Web3 Roundup 2.6

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

Brand Activity

Porsche NFT Crashes

• Porsche minted just 2,700 out their 7,500 collection (priced at .911ETH) after four rounds of minting and over 300,000 wallets signed up to the allow list

• They were heavily criticized for their high mint price of .911

• The collection has surged in value since closing the mint

• Article Link: https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/01/25/porsche-nft-collection-is-a-reminder-to-let-web3-natives-take-the-wheel/

PORSCHΞ @eth_porsche

Turning all white into all black? Here’s to 1 of 150.000 options your customised NFT could look like. #PorscheNFT

Amazon rumored to be gearing up to announce entrance to web 3

• Expected to launch in spring 2023

• Focused on digital asset exchange and blockchain based gaming

• Article link: https://blockworks.co/news/amazon-nft-marketplace-web3

Starbucks Odyssey Loyalty Beta launches

• Beta participants can complete ‘Journeys’ to earn points and ‘Stamps’

• Journey’s drive consumers to learn about the brand and purchase product (tied to existing loyalty rewards account)

• Stamps live on the Polygon blockchain and can be bought and sold freely

• Link: https://odyssey.starbucks.com/#/dashboard

Adidas launches a ‘Three Stripes Council for their Web3 initiatives

• This elected community council will be involved in bi-monthly meetings with Adidas web3 team to provide feedback and pitch ideas

HeyErika @heyerikaws

Imagine shaping the path adidas blazes in web3. Now don’t just imagine it, apply today and join us!

Indigo Herz @indigo_herz

🤝INTRODUCING: /// COUNCIL🤝 Your fam, your say. You, our community have kept us strong since our inception back in December, 2021. We are better because of you, and we want to make it official Today, we are so happy to introduce the /// council 🧵👇(1/7) https://t.co/z125V0Fp9V

NFTs

Total NFT market remains strong in 2022 despite the bear market

• Article link: https://nftevening.com/nft-sales-hit-101-million-in-2022-dappradar-report/

Doodles Launches Next Major Activation

• Doodles have announced that Doodles 2 will live on the Flow blockchain which also hosts NBA Topshot but has much less activity compared to the Ethereum blockchain

• Doodles 2 will focus on avatar customization and digital clothing, opening the door to much easier collaborations

• Doodles is hoping the new collection becomes will usher in a wave of casual web3 consumers

• Article link: https://decrypt.co/119958/ethereum-nft-hit-doodles-launch-doodles-2-flow-blockchain

CoolCats announce re-rebrand

• Once a bluechip project, CoolCats are pushing to have a better 2023

• They have recently brought on a new CEO who has announced a shift in the project as well as a new look for the CoolCats

Cool Cats @coolcats

New PFP. New Chapter. Same Blue Cat. See you at our Town Hall streaming LIVE on YouTube tomorrow Feb 1 at 3PM ET: youtube.com/live/4MDg6UQaA…

Neopets announces raise led by blockchain companies to enter Web3

Neopets Metaverse @NeopetsMeta

1/3 🎉We are thrilled to announce the successful closing of our latest investment round🎉 We received $4M in funding led by industry leaders and tech VCs @0xPolygon @BlizzardFund @HashKey_Capital @IDGCapital @NetDragon777! Full announcement: neopetsmetaverse.medium.com/neopets-metave…

AI News

ChatGPT receives new investment from Microsoft

• Goal is to help commercialize the wildly popular AI tools

• Article link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/23/microsoft-announces-multibillion-dollar-investment-in-chatgpt-maker-openai.html

Ready Player Me launches trial of generative AI avatar creator

• The avatar creator is available as a beta for free now, and users can tap DALL-E’s generative AI art platform to use text prompts to create their own avatar outfits.

• Article link: https://venturebeat.com/games/ready-player-me-launches-trial-of-generative-ai-avatar-creator/

Google is Building a DALL-E Product, but for Music

🇦🇺 Alex is Building @AlexIsBuilding

Google just released a sneak peek of its new Music Ai. (Think Dall-E & ChatGPT, for music) Here’s everything you need to know: 🧵👇

Metaverse

Rec Room Partners with the the NFL

• Rec Room continues to build on its sports partnerships, in addition to partnerships with the NBA they have announced a virtual merch partnership with all 32 teams of the NFL

• Article link: https://www.roadtovr.com/rec-room-nfl-virtual-merch/

Manchester City Forward Jack Grealish unveils his avatar in Gucci’s Roblox game

• Article link: https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-the-toe-poke/story/4860700/jack-grealish-moves-from-man-city-to-gucci-town-as-he-enters-the-world-of-roblox

Roblox to host Super Bowl Virtual Concert

• Roblox will be hosting a free virtual concert for the Super Bowl featuring Saweetie’s avatar

• Article link: https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/02/roblox-free-virtual-super-bowl-concert-saweetie/

Gaming

Bored Ape Yacht Club launches ‘Dookey Dash’ mini-game

• The game is gated to just holders of the ‘Sewer Pass’

• Your high score is tied to that NFT (and will affect the rarity of your subsequent NFT)

• Spawned significant social engagement and brought many Twitch gamers onto the scene

• Article link: https://www.theblock.co/post/206337/a-load-of-crap-bored-ape-nft-game-attracts-pros-angling-for-a-piece-of-the-dookey

Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC

Welcome to the Leaderbored, where we recap all the crazy shit that has happened so far in #DookeyDash!