This Key Group of People Will Push Ethereum to New Heights

Teeka Tiwari
February 17, 2023
28 min read

And This Tiny Altcoin Could Potentially Return 2,619% Riding the Wave
By Teeka Tiwari and Houston Molnar
Even Amazon founder Jeff Bezos invested billions of dollars in the most infamous initial
public offering (IPO) of the dot-com bubble.
In 1999, Amazon took a 50% stake in Pets.com. At the time, its stake was worth $10.5 million.
With just a few clicks, Pets.com allowed customers to order pet products and have them
shipped directly to their doors.
Amazon believed Pets.com would corner the online market for pet supplies. But the idea
came a decade too early.
Much of the technology needed to execute this vision – cloud computing, data analytics, and
digital marketing – didn’t exist yet.
After a year of hoopla – including a $1.2 million Super Bowl ad in 2000 – Pets.com went
bust. And Amazon’s 50% stake in the company went up in smoke.
Fast forward a decade later… That’s when Chewy got its start.
Chewy’s vision is nearly identical to Pets.com. It’s an online pet store that delivers products
right to your door.
But unlike Pets.com in 1999, when Chewy launched in 2011 it had easy access to the
technology it needed to run an online pet marketplace.
Chewy didn’t have to hire developers for its cloud computing, data analytics, or digital
marketing needs. It could just contract for those services.
That meant Chewy could focus on what it does best: selling pet products.
From its IPO in June 2019 to its peak in February 2021, Chewy saw a return of 440%.
Today, its market cap is $20 billion, and it generates nearly $10 billion in annual revenue.
Here’s why I’m telling you about Pets.com and Chewy…
During the dot-com bubble, there were countless failed ideas like Webvan, Boo.com, and
eToys.com. At best, they were pipe dreams. At worst, they were rip-offs.
But some of these companies were simply ahead of their time – like Pets.com.
If you wrote off the entire tech sector because many companies flopped, you would’ve missed
out on one of the greatest investment opportunities in history.
From October 2002 to November 2021, the tech-heavy Nasdaq grew over 1,300%.
Companies that emerged from the rubble like Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia made even greater
returns of 62,200%, 77,587%, and 54,244%, respectively.
Many investors missed out because they thought the internet was a fad. They failed to see all
the progress developers were making.
And there’s one key metric that shows how much progress a technology is making: the
number of developers in the space.
These are the programmers, mathematicians, data scientists, and engineers responsible for
pushing a technology forward.
If the internet was a fad, those developers would’ve been the first to pack up and leave.
But they didn’t.
In fact, the number of tech workers increased in the years following the dot-com crash.

As you can see in the chart above, despite the 78% drop in tech stocks from 2000 to 2002
measured by the tech-heavy Nasdaq, the tech workforce remained relatively flat. And over the
ensuing years, the number of tech workers continued to grow.
We’re seeing the same story play out in the crypto industry today.
Despite the current Crypto Winter, the number of developers working on blockchain and
Web3 technologies has increased 5% since December 2021.
Like Pets.com, many crypto projects tried to walk before they crawled. They were ahead of
their time.
But like their internet brethren did in the early 2000s, blockchain developers are sticking
around. And a great deal of them are on Ethereum.
In this month’s issue, we’ll show you how an increasing number of developers continue to
improve the Ethereum blockchain – and by extension, the entire Web3 ecosystem. Plus, we’ll
show you an altcoin that will get a slingshot effect from this trend.
In the coming years, we project Ethereum to hit $25,000 – a 1,400% return from today’s
price. That’s why we consider Ethereum (ETH) a must-own asset.
If ETH hits our projections, we could see the project return 2,619%. That’s enough to turn
every $500 into $13,593 and $1,000 into $27,186.
Of course, higher potential comes with higher risk. So make sure to follow our risk
management policy and position size correctly.
Before we get to this project, let’s look at the number of developers flocking to the crypto
space…
Ethereum’s Developer Moat Is Widening
Today, the total market cap of the crypto space is back to January 2018 levels… Yet monthly
active developers have increased more than 297% over that same span.
Take a look at the next chart. It shows the pace at which developers are entering the space. As
you can see, it’s in a long-term uptrend.

