Can it get even more bullish?

🎣 w3.catch-of-the-week cw38

AuthorAuthor

Vicktoria Klich & Quinn Wilhelm
September 20, 2024

GMGM and welcome to 🎣 w3.catch-of-the-week, the newsletter that takes you on a journey. From Berlin via Twitter to Singapore and then straight to your inbox.

Let's start with a real highlight from Vitalik, who briefly became Ether Swift:

Okay okay, there is one more prominent clip that I have to show straight away. Then it's on to the most exciting topics 🥺🤞.

💸 Fact of the week
🔥 We are up to something big
💀 Nike’s NFT Update
🤓 Which Crypto Sector to focus on?
⚖️ Why DeGods launched a new token
🌁 Building Bridges
🤯 Tokenize.it tokenizes itself
💌 The Email of Web3

The Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates by 50 basis points (bps).

🤓 This was the first interest rate cut since March 2020. It makes borrowing cheaper for businesses and individuals.

For the crypto market, this often means more liquidity as investors have easier access to funds for speculative assets like cryptocurrencies.

I'll leave that uncommented:

We push the Limit 🔥

In case your mother, your neighbor or your hamster hasn't told you yet: The legendary w3.pizza party is returning to Berlin! And we are almost at the limit of our capacity.

To sweeten the deal, a little alpha for you on what to expect:

  • No long speeches, but intensive 3min flash pitches

  • An interactive quiz (with prizes)

  • We will all discuss together where we are in the current market cycle, whether NFTs are dead and much more

  • Speed Networking

  • Cool drinks from Jägermeister & 🍕🍕🍕

Secure one of the very last spots by clicking the button below.

Did Nike quit NFTs?

More or less yes - Nike's fan platform .SWOOSH (“dot Swoosh”) has announced that it will not be launching any more NFTs.

You can now transfer the existing collection of Our Force One (OF1) NFTs to your Ethereum wallet and custody them yourself.

However, if you had bought an OF1 NFT, you qualify for special experiences & products to be expected in 2025...

What is next for dotSWOOSH?

“Moving forward, we will continue to go deeper with our gaming partners to build the best gaming experiences, in-game wearables, and of course, Nike footwear and apparel”

The Breadth of Web3 and Choosing Focus Areas

Web3 is moving beyond its early stages. Bitcoin introduced decentralized money, while Ethereum's smart contracts unlocked a new era of innovation. This led to a surge in protocols across various levels:

  • Core infrastructure (Layer-1 blockchains)

  • Middleware

  • Applications

These protocols span sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi), real-world assets (RWAs), and artificial intelligence (AI), with potential to transform industries.

Decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) is another emerging sector that is beginning to gain traction and move towards broader adoption.

Challenges and Failures

Not all protocols will succeed. Many funded projects remain speculative and may never achieve sustainable market fit. Examples include:

  • Overhyped alternative Layer-1 blockchain ecosystems

  • Struggling DeFi projects unable to retain users or develop sustainable revenue models

As the ecosystem matures, many protocols are likely to fade, similar to companies that failed during the dot-com era.

w3.wave takes a fundamentally driven approach to asset selection, focusing on:

  • Technology

  • Growth

  • Adoption metrics

Our team remains open-minded and dedicate time to understanding emerging verticals. We aim to identify areas where:

  • Network effects could accelerate growth

  • Early entry offers potential for outsized returns as the ecosystem matures

Your new Job at w3.fund

We are continuing to grow and need your support. The w3.fund is looking for a Partner & Managing Director.

Your primary focus will be on securing capital from Limited Partners and institutional investors for both our early-stage venture fund (w3.fund) and our liquid token fund (w3.wave).

We are looking for someone with relevant experience in VC or TradFi, with a focus on fundraising and investor relations.

Your role as Partner & Managing Director combines strategic fundraising with active involvement in the investment lifecycle, demanding strong relationship-building skills and a strategic mindset.

What is going on with DeGod(s)?

Frank, the founder of the well-known NFT collection DeGods, has done it again - “Trying new shit”.

He has launched the $degod token, introducing a new, hybrid token standard on Solana.

By hybrid I mean: both fungible and non-fungible tokens → Imagine you can exchange your w3 NFT for 100 $w3 tokens and vice versa (100 $w3 tokens for one w3 NFT)

🤓 FYI: We do not have a token.

You may have heard of ERC404, which is more or less the same on Ethereum.

Frank's community previously consisted of three different holders: DeGods, y00ts & $Dust. The new token is designed to unite them all.

But there's a twist: while DeGods (the NFTs) can be exchanged for 550k of $degod and vice versa, y00ts are burned as soon as they are exchanged for $120k of $degod.

The logical consequence of this: y00ts and also $dust are deflationary from now on.

😳 One more important thing: All NFTs are equal -> The rarity does not matter, each NFT is linked to the same number of tokens.

The reactions from the community and on Twitter were (once again) mixed: while some see a token launch as the end of any NFT project, others are in favor of Frank's willingness to experiment 🤷🏽‍♀️.

Here are the opportunities that arise and why it's an interesting move (as a neutral bystander) :

  • Anyone can become part of the community: 1 $degod costs you < $0.01

  • The community can grow infinitely (is no longer limited by the number of NFTs)

  • The tokenomics are strong and easy to understand (you know almost all the holders)

  • You can swap your DeGod NFT for one you like better

  • The token can be listed on centralized exchanges, potentially lowering entry barriers for new people

🫵 What do you think - Was that a smart move or DeEnd? Let’s discuss.

w3.vision goes España

This week we took over Cologne, next week we'll be back in Berlin and in October the next highlight of our road trip awaits you.

But first an impression from Cologne:

Merge Madrid is a conference that builds a bridge between Latin America and Europe. It promotes cultural and technological exchange through Web3 technologies.

Our w3.vision community can expect two immersive days in Madrid, full of exciting activities, inspiring art pieces and engaging discussions.

We will discuss “The Power of Belonging: Why Communities Drive Success in Web3" on stage together with World of Women (WoW) & Web3Familia.

🎟️ 95% of the tickets are already gone. If you don't have one yet, you can buy them here. With the code W3FUND20 you get 20% off.

Invest in Tokenize.it

Our favorite Ethereum OG and good friend, Christoph Jentzsch, is now tokenizing himself.

🥴 Wait a minute? Tokenizes himself - what do you mean?

It's about his company Tokenize.it, which enables your company to issue simple participations in the form of tokens. More precisely, the ✨GmbH token✨ - does that ring a bell?

Now his company is tokenizing itself, so you have the opportunity to secure tokenized shares of Tokenize.it.

The Email of Web3

EtherMail is a new kind of email service. It's designed to be more secure and private than regular email. Here's what makes EtherMail special:

  • It uses blockchain to send emails directly from one crypto wallet to another, without using central servers.

  • You can send and receive emails anonymously, without sharing personal information.

  • All messages are encrypted, which means only the intended recipient can read them.

Users can earn cryptocurrency by reading promotional email

To promote the further development of the Ethermail ecosystem, they have introduced the $EMT token. It is used for governance decisions and can be redeemed to access premium features and services.

$EMT has also been available on Bitpanda since this week (no financial advise):

Nate presenting w3.vision

Build Station Berlin

🗓️ September 25, 2024 10:00 AM

Circle Developer Workshop & Cocktail Reception

🗓️ September 27, 2024 3:30 PM

Looking for collaborations or an entry into the Web3 Community?

Vicky & Marvin are Web3-obsessed. That's why they host a weekly podcast featuring updates and cool stuff.

Don't miss out on any news, updates, & vibes anymore. Discord is so yesterday. Let's meet on Telegram.