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Author: Greg Lim
Top NFT marketplaces dropped royalties in October in a bid to compete with lower-priced alternatives, with Magic Eden becoming the largest domino to fall so far, followed by LooksRare. Two questions remain: Is OpenSea next, and will creators find new revenue streams?
Meanwhile, in the metaverse, a new data-centric debate has started around calculating the number of users on metaverse platforms. But even if new subscribers do use metaverse platforms, one lawyer’s research on metaverse terms of service might be enough to put them off.
All this and more in the October NFT data wrap.
If a tree falls in the metaverse, is anyone around to hear it? Apparently not, according to DappRadar data.
That data came under scrutiny last month for showing that blockchain-based metaverses are barren, empty wastelands devoid of players. In one 24-hour period, for example, Decentraland appeared to have just 38 active users.
Decentraland refuted the methods DappRadar uses for calculating active users, namely how many unique wallet addresses interact with a platform’s smart contract. The metaverse platform itself defines an active user as someone who enters Decentraland and moves out of the initial parcel they first entered.
By that metric, on Oct. 11, the Decentraland Foundation estimated 8,000 daily active users.
Source: DCL Metrics
DappRadar updated how it calculates its total to include 3,553 different Decentraland smart contracts, but it still estimates about 6,200 unique active wallets in total for the past 30 days, an average of 206 per day. It’s important to note you don’t need a wallet to access Decentraland, though it does limit some functions, including the ability to save your avatar’s appearance.
DCL Metrics also revealed data about the most hardcore metaverse players, some of whom have spent literal days playing on the platform over the last month.
Source: DCL Metrics
Lawyer James Murphy and his team at MetaLawMan recently undertook the unenviable task of reading the terms of service for 82 metaverse platforms. Almost four in five already have explicit content moderation policies that prohibit certain categories of speech.
“If you violate the speech code, the metaverse operator generally has the right to suspend or terminate your account,” Murphy said. “It is not always clear what exactly counts as prohibited by these content policies. Roblox, for example, prohibits creators of user-generated content from using their creations in ‘a manner that is offensive’ or ‘otherwise objectionable.’ But concepts like ‘objectionable’ and ‘offensive’ can sometimes be in the eye of the beholder.”
In the UK, metaverse platforms will fall under the scope of a controversial new bill that will make them responsible for user-generated content on their platform. These platforms therefore may start running into some of same problems that social media companies currently face with regards to content moderation.
Metaverses are also attempting to shore up their defenses against any future litigation. A total of 46 require disputes to be adjudicated in private arbitration and require users to forego the right to litigate in any court anywhere. Thirty-two metaverses include specific limitations on the damages a user can recover from the operator of the metaverse if there is a dispute, ranging from $1,000 to just $5.
When a Reddit company executive mentioned that the site’s NFT marketplace has almost three million crypto wallets some heralded it as the beginning of mass adoption. People took particular note of the fact that its NFTs were called “digital collectibles,” leading to suggestions that “NFT” has become something of a dirty word.
Reddit’s collectable avatars can be used as avatars on the site. While collections sold out, they were very quiet on the secondary market until recently when popularity spiked.
Initially priced between $9.99 and $99.99, certain pieces have sold for eye-watering amounts, the most expensive going for over $40,000.
A total of 99% of collectors hold only one Reddit avatar. Compare that to other popular collections: There are 6,400 wallets holding the 10,000 Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs in existence. Moonbirds feature in 6,600. Other collections fare much worse. Goblintown NFTs can be found in 4,600 unique wallets and Cryptopunks just 3,600.
Source: Galaxy Digital
In early 2021, Yuga Labs set a 2.5% royalty on BAYC NFTs. By the end of 2021, collections such as Azuki, Doodles, CloneX and Moonbirds were taking 5%. Otherdeed followed suit with a 5% royalty rate when it launched this year. Meebits also switched from a 0% to 5% royalty fee.
More recently, Goblintown has 7.5% royalty fee — which has earned the team about $7 million — while NFT Worlds takes 9.5% in royalties. Some top consumer brands are also among the highest royalty collections. Nickelodeon takes an average of 10% in royalties. Currently trending Art Gobblers takes a 6.9% royalty fee.
