ICYMI: Last Week In Crypto - OpenSea go Pro, Ralph Lauren accept Crypto & Japan adopts web3
Cha-ching! 👌It's Gucci on the OtherSide 🤑
Top events from last week saw OpenSea NFT marketplace announce the launch of Opensea Pro on Tuesday, Luxury fashion house Ralph Lauren now accepts crypto payments at its new store in Miami and Japan released a white paper on Web3 adoption.
OpenSea Roll-Out OpenSea Pro for Professional NFT Traders
OpenSea, the largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, announced on Tuesday that it is launching OpenSea Pro, a platform with advanced features aimed at the expanding market of professional NFT traders who have assisted rival NFT marketplace Blur in growth since its launch.
Gem v2, the most recent version of Gem's NFT aggregation platform, is rebranded as the new product. In April 2022, OpenSea purchased Gem with the intention of providing OpenSea users with access to its elite trading tools.
To give traders the best offers, OpenSea Pro will operate with 0% fees and pull listings from 170 marketplaces. The ability to optimize gas fees for effective trades, instant sales, inventory management, advanced "floor sweeping" for traders, a watchlist feature, and more will all be supported. Mobile devices will also be able to access it.
According to Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, Gem has assisted OpenSea in developing OpenSea Pro into the most effective NFT trading tool available.
“[Gem v1] is amazing, you know, it’s an incredible aggregator tool, but this is really a dramatic step up from it,” said Finzer. “It's incredibly fast, incredibly real-time. It’s really the fastest user experience for purchasing NFTs.”
The Battle for Supremacy: OpenSea Vs BLUR
Since the marketplace's launch in October, competition for market share of NFT trading volume between OpenSea and zero-fee platform Blur has risen quickly. As a result, OpenSea reduced its required marketplace fees to 0% in an effort to attract Blur traders.
OpenSea announced the return of its marketplace fees to the primary platform at a rate of 2.5% when it introduced OpenSea Pro.
“We’ll certainly, with regards to fees, continue investing the revenue back into making the space stronger,” said Finzer.
Finzer stated that OpenSea will continue to focus on providing tools and improvements for retail traders and creators, including focusing on new partnerships, primary drops, and smart contract standards, despite the fact that OpenSea's decision to release OpenSea Pro comes at a time when the marketplace is in fierce competition for the top spot with Blur.
“We're investing in really exciting features that make it easier for people to explore and purchase their first NFT and then really push the use cases forward for NFTs,” said Finzer. “Folks can come to OpenSea and graduate to a professional experience.”
Ralph Lauren Miami Store Now Accepts Crypto Payments
At its recently opened store in Miami's Design District, American clothing company Ralph Lauren will start taking cryptocurrency payments, making it the retailer's first location to do so.
In accordance with a press release, the retailer is collaborating with payment processor BitPay to enable customers to buy goods using the cryptocurrency ether, MATIC from Polygon, and the digital currencies bitcoin and ether.
The company is also collaborating with Web3 community Poolsuite to publish a co-branded non-fungible token (NFT), which will be given away to current owners of the Poolsuite NFT membership collection. A "special event" will only be accessible to members, and they will be able to customize their "Leisurist" avatars with digital Ralph Lauren wearables.
At the end of April, in conjunction with the opening of the store, the brand is organizing an immersive three-day experience at a private estate in North Miami.
Recently, Ralph Lauren has been experimenting with Web3 and has released digital clothing lines with well-known video game universes like Roblox and Fortnite. Patrice Louvet, the company's CEO, stated in January 2022 that the business was actively looking for new avenues to engage with younger customers, including through activations in the metaverse. Since we are not a clothing company, there are many similarities between the metaverse and Ralph's vision. We are in the business of dreams," he declared, mentioning that his company was "experimenting" with NFTs.
Magic Eden Launches Bitcoin NFT Launchpad as Ordinals Total Nears 1 Million
Similar to NFTs on Ethereum and other blockchain networks, the Ordinals protocol for storing digital assets on Bitcoin has seen significant growth so far this year. And now that there are approaching 1 million Ordinals, Magic Eden is launching a platform that enables creators to introduce fresh collections.
