Did Coinbase just create IG for NFTs?
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:
Did Coinbase just beat Instagram at its own game?
This tweet added ~$3 billion to $APE coin's market capitalization
RESOURCE: What's a ‘rug pull’? Learn in ~8 mins
The NBA are doing something very very cool with NFTS...
Terms used (click for translation):
NFT(s), Self-Custody Wallets
Did Coinbase just beat Instagram at its own game?
We all know how much Instagram likes *borrowing* its competitors best features...
(SnapChat -> Stories, TikTok -> Reels)
Now it looks like Coinbase is about to give them a taste of their own medicine.
If you're new to the game, Coinbase is the largest crypto exchange in the US, and yesterday they released the beta version of their NFT marketplace.
Here's what it looks like:
At the moment, the platform only supports Ethereum based NFTs, but 'plans to add support for other unspecified blockchain platforms in the near future'.
Keeping things mysterious. We like it.
The beta release is only usable with self custody wallets, but the platform will eventually offer NFT custody services, letting users buy NFTs with a Coinbase account or a credit card.
Coinbase VP of Product, Sanchan Saxena, described the platform release as an effort to 'bring NFTs to the masses'.
Which would be vague, fluffy and ambitious language coming from most companies, but with Coinbase - it means something.
After a decade of solid execution, they've built a foundation of trust within the crypto community - and this NFT platform looks to follow suit, moving beyond simple buying & selling to focus on community interaction.
"It’s presented as a communal experience, with social feeds that let users easily browse other collectors’ NFT holders and leave comments on profiles and individual NFT pages."
- Andrew Hayward, Decrypt.
So, what is this? The new Instagram? Are we swapping one data hungry social platform for another?
Not exactly.
While some of the functionality will initially run on Coinbase's servers, the company's long term plan is to fully decentralize the platform and its services.
Translation: they won't control the data.
Dope!
This tweet added ~$3 billion to $APE coin's market capitalization
At the 2014 SXSW music conference, there was a rumor that Jay-Z and Kanye West were playing a show, sponsored by Samsung.
The only way to get in? Show a Samsung smart phone at the door.
In a matter of hours, all Samsung phone's in the city of Austin were sold out.
Luckily for those who forked out the cash, the rumors turned out to be true.
At the moment, something similar is happening with Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and their associated $APE coin...
A few days ago, the pseudonymous twitter user @renegademasterr tweeted an unconfirmed rumor that the BAYC metaverse 'Otherside', will be hosting a public land sale and that the sale might be priced in $APE coin.
Over the next day or so, the price of $APE coin went from ~$13 to ~$16, adding roughly $3 billion to its total market cap.
Here's how this sort of thing happens:
The 'Otherside' metaverse land sale rumor starts
Those wanting land stock up on $APE coin
This buying pressure starts to push the coin price up
Those wanting to make money on this upward price movement buy $APE coin
This pushes the price up even further
In the words of @renegademasterr, it's just speculation at the moment - and y'all should DYOR (do your own research):
Resource of the day
What's a ‘rug pull’?
Learn in ~8 mins
(examples included)
The NBA are doing something very very cool with NFTS...
The NBA will be releasing 75 NFTs of each player from the 16 different teams participating in this year's playoffs.
Wait wait wait! That's not the cool part - this is:
These NFTs won't stay static, instead their traits will evolve throughout the playoffs based on each player’s real-life performance.
Think about how highly valued some rookie cards are. They get their value from the fact that the players featured on them weren't superstars yet and the release probably had a low run rate.
But that value takes years (if not decades) to realize.
With these NFTs, that value can be realized or disproven in an underrated player, over two months of playoffs.
Here's how it works:
Dunks, blocks, three-pointers, rebounds, and assists will change the player’s image in the NFT, while the background/frame will be altered in response to the team's performance.
Very neat. Very cool. Two thumbs up.
Your Daily Dose of Web3
Hyundai’s weird NFT ad features a gorilla driving an old Pony in space [video incl.]
Secret Service seizes more than $102 million in crypto assets
Motley Fool explains why Ethereum’s “Merge” delay is terrible news
Alright, that’s it for today!
Love to the family,