Here’s a rundown of the most noteworthy web3 industry events and project developments to look out for in the coming week
TOKEN2049 will kick off in Singapore.
On September 13th, Cosmos is scheduled to undergo its v12 upgrade.
Ethereum’s development team plans to launch a new testnet called Holešky as a replacement for Goerli.
On September 15th, the Palau government intends to permanently freeze the PalauStable coin.
$49.94 million worth of APE tokens will be unlocked on September 17th.
Key Events:
This week, the highly anticipated Asian crypto conference TOKEN2049 is set to commence in Singapore. It is expected to host over 3,500 companies and institutions, along with more than 10,000 attendees. The conference will revolve around various themes within the crypto space, including evolving regulatory landscapes, artificial intelligence, Web3 gaming, NFTs, metaverse, scalability, and interoperability.
Additionally, another significant event to watch out for is the hearing related to FTX scheduled for September 13th. This hearing pertains to FTX’s motion in August to “begin selling, pledging, and hedging its approximately $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency assets for return to creditors in the form of fiat currency rather than Bitcoin or Ethereum.” FTX plans to sell up to $100 million of digital assets weekly, with the option to temporarily increase it to $200 million if approved by the committee and special committee. This means that if FTX’s motion to liquidate assets is approved, the market could face significant selling pressure. The United States Trustee, representing the U.S. Department of Justice in bankruptcy proceedings, has previously opposed this motion.
Furthermore, it’s noteworthy that Google has relaxed its advertising policies related to NFTs, allowing advertisers to promote NFT games using ad services starting September 15th, but not for content related to gambling. Previously, Google had banned all cryptocurrency advertising since June 2018. In June 2021, Google partially lifted the advertising ban to allow ads from cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet services targeting U.S. customers. In July this year, Google Play updated its policies to allow developers to integrate NFTs and other digital assets into supported apps and games. Google’s gradual policy shifts reflect the internet giant’s evolving stance toward the crypto industry.
Project Updates:
Notable project developments to watch for this week include the launch of the Ethereum testnet called Holešky and the Cosmos v12 upgrade.
The significant aspect of the Cosmos v12 upgrade is the activation of the liquidity staking module for ATOM. A community proposal, number 821, has been approved, and the Cosmos Hub is scheduled to undergo the v12 upgrade at block height 16985500, expected to occur on September 13th at 20:04:31. The v12 upgrade will enable the Liquid Staking Module (LSM), designed to replace existing staking, distribution, and slashing modules to enhance network liquidity. It will unlock millions of dollars worth of ATOM tokens for use in supporting DeFi activities across various chains within the Cosmos ecosystem. During the v12 upgrade on Cosmos Hub, there may be a brief downtime, and transactions and transfers could experience delays, but this downtime is expected to be limited.
On the one-year anniversary of The Merge on Ethereum, the Ethereum development team plans to launch a new testnet called Holešky on September 15th. Holešky aims to replace Goerli before its planned deprecation at the end of 2023. The preliminary genesis event is scheduled for September 15th, 2023, at 22:00, making it the first long-lived public Ethereum testnet merged from Genesis. Holešky is expected to have a lifespan of 3-5 years and is named after Nádraží Holešovice train station in Prague, Czech Republic, just like Goerli was named after Goerlitzer Bahnhof station in Berlin.
Upcoming Events:
Apart from TOKEN2049, this week’s not-to-be-missed Web3 summit events include Permissionless II and the commencement of the Shanghai Blockchain International Week and the muChiangmai developer conference in the Asia-Pacific region.
The DeFi summit Permissionless II, co-hosted by blockchain media Blockworks and Bankless, will take place from September 11th to 13th in Austin, Texas, USA. Previous Permissionless conferences have witnessed significant project announcements directly during the event, making it a focal point and must-attend event within the industry. The agenda for this summit includes various topics of interest to the Web3 world, including the Ethereum roadmap, creator economy, SocialFi, and more.
Asian crypto events, including the Shanghai Blockchain International Week, which begins on September 15th, are also noteworthy. This event, hosted by Wanxiang Blockchain Labs, consists of three parts: a hackathon, an open day, and the Blockchain Global Summit. These segments cover application innovation, ecosystem prosperity, and in-depth discussions.
The muChiangmai developer conference in the Asia-Pacific region will be held from September 15th to October 31st in Chiangmai, Thailand. This event serves as a warm-up party for Devcon 7, which is scheduled for July next year. muChiangMai features six different themes, addressing topics ranging from popular subjects like ZKPs and blockchain games to public goods, decentralization, Ethereum scalability, and blockchain education.
Token Unlocking:
According to Token Unlocks data, from September 11th to September 17th, GLMR, APT, SWEAT, LDO, EUL, FLOW, and APE tokens will experience a one-time unlocking event, with APT and APE tokens, valued at over $70 million, having substantial unlocks:
- Aptos token (APT) will be unlocked on September 12th at 08:00, releasing 4.54 million tokens (approximately $23.49 million), accounting for 1.98% of the circulating supply.
- ApeCoin token (APE) will be unlocked on September 17th at 08:00, releasing 40.6 million tokens (approximately $49.94 million), representing 11.02% of the circulating supply.