Just like during the dot-com bubble burst, developers aren’t leaving despite the drop in
crypto prices.
Those who are in the trenches working on the underlying technology and see the progress
firsthand realize the potential that blockchain technology has. They know it will have a major
impact on the world just as the internet did.
And when you look to see who takes the crown, no other network comes close to Ethereum. It
has nearly 3x more developers working on it than the next.
Similar to the wider industry, the number of active developers working on Ethereum grew 5%
last year, despite an 80% drop in the price of ETH from its all-time highs.
An even bigger eye-opener is when you look at how far Ethereum has come since the previous
cycle’s top in January 2018. Since then, the number of developers actively working on
Ethereum grew 5x, from 1,084 to 5,734.
And there are huge benefits to having thousands more developers than the next project
pushing the technology forward.
More developers mean more apps. More apps attract more users. More users create a
network effect. Because of the network effect, more users gravitate to your network.
Think of it this way…
There’s no value in a telephone network if only one person has a phone. If a second person
gets a phone, the network becomes a little bit more valuable. But if everyone has a phone, the
network becomes extremely valuable.
And Ethereum continues to be valuable…
Every major advance in blockchain technology since bitcoin’s inception in 2009 has gained
traction on Ethereum – including DAOs, DeFi, and NFTs.
These are the upgrades that will take blockchain to the next level – just like cloud computing,
data analytics, and digital marketing improved internet technology.
While other blockchain networks offer these types of apps, none come close to the success
that Ethereum has achieved thus far.
Today, 60% of assets held in DeFi applications live on Ethereum. And roughly 80% of NFT
trades by volume occur on the network.
This translates to more demand to use the Ethereum network than any other.
Ethereum generates roughly $2.4 billion in transaction fees each year. That’s roughly 10x
more than the next blockchain network.
As you can see, Ethereum is solidifying itself as the go-to blockchain network for
decentralized applications (dApps).
In the meantime, it’s also transforming itself into a multibillion-dollar income-generating
machine. And that’s where our new pick comes in.
The $40 Billion Income Opportunity
Next month, Ethereum will undergo its Shanghai upgrade. We believe this catalyst could send
ETH’s token price higher as we head into the second half of 2023.
As we wrote last month, the upgrade will give ETH stakeholders the ability to earn billions of
dollars’ worth of income from the network.
As it stands today, Ethereum will pay out roughly $1 billion in income each year.
But in the future, we believe that number could swell to over $40 billion.
(You can read our full write-up on the Shanghai upgrade right here.)
Major exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken have already positioned themselves to
grab as much of this income as possible.
These three exchanges alone provide staking for roughly $10.5 billion ETH combined. That
comes out to roughly $80 million in annual revenue for their staking services based on the
fees they charge.
Users can deposit their ETH on these exchanges to earn a share of this income. With just a
few clicks, anyone can start generating income on their ETH.
Now, it’s important to note that these exchanges don’t lend your ETH to borrowers. They
simply stake it with the network to earn rewards.
That’s different from centralized exchanges like FTX, BlockFi, and Celsius that lent out crypto
assets. These platforms took on too much risk, and when the market turned, their loans
started to default – leading to major losses for their clients.
But as you know, there’s always risks involved with handing over the keys to your assets to
centralized exchanges – even if they don’t lend out your assets.
Remember the old saying: “Not your keys, not your crypto.”
The good news is that you don’t have to hand the keys to your ETH over to a third party to
earn staking rewards. That’s where this month’s project comes in.
And it got a recent boost from federal regulators…
As mentioned above, Kraken is one of the largest exchanges offering staking rewards to its
customers.
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it had fined Kraken
$30 million for selling unregistered securities. As a part of its settlement with the SEC,
Kraken agreed to end staking services for its U.S. clients.
Now, it’s unclear whether the SEC will target other staking exchanges like Coinbase next. But
we do know the crackdown on Kraken will ignite increased demand for decentralized staking
services — like those offered by this month’s pick.
When the SEC news broke, this project initially shot up 25%. That’s because the market
believes it will grab an even bigger portion of the staking market share.
And as you’ll see below, we agree…
 Risk Management
Crypto is highly volatile. So we recommend you place no more than $200–400 for smaller
accounts and $500–1,000 for larger accounts into this trade. And remember: Use limit
orders and wait for the price to come within buy range.

The Decentralized Staking Service of the Future

The name of the project is Rocket Pool (RPL). It makes earning staking income easy and
accessible to anyone.
It’s the third-largest staking solution behind Coinbase and Lido. And it’s quickly gaining
market share.
In fact, Rocket Pool is the fastest-growing staking service since Ethereum made the switch to
proof-of-stake in September.
Since then, the number of ETH staked using Rocket Pool has increased by 62%.
Its biggest competitor is Lido DAO (LDO). Both projects provide decentralized staking
services for Ethereum.
In September 2021, we added Lido DAO to the model portfolio as a way to profit from non-
crypto experts looking to earn income on Ethereum.
And we were right…
Since adding LDO, it has grown from staking roughly 1 million ETH to over 5 million ETH.
While LDO has pulled back with the overall crypto market, we believe that will soon change
once the Ethereum income stream opens up.
Rocket Pool is similar to Lido. Anyone can deposit ETH and start earning crypto income with
just a few clicks. But the inner workings of the two protocols are quite different.
We won’t get too deep in the weeds. But in short, Lido focuses on profit maximization while
Rocket Pool focuses on decentralization.
We’ll dive into how Rocket Pool works below, but it’s important to note that we believe both
projects will strive alongside each other.
It’s like owning both tech giants Apple and Microsoft or both banking titans JPMorgan and
Goldman Sachs. Like tech and banking, there will be plenty of room in Web3 for multiple
winners.
The biggest takeaway from 2022 was to not put all your eggs in one basket… We don’t just
mean the assets you invest in, but also the exchanges where you hold your assets.
The collapse of centralized exchanges cost some investors everything they had.
Meanwhile, decentralized protocols like Lido and Rocket Pool have operated as intended.
Decentralized protocols are public, open, and more transparent. So they don’t require trust in
the same way as their centralized counterparts.
In the future, we believe many ETH stakers will flock to decentralized protocols to stake their
ETH. And Rocket Pool will be high on their list.
Today, there are over 2,000 individual node operators working for Rocket Pool.
This is an impressive number compared to the 29 node operators working for Lido – the
largest liquid staking service for ETH.
Many investors are willing to pay Rocket Pool’s node operators the 15% staking fee over
Lido’s industry-leading 10% staking fee. And that’s where our opportunity comes in.
 How Rocket Pool Works
The primary moving parts in Rocket Pool are the ETH depositors and the node operators.
ETH depositors are users who want to earn income on their ETH without having to do any
work.
You simply deposit tokens into a pool run by a node operator to start earning income. You
don’t need any technical know-how.
In exchange for depositing ETH, you give up a portion of your staking rewards to the node
operators for their work.
Node operators are responsible for running Ethereum validators, which help secure the
network and generate income.
As mentioned above, there are over 2,000 individual node operators around the world
working for Rocket Pool.
Running a Rocket Pool node is similar to running an Ethereum validator by yourself.
The main difference is that Rocket Pool node operators don’t need to come up with the full
32 ETH required to run an Ethereum validator. Instead, half of the 32 ETH comes from
depositors.
By providing this service to depositors, node operators take a cut of the rewards. Today,
that fee is 15%.
As you can see, running a node with Rocket Pool is more attractive than running a node by
yourself.
There’s less upfront capital needed to get started. And you get more rewards since you
collect 15% of the depositors’ income.
To further incentivize good behavior by node operators, they’re required to post RPL
tokens as collateral. If they act against the protocols’ interests, it automatically slashes
their collateral.
It’s an elegant system that keeps the protocol both secure and transparent.
And as more Rocket Pool node operators come online, demand for RPL tokens will
increase.

