ICYMI: Last Week In Crypto- eToro introduce Crypto trading on Twitter, Adidas launch Dynamic NFTs and Bruce Lee joins Web3
Be nonfungible my friend🌟👌
Last week in Web3 features global sneakers brand Adidas as they launched Chapter 1 of the ALTs dynamic NFTs and eToro announced a partnership with Twitter that will allow crypto trading on the social media platform.
Adidas Launch Chapter 1 of ALTS Dynamic NFT Collection
Adidas, the international sneaker and fashion company, has added more non-fungible tokens (NFT) to its ecosystem by introducing the ALTS by Adidas franchise.
Holders of Adidas' Into The Metaverse NFTs can burn their tokens to join the brand-new, dynamic NFT ecosystem.
In December 2021, Adidas first unveiled its “Into The Metaverse” line, giving NFT owners "exclusive access to collaborative merchandise and virtual land experiences throughout 2022." With the help of NFT influencer Gmoney, PUNKS Comic, and Bored Ape Yacht Club, the project's first Web3 experiment gave users the option to burn their NFTs in exchange for a new ERC-1155 token from the project's subsequent phase and tangible apparel.
Holders of NFTs from the first two Into The Metaverse collection phases can now burn their existing NFTs and exchange them for a new NFT from the Ethereum-based ALTS by Adidas collection by paying only the gas costs. A dynamic NFT with eight distinct "ALT[er] egos" that correspond to various rarity traits and interactive storylines is featured in the new stage of Adidas' Web3 journey.
The new line will provide owners with a variety of benefits, such as an investment in the ALTS by Adidas ecosystem, some commercial intellectual property (IP) rights to their character, entry to events exclusively for owners, access to token-gated Discord channels, and access to exclusive virtual wearables.
The Into the Metaverse collection currently (as the time of writing) has a floor price of 0.57 ETH (roughly $1,000) and has seen trading volume of 48,771 ETH (roughly $93.4 million) since its launch. The floor price for the ALTS by Adidas line is 0.59 ETH, or roughly $1,100, and the total trading volume to date is 320 ETH, or roughly $613,000 in ETH.
Through digital apparel collections and a virtual styling tool for pre-existing profile picture (PFP) NFTs, Adidas has continued to bring its sporty aesthetic to Web3. Additionally, it has released a number of NFT collections, such as the sports-themed Blue Pass, the Raws x Adidas art collection, and a council badge for the 15 people chosen to advise the business on its Web3 expansion.
Adidas previously collaborated with the Italian fashion house Prada on a Polygon-based NFT collection, and most recently, the company debuted fresh looks in Decentraland during the Metaverse Fashion Week celebration of the online community. Adidas is still one of the top brands in the NFT sector, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard.
Feminist Utopia: Music Band Pussy Riot Joins IMVU to Launch Metaverse And Airdrop NFTs
Nadya Tolokonnikova, the lead singer of Pussy Riot, is introducing a metaverse to embrace women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ collectives.
During the NFT NYC 2023 event on April 12, IMVU and Nadya Tolokonnikova, the founder of the Russian feminist punk-rock band Pussy Riot, announced the establishment of a community space in the Web3 metaverse.
In the interactive 3D chatroom game IMVU, the Pussy Riot community space will debut, according to Venture Beat. Additionally, an NFT created by Tolokonnikova will be made available to the first 5,000 users who enter the metaverse and finish a free mission.
The goal of the community space "Utopia: A Virtual Haven for All" is to offer all women, BIPOC, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community a special and welcoming setting where everyone can interact within a feminism church that upholds beliefs similar to those of Pussy Riot.
Starting on April 14, anyone wishing to enter Tolokonnikova's metaverse can do so by signing into IMVU and making an individual avatar of their choosing.
Tolokonnikova claims that the establishment of this online community is the first step in realizing her vision of establishing a "Pink Church of Feminism" that accepts all gender variations.
“It’s very thrilling to launch Utopia in IMVU and make it feminist, queer, diverse, and radical. It has always been a dream of mine to create a Pink Church of Feminism, […] Eventually, I’ll find a way to build it in real life. But the first step is to launch this vision in the metaverse.”
