NFTs: Crisis or Cycle?😵💫

Web3's $66m a16z funding frenzy. Yuga Labs & its on-chain metaverse. Citigroup doubles down on crypto. Galaxy Digital expands to Europe. Top 30 Web3 loyalty start-ups & more.

My latest obsessively curated Web3 insights – be sure to catch them!👇

Funding updates, top 40 Web3 loyalty start-ups & more in full notes!

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📚 Top 5 Reads

• Web3 has permanently changed how marketing works. By Amanda Cassatt . https://t.ly/3E9EH
• Property as the law of virtual things. By Joshua Fairfield . https://t.ly/uUBiB
• An onchain model for Web3 advertising. By Mason Nystrom . https://t.ly/Y6Qi0
• The Web3 growth reading list 2023. By Safary 🦁 . https://t.ly/LijBL

🚨 Top 5 Stories That Caught My Eye

✨ Web3 + NFTs

NFTs: Crisis or cycle? 🖼️

• NFT trading volume on Ethereum dropped to $407m in Aug 2023, down 95% from Jan 2022.
• On-chain NFT activity (active addresses) fell around 50% from its 2021 peak.
• Yuga Labs the IP holder of Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and others, made $116m in royalties in 2022. A no-royalty policy by major exchanges reduced their 2023 revenue by 79% YTD.

👉Punchline: Though the NFT market shows signs of turbulence – lower volumes, activity, and royalty fees – the space feels much more active compared to the 2019 bear market. Brands are busy building.

An interoperable metaverse 🌍

• Yuga Labs joins OMA3 's board and announces partnerships for its virtual platform Otherside, one of the most ambitious on-chain metaverse projects.
• OMA3 is one of many industry-wide interoperability efforts, such as the Metaverse Standards Forum and Augmented Nation (Formerly Metacircle) .

👉Punchline: Interoperability crucial for what is commonly referred to as the “open metaverse”. Interoperability enables assets like NFTs to move freely across various chains and platforms, enhancing their value. Without it, Web3 is basically worthless.

🌎 Crypto & Macro

A game-changer for cross-border payments?💸

• Citi launches "Citi Token Services," offering cross-border payments and trade finance solutions, in a push to expand its institutional offering.
• It’s a permissioned blockchain that makes cross-border payments, liquidity and trade finance payments for institutional clients more efficient. 
• J.P. Morgan is exploring similar technology.

👉 Punchline: Citi's private blockchain aims to enhance efficiency, though it contradicts the ethos of decentralization. This move doesn’t come as a surprise though: Citi’s crypto history dates back to 2017, when it became a founding member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance . Adoption? Yes.

US crypto companies move East🦅

• Galaxy , one of the biggest digital asset service-providers for institutional investors, expands into Europe amid US crypto crackdown.

👉Punchline: The move follows a16z crypto’s European entry. Back in April, Coinbase CEO said leaving the US for UK is “on the table”. Given the unpredictability of US regulators, this makes sense.

That’s all for now, folks.

Back to building! 🚀

– Marc

Funding updates, top 40 Web3 loyalty start-ups & more in full notes!

👉  Don't miss full notes & Join 4'900+ Web3 leaders who are already profiting for free.