w3 the North is a community of women, nonbinary, and underrepresented crypto-curious individuals. A proud Canadian community, we're centring the "we" in web3 to emphasize that the future is for all of us and that community is at our core. You're reading our weekly newsletter.

Good morning friends! We're especially excited today because not only are we halfway through the week and halfway through February, but we've also got our very first Speaker Series event this evening 🥳 Make sure to register and tune in at 8pm EST - we can't wait to see you there. Until then, we've got you covered with all the fresh web3 news. 

Quip of the Week

Given that we covered DAOs last week, we thought this was a really thoughtful take on how to truly make these new systems more equitable. 

What is it and Why Does it Matter?

Unpacking the billion dollar money laundering scheme by a husband and wife duo (caught just in time for Valentine's day!)

A big news story this past week is about how a couple -- Ilya Litchtenstein, a YC alumni/tech entrepreneur/occasional magician, and Heather Morgan, a former Forbes columnist turned Tiktok rapper --  were arrested for trying to launder billions of dollars in crypto. Yes - you read that right. It's one of the most bizarre headlines of all time but bizarre doesn't take away the fact that the Department of Justice seized about $3.6 billion in stolen Bitcoin from a 2016 Bitfinex hack. They're currently facing up to 20 years in prison.

Why does it matter?

We thought this story was notable for a few reasons. Firstly, it's important to remember that fraud happens in every industry, but has heightened risk in new and underregulated industries. It's why we'll never promote investment advice here, and why we'll always recommend doing your due diligence before putting your money anywhere. It's always why you should beware of what services you use and make sure you are connecting your wallet only to sites you trust. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it's stories like this that often turn away people like you and I from crypto. It feels scammy and bro-y at best and criminal at worst. But we're here to tell you that it's precisely because of news like this that we need people like you to get involved. We want to help you cut through the noise because there's so much promise in what is possible through leveraging this technology to do things differently than before: more aligned, more equitable and with community truly at the centre. So don't feel overwhelmed or feel like you should retreat back because of news like this! We're early here, and it's far from perfect, but the more we work alongside the many brilliant minds in the space, the better off we'll be for it. 

The Latest

Canadian Illustrator Rachel Winter sells out NFT collection

Rachel's "Remarkable Women" NFT collection is a celebration and ode to all women inspired by the perspectives of fashion, feminism, and cultural identity. Women account for just 16% of the NFT art market, so it's amazing to see artists like Rachel, based in Toronto, setting a powerful example of what's possible. Beyond that, their website states their commitment to building with purpose and meaning, pledging 10% to the Fund for Women's Equality.

Crypto (and hip hop) dominated the Super Bowl

It's always interesting to hear the discourse around Super Bowl commercials since we don't often see them in Canada. (Thankfully we still get the halftime show which was 🔥🔥🔥) Crypto dominated this year's commercials with a whopping $30M+ total spend across all of them. Most notable? Coinbase reportedly spending $14M on a bouncing QR code that drew praise for its simplicity, then criticism as the website promptly crashed from all the new traffic. Larry David and Lebron also made appearances via FTX and Crypto.com ads respectfully. Whether the investment was worthwhile is inconclusive, as social media seems divided (big surprise there) -- the skeptics are still skeptical, and the believers still believe.A believer who still believes even though he wasn't in a commercial or on stage? Drake, who pocketed a $381K win from Super Bowl bets he made on Bitcoin.

Bill C-249 proposes for more crypto growth in Canada

A new Bill was introduced to the House of Commons by Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner (from the riding of Calgary Nose Hill,) calling on the Minister of Finance to introduce a national framework for the growth of the crypto-asset sector. The bill focuses on engaging crypto talent in policy around the sector's needs. 

Bill C-249 could have a significant impact on putting Canada on the map as a country bullish on crypto investing. Supporters of the Bill say crypto could be a substantial sector of innovation, but to materialize its potential, we need to focus on lowering the barriers and protecting innovators. Critics of the Bill feel that it's dangerous to focus on a sector that is so volatile.

If we follow the same patterns as our neighbours down south, we can expect crypto regulations and growth will start playing a more significant role in the political conversation for 2022 and beyond.  

Ok, so what?: Learn-to-earn

What is Learn-to-earn?

 Learn-to-earn is a model of crypto education where you can receive tokens in exchange for learning. Those tokens can then be held or sold, like other cryptocurrencies. There are many learn-to-earn platforms, with the most famous one being Coinbase.Learn-to-earn is mostly being used to help drive crypto education forward, but this model has applications beyond crypto. It's not hard to imagine paying people with tokens to incentivize them to learn in-demand skills that the economy needs.  

Why does it matter:

• Given the rising cost of education, being paid to learn is an attractive option and has the potential to break down systemic barriers that keep people away from accessing education. 

• Paying people to learn about crypto enables crypto to break into the mainstream. The more people understand it, the more they are able to engage in the market which then leads to growth.

Other Learn-to-earn Platforms include:

• Rabbithole

• Binance

• KuCoin

• Phemex

• CoinMarketCap

Want to dive in more?

Something to read

• Web3 Starter Kit

• Ownership in web3, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and economic inequality

Something to do

• Join our discord 

• Sign up for our first event (tonight!!)

Something to try

• Check out one of the learn-to-earn platforms

Some Crypto Lingo

• FREN: friend

• IRL: in real life

• address: a string of characters that represents a wallet; can send/receive crytpo

• apeing: to purchase a token after launch, purchase without doing much research

• floor: the lowest price available for an NFT in a collection

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Till next time,

w3 the North