What’s It Worth?
The RPL token gets its value by acting as collateral for node operators.
Node operators have to post RPL tokens worth at least 10% of the value that depositors stake
with them.
For example, if they draw 16 ETH from depositors to launch a validator, they need to post 1.6
ETH worth of RPL tokens.
So as the amount of ETH staked with Rocket Pool grows, demand for RPL tokens will
increase.
And as the price of ETH rises, so too will RPL, since node operators need to maintain a 10%
collateral peg.
This gives the RPL token the ability to magnify the returns you would see with just holding
ETH itself.
Today, there’s roughly 400,000 ETH staked with Rocket Pool.
On top of this, there’s over 5,000 ETH waiting in the deposit pool for node operators to pick
them up. That’s the maximum that can wait in the deposit pool.
So there’s certainly more demand than 5,000 ETH that wants to stake with Rocket Pool.
The reason why node operators haven’t picked up this ETH and put it to work yet is because
they simply ran out of ETH themselves.
But that’s about to change with Rocket Pool’s next upgrade. And with it, we’ll see ETH staked
with Rocket Pool explode higher…
You see, Rocket Pool is currently rolling out an update that will reduce the number of ETH
node operators needed to start a validator.
Instead of requiring node operators to come up with half of the ETH, they’ll only need to
come up with a quarter of it.
This means we’ll see an increase in the number of ETH that depositors contribute to each
validator jump from 16 to 24. (After the upgrade, node operators will only need 8 ETH.) And
that means more demand for RPL tokens.
This upgrade should roll out within the next couple months. And when it does, we’ll see the
number of ETH staked with Rocket Pool explode higher.
Today, roughly 15% of all ETH is staked. But in the years ahead, we believe roughly 70% of all
Ethereum will be staked.
That’s the level of staking we see today with other major proof-of-stake networks like
Cardano, Solana, and Avalanche.
Rocket Pool has already established itself alongside Lido as one of the go-to decentralized
staking solutions. And we believe it can capture roughly 20% of the Ethereum staking market
due to its highly decentralized nature.
If 70% of all Ethereum is staked, and Rocket Pool has a 20% market share, that would
translate to roughly 16.8 million ETH staked with Rocket Pool. And of this, 12.6 million ETH
would be from depositors.
That means the RPL backing 10% of these staked assets must be worth at least 1.26 million
ETH.
And if ETH reaches our projected price target of $25,000 in the years ahead, that means RPL
would be worth roughly $31.5 billion. Or roughly $1,291 per token when accounting for token
inflation over the next five years.
That’s a 2,619% increase from today’s prices. Enough to turn a $500 investment into $13,593.
And every $1,000 investment into $27,186.
That’s a potential 2x greater return than simply holding Ethereum.
Of course, we believe Ethereum is a world-class asset.
As we’ve said before, the next stage of transformational software development will happen on
the blockchain… not the traditional internet. And Ethereum is the world’s most widely used
blockchain development platform.
Just like Microsoft was the world’s most popular PC development platform in the 1990s…
And Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS are the most popular mobile app development
platforms today…
Ethereum is – and will continue to be – the go-to platform for blockchain projects. And it will
act as a slingshot for smaller projects like Rocket Pool.
By taking a stake in RPL, we’re adding exposure to the fastest-growing service provider for
Ethereum staking. And in doing so, we’ll profit from the growth of Ethereum’s developer
community and staking industry.
Action to Take: Buy Rocket Pool (RPL).
Buy-up-to Price: $60
Stop Loss: None
Buy It On: Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, or Uniswap
Store It On: MyEtherWallet or Ledger Hardware Wallet
Risk Management: As always, we recommend $200–400 per idea for smaller investors
and $500–1,000 per idea for larger investors.
Every investor’s financial situation is unique. So it might make sense to invest more or less.
But the amount should never be more than you can afford to lose.
Top Plays for February
1. Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin maintains its position as one of the top crypto assets to own this month due to
regulatory pressure surrounding staking and stablecoins.
As mentioned above, the SEC claims Kraken is offering unregistered securities with its
staking service.
This litigation has brought concerns with how the SEC will approach staking as a whole and
the blockchain networks that use proof-of-stake consensus.
Shortly after this, the SEC announced plans to sue crypto firm Paxos for unregistered
securities due to its role in issuing the BUSD stablecoin.
While we’re still bullish long-term on staking and crypto income opportunities, the road
ahead for networks like Ethereum and the use cases built on top of these platforms will be
bumpy from a regulatory standpoint in the short term.
That’s because many of these use cases will be new, and there’s no existing framework to go
by. And that’s what we’re seeing today with stablecoins and exchanges providing staking
services.
Bitcoin becomes more attractive because it separates itself from the concerns we’re seeing
today. It doesn’t use the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. And it’s not a platform for
smart contracts and stablecoins.
Bitcoin’s simplicity is its advantage. And that’s why we remain bullish on it.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
As you can see from this month’s issue, Ethereum is leaps ahead of other smart contract
platforms when it comes to developers and adoption.
It has nearly 3x more developers working on it than the next closest competitor. And it
generates roughly 10x more in transaction fees than the next due to high demand to use the
network.
It’s one of our favorite assets to own today, especially now that it’s opening its income stream
next month with the Shanghai upgrade.
And when it does, we believe it will gain even more attention from institutions looking to get
exposure to the space.
3. Lido DAO (LDO)
Lido is the largest Ethereum staking solution, with over 5 million ETH staked with the
protocol.
Last week, Lido announced its V2 upgrade. This upgrade will allow Lido depositors to
withdraw their staked assets once the Shanghai upgrade is complete. And it will open the
door to anyone becoming a node operator for the protocol.
Lido sees the market giving value to increasing decentralization amongst node operators, and
it’s working to improve in this area.