The multi-chain NFT exchange revealed on Thursday that its Bitcoin launchpad will make its debut on Friday. The exchange recently launched on Bitcoin and quickly surpassed competitors in terms of the volume of Ordinals trading. For creators who have uploaded their works of art or media to the Bitcoin blockchain, the launchpad serves as their main sales channel.
Magic Deadjira, a fork of the Ethereum NFT project Godjira, is Eden's first launchpad project on Bitcoin. It has 107 pixelated profile pictures (PFPs) with lizard themes that were inserted in February.
Over the coming week, the launchpad will host a few more Ordinal releases, including ones from the well-known rapper Lil Durk, Lazy Lions, The Humanoids, and Genopets, an NFT video game project based in Solana.
The launchpad will initially allow creators to sell Bitcoin Ordinals that have already been added to the blockchain; if needed, Magic Eden itself can assist with the inscription process.
When users "come to mint in a trustless minting form, it will essentially execute the sale of the pre-inscribed Ordinal to the allowlisted users wallet for the mint price," a Magic Eden representative explained that creators can use an allowlist to allow specific wallet addresses to mint Ordinals.
The launchpad at Magic Eden is a commercial project that goes hand in hand with its secondary market and offers creators a "white glove service" for launching new projects. A representative for Magic Eden stated that the company's cut or share of each launch "varies by the deal." It is a venture that generates income for the company.
Despite being still a relatively small market, the company's Ordinals marketplace has consistently topped the charts for trading volume since its March launch. Dune data indicates that Magic Eden has only served about 2,700 different wallets so far, but has generated sales volume with Ordinals totaling about $3.3 million.
Yuga Labs’ Otherside holders get dripped out in Gucci
Gucci, a high-end fashion brand, created a limited-edition pendant for the Otherside metaverse of Yuga Labs that will be available in both physical and nonfungible token (NFT) forms.
For owners of the Koda or Vessel NFTs, which serve as either creatures or avatars in Otherside, Gucci's silver "KodaPendant" will become available on April 6.
The actual chain is 50 centimeters long and has a pendant in the shape of a Koda that has "GG" engraved on it. 3,333 of them will be offered for purchase for 450 ApeCoin APE per set, valued at about $1,930 at the time of writing.
After the NFTs are bought, their Koda or Vessel NFT metadata will be updated with a KodaPendant trait, which will result in a physical update to the animated character that the token is associated with.
It is the initial release of a larger collection by Gucci called "Otherside Relics," with the two companies keeping the suspense about what will come next.
In a blog post from April 4 explaining the collaboration, Yuga Labs said the two aim to "push the boundaries at the intersection of fashion, entertainment, and gaming."
In their statement, the company promised to "work together throughout our extensive partnership to engage Voyagers in immersive experiences at the intersection of fashion, entertainment, and technology."
Multicoin Leads $4M Strategic Round for Web3 Co-Ownership Platform Lore
San Francisco-based Lore, a platform for Web3 collective co-ownership, has raised $4 million in a strategic funding round that was organized and overseen by Multicoin Capital. Starting with Polygon and Solana, the capital will make it possible to expand to new use cases and blockchains outside of Ethereum.
The Lore platform and protocol, which is currently in public beta, makes it simpler for Web3 creator communities and gaming guilds to jointly own non-fungible tokens (NFT), providing new ownership and utility options. Co-owner collectives can use automated administration settings to distribute funds, issue ownership stakes to members, and pool resources.
Collectives can easily gain access to mints, stake items, or play games with NFT technology. In a way, Lore functions as a social network that enables new members to connect with collectives.
