Web3 Round Up 10.30.23
A roundup of activity in NFT, Metaverse, Gaming and AI
Brand Web3 Activity
Reddit Collaborates with Deadfellaz
Reddit has continued to expand its popular Polygon based NFT avatar program most recently with a collection that spans several artists all celebrating the Halloween theme
Reddit’s avatar program usually incorporates Reddit based artists
And while this drop is no different, “Deadfellaz”, a popular web3 project was aptly included
DeadFellaz released 3 avatars that could be minted 1050 times
The avatars sold out in seconds making them one of the fastest selling pieces in the collection
Overall this artist focused Halloween drop is selling much better than Reddit’s last collaboration with the NFL
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Maison Margiela Mints Soulbound Collection
Paris based fashion house, Maison Margiela, is entering the world of web3 through a gamified mint
The game is simple: upon loading the web page there is a timer that counts up to 23
Each number can be minted but doing so resets the timer to zero - the first 100 people with all 23 numbers win
The collection is on Polygon and Maison Margiela is paying user gas fees
The collection is also soul bound, meaning owners cannot transfer or sell these NFTs
Soulbound collections are something luxury brands are starting to lean more into as it allows them to set a price and never let low price assets reflect poorly on the brand
What winners with all 24 tokens will receive has not been revealed nor has any future uses of these tokens
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Nike Floods Web3 with Multiple Product Drops
Nike and RTFKT have had a busy couple weeks in web3
First, .SWOOSH released their first physical pair of sneakers titled TINAJ
TINAJ was available for purchase if a user had revealed an OF1 Box NFT before October 16
However that only made the sneaker available to purchase within the Sneakers app, the TINAJ was a limited run sneaker and not every OF1 Box holder got to purchase one
Upon arrival of the physical sneakers, purchasers also received an unexpected digital twin NFT airdropped to their .SWOOSH profile
RTFKT is seeing a cultural resurgence in web3 as well
The Air Force 1 drop that was sold a couple months ago has started arriving to customers and most seem pleased with the design and quality
Some have already started to resell for a hefty price on traditional sneaker flipping sites such as StockX
Additionally, there was a special surprise for customers who minted all 10 color ways of the Air Force One
They will be receiving a “What the RTFKT” shoe that is limited at 40 pairs and consists of design elements of all 10 color ways
RTFKT also has a forging event (redeeming an NFT for a physical shoe) going on right now
This forging event centers on RTFKT’s take on the traditional Nike Dunk which can be minted in 3 color ways
At time of writing 8,658 shoes have been redeemed
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X to Charge All New Accounts a Nominal Fee to Fight Bots
Last Wednesday, X began rolling out a trial to the platform within New Zealand the the Philippines charging every newly created account $1 to access critical functions such as posting and reposting
This test is being done in an effort to curb the bot problem within the platform
Many have pointed out this is unlikely to work (on its own) as many bot accounts are already paying $8 for Twitter verification
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Snap and The Louvre Team Up
The Louvre has enlisted Snap’s AR functions to enhance their latest exhibition exploring ancient Egypt
The collaboration is titled “Egypt Augmented” and museum visitors will have the opportunity to launch augmented experiences at three different points within the exhibit
This collaboration marks the 200 year anniversary since Egyptian Hieroglyphics were cracked using the Rosetta Stone
Those unable to make it to the Louvre can check out a free face lens inspired by the exhibit on the snap platform
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Multiple Brands Confirmed for Ready Player Me Skins
Platform agnostic avatar company “Ready Player Me” is doubling down on collaborations with brands and IP when it comes to dressing up their avatars
Ready Player Me has recently announced it will be producing skins and wearables on its platform with Angry Birds, Warner Music, The Voice, McLaren and others
They will be joining an already impressive roster of collaborations that includes Adidas, New Balance, and BMW
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Native Web3
Twitter Troll Ryder Ripps and Pauly Ordered to Pay Yuga $1.5M Over Copyright Claim
Ryder Ripp’s created an alternative Bored Ape Yacht Club collection as a ‘satirical take’ on the original
It was determined that the collection did infringe on the original’s copyright leading to a $1.5M judgement in damages (and the collection’s smart contract to be transferred to Yuga)
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Azuki’s Beanz Collection Releases Vinyl Toy
Chiru Labs, the parent company behind Azuki and Beanz NFT collection, is raffling off 530 vinyl toys made after one of their most memorable Beanz “GUS”
The raffle can be entered by those who have a Beanz or Hoarder badge via the Azuki collector profile
Each toy will come equipped with a physical backed token and winners will only need to pay for shipping
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AI News
Deepfake Used to Sabotage Slovakia’s elections
A deepfake audio recording recently went viral days before Slovakia’s general election
The deepfake had two high ranking members of the left wing government discussing buying votes from an ethnic minority in Slovakia
The recording was only proven false after the voting in the the incredibly tight elections had taken place
While the exact damage of the deepfake is unknown many are calling this the first election swayed by AI