Within the next two years, JPMorgan estimates staking will be a $40 billion income market.
So there will be plenty of room for world-class staking solutions.
Owning both Lido and Rocket Pool will be like owning Microsoft and Apple. Both are world-
class tech companies. Lido and Rocket Pool will be similar in the staking industry.
4. Polygon (MATIC)
Polygon is one of the largest scaling solutions for Ethereum. This technology enables users to
make cheap, fast, and secure transactions.
And next month, Polygon is set to launch one of the most highly anticipated networks yet –
Polygon zkEVM.
zkEVM will be the first scaling solution of its kind that’s fully compatible with Ethereum
smart contracts and developer tools. This gives it a major advantage when it comes to gaining
usage since you can seamlessly port apps over to the network without needing major changes.
With over 5,000 smart contracts deployed to it during its six months of beta testing, it’s
finally ready for launch.
We’re excited to see the zkEVM network quickly gain traction and further increase the utility
of the MATIC token.
5. The Graph (GRT)
The Graph is a protocol that organizes on-chain data to its users in an easy-to-read way. You
can think of it as the Google of the blockchain world.
As the amount of data on the blockchain increases, so too will demand to access this data.
During the fourth quarter, The Graph saw a 5% increase in revenue from the previous quarter
and a 265% increase from the previous year.
We expect growth to continue this year as The Graph moves from hosted services to paid
services.
As you may recall, The Graph was free to use for many of its services to help bootstrap
adoption. But that’s changing as the protocol is working to phase out hosted services this
year.
So far, 618 data providers – known as subgraphs – have migrated away from hosted services
to paid services. This will help increase revenue for the protocol and its token holders now
that users must pay a service fee.
In addition, The Graph launched paid services this week for the Arbitrum network. Arbitrum
is one of the most widely used Layer-2 scaling solutions for Ethereum, with nearly 500,000
daily transactions.
By expanding its services to other networks, the protocol will see more usage. And accessing
The Graph’s services requires payment in the GRT token. So as usage increases, demand for
GRT tokens will too.
 Portfolio Update
0x (ZRX)
0x is an open protocol that enables the peer-to-peer exchange of assets across multiple
blockchains.
Last month, 0x released an update covering network insights, statistics for 2022, and more.
Highlights included:
In 2022, 0x saw an influx of new integrations and a steady increase in trading. Although
volume was down from the previous year, it was still up 410% from 2020.
Some of the major updates from the past year include the launch of NFT swaps, Slippage
Protection and 0x Explorer.
In 2022, 0x saw over $52 billion in volume across 18 million trades. To date, 0x has
enabled over $182 billion in tokenized value to flow across 53 million trades made by over
5.6 million users.
The 0x ecosystem continues to grow, with over 25 new integrations including Coinbase
NFT, GameStop NFT, and more. And with the beta launch of 0x Explorer, developers and
users can now verify transactions and analyze on-chain activity easily and transparently.
0x’s update shows the past year has been an exciting one. 0x impressed us with its growth in
total volume traded, multichain support, new developer tools, and continued expansion of the
ecosystem.
It’s clear that 0x is a trusted and thriving infrastructure for tokenized assets. As the use cases
for 0x continue to expand, ZRX will be an increasingly valuable asset for investors and
stakeholders alike.
Action to Take: Buy 0x (ZRX) up to $3.
Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is a decentralized public blockchain and cryptocurrency with an advanced smart
contract platform.
The long-awaited Djed stablecoin has launched on the Cardano blockchain after over a year in
development.
Blockchain firm Coti developed Djed in collaboration with Cardano’s core developer, Input
Output, and it designed the stablecoin to bring much-needed stability to the DeFi protocols in
the Cardano ecosystem.
Stablecoins are important for a blockchain ecosystem to function properly.
If you recall, in 2010, someone bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoin. At the time these were
worth about $41. In today’s market that’s about $220 million.
There are many similar regretful transactions in crypto’s history. Stablecoins solve this
problem, so you can enjoy your pizza and hold on to your valuable cryptos.
Djed should remain close to the U.S. dollar, with each stablecoin backed by a surplus of
Cardano’s native cryptocurrency, ADA. This overcollateralization makes it a stable alternative
to volatile cryptocurrencies, and it’s similar to the Dai stablecoin in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Djed will integrate into 40 apps within the Cardano ecosystem. It already received support
from decentralized exchanges Minswap, WingRiders, and MuesliSwap.
Additionally, Djed has a minting and burning mechanism like Dai, making it a versatile and
valuable addition to the crypto ecosystem.
The Coti team has also announced plans to launch DjedPay, a service that will allow
merchants and other crypto players to accept payments in the stablecoin. This will bring even
more value and liquidity to the Cardano ecosystem.
The launch of Djed is a significant step forward in the world of stablecoins and brings much-
needed stability to the DeFi protocols.
Action to Take: Hold Cardano (ADA).
Compound (COMP)
Compound is a marketplace for crypto investors to lend and borrow their digital assets.
On January 16, a developer from the Compound CommunityX created a proposal to outline a
clear and easy-to-follow process for Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains to obtain a
special license from Compound Governance.
[EVM is an environment for executing smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. An EVM-
chain refers to a blockchain network that runs on the Ethereum Virtual Machine.]
This license will allow for the official recognition of Compound III deployments on these
chains.
With the recent launch of Compound III, users can easily deploy the protocol across any
EVM-compatible chain.
This new process will enable the community to support and recognize Compound
deployments on other EVM chains, where transaction fees are lower and total value locked is
growing. This allows Compound to maintain its competitive edge.
This new process may make deployment take longer… But the benefits of having a sustainable
process to deploy Compound III on multiple EVM-compatible chains is worth it.
