GeckoPulse: A New Day One for Base

Introducing GeckoPulse

Welcome to the first iteration of GeckoPulse, a new article series where we bring you the latest crypto news straight from our Daily Newsletter!

Cutting the Coin

Coinbase has rebranded its Coinbase Wallet into the Base App, converting it into a super app or 'everything app,' which offers social networking, mini-apps, and more.

As part of the relaunch, Base's core identity is now split into 3 different sections - the Base App itself, the Base Chain L2 solution, and a new product suite for developers known as Base Build.

The new app features a social feed built on top of Farcaster and Zora, allowing users to tokenize and monetize content. Additionally, users can monitor trades in real-time and swap tokens directly through their social feed.

Furthermore, the Base App will also include various mini-apps covering different categories, such as yield-farming platforms, games, and prediction markets.

By signing up, users will immediately receive a Base smart wallet, which can be used across different dApps and networks.

On top of the rebrand, Coinbase has also launched Base Pay, a near-instant payment solution for USDC, which is now available to merchants on Shopify.

Let the drippings flow

The Liquid Collective staking protocol has launched its staked SOL product, lsSOL, with support from the likes of Coinbase, Kraken, Galaxy, and Fireblocks.

These partner firms will help institutions gain access to the liquid staking product while facilitating seamless transfers and redemptions.

Galaxy will also provide deep liquidity and collateral markets for lsSOL, allowing institutions to further maximize capital efficiency.

According to the announcement post by the Liquid team, lsSOL will offer up to 7% APY, which is much higher compared to yields in traditional finance.

In Other News...

Citigroup Considers Launching Own Stablecoin. Multinational bank Citigroup is considering launching their own stablecoin for cross-border payments. Citi joins a growing list of tradFi companies who wish to venture into the stablecoin market.

SEC Delays Crypto ETF Redemptions. The US SEC has delayed their decision in allowing in-kind redemptions for BTC and ETH ETFs. In-kind redemptions would allow holders of these ETFs to exchange their shares for the underlying assets of BTC and ETH.

WLFI Will Become Tradeable. The Trump-backed World Liberty Financial crypto project has just passed a governance proposal, to make their previously untradeable WLFI, which was primarily sold to institutional investors to become tradeable. Details on when this change will happen has yet to be announced.

Strategy Closes at ATHs. Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) closed at ATHs of $455/share yesterday on the US NASDAQ exchange. Strategy is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, holding over $73B worth of BTC.

France Proposes Using Surplus Electricity to Mine Bitcoin. French lawmakers have submitted a bill, proposing a five year experiment to allow energy producers to use surplus electricity to mine Bitcoin. Lawmakers explained that energy makers currently sell excess energy at a loss due to a lack of storage, which is wasteful.