Alright anon, gather round. It’s time for the annual episode of Ethereum: Still the Most Important Chain (Trust Me Bro). Let’s get this out of the way:Ethereum is the most consequential blockchain ever built. Programmable money. DeFi. Secure smart contracts. The Louvre of crypto. No argument there. But here’s the vibe shift no one wants to talk about: Technological irrelevance doesn’t rug you. It just slowly stops texting back. 🧠 The New Eth Maxi Mantra “We still have TVL.” That’s it. That’s the tweet.TVL has gone from “measure of success” to “emotional support metric.” Yes, Ethereum has lots of capital locked.No, that capital is not doing cardio. It’s parked. Sleeping. Yield-farming itself into a coma. Meanwhile, money velocity is out here living its best life… somewhere else. 📉 Revenue Check (Oof Edition) According to Nansen: Ethereum revenue: down ~76% YoY → ~$604M Solana: ~$657M TRON (yes, that TRON): ~$601M, powered by stablecoin giga-chads in emerging markets ETH did a big brain move with Dencun/Fusaka — cheaper L2 fees — and accidentally nerfed its own income.Congrats, you optimized yourself out of rent. 🚀 Activity Wars: Solana Presses “Spam” Artemis data says in 2025: Solana: ~98M monthly active users ~34 billion transactions Ethereum bros reply instantly:“Yeah but that’s just bots.” Which is true.But also sounds exactly like: “Those aren’t real users anyway.” (— MySpace, 2008) Solana is basically the NASDAQ: fast, chaotic, arbitrage bots everywhere.Ethereum is FedWire: slow, serious, settles things that actually matter. Different games. Different vibes. But the volume gap is getting loud. 🧨 The Real Problem: No Urgency Kyle Samani said the quiet part out loud: ETH hit $100B faster than any asset ever.Fees were exploding.Scaling was obviously urgent.And yet… there was never urgency. Ethereum never went to war.It held community calls. This is how platforms don’t die — they just become foundational while someone else becomes fun. 🧩 L2s: Scaling or Balkanization? Yes, L2s work. Fees are low. Users are happy. But now we have: Fragmented liquidity Fragmented UX Fragmented value accrual Ethereum secured the kingdom, but the L2s took the toll booths, the brand loyalty, and the profit margins. ETH risks becoming the world’s most secure collateral warehouse. ⚙️ The Plot Twist: Ethereum Wakes Up 2025 EF arc unlocked: Ossification → Accelerationism New leadership with actual engineering PTSD Pectra + Fusaka shipped Beam Chain roadmap drops like: 4-second slots Single-slot finality “What if L1 was… fast?” Upgrading a $400B network mid-flight is insane.But so is doing nothing while Solana speedruns mass adoption. Pick your poison. 🧾 Final Take “We still have TVL” is not a strategy.Liquidity is mercenary. It farms wherever it’s treated best. Ethereum can still win — but only if: Beam Chain actually ships L2s stop feeling like 12 different apps duct-taped together ETH re-links usage → value accrual Otherwise, by 2030, ETH will be: Systemically important Deeply respected Commercially… mid And in crypto, history doesn’t pay gas fees. TL;DR:Ethereum is still the backbone.But the market is asking whether it wants the backbone…or the nervous system. 🧠⚡ 

So yeah, this week’s episode of Crypto Adoption, But Make It Boring™ just dropped. YouTube quietly added PayPal’s PYUSD as a payout option for U.S. creators. Not “YouTube launches a wallet.” Not “Google becomes a validator.” Just a new toggle sitting next to the usual payout rails, routed through PayPal/Hyperwallet like a well-behaved enterprise citizen. Crypto Twitter wanted a moon mission. What we got is… plumbing. And honestly? That’s bullish. What actually happened (before the hopium overdoses) YouTube pays creators → Funds show up in PayPal Hyperwallet → Creator can now select PYUSD instead of fiat If they want, they can later send that PYUSD on-chain from PayPal No Metamask popup. No seed phrase onboarding trauma. No “sir, please bridge to Arbitrum” tutorial video. Just vibes and compliance. Why this matters (even though it’s not a pump) YouTube has paid out $100B+ in four years. That’s ~$25B/year flowing through creator payouts. Even a tiny opt-in rate turns into real recurring stablecoin volume. Best case scenarios floating around: Conservative: ~$6M/year in PYUSD Base case: ~$120M/year Aggressive: ~$1B/year And before someone screams “THAT’S NOTHING,” remember:This isn’t about supply shock. PYUSD already has ~$4B market cap. This is about habit formation. Stablecoins don’t win by YOLO inflows.They win by becoming the default “eh, I’ll just leave it there for now” balance. The sneaky part YouTube doesn’t touch crypto.Google doesn’t custody tokens.PayPal does all the scary stuff. Which means: Platforms stay clean Compliance teams stay sane Creators get optional on-chain exits This is how crypto actually sneaks into Web2: as a dropdown menu, not a manifesto. Also: timing is not accidental This lands right as: Stablecoin regulation is actually becoming a thing Policymakers are shifting from “ban it” to “fine, just attest monthly” Citi is out here forecasting $1–4 trillion in stablecoin issuance by 2030 Translation: the adults are back in the room, and they brought spreadsheets. TL;DR YouTube added PYUSD payouts via PayPal Nobody had to become a crypto company Stablecoins are entering payroll-like flows This won’t pump your bags tomorrow But it does quietly normalize holding crypto as income Not financial advice, but if your favorite YouTuber starts saying “smash the like button so I can settle on Arbitrum,” just know we warned you. 

