I asked 100+ people about this

It’s Sunday. Sit down and relax:

• Trump pumped again – Trump Tower now accepts crypto payments, proving once again that crypto and conservative politics are having quite the love affair these days.

• Mastercard goes all-in on stablecoins – Through a partnership with Nuvei, merchants can now accept stablecoin payments like USDC through Mastercard's network, even if customers pay with fiat.

• Ethereum Foundation drops major update – The EF published a vision document with actual substance: scaling Layer-1, expanding blobspace, and finally making Ethereum usable for normal humans (?).

• Berlin Blockchain Week is coming to w3.hub – After weeks of teasing, I can finally spill the details on our multi-floor event series happening June 9-22.

• Staking economics 101 – With over $100B currently staked across major networks, staking has evolved from a niche technical concept to one of crypto's most reliable yield generators.

GM everyone and welcome to cc'd, the newsletter that's once again landing in your inbox two days late, because let's be honest, May 1st in Berlin is just crazy. As an apology, I've brought you a healthy mix of Web3 updates and w3 updates.

Besides my job as co-founder of w3.group and amateur reporter for this newsletter, LinkedIn, and sometimes X (though I still feel like a boomer there), I'm currently training my working student Nafiza (there's a little shoutout post about her here) to become a significant support in our marketing team.

Right now, I'm doing the splits between Berlin Blockchain Week and w3.labs - both topics that are top of mind in today's issue. And regardless of which day of the week it is, I go you cc'd.

Usually, the nuggets come at the end of the newsletter. But since this format was well received in the last issue, and I'm listening to your feedback (most of the time, lol), here's an overview of the top headlines before we dive deeper into my week:

• Trump pumped again – Trump Tower now accepts crypto payments, proving once again that crypto and conservative politics are having quite the love affair these days.

• Mastercard goes all-in on stablecoins – Through a partnership with Nuvei, one of the world's largest acquirers, merchants can now accept stablecoin payments like USDC through Mastercard's payment network, even if their customers pay with fiat.

• Abu Dhabi launches sovereign stablecoin – The UAE's sovereign wealth fund is teaming up with First Abu Dhabi Bank to launch their own stablecoin, because apparently every country wants their own digital currency now (looking at you, Hong Kong).

• Elon's AI gets an upgrade – Elon Musk announced that Grok 3.5 will launch in early beta next week, promising it can explain rocket science better than actual rocket scientists (classic Elon move).

• Ripple reportedly tried to buy Circle – XRP issuer Ripple reportedly offered $4-5B to acquire USDC stablecoin issuer Circle.

• Visa expands crypto in Latin America – The payments giant continues its aggressive push into crypto adoption across emerging markets, because nothing says "we need alternatives" quite like sky-high inflation.

• Web3 dev sentiment check (Token2049 edition) – Nader Dabit shared an interesting thread about the state of Web3 development, confirming what I've been saying: the builders are still building, just with less hype and more substance.

• The Ethereum Foundation published a comprehensive vision document outlining their new structure and goals. And let me tell you, it's not the typical corporate BS – they're getting specific about what matters: scaling Layer-1, expanding blobspace, and actually making Ethereum usable for normal humans (finally!).

For weeks, we've been teasing what's happening during Berlin Blockchain Week at w3.hub. And while you've been wondering which dates to keep free and which events to attend, I can finally announce: the wait is over.

🚀 What's on our agenda?

• Summits

• Hackathons

• Community runs

• Raves And much more, all centered around the most disruptive technologies in the industry!

What exactly will happen at w3.hub? Read the following carefully with a little bit of fantasy: Imagine a space so engaging you won't want to leave. That's what we're creating at w3.hub:

• Multiple floors of activities

• Seamless event-hopping (stairs or elevator – you choose!)

• A new discovery at every turn

What was top of mind during planning? Avoiding the stuff that can be annoying at crypto events.

And even better: you basically never need to leave w3.hub between June 9-22 – depends on the events you signed up for and whether they're open for everyone or closed gatherings.

It feels almost like a festival with multiple stages and all your favorite acts cough ecosystems onsite, while also taking care of basic needs (food, sports, dogs...) – all in our building.

The first events are officially live – check out our BBW calendar and don't forget to subscribe, as more events will be added in the coming weeks → subscribers will be the first to know when and what's happening.

And if you want to host your own event or contribute to the community, there's a 30-second typeform here AND a reference post that I found really cool:

Okay folks, I've got one more: if you can't wait 4 weeks to surround yourself with hungry builders, you're obviously reading this newsletter at exactly the right time:

The Solana Build Station is happening for the fifth (!!) time in 3 years on the 3rd floor of w3.hub. That means: 2 whole weeks of a floor full of builders working together and learning from each other during the Colosseum hackathon. Community through and through.

More on this in my current LinkedIn post (at what point does it become cringe to reference yourself?):

If you've been following our Web3 Investor Briefing (if not, what are you waiting for?), you'll know we've been diving deep into staking economics lately. And for good reason – staking has evolved from a niche technical concept to a fundamental part of crypto's value proposition.

The following is a mix of the 'Staking Sector Overview' and the latest issue of our Web3 Investor Briefing excerpt from Tom König:

The numbers don't lie: we're looking at over $100B in staked assets across the major PoS networks, with Ethereum alone accounting for more than half of that value. What started as a security mechanism has transformed into one of crypto's most reliable yield generators.

But not all staking is created equal. The mechanics differ significantly across chains:

• Ethereum staking yields have stabilized around 3-4% annually – not exactly making you rich overnight, but still outperforming many traditional savings accounts

• Solana offers a more generous 6-7%, but with different validator economics

• Cosmos ecosystem chains often provide 8-15% but come with higher volatility and risk

After launching w3.labs, we surveyed 100+ people in our community and found four consistent barriers most people face:

• Many still don't understand the fundamental benefits

• Tax concerns create hesitation (especially in Germany)

• Documentation and reporting remain major pain points

• Complexity pushes users toward centralized platforms by default

The staking landscape offers several approaches, each with tradeoffs:

• Exchange staking: User-friendly but sacrifices self-custody (Coinbase, Binance)

• Liquid staking: Maintains capital efficiency but creates tax complications (Lido, Rocket Pool)

• Delegated staking: Balances control and ease-of-use (Solana, Cosmos chains)

• Running validators: Maximum control but requires technical expertise

That’s it.

See you next week 💅🏽

And while we're at it:

I'm on LinkedIn.

I'm on X.

Always here at w3.hub.

Active in the w3.group. Follow on LinkedIn to keep up with our projects.