Did Mr. Beast just get dethroned by an NFT project?
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:
The most experienced builder in the metaverse space just entered the chat
Mr Beast has new (decentralized) competition in the restaurant game
RESOURCE: What are Dapps? Learn in ~3:30
Ethereum's mainnet shadow fork is live...
The most experienced builder in the metaverse space just entered the chat
You know that kid in high school that would always scoff at your new music discoveries?
You know the one...the 'I've been into that band/genre for years' guy.
If the metaverse were a band (...oh wait, it is), Epic Games founder and Fortnite creator, Tim Sweeney, could lay honest claim to being 'into it before it was mainstream'.
You see ol' Timmy has wanted to create a fully immersive virtual world (aka a metaverse) for a while now.
In fact, he's been building the foundations for this vision since the 90's, starting with two things:
A game, called 'Unreal'.
A development engine, called 'Unreal Engine'.
The game did ok; the engine changed the industry forever.
Before Unreal Engine was a thing, game creators had to create their own development engine every time they started a new title.
With Unreal Engine, that bottleneck no longer existed.
After being embraced by the industry, the engine went on to be pressure tested and optimized over two decades, to become the ultimate tool in creating virtual worlds.
If you've ever played the GTA trilogy, Bioshock, The Batman Arkham series, Borderlands, Rocket League, Fortnite or watched The Mandalorian on Disney Plus - you've experienced a digital world built on Unreal Engine.
So when it was announced yesterday that Sony and Lego had handed over $2 billion to fund Epic Games' vision for the metaverse...it was a big moment.
The most experienced builder in the metaverse space just entered the chat - and they've got cash to burn.
P.S. if you want to learn more about Tim Sweeney and Epic Games' story/vision, check out this video from John Coogan.
Mr Beast has new (decentralized) competition in the restaurant game
Ok, we're definitely living in the future...
This past weekend, an owner of a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT launched an ape themed restaurant called 'Bored & Hungry', in Long Beach California.
They don't just accept cash and card.
They also accept Ethereum and the BAYC aligned ApeCoin.
Just to be clear, Yuga Labs (creators of the BAYC NFT project) didn't start the restaurant - an NFT holder by the name of Andy Nguyen did.
Is he going to get the pants sued off him? No. No, he is not.
This is because BAYC NFT holders also get any intellectual property rights over the art, included in their purchase.
Which is kind of a genius move, as it incentivizes the community to build on the BAYC brand and put the benefits of Web3 technology on display.
(Imagine being able to leverage the brand power of Mr. Beast Burger, with the purchase of an NFT).
Here's what Andy Nguyen aims to achieve with 'Bored & Hungry':
“The goal is to give back to the growing Web 3.0 community and open the doors to those who want to learn more about this new Web3/NFT world”.
File this under 'very cool, two thumbs up'.
Resource of the day
What are Dapps?
Learn in ~3:30
Ethereum's mainnet shadow fork is live...
Ethereum's 'pullover galaxy knife' is live.
Ethereum's 'juggernaut dandelion strike' is live.
(we're just pulling random words from the dictionary, right?)
If this headline wrinkled your brain, we hear you, we see you, and you are not alone.
Here's what's happening:
The Ethereum Network is undergoing its largest update ever (which we wrote about here).
They've made a lot of big changes and are unsure how the new system will hold up under heavy use, so this 'shadow fork' lets a small amount of users pressure test the update.
Or in the words of Ethereum foundation developer, Parithosh Jayanthi:
It's "a way to check if our assumptions work".
( kind of like how airplane manufacturers test the limits of each craft's wings before letting the public onboard)
So why is this such a big deal?
Well, this new update will:
1. Allow Ethereum to run much more efficiently.
2. Let users earn interest on their ETH holdings.
3. Destroy a little bit of ETH after each transaction, making it more scarce and (theoretically) more valuable over time.
Oh, and the Ethereum community has been waiting a loooong time for this update and stayed (semi) patient throughout the many delays.
So yeah, the community is ready!
Your Daily Dose of Web3
Elon Musk says Twitter should accept Dodgecoin for Twitter 'Blue' membership payments
Coinbase to produce Bored Ape Yacht Club animated short films
VCs are investing in a new class of space startup applying Web3
Crypto Raiders explains how blockchain gaming attracts new users to Web3
Alright, that’s it for today!
Love to all,