DTF with ETF

a cute ETH ETF filing, DEXs get served, Solana Settlements

September 10, 2023

gm,

Thanks to everyone that came out to our NYFW event with LUKSO this week. Recap here, pics coming soon!

Club happenings:

Bye!

The Boys

Writer: Deana

ETH ETF. When will we stfu about ETFs? Honestly idk! As of this week, it’s not just about Bitcoin ETFs. Big money folks (read: Cathie Wood at Ark Invest) have submitted ETF applications for our beloved ETH. S/o to Rileybeans for the *chef’s kiss* subject line of today’s newsletter. It’s funny because it’s true.

DEXs under fire. You know the Coexist bumper sticker? Someone should send that to the bros at the CFTC, who levied fines and cease-and-desist orders against three DeFi platforms this week: Matcha (0x’s DEX aggregator), Opyn and Deridex. Leave DEX's alone! These platforms were fined for failing to register their derivatives trading offerings, specifically leveraged tokens. As ever, this regulatory action could serve as a brutal precedent.

Solana Settlements. Visa announced this week that it will be testing out a stablecoin settlement pilot with Solana. Settlement refers to the series of steps that happens between banks and financial intermediaries, behind the scenes, when a payment or money transfer is initiated. “Inefficient” would probably be a generous descriptor of this system. Crypto blows up this process completely, making it much faster and cheaper, especially international settlements. So, v. bullish overall, though it is just a pilot. Also, not to be that guy, but what will they do when Solana goes down?

This week we were gifted a product review masterpiece, authored by Kelly.

Product Review: Lucy (Nicotine for Normal People)

“On a recent summer trip to Iceland, I tried Lucy gum as my go-to source of nicotine, to stimulate my days of hiking and working from cafes. Lucy is an enjoyable and clever product that I will continue to use and rep, for now.

Easy to open (iykyk): Lucy’s packaging looks and functions just like normal gum. Brilliant really, and unfathomable that no one executed on this sooner.

Clean nicotine (is cute!): Lucy distinctly rejects tobacco as a nicotine source and aims to transition to 100% lab-produced nicotine soon. This approach leans into nicotine as a chemical that has cognitive benefits (Huberman said so!) when isolated properly. Note: not FDA approved yet (all things in time).

Fun & fem: From the graphics, to the values, to the flavors themselves, Lucy’s brand overflows with a smart degenerate feminine aesthetic. And I’m here for that. Fem-coded degeneracy is on the rise and Lucy is trailblazing this movement. As the early Steve Jobs said, aesthetics are everything.

An aside on flavors: Flavors appear Hi-Chew inspired, including mango, espresso, berry-citrus and straight up mint. Berry citrus is my favorite after sampling mint and mango (flavors are pre-determined in bulk orders - it would be nice to have flexibility here). Important to note that “mint” is actually “spearmint” but not labeled as such (this flavor lasts the longest of the 3 sampled, by orders of magnitude.) Mango has a hint of unexpected spice, but simmers down pretty quickly.

Pretty quick: experience lasts approx. 1 hour (longer for mint flavor, see above), compared to the 4hr+ ride of Nicorette (which, tbh, is probably overkill.) One could run numbers on the cost/time of one vs. the other but that is well beyond the scope of this review.

Fair price point: a 9 pack (10 pieces/pack) sells at $39.99, regardless of strength (2-6mg). For the attention to quality and branding, this is reasonable.

Punchline: Lucy is cool. Finally we have a non-smoking, non-vaping (no knock on either of these - just nice to have viable alternatives) nicotine source that doesn’t nauseate the user and is both packaged and delivered in a way that doesn’t alienate the user either. Hats off to the Lucy team.”

Love this newsletter? Refer your friends & earn coveted Boys Club apparel, including our not-for-sale BoysClub.eth hats. Don’t be shy, your friends will thank you.