Overall NFT creators have earned more than $1.8 billion in royalties on Ethereum to date. Ten NFT collections account for 27% of all royalties and 482 for 80%.
Finally, NFT markets remain down. Those on Ethereum recorded a monthly volume of $378 million last month, a decrease of 25% month-over-month.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Callan Quinn
Bondholders for bitcoin miner Core Scientific have tapped a legal firm to advise on a potential bankruptcy, according to a Bloomberg Law report.
The news comes days after Core Scientific revealed in public filings that it may run out of cash and be forced to file for bankruptcy. The Austin-based firm was responsible for roughly 10% of bitcoin’s global hashrate at its peak.
Source: TradingView
Core Scientific is working with Weil, Gotshal & Manges as legal advisers and PJT Partners as financial advisers as it explores potential strategic alternatives to raise money. The options may include exchanging existing debt for equity or additional debt, asset sales, equity or debt financing.
The company said in its filing last week that it held 24 bitcoins and approximately $26.6 million in cash as of Oct. 26. That was down from 1,051 bitcoins and approximately $29.5 million in cash as of Sept. 30.
Core Scientific stock plunged on the news, dropping to below 20 cents after having peaked at $15 amid the crypto bull market last November.
A representative for Core Scientific did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Kollen Post
CoinFund, a New York-based web3 investment firm, is looking to raise $250 million to invest in seed-stage startups just three months after announcing its previous fund. CoinDesk first reported the news.
The company’s Cayman Islands-domiciled funds are looking to raise $130 million and $20 million, while its Delaware-incorporated vehicle is seeking $100 million, according to three separate filings on Monday. The documents indicate that the sales have yet to occur, meaning that the funds are at a very early stage.
CoinFund did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block.
The firm announced a $300 million fund in August backed by institutional investors including the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Adams Street Partners and StepStone Group.
Previously, CoinFund has backed the Layer 1 blockchain Solana, web3 indexing protocol The Graph and blockchain infrastructure company Blockdaemon, among other startups. More recently, it’s participated in developer platform Hyperlane’s $18.5 million round and crypto investment app Solvo‘s $3.5 million round.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Tom Matsuda
Galaxy Digital may cut as many as 75 people from its ranks, according to reports.
Mike Novogratz’s firm could lay off 15% to 20% of its staff, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar. The firm is constantly evaluating its “optimal team structure and strategy,” Michael Wursthorn, a Galaxy spokesperson, told Bloomberg. Shares are down almost 3.5% amid the news.
October marked six months into the crypto downturn, during which time many firms have culled jobs to stabilize their businesses. Coinbase laid off around 1,100 employees, BlockFi cut over 150 people and Crypto.com let around 260 people go. Last month, market maker GSR also laid off 10% of its staff. The moves come amid economic headwinds that have worsened, with expanding inflation in the U.S and central banks around the world hiking interest rates seemingly nonstop.
“While our industry continues to face macroeconomic headwinds, Galaxy remains focused on building for the future state of institutional adoption and on enhancing long-term shareholder value,” Wursthorn said.
Galaxy Digital’s stock — which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) — was trading at CAD$6.44 ($4.70) at the time of writing, according to data via TradingView.
The firm’s billionaire CEO has faced recent scrutiny, particularly around his support of the Terra blockchain. “My tattoo will be a constant reminder that venture investing requires humility,” Novogratz said in a shareholder letter in May, alluding to his now famous luna tattoo.
Galaxy Digital didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from The Block.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Adam Morgan McCarthy
MoneyGram, a publicly traded peer-to-pay payments company, has added crypto investment tools to its mobile app as fellow fintech firms bolster offerings in the sector. Available in the majority of U.S. states today, users are now able to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin, the company said in a statement.
The move follows previous forays into crypto by the company, which recently partnered with Stellar to enable payment settlements and local currency payouts using USDC. It also holds a minority stake in crypto cash exchange and crypto infrastructure provider Coinme, which provides the crypto trading tools.
“Cryptocurrencies are additive to everything we’re doing at MoneyGram,” CEO Alex Holmes said. “From dollars to euros to yen and so on, MoneyGram enables instant access to over 120 currencies around the globe, and we see crypto and digital currencies as another input and output option.”