Tolokonnikova, a true feminist activist who claims to have spent two years in prison for speaking out against the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin, noted that this is one of the first projects she is working on that is specifically focused on the crypto ecosystem to support LGBTQIA+ communities in Russia.
Tolokonnikova added that she is working with IMVU to create digital wearables to aid groups like North Caucasus SOS, which assists homosexuals in leaving Chechnya, a region of Russia where "gay people are gravely in danger."
Together Labs Vice President of Marketing Maura Welch expressed her company's joy at working with IMVU and Nadya to bring the artist's creations to the metaverse and to welcome all of her fans.
“Nadya has long loved the freedom and aesthetic possibilities of the IMVU metaverse, and so we worked together on an extraordinary collaboration bringing Nadya’s art and activism to life for IMVU’s incredibly diverse and wildly creative community. We welcome Nadya’s fans to IMVU in joining her Utopia community,”
Push Protocol Roll-out Wallet-to-wallet Video Chatting Feature
Push Protocol, a decentralized communication network, recently launched wallet-to-wallet video chatting on its Web3 messaging system.
The feature was promoted by the protocol's creators as a way to improve the Web3 ecosystem.
According to the protocol's CEO and co-founder Harsh Rajat, adding video calling to Web3 products is comparable to how revolutionary video calling was for Web2.
“Video and audio calls are just a way to enhance the Web3 communication in a Web3 native way,” Rajat said. “It basically enables a communication rail for anything a Web3 developer wants to do.”
According to Rajat, one way it improves the Web3 experience is by enabling famous people or influential people to have token-gated or NFT-gated exclusive video calls with their followers. He suggested that live streams could be used to accomplish the same thing, which has implications for gaming.
It also enables those with an interest in cryptocurrencies to conduct business with one another without relying on non-peer-to-peer platforms like Gmail or Zoom.
In January 2022, Push Protocol debuted on the Ethereum network. Later, it was added to the Polygon chain and the BNB chain. In October 2022, Push Chat went live, allowing users to send messages between wallets.
It was first mentioned in the project's 2020 white paper that a video chatting feature would be added to the service.
Decentralized messaging protocols are generally viewed with skepticism by Jake Udell, the creator of Web3 platform Metalink, who noted that some of them "have been able to conceal the message but without concealing the sender's address."
According to Richa Joshi, a co-founder of Push Protocol, Push Chat's messages are encrypted but its wallets are not.
“[You] can still tell if a wallet is communicating with another wallet but not the content. The way we do it is by double encryption which means [a] PGP key (like whatsapp) is generated for each user locally which is used to encrypt and decrypt the messages,” Joshi wrote in an email.
Udell acknowledged that he comprehends the value of adding video messaging to peer-to-peer networks.
“These types of innovations could unlock a tremendous amount of utility when it comes to sharing family photos, interacting in community chat channels and private messaging more generally,” Udell said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we are at the beginning phases of seeing something that is private and highly functional being built out at scale.”
According to Josh Siegel, chief product officer at Dfns, encryption is a "key feature" that sets Web3 messaging apps apart from conventional messaging apps.
Beyond encryption, Siegel listed a wide range of other applications for wallet-to-wallet messaging, such as making it simpler for DAOs to inform members of new proposals for voting and the results.
“Think of it as a group chat with a bank account,” Siegel said. “Wallet-to-wallet messaging lets NFT buyers and sellers negotiate in the same place where they’re making their purchases. It lets dapps incorporate bot or live-chat customer service, which is hugely important for accessibility.”
Mastercard Release Free Music Pass NFTs on Polygon With Perks for Holders
In conjunction with the annual NFT NYC conference, payment processing company Mastercard debuted a free Music Pass NFT drop this week, rewarding collectors with a number of advantages. The digital memorabilia is a component of the Mastercard Artist Accelerator initiative, which was introduced in January.
Up until the end of April, the Mastercard Music Pass NFT can be printed for nothing. The drop is happening on the Polygon Ethereum scaling network, which has been adopted for various Web3 initiatives by companies like Starbucks, Nike, and Reddit.
“If you think about it, it only makes sense to unlock a Web3-centered program with a Web3 technology,” Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, told Decrypt. He added that the accelerator program is "designed to deepen the experience for the music and Web3 enthusiasts."