The proposal is currently undergoing a technical evaluation. Afterward, it will go to a vote in
Compound Governance.
Deploying COMP on multiple chains will greatly expand its ecosystem to millions of new
users and increase its demand.
Action to Take: Buy Compound (COMP) up to $800.
Uniswap (UNI)
Uniswap is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange.
Earlier this month, the Uniswap community voted to deploy on the BNB Chain as part of its
effort to expand beyond its roots.
BNB Chain is one of the largest layer-1 blockchain with over 250 million unique addresses.
BNB Chain is also compatible with Ethereum so developers can easily adapt to the new chain.
The move to BNB Chain will enable Uniswap to tap into a growing ecosystem of projects and
users on the network. It reduces the high transaction fees and congestion issues that are still
being resolved on Ethereum.
Uniswap holders seem to be responding positively to the news, as Cointelegraph reports that
many are ditching Ethereum for BNB chain to take advantage of the benefits.
But the expansion doesn’t stop there, as Uniswap has also passed a proposal to deploy its
latest version, Uniswap V3, to the Boba Network, as reported by Messari. This move will
further increase Uniswap’s reach and accessibility, particularly in Asia.
Uniswap will welcome over 2.6 million weekly users on the BNB chain and Boba Network. As
it will drive more demand for the UNI governance token.
Action to Take: Buy Uniswap (UNI) up to $15.
Aave (AAVE)
Aave is an open-source blockchain protocol for earning interest on supplying and borrowing
assets.
On January 27, Aave launched its third version of its protocol on Ethereum following a
successful vote by the Aave DAO.
Ethereum joins Arbitrum, Avalanche, Fantom, Harmony, Optimism, and Polygon, which
Aave added in 2022.
Aave v3 on Ethereum will support seven assets at launch, including wrapped bitcoin,
wrapped ether, wrapped staked ether, USDC, Dai, Link, and Aave.
The launch of Aave v3 on Ethereum is part of the DeFi protocol’s multi-chain approach, with
Aave v3 already running on six other chains.
Aave v2 on Ethereum is currently the largest DeFi lender by total volume locked, with over
$3.5 billion worth of assets under its control, according to DefiLlama.
Overall, the launch of Aave v3 on Ethereum is a positive development for the DeFi space and
brings with it new opportunities for users to lend and borrow assets on the platform.
Action to Take: Buy Aave (AAVE) up to $250.
Synthetix (SNX)
Synthetix is a synthetic asset protocol that allows users to mint new crypto assets that mimic
both real-world assets (like the U.S. dollar) and crypto assets.
The current version of the Synthetix protocol has technical limitations that make it
complicated for some inexperienced users. But that’s all about to change with the proposed
redesign of the Synthetix protocol.
Synthetix V3 will bring significant benefits to the system, making it more user-friendly.
On February 10, the developer team proposed a design that will bring a more versatile and
efficient mechanism to Synthetix. It supports features like multi-collateral staking,
customizable debt positions, and permissionless synths.
The developers will achieve this by segmenting the debt pool into individual markets, giving
stakers the flexibility to choose how much liquidity to provide to each Synthetix market.
In short, these changes to Synthetix will make it more versatile and easier to use. We’re
looking forward to seeing the improvements and how it will impact the DeFi space.
Action to Take: Buy Synthetix (SNX) up to $21.
Binance (BNB)
Binance is one of the world’s leading blockchain ecosystems, with a product suite that
includes the largest digital asset exchange and an open-source blockchain.
On February 1, BNB Chain was proud to announce the release of the BNB Greenfield white
paper. This introduces a revolutionary new structural and economic paradigm for data
storage in Web3.
It consists of a trinity that works in concert to provide a novel decentralized data storage
system with the users at the center.
Binance stores the users’ metadata on the BNB Greenfield blockchain, while it stores the rest
of the data off-chain with a decentralized network of storage providers.
BNB Greenfield utilizes BNB as its native token and becomes the third blockchain in the BNB
Chain ecosystem alongside BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain.
The potential use cases for BNB Greenfield are endless… from personal cloud storage and
publishing platforms to a new social media model where users can directly own and monetize
their content and personal network.
The BNB Chain core developer team is actively engaging with Amazon Web Services (AWS),
NodeReal, and Blockdaemon and have already begun work on BNB Greenfield, with plans for
testnet in the coming months.
The launch of the BNB Greenfield white paper is just the first step in a journey toward greater
data independence. It creates true data ownership for users, builders, and the broader Web3
community.
Action to Take: Hold Binance (BNB).
Chainlink (LINK)
Chainlink is a decentralized network that enables smart contracts to securely interact with
real-world data and services.
The continued adoption of DeFi in 2022 as an alternative global financial system has brought
many challenges for the blockchain industry. And the collapse of centralized crypto platforms
such as FTX, BlockFi, and Celsius has further increased the demand for DeFi.
However, despite these challenges, Chainlink has continued to operate as expected, keeping
DeFi and the entire blockchain industry safe by securely enabling trillions of dollars in on-
chain transaction value.
Chainlink’s continued adoption among leading smart contract teams and top global
enterprises is a testament to its ability to meet the growing demand for DeFi.
Here are some of the most significant milestones showing the community’s massive progress
building Chainlink in 2022:
$7 trillion in Transaction Value Enabled (TVE). TVE is the sum of the USD value of all
transactions enabled by a protocol.
8 billion data points delivered on-chain. Cumulatively, Chainlink Data Feeds have
delivered billions of data points to dApps across multiple blockchains.
700,000 verifications of crypto reserves. Chainlink Proof of Reserve provides
transparency around the reserves backing stablecoins and other digital assets.
1,600 projects in the Chainlink ecosystem. It’s now one of the largest ecosystems in
Web3.
Chainlink’s developers have put an immeasurable amount of hard work and effort into
building a network that’s secure and reliable, and as a result, it will play a significant role in
the future of the crypto industry and the global economy.
