Johnny Depp, Mars Bars and Web3
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:
Johnny Depp, Mars Bars and Web3
Computers & Dirt, an Unlikely Love Story...
RESOURCE: What is Basic Attention Token? (Learn in ~9:30)
The Key to Making a Cryptocurrency's Value Explode [Long Term]
Terms used (click for translation):
Web3, NFTs, Blockchain, DAOs .
Johnny Depp, Mars Bars and Web3
In 1997, the sales of Mars chocolate bars increased wildly and unexpectedly.
The weirdest part? No one at the company could figure out why.
They hadn't started any new marketing campaigns, nor had they updated any of there promotions...
The cause? NASA's Pathfinder mission.
Pathfinder was a widely publicized mission to (you guessed it) Mars - which acted as a subliminal trigger to consumers.
(Wild, right!?)
Currently, there's a correlation between NFT sales and the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Herd trial - though this one is much less subliminal than it is directly correlated.
Apparently Johnny Depp released a series of NFTs, titled 'Never Fear Truth', back in January.
(This was news to us).
As the highly publicized trial begun, the 'behavioral trigger' was pulled and prices of Depp's NFTs surged, from about ~$950 (or .5 ETH) to $2-3K, with one piece reaching $15K.
They've since returned to about .5 ETH...but price movement isn't what we find interesting here.
It's that NFTs are even still a 'thing' in broader pop culture.
It's not that we're cynical - in fact, we're SUPER bullish on the future of NFTs. But we also understand that the peaks and troughs of blockchain technology are highly cyclical and highly volatile.
Last time the crypto market crashed, nothing held strong - not even Bitcoin, which went from ~$3.5K, to ~$19K, and all the way back down; in the span of a year.
Overnight it felt like everyone except the crypto evangelists jumped ship and stopped engaging in the space.
So the fact that the NFT space, considered by many to be a 'fad', hasn't all together cratered? That's exciting!
We see it as a sign of broader engrained adoption, a luxury we haven't been afforded in previous downtrends.
It's not much, but we'll take it!
Computers & Dirt, an Unlikely Love Story...
Web3 and agriculture...computers and dirt...they're an unlikely pairing.
Strangely enough, Kimbal Musk (Elon’s little brother) has combined the two, with great success.
Here's what's happening:
A few years ago, Kimbal launched ‘Big Green’ - a non-profit that built “Learning Gardens” in 650 schools across the US, teaching ~350,000 kids each day.
Musk's whole idea around growing your own food being:
"It improves your nutrition security. It improves your mental health. It gets you out into nature. It opens your eyes to the weather volatility created by climate change.”
Unfortunately, due to changes in safety guidelines for Covid-19, the Learning Gardens had to be put on pause. So, a few months ago, Kimbal launched the Big Green DAO.
The DAO allows anyone to join, simply by contributing funds.
Once you’re a member, you get to vote on how to distribute the funds to any non-profit that supports the food system.
And it’s working!
The DAO already has 1700 members and has provided funds to 16 non-profit organizations.
With less overhead, less red tape, easier applications and more community building, the non-profits that receive the ‘no strings attached’ funds can now truly control where the money goes.
As Kimbal puts it, that’s something that has “never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever been done.”
This gets us excited - because it hits close to home!
Back in 2016, we started an urban agriculture company, before hitting pause on it all (to eventually end up writing this here newsletter).
To see the two industries working in harmony?
A+, 5 stars - more please!
Resource of the day
What is Basic Attention Token?
(Learn in ~9:30)
The Key to Making a Cryptocurrency's Value Explode [Long Term]
We'd like to take a moment to talk to you about Metcalfe's law and the network effect.
Wait-wait-wait!
Before you give us noogies and call us nerds, hear us out...
Metcalfe's law is a way of valuing a network by its 'potential connections' and it's actually really important when trying to value a cryptocurrency.
Ol' Metcalfe thought like this:
With 10 people in a network, each would have the potential to make 10 connections between themselves, which results in a total of 100 potential connections.
Or if you want to see it as an equation...
10 ppl x 10 potential connections = 100 potential connections.
Doesn't matter whether you get it or not (we hate math too).
Point is: the more people in a network, the more valuable it becomes.
So if you owned Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana, how would you bring more people into the network, and increase its value?
Well, you could make it easy for payment systems, like Flexa, to integrate with your cryptocurrency.
And payment systems, like Flexa, might then go to restaurant chains, like Chipotle, who would start accepting crypto across their US locations.
...Chipotle are now accepting crypto. That's it. That's the story.
BUT!
Now, thanks to Mr. Metcalfe, we can see that this is more than just a marketing gimmick. It's actually really beneficial to the overall growth of blockchain technology!
Aren't you glad you stuck around?
Hey, also, before we go....
Seb just did a podcast recounting the 'story so far' of this very newsletter, Web3 Daily.
If you wanna check it out, you can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or on the Not Another Crypto Show website.
If you listen to it, reply to this email and let us know what you think!
Your Daily Dose of Web3
401(k) provider ForUsAll sues US Labor Dept over anti-crypto compliance release
Netscape creator says Web3 really is like the rise of the early internet
FTX overtook Coinbase in Bitcoin volume for first time ever in May
Mental health and crypto: How does volatility impact well-being?
Institutional investors turn to competitors as Ethereum tumbles
Alright, that’s it for today!
Love to the family,