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Weekly Roundup: Foundation Editions, Gitcoin Presents, Mirrorās newest feature, and more!
Metaversal is a Bankless newsletter for weekly level-ups on NFTs, virtual worlds, & collectibles
Dear Bankless Nation,
āWhy would anyone buy an NFT? ā¦ I have the same thing on my phone, I can take a screenshot of that NFT and I have it.ā
This particular quote comes by way of Joe Rogan this week on his podcast:
The operative phrases above are āI have the same thingā and āI have it.ā Screenshotting a dollar doesnāt give you purchasing power, of course, nor does screenshotting an NFT grant you that NFT.Ā
Here, then, itās an ontological misunderstanding, as Joe conceptually equates a screenshot with an NFT when in fact, technologically, they are very different. An NFT can be a durable, tradable, programmatic digital artifact, while a screenshot is more like a single-use digital disposable.Ā
All that said, itās an understandable misunderstanding for someone not very familiar with NFTs, but this episode is just the latest stark reminder that we still have a long ways to go on educating the public about what NFTs actually are.
In the meantime, I hope you all have a great weekend. For now letās get you up to speed on the past weekās intrigues and top happeningsāļø
-WMP
š Thanks to our sponsor ACROSS
š Across.to is the bridge you deserve!
š§ The big picture
Keep the streak alive! The overall market cap of the NFT space has maintained its growth trajectory for the 8th week in a row. This week, the market cap rose from 10.02 ETH to 10.15 ETH marking a 1.3% climb since the previous Friday recap. Interestingly, the growth comes as most top cryptocurrencies just experienced big 7D price dips.Ā
š This week by the numbers:
At the top of the 7D trading volume rankings it was a typical week, with Yuga Labsās ever dominant MAYC, BAYC, and Otherdeeds collections collectively facilitating +50k ETH worth of activity. The surprise appearance came via the Owls, a Checks-inspired ASCII art collection that just burst onto the scene and has already inspired a new wave of ASCII projects accordingly.Ā
š 7D top collections by volume
š 7D NFT marketplace stats
Other NFT marketplaces are, well, just a blur in Blurās rear-view mirror right now when it comes to trading activity. Blur accounted for roughly 80% of the spaceās 7D trading volume once more after having accomplished the same feat last week. Who can challenge the power of $BLUR now? I just received access to the new Gem beta, and after exploring some I think it can eat into Blurās dominance once public. For now, weāll have to wait and see.Ā
šļø 3 biggest buys this week
No surprise that two big Bored Ape sales appeared in the top 3, but whatās unexpected is that the largest sale on the week was for an Urbit ID / Azimuth Points NFT dubbed ~Fed. Perhaps one day Iāll be able to explain Urbit in depth, but suffice to say this whopper transaction is an unusual sighting compared to the projects we typically see at the top here.Ā
š° General news
Mirror introād a Subscribe to Mint feature.Ā Ā
š Digital collectibles
Luca Netz appeared on Overpriced JPEGs and talked all things Pudgy Penguins.
šØ Cryptoart & music
Foundation launched an editions feature.Ā
Osinachi released Room for Everyone on Async Market.
Sound introād Viral Sounds, a new dashboard for discovering trending songs on Sound.Ā
WME signed AI artist Claire Silver.Ā
Yuga Labsās TwelveFold auction raised 735 BTC.Ā
š® Decentralized gaming
Axie Infinity Origins Season 3 is now live.
Pirate Nation held its first World Boss event.Ā
š Virtual worlds
Decentraland now supports an Audius music player plugin.
Simon Denny published Five Views of the Metaverse in Outland.
Webaverse held its first drop for Genesis Pass holders.
šŖ NFTfi
paprMEME now supports loans against Chimpers, goblintown, Lil Pudgys, Mooncats, and Sappy Seals NFTs.Ā
Sodium, a new peer-to-peer and peer-to-pool NFT lending protocol, is now live.Ā
š Mint spotlight: Gitcoin Presents
Metalabelās Quality Drops series kicked off with āGitcoin Presents,ā a.k.a. The Quadratic Funding Collection, an open-edition release for celebrating and raising funding for public goods. The collection features contributions from regen stalwarts like Vitalik Buterin, Kevin Owocki, ZoĆ« Hitzig, and beyond. Minted at 0.05Ī each, the NFTs briefly surged to +0.5Ī in value after the mint closed on Wednesday as word spread of āVitalik NFTs.āĀ
š Mint watch:
Zerion Subscriber OGs ā An example of Mirrorās new āSubscribe to Mintā feature in action, this is a free mint that was still open for a handful of days at the time of writing; itās a way for projects to take their branding and communities onchain, and in Zerionās case the minted NFT will offer holders perks and access to exclusive content
Bankless 2.0 Launch Badge ā To commemorate the launch of the new Bankless.com, you can head over to the website and mint a commemorative POAP right now! Just sign in to your account and look for the āClaim POAPā button on the home screen.
š 3 insightful threads weekly to level up your NFT knowledge!
1. Giancarlo on the āDeader than Deadā concept in NFTs:
2. Hiroba on the ins and outs of verticalized NFT marketplaces:
3. Oscar on expectations management with NFT drops:
āØ My NFT tool of the week: DeFiLlama browser extension
If youāre someone who regularly digs through Etherscan in the course of your NFT activities and research, then you ought to check out the DeFiLlama browser extension. Among other things, this resource enhances the popular block explorer with an informative wallet tagging system, which can help you visualize NFT activity and identify scams much easier than before.Ā
š„ Understanding post-reveal trading actionā¦
In the chart below, you can see how after the Momoguro art was revealed the collectionās floor price immediately started slouching. Why? Many people who realized they didnāt collect rares quickly floored their NFTs. On the flip side, a string of trades many multiples above the floor price began popping off as initial trading activity around the found rares took place. Be on the lookout for this sort of action, as itās typical to see around new NFT collections right after their art has been revealed.Ā
š Built differentā¦
As fears of a prolonged bear market continue to make their way through traditional crypto circles, large swathes of the NFT community seem to be rather unbothered in contrast. Weāre just a little bit wilder here, you know. Weirdos, as Joe Rogan would call usā¦
Action steps
š Read Everything You Missed at ETH Denver 2023 and Withdrawals Are Coming! in Bankless
š± Watch DAO Drops on Green PillĀ
š Catch up on my other write-ups from this week:Ā
Author Bio
William M. Peaster is a professional writer and creator of Metaversalāa Bankless newsletter focused on the emergence of NFTs in the cryptoeconomy. Heās also recently been contributing content to Bankless, JPG, and beyond!
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Not financial or tax advice.Ā This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure.Ā From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See ourĀ investment disclosures here.