Crypto to the moon! [Literally]
GM, we take the latest Web3 news and translate it into plain old English - so you can stay up to date, without your eyes glazing over.
In today’s edition:
GameStop enters the Web3 space
Crypto to the moon! [Literally]
RESOURCE: Is it safe to live on Satoshi Island? (find out in 6:30)
Does fame and reputation translate to 'trust', in Web3?
Terms used (click for translation):
Web3, NFTs, Self-Custodial Wallets, Blockchain.
GameStop enters the Web3 space
Investing in a company is a lot like doing a trust fall.
'Here's my money, please don't waste it...'
In Web3, onboarding is confusing and identifying scams initially feels akin to 'seeing the matrix'.
...which makes community support and user trust MASSIVELY important in a company's success.
There's a widely shared theory that Web2 companies that lack the commodities of trust and support, will struggle to make the jump to Web3.
(Would you do a trust fall with Meta?)
This theory is now being put to the test by Web2's 'poster child of community support': GameStop.
They've just announced the launch of their GameStop Wallet, which has been built to support their upcoming NFT platform.
Here're the cliff notes of the announcement:
The Wallet
Can buy/send/store ERC-20 tokens and NFTs*
Is self-custodial
Will run on browsers and as an app
*If you keep seeing the term ‘ERC-20’ thrown around and wonder what in the world it is - it means the token or coin is built on Ethereum.
(Similar to how Safari Browser is built for MacOS. Safari is not the Mac operating system, but it is designed to work with it).
The NFT marketplace
Will have zero transaction fees
Will be carbon neutral
Will host Ethereum based (ERC-20 ) NFTs
Here's why this is important:
Web3 products, built by Web3 companies, are usually built for (you guessed it) Web3 natives. Which is fine.
But there're two big things these products usually miss:
They're not incentivized to move the user experience forward.
The interfaces and mechanics of the products don't need to be made easier, because the target audience already understands the clunky status quo of the Web3 user experience.
These companies might bring new users to their product, but probably won't do much to bring new users to the wider Web3 space.
GameStop has the potential to do both of these things.
It makes sense for them to assume that the majority of their customer base are yet to get into the weeds of Web3.
As a result, they'll (hopefully) make efforts to create a product that is very friendly to new users.
Easy to use Web3 products = smoother onboarding = more new users.
Big fans! Two thumbs up!
Crypto to the moon! [Literally]
Someone may have spike Lockheed Martin's coffee with acid...
"What if we, like, took blockchain technology, yeah?
And like, put it in space?
...we could call it the Inter-Planetary File System"
Now, that quote may be a bit off, but Lockheed Martin and the Filecoin Foundation are actually looking to do just that.
The aim is to find a satellite or space-faring platform that is capable of hosting a blockchain-based, open-source data storage / sharing program.
So, like, Google Drive - in space?
Kind of.
The aim of the project is to reduce latency when downloading data from remote locations, like - get this - THE MOON.
The idea being that, currently, satellites interact mainly with servers on Earth - but by putting these servers in orbit, latency will be reduced when communicating across space.
Like most things with space travel, we don't completely understand it, but it's exciting all the same.
What a wild time to be alive!
Resource of the day
Is it safe to live on Satoshi Island?
(find out in 6:30)
Does fame and reputation translate to 'trust', in Web3?
Remember in our first article, how we spoke about community support and user trust being important in Web3?
There's a parallel with this story...
It'd be easy to make the assumption that:
Fame and reputation = community support and user trust.
But those assumptions may be flawed.
eBay are launching a series of Wayne Gretzky collectible NFTs.
Gretzky has the fame and eBay has...a half decent reputation? It's neutral at worst.
Here's where the questions start to pop up:
Will eBay's reputation translate positively to Web3?
Our guess: it'll be neither here nor there.
Will Gretzky fans be kicking down the doors, onboarding themselves to Web3, in order to buy a collectible NFT?
Our guess: some might. But as far as 'Web3 aligned celebrity followings' goes - it feels like a weird pick.
That being said - we could be way off.
eBay has been a global hub for trading physical collectibles for years and Gretzky is the ice hockey GOAT.
So on paper, some sense can be made of it.
File this one under 'weird, but why not?'.
Your Daily Dose of Web3
Disgraced GOP Rep faces House investigation over ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ coin
Rich Dad, Poor Dad author recommends bunkering down with food, guns, and Bitcoin
Fed report finds most Americans who own crypto tend to be high income hodler
Pharma bro, Martin Shkreli, says Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin is 'Brilliant' but also 'Full of Shit'
Celebrity Cruises sail into Web3 with their debut NFT collection
Alright, that’s it for today!
Love to the family,