 So the Blockchain Game Alliance just released its 2025 State of the Industry Report, and honestly? It reads like the patch notes for a game that finally stopped being in pre-alpha denial and decided to ship something real. TL;DR:– Web3 gaming is apparently growing up (yes, I was shocked too).– MENA is speedrunning its way into becoming a global blockchain gaming powerhouse.– Africa is grinding XP steadily.– Female participation is up to 23% (finally, some new players in the lobby).– The industry might—might—be becoming less of a speculative loot box casino. Okay, let’s break this down like a YouTube influencer explaining yield farming to their dog: 🎮 “Web3 Gaming Is Maturing” — BGA, 2025 Translation: We’ve officially moved from “click buttons, get tokens” to “games that look like someone didn’t code them during a coffee-fueled panic attack.” Sustainable models, higher-quality gameplay, actual art direction… things are happening. Speculation isn’t gone, of course—this is crypto, not Narnia—but at least the games can now be played without needing a PhD in gas fees. 🌍 MENA: The New Final Boss of Web3 Gaming Two facts that made my eyebrows respawn: In 2021, less than 1% of industry pros in BGA’s survey were from MENA. In 2025, that number is 20%. Combined with Africa’s growth (0.5% → 5.5%), over 25% of responses now come from emerging markets. In gaming terms, MENA basically went from “NPC in the background” to “main character energy” in four years. A young, digitally-native population + governments throwing giga-bucks at gaming, esports, and digital infrastructure = a region that just 100x’d its XP bar. Sebastien Borget (co-president of BGA + The Sandbox co-founder) even dropped the report live in Abu Dhabi like it was a legendary loot reveal. Respect. 👩‍💻 More Women in Web3? Actual Progress?? 23% of survey participants were women — the highest ever.Not 50/50 yet, but at least it feels less like a Discord server moderated exclusively by dudes named “CryptoWolf420.” A big chunk of credit goes to Yasmina Kazitani, BGA’s first female co-president, aka the person doing the actual side quests that matter:– Building grassroots communities– Pushing for representation– Co-founding the Women in Web3 AllianceBasically, she’s speedrunning “fixing the industry.” 📈 What This Actually Means New regions. New talent. New leadership.And if you’re a studio in the West still wondering why your daily active users are just you and your dev intern… yeah, maybe look at where the players actually are. 📅 Wanna See This Energy IRL? Dubai GameExpo Summit (powered by PG Connects), May 20–21, 2026.Because nothing says “the future of gaming” like an event with enough AC to cool a small moon.

So CCP Games has slammed the third hard wipe button on EVE Frontier, their fully-onchain, space-survival-try-not-to-cry simulator, and is now yeeting us into Cycle 4—a fresh three-month adventure where everything you built is deleted again, except your precious Grace points. Yes, Grace points: the only thing more persistent than the average degen’s hopium. To be fair, Frontier is “open development,” which is dev-speak for “you’re gonna see our mess live, and we’re gonna nuke your progress every quarter, k thx.” 🚀 Cycle 4 Highlights (aka ‘Things CCP Added Before Deleting Your Stuff Again’) Manual WASD ControlsCCP has finally given us real movement, so now you can pretend you’re playing an actual video game instead of a spreadsheet with a jet engine.Precision increased. Skill required also increased. Cope level: TBD. Smarter Enemy AIBecause clearly what this game needed was more things trying to murder you with better accuracy. Better Base-Building ToolsGood news: more tools to build cooler stuff.Bad news: it will be wiped in 80–90 days. Thoughts and prayers. Continuous Asset ProductionNow you can craft in-game stuff non-stop. Perfect for people who enjoy watching numbers go up… until wipe day, where they go back down to zero. New Map Locations + Navigation ModuleCCP added new places to explore, but you’ll need the new navigation module or risk drift-scrolling your way into the blockchain abyss. 💸 Access Pricing Want in? It starts at $30, which gets you: Entry to the game Exclusive in-game assets One month of premium when the game actually launches And of course, unlimited exposure to emotional damage from quarterly nukes But hey, there are regular free-play periods if commitment isn’t your thing (understandable). 🧵 TL;DR EVE Frontier wiped again, added cool stuff, pretended we won’t rage when they wipe again later. CCP continues building the most on-brand onchain experience possible: fun, chaotic, and only slightly cruel. Anyway, see you in Cycle 4. I’ll be the one drifting helplessly with my new WASD controls like a noob who forgot space has no brakes.

