PROOF Signal: Week of August 7

Welcome back to PROOF Signal, your exclusive gateway to the world of all things PROOF. Let's dive into the latest updates.

TL;DR:

• PROOF Updates: Discover enhanced Mythics UX, Grails IV minting, and Foundry's dynamic IRL space for events.

• Community Activities: Engage in fun with Grails Guessing Game by Pudding and personalize Moonbirds with the Stickies app.

• An Inside Look: Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem, Base, offers a user-friendly onramp attempting to bring the next wave of users onchain. A peek into the pre-mainnet mania that occurred last week.

PROOF Updates

Upgraded Mythics UX

The evolution of our Mythics collection is just beginning as we are less than 10% fully minted, and we love the energy that our community is putting into the daily release mechanic. This week we have dropped two more collection browsing elements to allow you to explore burnt, unchosen, forever lost, and nominated Oddities and Mythics:

• The Oddsoleum: Visit the sacred space commemorating the burned Oddities whose essence will forever linger in the Mythics' fight against the Dred. The Oddsoleum provides a platform to witness the fading traits, newly nominated Oddities, and a current look at the supply burn of the Gremplin collection.

• Shrine of the Unwoven: The browsing platform allowing you to scroll all unchosen Mythics, has launched! The Mythics sent to the ‘Shrine of the Unwoven’ will forever remain dormant but live on in the Shrine!

The Lowdown on Grails IV:

A friendly reminder: minting for Grails Season IV closes at 11 pm PST on Thursday, August 10.

And for those interested in monitoring the late stages of the minting process, be sure to check out our live mint feed. This gives you access to real-time mints and a chance to see WHO collected WHAT!

Lastly, the live reveal show will be streaming on YouTube this season. Join us for a unique experience with a live audience at Foundry. Guests will receive an exclusive gift - a limited edition poster, pin, and tote bag. Be there on August 11th for the premiere.

Event Updates:

Re-introducing Foundry - our dynamic IRL pop-up space in Downtown LA! The Mythics Launch Party was our inaugural event at Foundry, and now we will be hosting the Grails Live Reveal and the Grails Celebration on Friday, August 11. RSVP now at the PROOF events site.

And a special announcement for our community members, Foundry is your canvas! Whether you're a Collective, Moonbird, or Mythic holder, you can utilize this space to create, showcase, and more. Learn how at the Foundry homepage.

Stay tuned for upcoming PROOF meetups in Marfa, Seoul, and London. Meanwhile, Munich's community-led meetup on August 26 is a must-attend! RSVP here.

Community Updates

Here's a look into some recent project collaborations and community-driven releases:

• Grails Guessing Game by Pudding: A big shout-out to PROOF-specific marketplace, Pudding.xyz for the fantastic Grails Guessing Game, engaging our community in playful speculation. Join here to take part before the live reveal!

• Stickies: Kudos to @0x_sterling for the innovative Stickies app! Infuse your Moonbirds with personal memes - all for free in the app store. Explore more at Stickies.xyz.

An Inside Look: ‘Exploring Base: Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer Two Ecosystem’

This week’s research piece comes from PROOF’s @WarDaddy, highlighting Coinbase’s attempt to bring the next wave of users onchain.

What is Base?

In February, Coinbase announced Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) chain that offers an efficient, cost-effective, and developer-friendly way to build on the blockchain. Developed in collaboration with Optimism, Base is incubated within Coinbase and aims to progressively decentralize over time. Unlike a traditional Layer 1 blockchain, Base operates on top of Ethereum, leveraging its security while significantly reducing gas fees.

Why is Base Important?

As a trusted platform with over 110 million verified users and $80 billion in assets held, Coinbase's Base brings a wave of newcomers into the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) ecosystem. Its Layer 2 architecture residing within the Coinbase platform offers a smooth and trusted onramp, enabling broader participation from new and inexperienced users.

The Bridge Boom and Early DEXs

On July 29, rumors spread of an unofficial one-way bridge from Ethereum to Base, which triggered a surge of interest across the crypto community. The absence of an official bridge two-way bridge, led to an influx of liquidity from experienced bridgers and degens into the nascent ecosystem. Total value bridged to Base rapidly escalated from $2.1 million to over $135 million within the first 10 days.

Only two primary decentralized exchanges (DEXs), LeetSwap and Rocketswap, dominated early swaps on Base. These platforms witnessed over $230 million in combined volume within the initial 24 hours of trading, with 24-hour volume currently around $70 million.

Risks and Rewards: A Rollercoaster Launch

As the Base ecosystem gained momentum, speculators rushed to capitalize on opportunities. A memecoin named $BALD, paying tribute to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, soared to a market cap of nearly $100 million but later plummeted due to liquidity manipulation resulting in a rogue contract deployer profiting almost $6 million. More information is in the thread below:

Just one day after the $BALD rug, another high-profile loss unfolded when the leading Base DEX, LeetSwap, experienced a hack of over $600,000 due to a bug in their smart contracts allowing the hacker to compromise token liquidity pools. A more detailed explanation is below:

Mainnet Launch and Future Prospects

Base’s official bridge is now open, marking the platform's mainnet launch on August 9th. While the ecosystem has already attracted substantial speculative interest, Base’s association with Coinbase does not ensure success. Past ventures like Coinbase NFT, with only $6.1 million in total NFT volume in 17 months, and $4k in NFT volume in the last 7 days, highlight how difficult it is to build a successful platform. However, Base’s unique value proposition and potential for innovation make it an exciting ecosystem to watch.

This Week in PROOF Media

Here is a quick rundown of some of the top highlights from PROOF’s weekly content!

Grails Live Reveal Show

Be sure to follow along with the Grails Live Reveal Show this Friday, August 11, at 10:30 AM PST. Link to the show below!

PROOF Daily NFT Countdown

This week, our Director of Research, Sam, highlighted a $1.5 million Blur bid spoof and Redbull Racing adding Snowfro to the team on PROOF Daily NFT Countdown. Catch the insightful discussion here. 

100 PROOF

Don’t miss last week’s 100 PROOF chatting all things Grails IV, Squiggles, and an exclusive guest appearance by Mitchell F. Chan.