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Meta’s New AI Can Read Your Mind
Meta is working on brain scanning technology that decodes visual representations in the brain which are then paired with an AI to create real time visual representations of thoughts
In the short term this will help decode how a brain processes information, but in the long term it is potentially the start of technology that would allow humans to communicate telepathically and there is currently a debate on the ethics of mind privacy
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Universal Music Group Sues Amazon Backed AI Startup
Warner Music Group is suing Anthropic alleging unauthorized use of Universal’s music catalog to train their AI chatbots
Universal is joining in their lawsuit as well as 5 other prominent music labels and publishers
Universal is seeking $75M in damages
This case is the first major lawsuit by the music industry against an AI developer and the ruling in this case may set the framework for how AI developers interact with the music industry in the future
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Biden to Use Emergency Powers, Claiming AI is a National Security Threat
The order would compel major AI companies to notify the government when developing any system that ‘poses a serious risk to national security, national economic security or national public health and safety’
The broad nature of the order will give the government purview to intervene into a wide range of fast growing AI technologies
Metaverse / Gaming
Web3 Gaming Studio Neon Machine Raises $20M
Seattle based gaming studio, Neon Machine, has raised $20M in a Series A round led by Polychain Capital
The funds will be used to further develop Neon Machines upcoming release “Shrapnel” which is a free to play first person shooter that will incorporate NFT’s on the Avalanche blockchain
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Microsoft Completes Acquisition of Activision and Blizzard
After ongoing battles with regulators across a handful of countries Microsoft has officially acquired game publisher Activision Blizzard (Call Of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, Overwatch and more)
Microsoft has been acquiring game studios with increasing frequency
The latest acquisition brings the number of in game studios to over 23
Most recently they purchased Bethesda which publishes the popular Fallout and Elder Ring game series
Many have questioned if Microsoft is becoming too dominant in the gaming world with the latest acquisition being called the beginnings of a monopoly
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French Government Regulates NFT Games
In a win for crypto enabled gaming, the French government has ruled that games incorporating NFT’s and play to earn mechanics do not fall under the same regulation as gambling or regular video games
This paves the way for crypto enabled gaming to have a new set of regulatory frameworks crafted just for these types of games
Hopefully this will provide clarity for developers and startups who are launching NFT and crypto enabled games
The bill still needs to be approved the by the constitutional council before it becomes law
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Upland Raises $7M
Real estate centered crypto game Upland has just expanded its Series A raise with $7Million led by EOS network
This extension follows the $18M raise in 2021
The funds will go towards more features, a token tied to the Ethereum blockchain, and a marketing push
Upland has 3 million downloads, 30,000 daily active players and has had past collaborations with FIFA and the NFL Players Association
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Crypto
NYC AG Offices Sue Gemini, Genesis Trading and DCG
The NYC attorney general Letitia James has filled lawsuits against three crypto companies: Gemini, Genesis Trading and DCG
The AG claims that these companies lied to 232,000 investors and tried to hide over a billion dollars in losses
The three named companies have all put out statements reflecting their surprise and shock at the charges and their willingness to fight the allegations in court
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Ferrari to Accept Crypto Payments
Ferrari is now accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment in America with plans to expand this offering to Europe in Q1 2024
Ferrari is using BitPay as their Crypto payment processor and currently accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC
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Reddit Shutters Cryptocurrency Service
Reddit has shuttered its Community Points program that awarded helpful content creators with crypto tokens linked to specific subreddits
This program was ambitious and if it was successful may have been paradigm shifting in how content creators are paid for their services
Reddit cited uncertain regulation guidelines from the SEC as to why they were shuttering this service
This move is not without controversy as moderators and Reddit insiders dumped their tokens hours before the announcement, leaving many unsatisfied Reddit community members
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Circle is Building Web3 Solutions
Circle is attempting to create a one-stop-shop ecosystem for Blockchain developers and just released two new features: “Gas Station” and “Smart Contract Platform”
Gas Station allows developers to pay for customers’ gas directly through their credit cards
This allows for developers to sponsor gas for anyone minting from the contract
The Smart Contract Platform lets developers deploy smart contracts with a click of a button
The Smart Contract Platform currently can launch smart contracts on Ethereum, Polygon and Avalanche
The next feature to be rolled out will be a no code solution for Ethereum smart contracts.
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