Web3 Round Up 4-17-22

A roundup of activity in NFT, Metaverse, Gaming and AI

Brand Activity

Gucci Sells Physical Pendants + Metadata Upgrades to Otherside Holders

• Gucci launched a phygital collaboration with popular metaverse Otherside

• Purchasing the necklace not only got you a physical pe but also allowed users to update the metadata of their NFT

• This drop was only purchasable using the Yuga cryptocurrency “Ape” and cost roughly 2000 USD per necklace

• This is the first Yuga drop to not sell out, however the collaboration still grossed over 5 million USD in less than 24 hours

• Links

  • https://twitter.com/gucci/status/164299541936512205

RTFKT empowers community through creator kit

• Nike owned RTFKT has released a software developer kit that allows holders of Clone X to connect their NFT with Blender a popular 3D creation suite

• The SDK also offers beginner lessons, weekly challenges, tutorials among many other features

• Clone X has always had a very robust creator community and this will undoubtedly further that

• Links:

  • https://nftevening.com/rtfkt-unveils-new-sdks-to-empower-nft-creators

Jack Daniels launches AR app

• Popular whiskey Jack Daniels has launched an app that pairs with real life bottles.

• The App showcases the history of the brand, how the whiskey is made and other brand facts in a fun new experience

Bugatti and Asprey partner for an NFT drop

• Bugatti and Asprey are launching a phygital collection on the Bitcoin blockchain

• There are 111 pieces in the collection and each one comes with a physical counterpart

• The first 100 NFT’s will cost between 20-50k USD with the final 11 costing over 200k USD

• Mint schedule is TBD

• Links:

  • https://nftnow.com/news/exclusive-bugatti-and-asprey-unveil-the-most-expensive-nft-inscribed-on-the-bitcoin-blockchain/

Reddit Drops 3rd Gen avatar collection

• Reddit NFT’s are unique designs on a base avatar that can be used on the platform.

  • However unlike regular NFT’s each trait you own can be equipped independently allowing a level of customization

• Reddit has released Generation 3 of their artist driven Avatars, selling out in seconds

  • This collection was a collaboration between Reddit and 100 distinct artists. There are now over 10.6 million Reddit NFT’s on polygon with 7.4 million unique holders.

• Despite the size of the collection the Reddit avatars have maintained a market cap of $75 million

  • Though it should be noted some artist collections are much more popular and traded than others

• There was some controversy with Reddit not deploying any antibot software and it its believed bots minted out over 300k of the rarest NFTs within the first 3 seconds

• Links:

  • https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/04/12/reddit-keeps-upvoting-nfts-drops-third-generation-collection/

NFTs

Pharrell and Billionaire Boys Club release NFC chipped teeshirts

• Similar to the PUMA activation with 10KTF, these NFC chips act as a deed to a digital NFT that transfers upon sale of the physical

• The t-shirt will be available in two colorways and can be claimed via an NFC tap at NFC NYT

• Links

  • https://nftevening.com/pharrell-williams-billionaire-boys-club-releases-limited-edition-nft-tee/?utm_source=os

Azuki companion collection “Beanz” announces collaboration with Line Friends

• Line Friends are a popular IP that spawned from the international messaging app Line

• Line messaging has about 200 million actively monthly users, Line Friends started as digital stickers and emojis on the platform. The IP quickly grew in popularity and now creates over 15M in yearly revenue, primary from merchandise and clothing but also including house hold items, events and even a string of Line Friend cafe’s worldwide.

• This collaboration will undoubtedly get more Web 2 users more familiar with Beanz IP and further cements Azuki as a leading Asia based NFT Company

• To kick off the collaboration, Line Friends and Beans will be displayed on the billboard above the Line Friends cafe in times square for the duration of NFT NYC

• Links:

  • https://nftnow.com/news/azuki-beanz-creator-unveils-partnership-with-line-friends-ipx/

10KTF confirms upcoming PFP mint and Gucci collaboration physicals

• 10KTF has announced that holders of their G-Tags will be able to burn those NFT’s at an unspecified date for an exclusive 10KTF PFP

• 10KTF has also confirmed that their Gucci materials will have utility going forward and will not require an additional purchase for the Gucci Physicals

• Likely that PFPs will have dynamic metadata and “reveal” based on Battletown 2.0 participation

• With Yuga having just released their 26K Mech collection, 37.7K vessel collection, decoupled 5k Koda’s from Otherside land into their own collection, all in the last two months

• Links:

  • https://luckytrader.com/articles/10-ktf-confirms-upcoming-pfp

Claynosaurz innovate with old school trading cards

• Popular Solana based collection Claynosaurz have introduced digital backed physical trading cards

• Trading cards are given out at their IRL events, cards can then be redeemed for NFT’s that have utility within their ecosytem.

• The rarest cards have yielded NFT’s that sell for upwards of $20,000

• Links:

  • https://twitter.com/minhxdynasty/status/1646895722925641730?s=46&t=_7pDgE5H9aTXqeaCBEEtYw

Cool Cats announces Shadow Wolf mint on 4/20

• Cool Cats have confirmed that their “Fracture” NFT’s will be able to be redeemed for a new PFP

• The Shadow Wolf collection is minting on 4/20 and is the latest extension of the Cool Cats story line

• Those who have used their “Fracture” NFT’s on journeys as well as amassing “Cool Points” through a variety of activities have a higher chance of minting a rare Shadow Wolf

• Links:

  • https://twitter.com/coolcats/status/1646591045973725184?s=46&t=_7pDgE5H9aTXqeaCBEEtYw

Cool Cats announcers partnership with Futureverse

• Cool Cats has annouced a strategic partnership with Futureverse with both companies swapping equity and seats on their respective boards.

• At present the details of the partnership are vague, however Futureverse seems to be spearheading the 3D aspects of the Cool Cats universe.

• Links

  • https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cool-cats-announces-strategic-partnership-with-futureverse-301794017.html

AI News

Auto-GPT is the “Holy Shit” Moment in AI

• Auto-GPT allows multiple “GPT” agents to work together autonomously to accomplish an assigned task

• Links with use-cases:

  • https://twitter.com/itsPaulAi/status/1646879186101862406?s=20

Metaverse / Gaming

Roblox

• Roblox enables NFT like Items

• Roblox has introduced a new creator tool called “Limiteds”

• Limiteds are cosmetic items that are sold in limited quantities, players who purchase these items have the ability to resell the items to other players via Roblox centralized marketplace

  • 10% of the secondary sale goes back to the original creator

• Links

  • https://decrypt.co/136834/roblox-adds-rare-resellable-digital-items-theyre-not-nfts

Crypto

Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade Goes Well

• Ethereum surpassed another major milestone with the Shanghai upgrade that allowed for staking withdrawals from the network

• Many expected that enabling staked ETH withdrawals would hardly lead to significant sell pressure, but few anticipated a sharp increase in price either.

• Links:

  • https://decrypt.co/136748/ethereum-soars-eleven-month-high-post-shanghai-upgrade
    

dApp Enabled Solana Phone Slated for May

• Solana is launching the first “web3” phone this May

• The phone has built in wallet software and can connect with dApps

• Links:

  • https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/13/ring-ring-solanas-web3-focused-saga-phone-is-calling/