Web3 Round Up 5.1.2023

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

Brand Activity

Nike .Swoosh Launches Digital Sneaker Collection

• Our Force 1 (OF1), will consist of Polygon virtual sneaker NFTs designed to pay tribute to the iconic Nike Air Force 1 sneaker from 41 years ago and will be sold to the 330,000 .Swoosh members

  • Random members are being airdropped “posters” which eeffectively puts you on the white list for the drop

  • They will each cost $19.82 (referencing the release year)

  • The sale will be on May 8th

• Quote from the GM of Nike Virtual Studios:

  • “We are exploring new ways to tell stories and create relationships while removing the barriers and limitations of physical product. With more members choosing to express themselves across physical and digital worlds, .Swoosh is the marketplace of the future.”

• Notably, the shoes will be sold in USD rather than any crypto

• Links

  • https://decrypt.co/137011/nike-unveils-first-swoosh-nft-collection-for-members

  • https://www.swoosh.nike/

RTFKT X Nike AF1 Forge event is Live

• RTFKT’s collaboration with parent brand Nike is live

• RTFKT has released a limited edition of 10 unique designs of the iconic Air Force 1 with two of the designs coming from Takashi Murakami

• Each design has a limited number of pairs with the most common having 4182 units and the most rare having only 60

• Holders have until May 8th to redeem the NFT for a physical

• They are also experimenting with AR advertising for the collection in Japan

• Links

  • https://twitter.com/RTFKT/status/1650506935358160898?cxt=HHwWhIC81YPU4-ctAAAA

Adidas Makes a Number of Web3 Moves

• Moves include (more detail below):

  • ALTs PFP Key sale goes live

  • Indigo Herz shoe and apparel sale

  • Integration of Tokenproof into their loyalty app

  • Launch of Monkey Kingdom collaboration in China

• Keys allow ALTs owners to choose traits for their PFPs that tie them to specific utilities based on Adidas BUs (see above)

  

• The shoe and apparel is available to ALTs holders, with a secondary line available to adiClub members

  • This required integration of token-gating directly into the the adiClub app via Tokenproof

• Finally, they have also recently launched a collaboration with a Solana based project called Monkey Kingdom

• Links

  • ALTs Collection: https://opensea.io/collection/alts-by-adidas

  • Loyalty app video: https://twitter.com/indigo_herz/status/1651134458081230848

  • https://www.tatlerasia.com/style/fashion/monkey-kingdom-adidas-originals-collaboration

NFTs

Mad Lads Brings Attention Back to Solana NFT Ecosystem

• After losing top collections DeGods and Y00ts to Ethereum and Polygon respectively, Mad Lads has breathed life back into the Solana ecosystem (and NFTs at large)

• The collection minted out and has done over $15M in secondary sales since

• The team behind the drop have also launched a new type of “all-in-one” wallet called Backpack built around a new type of NFT standard (xNFT or executable NFTs)

  • Rather than use NFTs as an access pass to token-gated content on other platforms or websites, they can contain experiences and exclusive content that’s accessible through Backpack

• Links:

  • https://decrypt.co/138125/mad-lads-given-solana-nfts-new-heartbeat-after-losing-degods-coral-ceo

  • https://magiceden.io/marketplace/mad_lads

Trump Drops Second NFT Collection

• Donald Trump has launched a follow up NFT collection of 47,000 “digital collectibles” on Polygon selling for $99

• There are “golden tickets” in the collection that provide rewards such as a dinner at Mar a Lago

  • Holders that own multiple can also access experiences

• The original collection saw floor price highs of .4 ETH but has tanked to .14 since the announcement of a second collection

• inks:

  • https://decrypt.co/137120/trump-drops-more-nfts-price-plummeting

Toy Brand, Mattel, has Launched an NFT Marketplace

• Mattel is branding their NFTs as virtual collectibles and is working with Rarible and the Flow blockchain to mint them

• The update will coincide with a Hot Wheels drop that gives both physical and digital assets

• Links:

  • https://www.retaildive.com/news/mattel-marketplace-digital-collectibles/648282/

Yuga Labs Wins Copywrite Lawsuit with Ryder Ripps

• A judge ruled Ryder Ripp’s parody of Bored Ape Yacht Club was deamed a “copycat” collection that hurt the value of the original

• Yuga alleged that Ripps promoted and sold the collection “using the very same trademarks” that BAYC’s real creator uses to sell BAYC NFT and that it was a deliberate effort to harm Yuga

• “The US district judge John Walter found that Yuga has established significant brand recognition from using the BAYC marks in commerce, that Ripps infringed on unregistered marks and engaged in cybersquatting. Ripps RR/BAYCS “does not constitute an expressive artistic work protected by the First Amendment,” the judge wrote, and was likely to confuse consumers.”

• Links

  • https://blockworks.co/news/bayc-yuga-labs-ryder-ripps-lawsuit

AI News

AI Could be a Major Use Case for Web3

• AI tools will allow for the creation of more content (and fake content) than ever before… Web3 and blockchain can be the authenticator of what is real vs. not (a trust layer)

• Especially as content merges with reality (AR enabled content), it will be important to curate your experience

• Links

  • https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/04/27/web3-can-be-the-trust-layer-to-counter-issues-raised-by-ai/

Metaverse / Gaming

Yuga Labs Hires a CTO (previous VP of Development at Epic Games)

• Yuga hires another veteran of the gaming industry

• Mike Seavers was a VP of Development at Epic Games and CTO of Riot Games (League of Legends) previously

• Quote on the hire:

  • “Mike has a proven track record of taking organizations to the next level, and he shares our vision for how important digital identity and community will be for the future of the internet. We have an opportunity to be the Web3 platform at the forefront of entertainment, and Mike’s expertise will help us scale to achieve that”

• Links

  • https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/04/28/epic-games-alum-mike-seavers-will-join-web3-giant-yuga-labs-as-cto/

Crypto

Coinbase Sues the SEC after Receiving Wells Notice

• Coinbase received a Wells Notice from the SEC which effectively is a warning to comply with their guidelines or face enforcement

  • This is the same SEC that allowed Coinbase to IPO in the US (meanings its business was judged to be legal)

• Coinbase has suggested that this Wells Notice creates reputational damage and is now suing the SEC for clearer guidelines RE crypto and digital assets

• Coinbase is getting into the policy arena, donating money to crypto friendly politicians and facilitating their users to do the same

  • And just launched a free mint for a “crypto shield” commemorative NFT for supporters to collect

    • The Stand with Crypto commemorative NFT is a symbol of unity for the crypto community seeking sensible crypto policy

• Links

  • https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-sec-rulemaking-petition

  • https://decrypt.co/138201/coinbase-responds-to-wells-notice-sec-risks-reputational-harm-with-enforcement-action

  • https://zora.co/collect/0x9d90669665607f08005cae4a7098143f554c59ef

PayPal brings crypto transfers to Venmo

• PayPal launched crypto payments last June and is now bringing the same service to Venmo

• 60M users of Venmo in the US will not have direct access to crypto

• Links:

  • https://www.theblock.co/post/228824/paypal-extending-crypto-transfers-to-more-than-60-million-venmo-customers