🎉 Big news, Rocket Pool community! 🥳 The SEC just approved the first Ethereum ETF, and our #trading room on Discord is buzzing with excitement! Imagine Eth, our beloved decentralized hero, getting a shiny new badge of approval from the big leagues. It's like seeing our favorite digital star finally getting its moment in the spotlight! Picture the scene: the Rocket Pool crew, all gathered in the #trading room, decked out in virtual party hats, celebrating with confetti made of smart contracts, and raising glasses of pixelated champagne. 🥂 This ETF approval is more than just a win; it's a milestone worthy of a moonwalk! 🌕✨ Now, investors—whether they're new to the crypto world or seasoned pros—can jump into Ethereum as easily as buying a stock. It's like Eth has rolled out the red carpet, making it simpler than ever to be part of the revolution. And let's not forget the memes—oh, the glorious memes! Get ready for an onslaught of "ETH to the moon" jokes and celebratory GIFs flooding the chat. So, grab your virtual popcorn and join the fun in the #trading room. Eth's future is shining brighter and looking more mainstream than ever. 🚀💫 Here's to new beginnings and even bigger crypto dreams! 🥳🎉

SEC throws down new regs for crypto https://coinpedia.org/news/sec-drops-the-boomshell-on-crypto-defi-dealers-beware-big-changes-in-rule-unveiled/ FTX to refund Bitcoin to customers at prices below $18,000 https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/10/17/ftx-plans-to-return-90-of-customer-funds-but-theres-a-catch/ El Salvador re-elects Bukele which bodes well for Bitcoin's integration into the economy https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/02/05/el-salvador-embraces-future-with-bitcoin-as-bukele-secures-historic-victory/ GoDaddy integrates ENS and allows free linking of .com domains to BTC, ETH, etc addresses https://aboutus.godaddy.net/newsroom/company-news/news-details/2024/GoDaddy-and-Ethereum-Name-Service-Bridge-the-Gap-Between-Domain-Names-and-Crypto-Wallets/default.aspx Binance drops Monero after settling with FinCEN https://archive.is/N1c1l Solana goes down again https://thedefiant.io/solana-blockchain-is-live-after-5-hour-outage US Treasury intends to fight perceived crypto risks in stablecoins and bank runs https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/02/05/treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-warns-of-crypto-risks/ Ethereum Dencun upgrade set for March 13th https://twitter.com/sassal0x/status/1755597588701868108 Sotheby's is auctioning a Ether Rock https://twitter.com/Sothebysverse/status/1755677738239758644 Craig Wright trying to prove he's Satoshi again https://mashable.com/article/bitcoin-inventor-uk-lawsuit-craig-wright-satoshi-nakamoto Bitcoin deep dive

Trump says no to a CBDC under his presidency https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1747819823159972003?t=zI9X4AOvgUETvWosZ8P-fA&s=19 Judge in SEC vs Coinbase case wonders why SEC believes beanie babies are securities https://www.theblock.co/post/273221/judge-grills-the-sec-with-pointed-questions-as-coinbase-hearing-begins JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon talks about crypto for the last time again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eneB3s9bCdI BlackRock's Larry Fink says tokenization is the future https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/12/blackrocks-larry-fink-says-bitcoin-etfs-are-just-the-first-step-in-the-technological-revolution-of-finance.html Franklin Templeton gets dank https://decrypt.co/213281/franklin-templeton-layer-one-ethereum-solana-after-bitcoin Nethermind update broke itself. Before that Besu broke. If Geth breaks then over half the network loses their stake. https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/01/22/bug-on-ethereums-nethermind-software-sparks-discussion-of-client-diversity-risks/ DCinvestor gets Coinbase to begin switching away from Geth, Kraken as well https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1749552489509392696 If you value privacy please donate to Roman's Tornado Cash legal defense https://twitter.com/rstormsf/status/1749490246000238942 Superphiz dances for client diversity https://twitter.com/songadaymann/status/1749904704136532207