The company’s previous endeavors with crypto have not always yielded the results it desired. In March last year, it ended a partnership with distributed ledger company Ripple in light of its ongoing legal fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission. And with only three coins listed, the new offering pales in comparison to crypto trading tools offered by other fintech firms, such as Robinhood, Revolut and N26 — which have all sought to build out crypto trading tools in recent months.
MoneyGram said it’s looking to expand its selection of tradable coins where regulation allows.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Tom Matsuda
Crypto-focused fund manager Bitwise Asset Management announced a move into active strategies amid growing institutional demand for liquid crypto strategies.
Bitwise has focused on how to open up access to the opportunities emerging in crypto over the past five years, though passively, CEO Hunter Horsely said.
“The addition of active strategies to our services is a huge step forward in our ability to do that,” he said.
The new strategies require a hands-on approach, typically by a portfolio manager or other active participant, and several executives were named to the new team. The news comes despite the slide in asset prices over the past year and as more players enter the industry, including stolid institutions like Fidelity and BlackRock, which launched a bitcoin trust, as well as Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities, which started a crypto exchange, EDX Markets.
Bitwise will now offer long bias strategies, including event-driven, directional and liquid ventures, as well as market-neutral strategies such as arbitrage, yield, and quant. The firm will also offer special situation capabilities including for tokens, equity, credit, DAOs and hedging.
Jeffrey Park will head up the alternatives team. He joined Bitwise from Corbin Capital in February. Vincent Molino, who came over from Northern Trust in May, and Denny Peng, formerly of hedge fund Millennium Management, are also on the team.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Adam Morgan McCarthy
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Author: Arnold Toh
The NFL’s first official blockchain-enabled video game released gameplay footage ahead of a drop of non-fungible tokens and a 2023 launch.
NFL Rivals, created by Mythical Games in partnership with the National Football League, appears to be a cross between EA Sports’ Madden football franchise and the classic NBA Jam arcade game which featured exaggerated, borderline cartoon like, player action. The game will allow players to try both their hand as a General Manager, users can build their own team, and take the field in 9 vs. 9 matchups.
It’s the latest example of an increasingly crowded field of digital collectibles ventures which aim to tap into the passion of hundreds of millions of sports fans around the world. The UK’s top soccer organization, the Premier League and other American sports leagues like the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball are all also involved in, or circling, their own NFT-related projects.
The rush to offer avid sports fans opportunities to buy and sell officially licensed, professional sports league NFTs follows one of the most popular non-fungible token collections, NBA Top Shot, taking the crypto world by storm last year. The collection of hand-picked highlights from the 2020-2021 basketball season was for months the market’s best-selling NFT collection.
NFL Rivals is also readying for a Nov. 15 drop of tokens listed as “one-of-a-kind, fan-inspired helmets” available for purchase for 0.14 ether (about $225). Owners of the NFTs, part of the “Rarity League,” will earn early access to the forthcoming game, chances to win additional rewards and prizes on top of access to in-game tournaments. There will be more than 700 collectibles for each NFL team offered.
Gameplay preview of NFL Rivals courtesy of Mythical Games
NFT digital collectibles platform Sorare has been a particular benefactor of the increased interest in developing officially licensed NFTs for professional sports leagues. The company, already partnered with the NBA, raised nearly $700 million in 2021, boosting its valuation north of $4 billion. Sorare is also said to be in talks with the UK’s Premier League.
Mythical Games, which achieved a valuation of more than $1 billion last year, recently released another blockchain-powered game called Blankos Block Party.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: RT Watson
Nikolai Mushegian, former dai stablecoin developer and co-founder of the Balancer exchange, has died at the age of 29 in Puerto Rico, local police told El Nuevo Día newspaper.
Mushegian had a swimming accident at the country’s Condado beach caused by strong ocean currents at the beach, the report said.
Many in the crypto industry offered their condolences on Mushegian’s passing. “Sad to hear about Nikolai Mushegian. He had a big impact on crypto with his contributions. RIP,” said Nansen Founder Alex Svanevik on Twitter.
Mushegian left behind a wide array of blockchain-related works. He co-founded Balancer, one of the largest decentralized exchanges on Ethereum.
He also served an important role in the creation of the dai stablecoin as a technical partner for MakerDAO. Beyond this, he made significant contributions to BitShares, and the rai stablecoin, according to his own website.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Vishal Chawla
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