Alright anon, gather round the campfire. The Sandbox is back with its 3.0 revival arc and they’ve launched an invite-only beta of something called Corners, described as a “free-to-use curation platform,” which is VC-speak for: “What if Linktree + Reddit + NFTs, but onchain?” What is Corners? You make a Corner You drop URLs, memes, ideas, vibes, discourse Other people can add links too (community-driven curation) The Corner spits out a Corner Coin because obviously it does Yes, your carefully curated folder of links can now have tokenomics. How do the bags work? Every Corner generates its own coin If your Corner pops off, the coin might have value (big might) Platform activity rewards Corner Coin holders with SAND SAND now lives on Base, Ethereum, and Polygon, because chain maximalism is dead So now you can earn SAND for being good at posting links before everyone else. Nature is healing. The Vision™ Sandbox CEO Robby Yung says this extends SAND “beyond gaming,” which makes sense, since Sandbox gaming has been… let’s say aspirational for a while. Instead of play-to-earn, we now have: Curate-to-earnorSpeculate-on-communities-before-they’re-cool-to-earn Progress. The Timeline Invite-only beta: now Full public launch: early 2026 (lmao) Comprehensive guide coming to explain: market price tradable assets probably how not to get rugged by a meme Corner TL;DR Sandbox pivoting from metaverse gameplay to tokenized community boards Bookmarks now have liquidity Every niche gets a coin Base chain catching strays (and volume) 2026 roadmap energy intact Not gonna lie though… if someone spins up a “Dead L2s Copium Corner” and it starts yielding SAND, I’m in. See you at launch. Or at least at the guide. Or the rug.

So apparently Sbarter, a blockchain-based game wagering protocol (drink), just announced Vivid Games as its launch studio partner. And not in a “logo on the website” way — they’re getting a governance role too. Because nothing says Web3 like “we’re early and we get to vote.” Their first integration? Real Boxing 3, rolling out in January 2026 (in compliant regions, aka “don’t ask when US 😏”). The pitch: Players can spin up 1v1 duels Creator-led events Community tournaments All without touching the core gameplay Translation: same punches, now with stakes attached. Vivid says this will boost retention and monetization, which in gamer-to-crypto dialect means: “If you can bet on it, players won’t log off.” They’re also pushing this shiny new buzzword: User-Generated Events, described as the “next evolution” of UGC. So instead of: user-generated skins 💤we get: user-generated beef 🔥 CEO quote check: “Our players love proving themselves.” Yes, Piotr. Especially when there’s something on the line besides ELO and pride. Sbarter’s chairman goes full “back in my day”: “Players have always added friendly stakes…” Which is true. Difference is now: it’s on-chain transparent player-controlled and probably has a Discord explainer that’s 47 pages long The interesting part?This isn’t “casino mode bolted onto a game.” It’s more like: Let players decide when a match actually matters. No loot boxes, no RNG clownery — just skill checks with optional spice. Will this: revive competitive gaming? turn every ranked queue into Fight Club? or summon regulators like a Dark Souls boss? No idea. But Real Boxing 3 adding programmable stakes is way more on-brand than another JPG marketplace. Not financial advice.Not legal advice.Absolutely not advice on settling beef on-chain. But if this works, “skill issue” might finally become settleable in smart contracts.

