum.
  • Market Sentiments: Sharing market observations, including smart money wallets.
  • New Projects and Tokens: Discussing new tokens and projects, including Pike's presale.
  • Airdrops and Token Claims: Evaluating various airdrops and claiming procedures.
  • DreamOS Fundraising: Excitement over DreamOS's fundraising and upcoming private beta.
Source: Nansen Query

Community Channels

War Room

Topic: Discussion on Cold Wallet Strategy

  • Members considered a two cold wallets strategy, one for transactions and one for storing larger funds, and how to structure it for the lowest cost if the transactional wallet is primarily on ETH.
  • One member suggested using a multisig for storage of bigger funds as a security measure.
  • There was a mention of a potential issue with approvals granted on the cold wallet, rather than the seeds.

Topic: Nansen Features and Updates

  • Members discussed the features of Nansen 1 and Nansen 2, notably the ability to search through all smart wallets individually and the upcoming improvements to these features.
  • They highlighted the usefulness of the Smart Money tab and the 180 Day DEX trader filter in Nansen 1, and the upcoming PnL leaderboard specific to 180 DEX traders in Nansen 2.
  • The members also discussed the use of labels in Nansen for risk management and due diligence, and shared a guide on label definitions.
  • One member mentioned the potential use of app.bubblemaps.io to filter out possible rugs.
  • The discussion also touched on the watchlist feature and custom labels, as well as the token watchlist as a tool to cut out a lot of the noise by focusing on the assets of interest.

Topic: Macro and Market Insights

  • Members discussed the potential of a hard landing due to lag effects in the macro environment, despite the current market rally.
  • The possibility of a meltdown after US elections was also mentioned.
  • There was a discussion on the accuracy of Raoul Pal's macro takes, with members agreeing that while he may get smaller bets wrong, his big picture bets are usually on point.

Topic: Blockchain and Crypto News

  • Members shared several articles and resources related to blockchain and crypto, including a thread explaining the Macbook "exploit" vector, a list of launchpads, and articles on the risk of modular blockchains, Binance Lab's investment in StakeStone, and the EU's ban on anonymous crypto transactions.
  • They also shared a Twitter thread providing insights into liquidity and cycles, and a Binance article on a Solana-based meme coin named after the US President.

Links

Investment Strategies and Market Intuition

  • Members discussed the investment strategies of certain individuals, including Raoul Pal's decision to go long on Ethereum (ETH) calls in Q1-2022, despite this being an incorrect call. It was noted that this was a cheap way to be long and wrong.
  • One member brought up their own experience with COIN calls, highlighting that even though their bear market call was wrong, they only lost 2% of their portfolio.
  • The bullish stance on ETH since mid-2020 was also discussed, along with the "irresponsibly long" approach from mid-2021. However, it was pointed out that both Raoul Pal and his co-founder, Remi, went too deep into Luna.

Crypto Yield Opportunities

  • A member shared information about a potential yield opportunity with stUSD, Angle's soon-to-be-launched USD stablecoin in a liquid staked format. They noted that holding stUSD could yield a 20% APR without any smart contract risk.
  • They shared a message from Angle's founder, detailing a liquidity program offering a net yield of 20% for a period of 1 to 3 months after USDA is live. The program rewards liquidity deposited in the protocol with native USDA+$OP tokens to compensate for the difference between stUSD yield and 20%.
  • The founder also expressed interest in any potential participants for this program and offered assistance regarding ANGLE token liquidity on Arbitrum.

Trading

Discussion on ETF approval

  • Members discussed the likelihood of ETF approval in May.
  • There was a consensus that ETF approval might depend on various factors such as political momentum, the involvement of key players like Blackrock, and the status of the BTC ETF.
  • It was suggested that the US might be more inclined to embrace crypto now that the Chinese have tapered off.
  • Members also discussed the potential acceleration of the crypto market and the potential for a lot of capital to still be sidelined.

Discussing Pendle and AERO

  • Members shared their trading experiences with Pendle and AERO.
  • One member mentioned a successful trade with AERO, leading to a 20x return.
  • The discussion also involved the potential of Pendle, with members noting its TVL, FDV, and potential future APR.
  • Some members expressed regret over selling Pendle too early.
  • A member also mentioned the possibility of speaking with the Pendle team, as they have close connections with them.

Long-term locking of AERO

  • The topic of long-term locking of AERO was brought up, with some members expressing regret for locking their AERO tokens for 4 years.
  • It was suggested that these tokens could still be sold at an NFT marketplace, with THENA being given as an example of a similar DEX with a 2-year lock and an exit option.
  • Some members expressed their skepticism towards long lock periods, calling them a trap.