Action to Take: Buy Chainlink (LINK) up to $10.
Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche is an open, programmable smart contracts platform for dApps.
2022 was a wild ride for the crypto industry, with the bear market commencing in January
and the collapse of LUNA and UST in the spring. And finally, when we thought it was over,
the fourth quarter brought a final twist with the failure of FTX and the contagion that
followed.
Despite the fallout of those events, Avalanche’s quarterly report reveals its ecosystem has
remained strong throughout 2022, and we’re expecting more growth in 2023.
Avalanche continued to push toward adoption in 2022 with several subnet upgrades,
integrations with big players like Alibaba and Shopify, and expansion into exciting areas like
DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi.
[Subnets are application-specific blockchains within the wider Avalanche ecosystem. Each
subnet can have its own purpose. Subnet validators must also validate the main Avalanche
blockchain.]
Additionally, user experience was a big focus, with upgrades to Avalanche’s Core wallet.
Daily active addresses remained flat throughout the quarter, with a spike in October due to a
surge in NFT minting. Meanwhile, average daily transactions continued to rise, finishing the
year at around 2.9 million transactions per day.
The growth in transactions benefits AVAX holders as the network continues to burn
transaction fees, with over 2 million AVAX burned as of December 2022.
The future looks bright for Avalanche. With hundreds of subnets in development on its
testnet, the value will come from two sources: expanding the security of the entire network
and generating demand for security for each subnet.
If 100 subnets go live in 2023, it would require $2.75 million in financial capital to secure the
network and generate demand for 800 validators, driving up demand for AVAX.
As the native token of Avalanche, AVAX is a means of payment for transaction fees, staking,
and participating in governance decisions.
As the platform continues to grow and attract more users, the demand for AVAX will
increase.
Action to Take: Buy Avalanche (AVAX) up to $125.
Ethereum Name Service (ENS)
Ethereum Name Service (ENS) allows blockchains to use easy-to-read domain names like
internet websites instead of long alphanumeric character addresses.
Instead of a random string of letters and numbers, you can easily send funds to a short, easy
to remember address like “PBRG.eth” for example.
On February 10, ENS released its last quarterly report of 2022. Despite a dip in the overall
markets and volume in the fourth quarter, the long-term outlook for ENS remains incredibly
positive.
After reaching an all-time high in the third quarter of 2022, domain registrations dropped by
73% in the fourth quarter. Similarly, domain renewals decreased 17% from the peak in the
third quarter.
However, on a year-over-year basis, registrations and renewals increased 31% and 295%,
respectively.
And despite total revenue from registrations and renewals having decreased 63% quarter-
over-quarter in USD terms, it still showed a 30% increase in ETH terms.
The ownership of ENS domains has been largely driven by returning domain owners who
have already registered other names in the past. And despite a decrease in daily active users
in the fourth quarter of 2022, the potential for attracting new first-time domain owners is still
there.
ENS is revolutionizing the way we interact with blockchain addresses, making it easier and
more user-friendly. While there may have been some slowdown in the number of
registrations and renewals, the potential for growth and usage of ENS domains is still there,
as is the demand for its governance token, ENS.
Action to Take: Buy Ethereum Name Service (ENS) up to $20.
Chiliz (CHZ/USD)
The Chiliz Layer-1 blockchain is now live, and it comes with a rebranding that includes a new
logo.
Chiliz will allow more Web3 developers and brands to join and build on its ecosystem.
Chiliz has already partnered with more than 170 major sporting organizations through its fan
rewards and engagement app, Socios.com.
The app works with some of the largest sports communities in the world, including FC
Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, and many more.
With the Chiliz blockchain, sports and entertainment brands and developers can build:
DeFi products.
Play2Earn games.
Arena engagement experiences.
Web3-ready ticketing and payments.
Collectible memorabilia for a frictionless Web3 environment.
Chiliz will also announce several enterprise-level projects in the coming months, including
NFT ticketing pilots, third-party athlete-focused Fan Tokens, and Web3 infrastructure
partners for other sports and entertainment projects.
Chiliz’ native token, CHZ, is the fuel for the entire Chiliz ecosystem, including all of its dApps.
CHZ token holders will also be able to receive rewards for staking on the network.
Chiliz’ focus is on unlocking the potential of Web3 for sporting fan communities. The growth
of its network of entertainment brands, developers, and fans creates a long-term bullish
outlook for the CHZ token.
There’s no action you need to take with your tokens. We’ll update you once exchanges launch
support for the new network and provide you with a secure wallet to store your tokens.
Action to Take: Buy Chiliz (CHZ) up to $0.30.
Hut 8 Mining (HUT)
Hut 8 Mining is one of the largest and oldest bitcoin mining companies in the space. On
February 7, it announced plans to merge with US Bitcoin (USBTC) to form Hut 8 Corp.
USBTC builds some of the largest bitcoin mining facilities and currently operates four bitcoin
mining centers across the United States.
This merger will result in a new company based in the U.S. with a total self-mining capacity of
5.6 exahashes per second and access to 825 megawatts across six sites with self-mining,
hosting, and managed infrastructure operations.
[An exahash is equivalent to 1 quintillion hashes. This number is the total amount of
computing power that’s dedicated to the creation of bitcoin. As the hash rate rises, the
network becomes stronger and safer.]
That would make it the ninth-largest bitcoin mining operation in the world.
This merger will improve the company’s financial stability, diversify its revenue stream, and
strengthen its position as a leader in the bitcoin mining industry.
There’s no action shareholders need to take. If the merger goes through, you’ll receive 0.2
shares of common stock for each share of Hut 8 stock you own.
The merger is pending court and regulatory approvals. The deal should finalize in the second
quarter. We’ll continue to update you on the progress as we get more details.
Action to Take: Buy Hut 8 Mining (HUT) up to $8.