"The internet bundled us into communities based on shared interests and goals, but collaboration largely stopped there," said Lore co-founder and CEO Thomas Scaria in a press release draft shared with CoinDesk. "Lore gives communities of all sizes a new way to take action, and to ultimately achieve the goals that bind them together," he continued. "Lore turns niche communities into hubs for cultural curation, wealth creation, and commerce. As more opportunities emerge in virtual worlds, Lore will be there to help strangers and friends from all over the world to pool resources to seize opportunities."
Last summer, Lore emerged out of hiding. Previously, joining the platform required NFT ownership. Any user who is interested can now access the experience thanks to the public beta. The platform is currently being used by the Web3 communities Proof, Friends With Benefits, Seed Club, Memeland, and Azuki.
The round occurs as investments in cryptocurrency startups gradually pick up steam after nearly stalling due to the bear market in cryptocurrencies and a number of scandals that made national headlines.
Seed Club Ventures, North Island Ventures, Balaji Srinivasan, Zeneca, Mischief Ventures, Sfermion, CMT Digital, Patricio Worthalter, Spice Capital, and Sublime Venture were a few of the additional investors in the round. To date, Lore has raised $7.15 million.
Japan Approves Web3 White Paper to Promote Industry Growth in the Country
As part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's "Cool Japan" project, the Web3 project team of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan has published a white paper outlining suggestions for advancing the nation's cryptocurrency market.
Japan is attempting to create a more welcoming environment for cryptocurrencies while other governments are looking to implement regulation to protect consumers after businesses started to leave the country due to high tax burdens.
The Web3 project team has been developing regulatory proposals for everything from NFTs to decentralized autonomous organizations without using the customary bureaucratic procedures.
“The cryptocurrency industry has been driven by early adopters, but it will shift to mass adoption from now on,” Akihisa Shiozaki, secretary-general of the party's Web3 project team, said in an interview with CoinDesk Japan.
Major Japanese corporations have started to enter the market, according to Shiozaki. Large financial institutions are looking to issue stablecoins, and Japanese mobile phone operator NTT Docomo promised to invest up to 600 billion yen ($4 billion) into Web3 infrastructure.
In this year's Group of Seven summit, where cryptocurrency will be discussed, Japan should take the lead, according to the white paper. It should also look ahead to the future potential of Web3 and make clear its leading position on technology-neutral and responsible innovation.
It also suggests additional adjustments to tax law, noting that token issuers have already been granted a sizable exemption. Tax exemptions for businesses holding tokens issued by other businesses but not intended for short-term trading are one of the proposals. It suggests allowing investors to self-assess so they can carry over losses for three years, and it suggests that cryptocurrency should only be taxed when the assets are converted to fiat money.
Due to the difficulty Web3 companies have had in locating auditors, the document identifies a lack of accounting standards as an urgent issue. It states that in order to develop guidelines, ministries and agencies should work with the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
It also suggests establishing a DAO law modeled after the godo kaisha (a business structure akin to a limited liability company) used in Japan and altering the rules outlined in the Companies Act and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
The white paper notes that while the screening procedure for tokens already in use is becoming quicker, the process for new tokens issued by foreign entities is still being reviewed slowly. It suggests improving procedure transparency so that issuers can provide the data required for review.
Last year, Japan approved a framework for managing stablecoins. The new white paper emphasizes how crucial it is to establish a self-regulatory organization and a procedure for stablecoin registration. Additionally, it mentions plans for yen-backed stablecoins.
Large Japanese corporations have expressed interest in the Web3 sector. The white paper, however, asserts that regulations should be established by the government and claims that it is still unclear whether banks and insurance companies will be permitted to enter the market.
The white paper on non-fungible tokens suggests public-private partnerships to establish policies on legitimate business models for fantasy sports services. Additionally, it suggests that the public and private sectors work together to determine data and NFT rights and take into account ways for content owners to obtain NFT licenses in a legal manner.
According to the document, a Web3 minister should be in charge of promoting policies and collaboration with other nations. According to the statement, the Japan Digital Agency will establish a related consultation desk for local authorities and business owners.
Additionally, it suggests expanding the startup visa program and giving talented workers access to cryptocurrency visas.