Discussion on EtherFi and other projects

  • Members discussed the potential of EtherFi and other projects like EigenLayer, Renzo, Puffer, etc.
  • It was noted that these projects could provide a decent APR.
  • Questions were raised about how these protocols could incentivize the value being held, with the supply side being currently overblown.
  • The potential for Pendle to pivot to other use cases was also mentioned.
  • Members discussed Pendle's future plans, mentioning their V3 paper focusing on RWA onboarding and a potential partnership with PayPal. Twitter discussion on Pendle's future plans

Tokens

Beam and Merit Circle Buybacks

  • Members noted a Merit Circle / Beam wallet buying back tokens.
  • Discussion centered around whether this is a defense of the BEAM price or if there's a belief it's underpriced, with uncertainty about whether this is bearish or bullish.
  • It was mentioned that excluding BEAM and MC tokens, Merit Circle has over $50m in their treasury.
  • Later in the chat, a member added that BEAM does buybacks and burns with the proceeds of whenever they sold assets from their (pre)seed investments in gaming startups, with 2/3 going towards buyback and burn and 1/3 going to treasury.
  • Links shared: Alex Svanevik's Tweet about the buybacks, Nansen's Merit Circle Profile

Degen Token

  • Members discussed the Degen token, with one stating they have rotated about 30% of their TIA into it, anticipating its growth as it becomes a currency of FC and all apps and microapps that build on it.
  • It was mentioned that Degen is becoming a good proxy for FC growth.
  • There were inquiries about what can be done with Degen, such as staking.
  • Links shared: Sandra's Tweet about Degen, Sam's Thread about Degen

SIPHER Token

  • A member noticed a $1m wallet buying SIPHER on the new and upgraded Token God Mode on Nansen.
  • Another member followed the call and bought some SIPHER too, and it was up 30% soon after.
  • They mentioned that SIPHER looks like an EVM-based L1 project with no VC investors, but the community got an airdrop with long vesting schedules.
  • Links shared: Core Chain YouTube Video

Arbitrum Ecosystem

  • Members discussed the Arbitrum ecosystem, with one stating they are bullish on the ecosystem but not the token due to a huge unlock they had.
  • They mentioned that Arbitrum is the DeFi chain, backed by the OGs from Offchain Labs, creators of the Prysm eth2 client.

Market Sentiments

  • Members shared their observations about the market, with one noting that they've spotted smart money wallets getting out of positions and deciding to hold cash on the side.
  • Another member mentioned that the market feels soggy and momentum has waned.

New Projects and Tokens

Pike Presale

  • Members discussed Pike's presale, with some planning to take a small position due to it being one of the first on Monad and having support for selected assets such as Pendle LP tokens, LSTs, LRTs, among other synthetic assets.
  • One member warned about a Twitter thread criticizing the founders.
  • Links shared: Pike's Tweet about Supported Assets

Other Discussions

  • Members also discussed topics like the probabilities of an ETH ETF, the performance of Pantera Capital and MATIC, and the situation with STRD's vesting. There were also mentions of projects like Pike, Core Dao, and DSYNC.

Airdrops

Airdrops and Token Claims

  • Members discussed the worthiness of claiming the HAVA memecoin airdrop. Some expressed skepticism due to the lackluster performance of cosmos meme coins, while others showed interest in the airdrop.
  • The NYN Airdrop Incentive Snapshot List and the Nyan DAO Governance Proposal were shared for members to check their eligibility.
  • Members also discussed the possibility of claiming the Polyhedra airdrop through Cyber staking.
  • The potential of claiming the Venom testnet reward was discussed, with a link to the reward claim site shared.
  • An airdrop for Twitter Blue users was mentioned, and a tweet from Bakery Swap was shared.
  • A discussion about the Banx launch took place, with some members expressing their difficulties in claiming due to UI issues.

Investments and Trading

  • Members discussed investing in Pendle YT, with options like rswETH (swell), ezETH (Renzo), and rsETH (Kelp) being considered. The idea of doubling down on Etherfi was also mentioned, with a related tweet shared.
  • The potential of buying KEP points for pure Eigen exposure was discussed, with a link to KEP's price on CoinMarketCap shared.
  • A Nansen link was shared to examine interesting addresses and airdrops.
  • The potential of buying EigenWorlds NFTs as a potential multiplier for the Eigen airdrop was discussed, with a link to the EigenWorlds collection on OpenSea and a related tweet shared.
  • The performance of uniETH from Bedrock on Pendle was discussed, with some members reporting significant returns.

