We're Back
Yuga Labs buys Punks, Meebits + ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger enters web 3
Zima Red gives readers the weekly pulse on the biggest news around NFTs. Join our community and take the journey with us by subscribing here:
Howdy folks! Apologies for the radio silence here, got super busy with work and a newborn. Luckily, I feel like my feet are under me now and I can get back to the newsletter. As many readers know, I generally write blog-style posts that cover random topics pertaining to NFTs but some of my earliest newsletters (early 2020) attempted to cover all the important “happenings” within the NFT ecosystem. I stopped attempting that after a few months and went back to blogs because it was too difficult to aggregate all that information in a succinct manner. Well, I am back at attempting to aggregate NFT news because I find that personally much more valuable than the deep dive blogs. Not to say the blogs won't happen anymore but want to really focus on a high-level overview of what is happening within NFTs.
Hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think!
📈Market
These charts paint a pretty clear picture
NFT trade volume and search volume have decreased significantly from the highs of January.
On Twitter, there has been constant talk of the “NFT bear market.”
Despite the comparatively bearish outlook, I remain unbelievably excited about the future of NFTs and the metaverse broadly. The amount of capital and talent that floods into this ecosystem daily is astonishing and from my viewpoint as an investor in this space, remains unchanged (if anything, we have seen an increase in talented people building amazing projects).
We have to focus on the long-term trend of crypto & NFT adoption:
Screentime
Remote work
Gaming
and more…
Realize that while we could be in an “NFT bear market”, the long-term prospects of the NFT ecosystem remain unchanged. To sum this up, when in doubt, zoom out!
CyberBrokers
18,000+ ETH in volume since Mint
Floor jumps to ~5 Ξ before cooling off
Pranksy buys rank 2
Whale allegedly did a 1000Ξ sweep
Notable buys for 18.8Ξ, 15Ξ , 9Ξ
Meebits
Volume jumps 1000%
Floor skyrockets 40%
Meebits will now give investors the cheapest exposure to the new Yuga Labs universe alongside BAYC and CryptoPunks
VeeFriends
The floor rose from 12.4Ξ to ~17Ξ and then leveled off at 14Ξ
6100 bought for 35Ξ, 8042 bought for 30Ξ
Clone X - 9689 bought for 150Ξ, 18898 for 39Ξ, 8210 for 35Ξ
Azuki - 8676 bought for 29.69Ξ
Doodles - 2401 bought for 45Ξ
Bored Ape Yacht Club 🤝 CryptoPunks, Meebits
Bored Ape Yacht Club’s parent company, Yuga Labs, has acquired the IP to CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs. Media may be the first big revenue unlock for popular pfp projects.
Yuga Labs will transfer IP, commercial, and exclusive licensing rights over to CryptoPunks and Meebits holders.
Larva labs were previously reluctant to do this which lead to a lot of controversy and resentment from Punk and Meebit holders.
With Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs gives holders full commercial rights.
Commercial ownership gives huge value to BAYC holders. Companies like Arizona Iced Tea and Universal Music Group have even bought apes to leverage the brand.
Remember, CryptoPunks and Meebits have no royalties on secondary sales so this deal is all about their brand and likeness. The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project has already signed Hollywood superagent Guy Oseary and is slated to expand into music, gaming, TV, and film.
Now with ownership of three of the most recognizable brands in NFTs, Yuga Labs is poised to build a media empire on the back of NFT IP.
LimeWire is BACK
Two Austrian entrepreneurs, brothers Paul and Julian Zehetmayr, bought the rights to LimeWire’s branding and plan to relaunch the site as a marketplace for music NFTs in May. The (former) file sharing service became iconic in the early 2000s as an illegal music downloading haven but has since been on a 12-year hiatus.
The company was hit with a copyright infringement suit in 2010 and was forced to shut down.
Then-CEO Mark Gorton settled out of court with major record companies for $105M.
