In this issue:

• This Week in Neo Tokyo: Hearing Things (by PhoenixxDown)

• Why is ETH Underperforming and What Does This Mean for Altcoins? (by CryptoTots)

• Meet Your Neo Tokyo Community Council: Sarah Block Editor (by PhoenixxDown)

Big congratulations to the new inductees of the Neo Tokyo Leads and Council teams!

Cryptoetheus, Co-AMA Lead and Co-Host of the Interlinked Podcast, joins the Council. With a background in PE Investing, Real Estate, Standup Comedy, Content Creation, and Entrepreneurship, Cryptoetheus brings a wealth of experience. A Jiu Jitsu practitioner and avid gamer, he believes in the NT Community’s powerful network and resilience.

Crasher has spent 14 years growing a company from a garage startup to a nearly 9-figure acquisition. Focused on collaboration, he is eager to share his knowledge and earn his role as a community lead. Crasher appreciates NT’s team spirit and helpfulness.

And last but not least, with 15 years in video production, LeBoomington is dedicated to building the Neo Tokyo Media Network and NTV. His team produces Web3 gaming content, and he values NT for the collaborative and visionary community he found from day one.

Welcome to our new leaders!

It was announced yesterday that The Citadel will be giving away 2000 BYTES each month to the top engagers on our X account! How do you participate and enrich yourself courtesy of the Bank of Neo Tokyo? Find out here via the full announcement.

Content wise, this is how things shaped up:

Interlinked Episode #29 - Our illustrious project manager, Firestorm, joins Ben and Nick for a deep dive into Firestorm's past, along with key discussions on BYTES, narrative vs utility, and incentivized building to name just a few.

NFT Market Monday - with special guest, ARQx, who are looking to change the game with their AI-to-IRL luxury jewelry design platform. We learned all about what they’re up to, and how you can try it out for yourself. Other topics included Blast, the question of “is airdrop season over?” and much more. Listen back here.

D3fenders AMA - The D3fenders team sat down with The Citadel to discuss their Web3 security company and their upcoming NFT collection, offering perks and access to their vault system. Listen back here.

InfiniGods AMA - The AMA team joined up with the mobile gaming studio who are building free-to-play Web3 games backed by Pantera Capital, for an in-depth discussion on various matters of interest including their game, King of Destiny, which is available to play on iOS and Android. Listen back here.

Gaming Cabal Megaspace - featuring the top founders in Crypto Gaming, our overlords, Becker and Ellio hosted yet another discussion with The Cabal. You need to catch up on this one if you weren’t able to catch it live. Listen back here.

We’re hearing things.

What’s this? Looks like something interesting is happening with Style Protocol:

And same with Naffles, another citizen led project:

Until next week, citizens.

Ethereum has been struggling lately, and if you’ve been watching the market, you might be wondering, "What’s going on with ETH?"

Let’s break it down and see what this means not just for ETH, but for the broader altcoin market.

One big issue is the regulatory landscape.

The U.S. SEC has been dragging its feet on approving a spot Ether ETF. Why? They can't seem to decide if ETH is a security or a commodity. This kind of limbo is like kryptonite for investor confidence. No one wants to dive into a market with so much uncertainty hanging over it​​.

Then there’s the competition.

Ethereum isn’t the only game in town anymore. Blockchains like Solana are stepping up their game. They’re attracting developers and users who might have otherwise stuck with Ethereum. It's like Ethereum is becoming a veteran star player, but the rookies are showing up with fresh moves and stealing the spotlight​.

Investor sentiment hasn’t been too rosy either.

The ether-bitcoin ratio is at its lowest since April 2021. Investors are leaning more towards Bitcoin, which has been more stable and profitable - especially due to its ETF action. Plus, we’re seeing significant outflows from Ethereum investment products. It’s a clear signal that confidence is waning.

And let's not forget the on-chain activity.

