π Bright moments despite hacked Roses (Issue #57)
Plus, more misplaced smugness from Porsche fans.
Coming up in this weekβs issue:
Art Blocks partners with Bright Moments πΌοΈ
Doodles eats a wolf and finds its Flow πΊ
StoryCo breaks out the bell bottoms πΊ
Kevin Rose gets hacked π₯
Porsche stalls at the starting line π
DYOR π¬
Art Blocks, the most famous platform for generative art on Ethereum, had two big pieces of news this week. First, itβs added the ability to buy pieces on the secondary market to its platform, and second, itβs partnered with Bright Moments, a company famous for its ability to create unmissable real-world NFT exhibitions and live minting events (Art Blocks already has a similar partnership with Pace Gallery).
Weβre bullish on this news for a few reasons. For starters, weβre bullish on generative art generally. We believe weβre in the early stages of a golden age for code-based art, and that blockchain technology and NFTs have created a unique and perfect storm for the sector to explode, both in terms of how many artists are now making generative work, and in terms of the growing appreciation and interest in it from collectors.
Art Blocks adding support for secondary sales makes it easier for collectors to use the platformβs curation tools to find art they like, but it also puts more control over the works the platform champions back in its hands. Plus, it allows Art Blocks to enforce royalties, ensuring artists are appropriately compensated for their efforts.
But itβs the Bright Moments partnership that really excites us. In-person events are essential for attracting newcomers to the generative art space and they present the opportunity to display generative works at a scale thatβs hard to replicate on a phone or laptop display. Theyβre also awesome opportunities for creators and collectors to interact with one another and forge new bonds, or deepen existing ones. Plus, you know, the small plastic cups of box wine are fun.
π€ Itβs part of the future for sure π¦Ύ
Probably nothing π€
Doodles goes with the Flow π
Weβve known that Doodles 2 β the massively enlarged and customizable follow-up to Doodles β is incoming for some time now, and we knew it wasnβt going to use Ethereum because of the costs involved, but we didnβt know which chain Doodles was going to choose. Now we do, and the answer is Dapper Labsβ Flow, the blockchain best known for NBA Topshot.
The Doodles team also announced itβs acquired animation studio Golden Wolf, a studio itβs worked with before. The move is a massive boon for the studio, which now has the brand recognition, reach, and (sizeable) war chest of one of the best-known projects in the NFT space behind it.
StoryCoβs going disco dancingβ¦ in space πͺ©
This week StoryCo closed a $6 million seed round to grow its team and platform (disclosure: weβre one of the investors). At the same time, it unveiled βThe Disco Ball,β which itβs billing as βA groundbreaking immersive story experience through time and space.β The interactive tale was constructed by showrunner Kyle Killen, and the art comes from the creative duo shelby and sandy.
Itβs free to participate, and participants will work together to solve puzzles and hang out together at real-world and virtual events. At the end of the narrative, the community thatβs been built around the project will be able to claim free PFPs and will collectively take it over and decide on its future direction. Weβre intrigued to see how it all plays out.
πββοΈ U.K. man seeking refund π¬π§
To the moon π
Fashion-focused web3 company Spatial Labs closed a $10 million seed-funding round led by Blockchain Capital and supported by Jay-Zβs Marcy Venture Partners. π
NFT portfolio management app Floor acquired NFT analytics business WGMI.io. π°
Pussy Riot has a new exhibition entitled βPutinβs Ashesβ opening in LA today at the Jeffrey Deitch Gallery. As part of the show, thereβs a collaborative piece with Shepard Fairey being offered in an open edition on Objkt. Each NFT costs 10 Tezos (~$10), and all proceeds go to Ukrainian troops:
Proof Collective revealed the artists behind its Grails III collection, and the line-up includes Josie Bellini, Matt Kane, and All Seeing Seneca. π¨
Azukiβs teasing us again, and itβs got something to do with the year of the rabbit. π°
Pudgy Penguins unveiled the chain-hopping (or chain-sliding) Lil Pudgys:
Yuga Labs continues to see so much excitement around its Dookey Dash Bored Ape Yacht Club game itβs on course to make $8 million in secondary sales of the Sewer Passes required to play it. π€―
Online retail and cloud services behemoth, Amazon, is launching a βdigital assets enterpriseβ later this year. π
Security alert π¨
This week there were two notable hacks. The first involved Proof Collective and Moonbirds founder Kevin Rose, who inadvertently signed a bad transaction from a malicious website and lost millions of dollars worth of NFTs in the process.
The second involved Azukiβs Twitter account, which was hacked and used to post malicious links that drained over $750,000 in USDC from one victimβs wallet alone.
How do you protect yourself? Start with a hardware wallet like a Ledger to store your private keys, then create a burner wallet you can use for day-to-day activities which you top up with funds as necessary. Because even a hardware wallet canβt save you if you sign a transaction you shouldn'tβ¦ but doing the signing from a wallet without much in it can.
NGMI βοΈ
Porsche splutters and stalls π
As an astute Twitter user points out, Porsche has 2.1 million followers on Twitter. Itβs also a household name with millions of loyal fans, whether theyβre Porsche owners, former owners, or aspirant owners. Nonetheless, when the company tried to offer 7,500 NFTs for 0.911 ETH (~$1,400) each, sales were sluggish and eventually ground to a halt.
Following pressure from buyers, Porsche decided to stop the mint and cut supply. Itβs proven to be a smart move thatβs since sent the price of the 2,363 NFTs soaring to just shy of 2 ETH (~$3,200) at the time of writing. Thatβs good news for those who took a chance on the project, but thereβs no denying the mint was an abject failure.
Porsche put out an uninspiring collection. NFT collectors punished it accordingly. Let it be a lesson to other web2 brands eyeing web3 β brand recognition isnβt enough. You need to offer something uniquely web3.
πͺ‘ Thread of the week π§΅
Goats only π
Whether youβve never hung any of your NFTs on your wall, or youβve run out of wall space, you should be watching or listening to Goats and the Metaverse.
In each episode, collectibles OG and entrepreneur Stan βThe Goatβ Meytin and Metaversal co-founder and CEO Yossi Hasson talk about digital and IRL collectibles, NFTs, and the weekβs news worth knowing.
This week, they unpack the mechanics BAYCβs Dookey Dash game, and have an incredible interview with Daily Dose host and NFT icon, Ryan Carson.
Check out the latest episode here:
Aside from providing invaluable insights into digital art and collectibles, Stan and Yossi have assembled a collection of NFTs dubbed βThe Goat Vault.β When the show hits 5,000 subscribers on YouTube, one of those lucky subscribers will win the contents of the vault, which at last count is valued at more than 10.10 ETH (~$13,500).
Prefer listening? Check out Goats and the Metaverse on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, or wherever you get your podcasts.
IYKYK π
π€ Connect for more from Metaversal π
You can find more rapid-fire updates, insights, memes, and other mayhem from the Metaversal team on any of your preferred platforms, weβre on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Mastodon, and TikTok.
This weekβs edition was compiled by Metaversalβs content director, Craig Wilson. You can find him on Twitter or Mastodon.
Until next time, see you in the metaverse!