NFT Review 70 - the FTX fallout
NFT Review 70 - the FTX fallout
Nike launches web3 platform, 'Punks in the museum, MetaMask's bridge aggregator, and more.
NFT Review is a weekly newsletter covering NFTs in the Web3 ecosystem on Polkadot’s side of the woods. The newsletter is put together by Bruno Škvorc and gbaci.
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Looking for a primer on NFTs? This should be the last introduction you’ll ever need.
Dear NFT enthusiast,
In wake of the FTX meltdown, the Crypto and NFT markets have suffered considerable losses. But is this news? It was reported that the BAYC Justin Bieber bought for $1.3 million is now worth less than $69k. Most major news outlets use this as a stick to beat Web3, but when you put it into perspective, this is not really news. It’s good for headlines but it says nothing. It is only natural that prices go down when the markets are hit with a shock. Don’t allow such headlines give you anxiety.
More fundamental is the report that the Coachella NFTs which sold for $1.5M are now stuck on FTX. Unless the team is able to reclaim ownership of these NFTs, they are lost. There are other projects who have found themselves in a similar situation. Our sincere thoughts go out to them and we wish they recover all that they are due.
At times like these, we are forced to ask “what is the point?” Usually, this would be difficult to answer, but in the FTX case, it is not. If this FTX shitshow has taught us anything, it should be that:
Decentralization is a necessary alternative to centralization because the latter is too easy to abuse. Not your keys, not your tokens.
Like in the LUNA situation, if a project’s primary appeal is its ‘cool founder’ and the fact that people can get rich quickly by following said founder, you probably should be more careful with associating with that project. While founders are a good way to gauge a project, the logic of the project (soundness of its design and operating principles) should be just as, if not more, important. Why? Because it points to the values that the founder/team holds dear. Who do you want to support, a champion of decentralization in name only, or a champion of decentralization as validated by the project’s design, implementation, and actions?
It is easy to pump projects (tokens, NFTs, exchanges, marketplaces, etc.) when you choose to ignore the rules of organic growth. Because the downfall of FTX and LUNA can, to some degree, be tied to overleveraging (the hunt for quick gains with minimal risk–only, the risk is so huge it seems nonexistent).
While things may seem bleak, seen from the wider perspective, the FTX crash is a good thing. At least now the shadiness has been brought to light and the market can recover in a healthy and truthful way...until a new monster emerges.
Thank you for reading and have a great weekend.
— NFT Review
📬 NFT News from Kusama & Polkadot
If you're a holder of a Talisman Spirit Key, or have received a Commendation NFT, you can now migrate them to RMRK 2.0.
Cosmadots is the winner of this week's Singular Art Showcase.
Metaverse-as-a-service project Bit.Country published a Transparent Strategies Update Nov 2022 in the wake of the FTX meltdown.
Over 33k users have already signed up for Bit.Country’s Kaosland Cup NFT Whitelist. Register for a WL spot today! Sign up here.
Bit.Country released a sneak peek into its Event World where users can host virtual concerts, lectures and much more!
Bit.Country hosted a new Twitter space on Building up the Kaosland! Introducing MetaDojo’s Kaosland Collection.
Artera is a new metaverse project building on Bit.Country. Learn more about the project here.
Exosama Network, to power the Exosama and Moonsama ecosystems, is now live. Holders of $POOP can swap to $SAMA on a 1:1 ratio. A whitepaper has also been released.
Multimedia artist Marko Mihalinec had a launch party for his first multi-resource NFT album on Singular!
From Nov 15th to 27th, PhalaWorld Survivors can participate in various activities to accumulate energy before incubation starts.
🗞 NFT News from Ethereum and Beyond
FTX contagion victim Deepak.eth puts NFT collection up for sale.
Helping mainstream artists into Web3: The triumphs and struggles.
Worldwide Webb founder explains the role interoperability will play in Web3.
Magic Mirror is a new tool that mirrors Optimism NFTs to Ethereum mainnet for use in verified apps.
CryptoPunks come to art museums as Yuga Labs begins donating Ethereum NFTs.
Yuga Labs also acquired Beeple’s WENEW, 10KTF NFT project.
Nike launches .swoosh Web3 platform, with Polygon NFTs due in 2023.
Adidas' Bored Ape NFT makes an appearance with Messi, Benzema in new World Cup trailer.
JPG, an NFT curation protocol, published A Case for Crowdsourced Information in Web3.
MetaMask launched a bridge aggregator — fyi in case you’re trading NFTs on other EVM chains like Arbitrum or Optimism.
OpenZeppelin added support for ERC721Consecutive, which allows for efficient batch minting of NFTs.
Blitmap provided a preliminary overview of its upcoming Logos “villains” collection, each of which will come in three versions like so:
LooksRare is launching an NFT marketplace aggregator service.
Yuga Labs rolled out news.yuga.com, the updated home for all things BAYC, MAYC, CryptoPunks, and Meebits.
Drift became the first artist to sell out an NFT drop on Instagram with the 50-edition release of Learning to Handle Change:
Manifold will give artists the ability to track their royalty histories across different collectors and platforms.
Nifty Gateway introduced the Creator Royalty Standard system and the Creator Royalty Coalition.
SuperRare reconfirmed its commitment to artist and collector royalties.
Axie Infinity published its Esports Grant 3 schedule and associated AXS allocations.
Pirate Nation, an upcoming NFT adventure game, saw its Founder’s Pirates sell out in minutes.
Sorare kicked off its Global Cup ‘22 event.
Catalog introduced its latest artist arrivals.
Decentraland published its Ultimate Guide to the Metaverse Music Festival 2022.
OPCraft, which Bankless recently covered, introduced View Mode.
That’s all for this week, see you in the next edition! Got some links to share with us, artists to feature, NFTs to sell, jobs to promote, or events to popularize? Get in touch with Bruno or gbaci!