Mobile Notifications

Palm Beach Research Group now has a smartphone app. You can use it to get instant
notifications whenever we publish something new, access all your subscriptions, view
portfolio pages, and more.
To make sure you don’t miss any time-sensitive alerts, updates, or monthly issues,
download the Palm Beach Research Group app for Android or iOS.
This feature is available for international and U.S. subscribers and aims to send alerts
instantaneously to all members. Make sure push notifications are enabled through your
phone settings to receive alerts from the app.
Important note about emails and text messages: We strive to deliver all of our
alerts as quickly as possible. Due to the nature of email, SMS, and app notifications, we
aren’t able to guarantee each user will receive our communications at exactly the same
time. Deliverability depends on your location, your internet service provider, and internet
traffic, among other variables.

Risk Management Strategy

At Palm Beach Confidential, we take protecting your wealth seriously. To mitigate risk, we
use risk-adjusted position sizes.
Since we take a venture capital approach to investing in crypto, we place a set, uniform
amount of capital in each recommendation. We don’t go all-in on any single trade.
For investors with smaller accounts, we recommend investing no more than $200–500 in
any recommendation. For investors with larger accounts, we recommend $500–1,000 per
recommendation.
However, due to the inherent volatility in crypto, we won’t be using stop-losses. We don’t
want to exit out of good positions during a market temper tantrum.
That’s why it’s crucial to use rational position sizes. This will allow you to sleep well at
night, yet still position yourself for 10x gains or more.
The Final Halving Portfolio
Open Open Recent Stop
Investment Date Price Price Return Loss Notes

Polygon 12/08/21 $2.34 $1.33 -43.2% None Buy up to $4. Position Size: $200-
(MATIC/USD) 400 for smaller investors and $500-
1,000 for larger investors

The Sandbox 12/08/21 $5.37 $0.76 -85.8% None Hold

(SAND/USD)

Helium 12/08/21 $29.80 $2.70 -90.9% None Hold

(HNT/USD)

Stacks 12/08/21 $2.31 $0.34 -85.3% None Buy up to $5. Position Size: $200-
(STX/USD) 400 for smaller investors and $500-
1,000 for larger investors

Illuvium 12/08/21 $1359.43 $86.91 -93.6% None Hold

(ILV/USD)

The Hyper Boom Portfolio

Open Open Recent Stop
Investment Date Price Price Return Loss Notes

0x (ZRX/USD) 09/20/18 $0.54 $0.25 -53.1% None Buy up to $3. Position Size: $200-400 for
smaller investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

*Curve 12/17/20 $0.64 $1.15 78.8% None Buy up to $5. Position Size: $200-400 for
(CRV/USD) smaller investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

CELO 05/25/21 $2.99 $0.81 -72.7% None Buy up to $12. Position Size: $200-400
(CELO/USD) for smaller investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Lido DAO 09/15/21 $5.34 $2.84 -46.7% None Buy up to $12. Position Size: $200-400
(LDO/USD) for smaller investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

The Catch-Up Portfolio

Open Open Recent Stop
Investment Date Price Price Return Loss Notes

Dash 05/25/17 $132.69 $73.56 -44.6% None Buy up to $800. Position Size: $200-
(DASH/USD) 400 for smaller investors and $500-
1,000 for larger investors
 Open Open Recent Stop
Investment Date Price Price Return Loss Notes

Oxen 09/17/19 $0.13 $0.18 35.3% None Hold

(OXEN/USD)

Zcash 11/11/20 $58.79 $47.16 -19.8% None Buy up to $85. Position Size: $200-400
(ZEC/USD) for smaller investors and $500-1,000
for larger investors