The two brothers are forming a new company, LimeWire GmbH, which is completely removed from anyone that touched the original website. All that really will remain from the LimeWire we knew and loved will be its branding. The duo is betting that the nostalgia and recognition coming from the LimeWire branding is enough to propel users to use the marketplace.
LimeWire’s NFT Marketplace is positioned around music-related NFTs, like exclusive songs, merch, artwork, and experiences.
Julian Zehetmayr claims that around 10 “really big mainstream” artists have signed on to be a part of the platform thus far.
The management team behind H.E.R and WuTang Clan, Wyre CEO Ioannis Giannaros, and NFT consultancy 6 Agency will join LimeWire’s board of advisors.
LimeWire is currently being funded by its founders but may seek outside funding later this year on top of a planned utility token launch in the coming weeks. Check out more about LimeWire and join the waitlist here.
Ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger enters the metaverse
Bob Iger, has joined the board and invested in the Metaverse asset creation platform Genies. Iger met with around two dozen founders before joining Genies’ board - he’s interested in companies building at the intersection between technology and creativity.
Genies have raised $100 million in funding and employ more than 100 people.
The company offers users tools for making virtual characters, clothing, and accessories backed by NFTs.
Last year Genies signed partnerships with Universal Music Group NV and Warner Music Group Corp.
Artists like Rihanna, Cardi B, Justin Bieber, and Migos have joined as users.
Iger believes the ability for anyone to easily create and sell virtual goods will change the entertainment industry.
BAYC faces backlash for a KYC requirement on its new site
Preluding its CryptoPunk/Meebit acquisition announcement, Yuga Labs dropped a new site called somethingisbrewing.xyz. This site provided no other details other than requiring those who wish to interact with it to engage in “know your customer” (KYC) protocols.
KYC requires customers to give up their identity, social security number, etc. to protect against money laundering, terrorism financing, etc. This is something that is super common in tradfi banking and finance but not in crypto. Thus, many members of the crypto Twitter-sphere were up in arms.
Crypto has a huge privacy angle.
Many BAYC holders are anonymous so they would have to doxx themselves to interact with it.
Some pointed out that KYC may become a necessary evil with NFTs
🚨Signal
The #1 NFT marketplace on Solana, Magic Eden, has raised a $27 million Series A round by Paradigm, with participation from Sequoia, Solana Ventures, Greylock, Kindred, Electric, and Variant. Magic Eden plans to use the capital to expand its team, launch a gaming vertical, and more.
Discord Grinding has become an active sub-economy on freelance work marketplaces like Fiverr. For as little as $5 hr freelances are offering to help you earn whitelist spots by leveling up your discord account.
ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passon has his Twitter account hacked to shill NFTs. The NFT collection involved claims that they were not hackers.
Axie Infinity raises marketplace fees + launches creator codes. The popular P2E blockchain-based game plans to reinvest the revenue back into its creators - many of whom are contributing as a side hustle.
The popular NFT artist Shl0ms has released the artwork for the $CAR collection. The project was created by blowing up a Lambo into 999 pieces as a statement against the speculation-filled NFT market.
Behance has added support for NFTs. Users with Phantom wallets can now showcase their Solana NFTs on the platform.
Are we in the “Death Phase” of the NFT market? If we are, a Twitter user provided a detailed thread on how to survive.
Watch: A full explanation of what gamers hate about NFTs.
Watch: Ray Dalio on Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order
Lands of Lorecraft: A fresh take on management science and organizational thinking.
How to identify authentic NFTs, especially against attackers.
Congressional candidate, Shrina Kurani, uses NFTs to raise funds for her campaign. The NFTs claim to grant holders access to airdrops from other Crypto projects.
👀Alpha
The Modern Billboard - NFTs that represent ad space on promising sites.
CCO projects like CrypToadz and Mfers could be the biggest second-order effect winners from Yuga buying Punks.
🎙Zima Red Podcast
Our most recent episode is with Yield Guild Games co-founder Beryl Li. On this episode, you will learn all about how gaming guilds operate, how YGG is evolving, the future of web3 gaming, and so much more.
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