Cosmos Meme Tokens

  • Members expressed their lack of enthusiasm for Cosmos meme tokens, with most not gaining traction or dying out. The main meme token of interest for some members was the Bad Kid NFTs.

NFTs and Gaming

DreamOS Fundraising

  • Members discussed the announcement of DreamOS raising $2.1m.
  • A private beta version will be launched soon.
  • Breadhead NFTs, which some members own, will grant access and serve as points multipliers.
  • Twitter Announcement Link

CryptoniumMaker Project

  • Members shared and discussed a new project found on CryptoniumMaker.
  • The project is on Stargaze, and one member's friend was confident it would provide a return from the mint price.
  • The project is created by Don Cryptonium, who is gradually becoming a minor influencer in the niche.
  • Another member mentioned that Don Cryptonium's videos are entertaining, and he has a deep understanding of the cosmos, suggesting potential to become a significant crypto Twitter account.
  • However, there were mixed feelings about the NFT associated with the project.

Exploit Warnings

Coin Telegraph Twitter Compromise

  • Members discussed the incident of Coin Telegraph's Twitter account being compromised.

Degen Bets

Fren Pet (FP) and BASE Ecosystem

  • Members discussed the potential of Fren Pet (FP) on the BASE ecosystem. They highlighted its game-like staking mechanism, where users can lock up their tokens and receive returns in FP. One member compared this to farming Axie Infinity and Gala in a previous cycle.
  • They also noted the inherent demand for FP throughout the product and the requirement for users to be active to make more profit.
  • However, some members expressed concern about the UX and slippage when buying FP on Uniswap. Some members managed to buy with a slippage of 4-5%.
  • They also highlighted the potential for FP to be listed on Coinbase and upcoming updates for FP.
  • Members discussed this Twitter thread about Fren Pet's tokenomics and gameplay.
  • Other Base tokens mentioned include $onchain and 2FAI.

ERC314 and Other Tokens

  • Members brought up ERC314, a contract similar to ERC20 but cheaper. They noted a token called Sage at a $20m market cap but unverified, and discussed the potential risk and reward.
  • One member mentioned having a small bag of $frogEx on Base with a low market cap around 150k.
  • Other tokens mentioned include RDTD, Yootube, and TekTok.

Miscellaneous

  • Members discussed the use of Telegram bots on Base and a referral for Photon Base.
  • They also discussed the challenges and risks of navigating to individual sites to swap tokens.
  • One member shared a link to a live stream related to a token project.
  • A member shared a Dune link for Fren Pets on Base.
  • A member shared that there is a proposal for an ARB Memefund, but members felt it was manufactured and not genuine.
  • A member shared a Github link to the developer of the Fren Pet game.
  • A member shared an update about PIRB adding Solana bubblemaps and partnering with Maestro Bot contract scanner. Source
  • A member shared a Warpcast link for those who minted NFT for the $onchain airdrop.

Stables

Angle's Upcoming USD Stablecoin

  • Members discussed a new opportunity to earn 20% APR by holding stUSD, the soon-to-be-launched USD stablecoin by Angle in liquid staked format. This is considered a safe option as it uses the native yield of stUSD and tops up with OP rewards to reach 20%.
  • The founder of Angle shared an invitation to participate in a liquidity program after USDA is live. The program rewards liquidity deposited in the protocol with a net yield of 20% for a period of 1 to 3 months. The expectation is to hold stUSD on Optimism, with no need to provide liquidity. The rewards will comprise native USDA+$OP tokens to compensate for the difference between stUSD yield and 20%.
  • The founder also expressed interest in discussing ANGLE token liquidity on Arbitrum.
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Disclosure: The authors of this content and members of Nansen may be participating or invested in some of the protocols or tokens mentioned herein. The foregoing statement acts as a disclosure of potential conflicts of interest and is not a recommendation to purchase or invest in any token or participate in any protocol. Nansen does not recommend any particular course of action in relation to any token or protocol. The content herein is meant purely for educational and informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as financial, investment, legal, tax or any other professional or other advice. None of the content and information herein is presented to induce or to attempt to induce any reader or other person to buy, sell or hold any token or participate in any protocol or enter into, or offer to enter into, any agreement for or with a view to buying or selling any token or participating in any protocol. Statements made herein (including statements of opinion, if any) are wholly generic and not tailored to take into account the personal needs and unique circumstances of any reader or any other person. Readers are strongly urged to exercise caution and have regard to their own personal needs and circumstances before making any decision to buy or sell any token or participate in any protocol. Observations and views expressed herein may be changed by Nansen at any time without notice. Nansen accepts no liability whatsoever for any losses or liabilities arising from the use of or reliance on any of this content.