 Alright fellow degens, gather around. Another day, another Web3 gaming token deciding now is not the right time to exist. So Lineup Games just hit pause on the LINEUP token launch. If you were grinding Gold Striker and Striker League stacking imaginary internet points, congrats — you’re still early, forever. 🫡 🚨 The Official Reason™ According to the devs, this is a “strategic opportunity”. Translation options currently circulating: Exchanges not ready Lawyers said “hmm” Market looks like a crime scene Someone saw a chart and unplugged the router Details? None. Just vibes. 🎮 What This Means for Players You keep earning Diamonds — the non-tradable, non-touchable, spiritually valuable currency that represents “achievements and reputation.”(Still not rent-paying, unfortunately.) The delay lines up the LINEUP token launch with the next Diamond Claim Event, so all your in-game suffering will eventually influence token distribution. Eventually doing some heavy lifting there. 📊 Tokenomics Check 1 billion LINEUP total supply 16% unlocked at launch 84% locked behind a long, slow vesting schedule(aka “don’t worry, you won’t be able to dump anyway”) Rewards, referrals, social missions, and Orange Sunday are all being “updated,” which usually means a new spreadsheet and a Medium post. 📉 Zooming Out: Web3 Gaming Is… Tired This is happening while Web3 gaming: Still makes up ~25% of active wallets But daily gaming wallets are down 4.4% QoQ Funding hit $129M in Q3 2025, but it’s mostly going to infrastructure, not actual games people play So yeah, the pipes are getting built while the house party slowly empties. 🤔 Why This Actually Matters Token launches = player motivationPlayer motivation = engagementEngagement = not becoming a ghost town DAO with a Discord full of “gm” and unanswered questions Delaying a token in Web3 gaming right now is basically admitting: “We would prefer not to launch into a market where everyone is allergic to new coins.” Probably smart. Still painful.

 So apparently 2025 decided we hadn’t clicked enough buttons in idle games yet, because Ronin and Voya Games just teamed up to launch Fishing Frenzy inside Craft World — and honestly, it’s giving “DeFi summer but with factories and fish.”Here’s the TL;DR before your attention span rugs you:Craft World dropped another collab event — following bangers with Axie Infinity, Ronke, and Moku — and this time you’re not just tapping for dopamine, you're building factories that pump out resources so you can construct giant masterpiece statues. Like real Web3 culture: build statue, get tokens, flex on the leaderboard, repeat.There’ll be three statues total, built one after the other. It’s basically a group project, except the people who do all the work actually get rewarded.And the rewards?COIN and FISH tokensWater Dyno NFTs (floor price ~300 bucks, so yeah, your fake dinosaur might be worth more than your real car battery)Leaderboard grinders, rise. Casuals, prepare to cope.But the real alpha: They’re bringing in Fishing Frenzy’s Proof of Contribution model — aka “Proof you didn’t just AFK for three weeks.” Spend your Karma Points and unlock up to 12 bonus workers to turbocharge your factories. So yes, you’re literally hiring a small imaginary workforce to fish harder for you. Late-stage capitalism but make it cute.Honestly, between factories, statues, fish tokens, and NFT water dinosaurs, this might be the most Web3 thing that’s ever happened. See you all on the leaderboard, where I will absolutely be donating 15 resources and calling it “participation.”   

 ood news if you’re curious but commitment-phobic: free trial’s live for the next week, ending December 9th. All you need is an account on the EVE Frontier site, the launcher, the PC client, and presumably a fresh cup of patience. BUT—minor detail—every cycle ends with a good ol’ fashioned blockchain purge. Everything gets wiped except your EVE Points and whatever passes for wisdom after losing your entire industrial empire for the third time. Love to see it. Want permanent access? $40 Awakened Pack gets you in, tosses you a shiny ship skin and avatar, and even throws in one month of premium—once the full game launches in 2026-ish… or 2027, because time is a flat circle. Honestly? It’s chaotic, grindy, economically brutal, everything resets, and I can’t stop thinking about booting it up. Perfect game for people like us.

So Fableborne just rolled out Season 4 on Ronin, and—surprise—it's somehow even more of a grind fest than before, but in a good way if you're into that whole “earn tokens while ignoring real-world responsibilities” lifestyle. The big feature this season is guilds, live Dec 8–24. Up to 50 players squad up to farm Guild Glory, which you generate by burning Guild Valor and cracking open chests. Translation: it's Loot Box Christmas, and the devs are Santa. But the real center of gravity here is, of course, the POWER token.Earn it in guilds, earn it in premium events, spend it on power chests, stake it in the Kingdoms land NFT feature—basically, the token's getting more utility than half the coins listed on CMC. Season 4 is throwing 1.66M POWER into the prize pool, so yes, the degen instincts are tingling. They also dropped Ember, a rare melee hero who turns into a phoenix and sets things on fire—because every web3 game needs at least one character who does AOE fire damage, it's the law. Plus: new ascendancy leveling, 140+ PVE missions, PVP, and Guild Wars (finally). Season runs until Jan 5, 2026, which means plenty of time to pretend this is all strategic gameplay and not thinly veiled token-farming. Anyway, off to form a guild and convince 49 strangers that I’m “team-oriented.”