The Bitcoin spot ETF is finally here! https://blockworks.co/bitcoin-etf SEC twitter hacked and announces ETF approval early on Tuesday lol https://twitter.com/BTC_Archive/status/1744843666307400170 VanEck pledges 5% of ETF profits to BTC devs https://cointelegraph.com/news/vaneck-pledges-profits-core-devs-spot-bitcoin-etf Gary Gensler forced by courts to be deciding vote Yes on BTC ETF https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/01/11/gary-gensler-voted-to-approve-bitcoin-etfs-despite-public-criticism/ Vanguard and a few others block Bitcoin ETFs from their platform https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/wall-street-firms-block-client-access-new-spot-bitcoin-etfs Insane IRS tax rules now in effect since Jan 1st, prepare to become a felon https://twitter.com/NeerajKA/status/1742362328937746793 LUNA and MIR are officially securities https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/12/28/terraform-labs-luna-and-mir-tokens-are-securities-judge-rules/ Circle (USDC) files for IPO https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/11/circle-confidentially-files-for-ipo-following-banner-year-for-crypto-.html Optimism concludes Retroactive Public Goods Funding round 3 https://twitter.com/Optimism/status/1745490889294688593 Twitter removes NFT PFP support https://decrypt.co/212356/twitter-gives-up-nft-profile-pics-killing-ethereum-feature-paying-users Devcon 2024 in Thailand Nov 12-15 with Hodlercon the week afterwards https://devcon.org/

We had a blast swimming in Apple Valley Lake and diving even deeper into the future of Ethereum. We dipped our toes in a waterfall, wakeboarded (sort of) and talked Hodlercon 2024. For some of us, though, illness made it memorable as a literal hackathon. And we even have the T-shirts to show for it all. Eat. Swim. HODL.

This POAP celebrates the vision and leadership of Paul Brody. Paul's commitment to use of private transactions on the public Ethereum (and Polygon) blockchain for enterprise solutions is highly consistent with our shared vision of Ethereum. Ethfinance welcomes Paul's vision as we grow to understand more about our on-chain future. Holders of this POAP contributed $5 to the ongoing Earthquake relief to 0xCE4d5B5933B369e9c937ffCfBB9e3aeb3d2c265B (Anka Relief: Turkey Donation) through poap.checkout. POAP image by ShfRyn, POAP development by Superphiz.

The Ethereum Mainnet merged with the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake network on September 15, 2022. This marks the end of proof-of-work for Ethereum and a full transition to proof-of-stake. This historic upgrade is projected to reduce the Ethereum network's energy consumption by over 99% and sets the stage for future upgrades to further scale the Ethereum network. Holders of this POAP were there to witness the Ethereum Mainnet Merge with the rest of the community and signaled their support to the core developers of this enormous undertaking by sending roughly $10 of ETH to the Protocol DAO, directly funding protocol contributors. Special thanks to all of the client teams, researchers and core developers of the Ethereum Protocol, and to community leaders The Daily Gwei, Bankless, Ethereum Cat Herders, The Ethereum Foundation and EthStaker for their support in preparing the world for this moment. -https://thedailygwei.substack.com/ -https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/ -https://www.ethereumcatherders.com/ -https://ethereum.org/en/ -https://ethstaker.cc/

This hodler wished other Ethereum enthusiasts farewell at the “goodnight” brunch at the end of Hodlercon 2022’s “official” programming. Many of them endured the brutal 2019 crypto winter and vowed to celebrate the return to previous all-time high ether price together in Hawaii, if it made it. Ether surpassed it and these folks lived it up on Oahu for 10 days, with this event on June 24.

This hodler partook in Hodlercon’s marquee event, the Aha’aina Luau at the Royal Hawaiian Resort on June 23, 2022. They made a meme reality when they met with Ethereum enthusiasts from around the world after emerging from 2019’s crypto winter to celebrate 2020-2021’s bull market.