Ethereum's network has seen a decline in active addresses and transactions. And obviously, when fewer people are using the network, the price takes a hit. Recent changes like the Dencun upgrade were supposed to help, but they've made ETH inflationary, which isn’t exactly a selling point.

So What Does This Mean for Altcoins?

If Ethereum is the big ship, what happens to the smaller boats when it starts to take on water? Altcoins often follow Ethereum's lead, so ETH’s struggles could spell trouble for them too.

However, investors won’t sit there idle. They will start looking elsewhere, diversifying into other “promising” projects. This could be a golden opportunity for some project, but it also means the market could become more fragmented and volatile. More choices, more chaos.

Altcoins overall have been bleeding to BTC for a while already, and the BTC Dominance needs to top out before we see any serious action. While ETH is facing quite the storm capping its growth and creating a challenging environment, this could also be a period of transformation.

Besides your existing long-term convictions, I wouldn’t dip my toes in the Alts market for now. But I would surely recommend you watch closely, get a game plan in place, and be ready to act when the tides turn. Afterall, a crypto euphoria is imminent.

• Discord ID: block_editor

• Background: Professional writing

• Entered Crypto: 2018

• Joined NT: S2 mint

• Expertise: Copy, PR

• Dislikes Working on: Numbers

• Most Known For: Citizen Spotlights

• Reason for Joining Leads: To assist

• One Word: Mom

• Outside Interests: Homesteading

Sarah “Block Editor” was thrown into the hectic world of start-ups early on, assisting the marketing director of a $100M sports complex project. While her education was in professional writing, it was there that she learned the ins and outs of press releases, pitch decks, and the general world of preparing to launch something big. She took a long break to raise a family, but extenuating circumstances led her back into the world of start-ups, this time in web3.

In 2021, Block Editor dipped her toes back into writing, this time assisting with the development of whitepapers for gaming and other crypto based projects. She turned the side gig into a full fledged business providing document and writing services for web3 projects.

After following Becker for some time, but too busy to catch the first riddles, Block went all in during the S2 mint in order to gain entry into The Citadel. She even went so far as to recruit her nephew to play the PUBG games for her. The initial entry into the inner walls were hectic, but she knew there was value to be had inside. Block quickly found a home with the Neo Tokyo News team, contributing articles and citizen spotlights. Eventually, her other services became known and she has been assisting with whitepapers and decks throughout the community—including the Citizen Capital Pitch Deck.

Currently, Block Editor runs her business, TokenPR, full-time alongside her COO and fellow citizen, PhoenixxDown. At TokenPR, Block serves as the Managing Editor for several web3 news outlets, including Influencive.com and GeN3 Magazine. She also hosts the podcast "How I Met Web3" with citizen Mhl.eth.

GeN3, a print magazine, focuses on "Telling The Story of Web3," and featured another citizen, Brian D. Evans, in its inaugural issue. It covers a variety of topics in crypto, from gaming to DeFi. Recently, they have brought on a mixed media director to bring the images to life using AR.

Block joined the council to see where she could fill in the gaps and assist all the great minds already in there running the show. The Citadel had helped her grow her business to a level she never expected, and she hopes to give back what she can. Block currently hosts the Council and Lead spotlights in a series titled “Meet Your Citizens” and will continue the series diving in and featuring notable characters in Neo Tokyo weekly.

Citizens should reach out to Block if they are looking for help creating or polishing their launch documents/blogs and for PR services. 

Outside of web3, Block is a full time mom and hobby homesteader. Her farm boasts a herd of goats and several dozen chickens, and she hopes to attain a more sustainable lifestyle.

Follow Block Editor on X to stay up to date with one of our Community Leads.

This newsletter is sponsored by Virtue Poker. 

$VPP is live on Base! Stay tuned for more announcements on VPP tokenomics + utility upgrades for the ecosystem by joining their Discord server.

Get all the details below, and make sure you’re following them on X!

All content from Neo Tokyo News is for entertainment purposes only, and not financial advice.

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