Cosmos 11/11/20 $5.00 $14.28 185.6% None Buy up to $10. Position Size: $200-400
(ATOM/USD) for smaller investors and $500-1,000
for larger investors

Cryptocurrencies
Open Open Recent Stop
Investment Date Price Price Return Loss Notes

Storj (STORJ/USD) 04/20/17 $0.34 $0.42 25.9% None Buy up to $1.00. Position
Size: $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) 04/18/16 $375.50 $24311.90 6374.5% None Buy up to $75,000. Position
Size: $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Ether (ETH/USD) 04/18/16 $9.00 $1675.16 18512.9% None Buy up to $5,000. Position
Size: $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Basic Attention 06/07/17 $0.27 $0.31 17.5% None Buy up to $0.35. Position
Token (BAT/USD) Size: $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Gas (GAS/USD) 08/14/17 $22.64 $3.25 -85.7% None Hold

Stellar (XLM/USD) 12/20/17 $0.24 $0.09 -61.6% None Hold

Cardano 01/12/18 $0.77 $0.42 -45.9% None Hold

(ADA/USD)

VeChain 03/12/18 $0.04 $0.03 -31.6% None Hold

(VET/USD)
 Open Open Recent Stop
Investment Date Price Price Return Loss Notes

*Compound 12/17/20 $168.20 $50.38 -70.0% None Buy up to $800. Position Size:
(COMP/USD) $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

*Uniswap 10/15/20 $3.03 $6.93 128.7% None Buy up to $15. Position Size:
(UNI/USD) $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

*Aave (AAVE/USD) 12/17/20 $84.35 $89.41 6.0% None Buy up to $250. Position Size:
$200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

*Balancer 12/17/20 $13.01 $7.24 -44.3% None Hold

(BAL/USD)

*Synthetix 12/17/20 $5.21 $2.73 -47.5% None Buy up to $21. Position Size:
(SNX/USD) $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

*Yearn.finance 12/17/20 $26757.00 $7426.19 -72.2% None Hold

(YFI/USD)

NEO (NEO/USD) 02/16/17 $0.13 $9.30 7312.8% None Hold

Binance 11/29/17 $1.88 $317.36 16781.0% None Hold

(BNB/USD)

Enjin-Coin 01/23/20 $0.09 $0.48 461.8% None Hold

(ENJ/USD)

Monero 09/15/16 $8.46 $165.53 1856.7% None Hold

(XMR/USD)

KeeperDAO 02/19/21 $574.65 $15.55 -97.3% None Hold

(ROOK/USD)

Unibright 05/19/21 $1.23 $0.19 -84.2% None Hold

(UBT/USD)

The Graph 05/21/21 $0.79 $0.19 -76.4% None Buy up to $1.20. Position
(GRT/USD) Size: $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors
 Open Open Recent Stop
Investment Date Price Price Return Loss Notes

Chainlink 05/16/19 $0.85 $7.28 755.0% None Buy up to $10. Position Size:
(LINK/USD) $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

THORChain 07/07/21 $7.19 $1.81 -74.8% None Buy up to $10. Position Size:
(RUNE/USD) $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Yield Guild Games 11/18/21 $8.52 $0.32 -96.3% None Hold

(YGG/USD)

Lukso (LYXE/USD) 01/20/22 $13.96 $11.30 -19.1% None Hold

Avalanche 02/17/22 $87.35 $19.87 -77.3% None Buy up to $125. Position Size:
(AVAX/USD) $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

JUNO (JUNO/USD) 03/17/22 $39.15 $1.32 -96.6% None Hold

Loopring 04/21/22 $0.92 $0.44 -52.4% None Buy up to $1.50. Position

(LRC/USD) Size: $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Ethereum Name 05/19/22 $12.09 $15.46 27.8% None Buy up to $20. Position Size:
Service (ENS/USD) $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Quant (QNT/USD) 09/15/22 $101.11 $145.17 43.6% None Buy up to $150. Position Size:
$200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Chiliz (CHZ/USD) 10/20/22 $0.17 $0.14 -14.3% None Buy up to $0.30. Position
Size: $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors

Rocket Pool 02/16/23 $46.96 $47.46 1.1% None Buy up to $60. Position Size:
(RPL/USD) $200-400 for smaller
investors and $500-1,000 for
larger investors
Stocks
Open Open Recent Stop
Investment Date Price Price Return Loss Notes

Hut 8 Mining (HUT) 04/16/20 $0.47 $1.98 321.3% None Buy up to $8. Position Size: $200-
400 for smaller investors and
$500-1,000 for larger investors

Galaxy Digital 04/13/21 $33.80 $3.65 -89.2% None Buy up to $42.25. Position Size:
Holdings (BRPHF) $200-400 for smaller investors and
$500-1,000 for larger investors

MicroStrategy 04/13/21 $848.54 $284.03 -66.5% None Buy up to $1,060. Position Size:
(MSTR) $200-400 for smaller investors and
$500-1,000 for larger investors

(T) = Trailing Stop

(H) = Hard Stop
* These digital assets are owned by Routemaster Capital, Inc. and/or its wholly owned
subsidiary, Defi Technologies, Inc. Teeka Tiwari is the Executive Chairman of
Routemaster Capital, Inc. Palm Beach Research Group, its parents and subsidiaries are
not affiliated with Routemaster Capital, Inc. or Defi Technologies, Inc.

Palm Beach Research

Group now has a
smartphone app.

To make sure you don’t

miss any time-sensitive
alerts, updates, or monthly
issues, download the Palm
Beach Research Group app
for Android or iOS.