NFTs are tokens built on the blockchain that are linked to both digital and physical content and serve as proof of ownership, authenticity, or even group membership. Musicians and record companies have incorporated NFTs into their fan engagement and marketing strategies; some have even released songs via NFTs or given holders a portion of streaming royalties.
Collectors who have a Mastercard pass will have access to features before others, such as an AI-powered music generator app, as well as learning resources and invitations to a virtual showcase event in June featuring artists from the company's accelerator program. The program also aims to teach participating artists how to use Web3 technology.
“This is the first NFT we’ve dropped as part of the accelerator, but there is certainly the potential for others as the participating artists learn how to create their own NFTs as part of the program,” Rajamannar said. “As a brand, this isn’t our first NFT, but it is a very exciting one. We love the combination of form and function.”
In the past, Mastercard produced a collectible NFT in collaboration with José Mourinho, a global brand ambassador at the time. Along with an associated NFT collectible, the company also created customizable debit cards in collaboration with Polygon and Web3 startup Hi.
Grammy Award winner Cocoa Sarai, R&B singer Young Athena, Latin Grammy nominee Manu Manzu, Nigerian recording artist LeriQ, and musician Emily Vu are some of the artists taking part in the accelerator.
Rapper Latashá, Zora Head of Programming, dancer Nife, Ledger Chief Experience Officer Ian Rodger, producer/songwriter Tushar Apte, and Polygon Head of Business Development Brian Trunzo are some of the mentors in the accelerator program.
Rajamannar stated that Mastercard plans to continue developing and experimenting in Web3 after the scheduled showcase with the artists in the accelerator program.
"We’ll continue to explore Web3 tools, testing and learning as we go," he said, "and identifying new places to innovate and engage with new technologies."
The Everything App: eToro Announces Crypto and Stock Trading Integration on Twitter
Twitter will soon support stock trading. And, allegedly, cryptocurrency trading.
Users can now access market charts on a variety of financial investments through a new partnership with eToro by searching for the appropriate "cashtag," which is typically found by adding a "$" sign in front of the ticker, such as "$TSLA" for Tesla stock.
A chart displaying the asset's 24-hour price performance and a link to "View on eToro" then appear, allowing users to view more detailed market data and buy the asset as well as other assets offered by the platform.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, was a devoted supporter of cryptocurrencies long before he bought the social media site.
His pro-Dogecoin (DOGE) tweets helped the digital currency reach an all-time high of $0.73 in May 2021. In the hour since the most recent eToro partnership, the price of cryptocurrencies has also increased dramatically.
Early last week, DOGE soared 20% in less than an hour after Musk replaced the recognizable blue bird logo on the social media platform with a picture of Doge, the Shiba Inu responsible for the meme that served as the coin's inspiration.
In February 2021, he made a $1.5 billion Bitcoin investment in his capacity as Tesla CEO. However, the company had sold about 75% of its war chest by the end of June of last year and is hoarding the remaining funds.
Musk has frequently made hints that he wants cryptocurrency and finance to be integrated into the platform ever since he started his effort to acquire Twitter last spring.
Musk hinted during the takeover talks that he saw the potential for Twitter to develop into a "super app," citing China's WeChat as a possible model.
“If you're in China, you kind of live on WeChat, it does everything," he said. "It's sort of like Twitter, plus PayPal, plus a whole bunch of other things. And all rolled into one [...] great interface. It's really an excellent app.”
Musk renamed Twitter's parent company earlier this month to X Corp. after merging it with an eponymous newly-formed shell company in order to create "X," the name of his envisioned "everything app."
Bruce Lee enters Web3: Be nonfungible, my friend
The Bruce Lee Estate, in collaboration with Shibuya, an NFT-driven video platform, has released an NFT collection to honor the late actor and kung-fu fighter Bruce "Little Dragon" Lee.
Plans for the release were made public on April 11 when Lee's family-run Twitter account shared an old video clip of Lee in which he was transformed into an animated version of himself.
According to its smart contract address on Etherscan, the NFTs were sold at a starting price of 0.008 ETH ($15), with 13,907 coins being created in the first 24 hours, totaling more than $205,000.
The NFTs were created by Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee and illustrated by artist Emily "pplpleasr" Yang.
However, collectors can only mint a maximum of 100 NFTs even though it is an "open edition" collection.