This Week in Web3: Friday, April 8th, 2022
OpenSea supports credit cards, apocalyptic gas fees, Meta creates Tokens for their Metaverse, decentralization for Web3 builders and into the Funtier with Packy McCormick.
Hey Friends,
How was your week? We’re good, thanks.
Quick musing for you to open things up. Web3 has a distribution problem, but Web2 doesn’t. Web3 also has a UX problem, Web2 doesn’t. Today, therefore, Web3 doesn’t work without Web2.
Important to remind ourselves of this because the road to Web3 (We’re not there yet), is a journey on which we build bridges and move forward on the continuum of Internet progress. No need to leap into the Web3 maximalist abyss, baby steps are ok.
In this week’s newsletter, I’ve tried to include some things we’ve been reading, watching, and listening to that expand upon this point with the goal of helping those of us who are making the slow stroll across the bridges between Web2 and Web3 appreciate that the immediate future, is very much a hybrid one.
Enjoy this week’s digest!
TL;DR
Users End Up Spending $26M In Ethereum Gas Fees, Trying To Mint VaynerSports NFTs
Meta Discussing Creating Tokens for Facebook's Metaverse: Report
Despite tooling limitations, DAO optimists see new use cases for a democratic, token-based future
A16z’s Future: Decentralization for Web3 Builders: Principles, Models, How
Fast Company: Tech workers are fleeing FAANG for Web3, here’s why
PROOF Podcast with Kevin Rose: We're Going To Make It: Thomas Mancini and the NFT Portfolio Tracker
Web3 Breakdowns: round21: Helping Athletes & Artists Build Brands
This Mila Kunis-Backed TV Show Lets NFT Holders Choose the Plot
A Decentralized Google Maps? Solana-Based Hivemapper Raises $18M to Build It
News we’re following
NFT Titan OpenSea to Support Credit Card Payments
OpenSea will allow card payments for the first time via MoonPay’s NFT Checkout service. The world’s biggest NFT marketplace is about to make it a lot easier for users to get hold of non-fungibles.
OpenSea will now support credit and debit card payments through a partnership with MoonPay. The NFT titan, which recently hit a $13.3 billion valuation in its Series C funding round, will integrate MoonPay’s NFT Checkout service to allow instant credit and debit card purchases, MoonPay announced in a Friday blog post.
Users End Up Spending $26M In Ethereum Gas Fees, Trying To Mint VaynerSports NFTs
The VaynerSports Pass NFT project faced harsh criticism on Tuesday after users spent three times the NFT sale amount on gas fees alone.
What Happened: The VaynerSports Pass NFT collection was launched by AJ Vaynerchuk, brother of prominent internet personality Gary Vaynerchuk also known as Gary Vee.
The widely anticipated public mint went live on Tuesday but users found themselves paying a cumulative amount of $26 million in gas fees. Meanwhile, the total amount made from the NFT sale was just $8.6 million.
Meta Discussing Creating Tokens for Facebook's Metaverse: Report
Although Meta (the parent company of Facebook) recently gave up on its plans to create the Diem stablecoin, it's reportedly still interested in creating tokens for use within the metaverse.
The Financial Times reports that Meta is exploring a centralized in-app token similar to ROBUX for the game Roblox. In other words, this likely wouldn't be a cryptocurrency. According to FT, some Meta staffers are referring to the tokens as "Zuck Bucks."
Things we’re reading
Despite tooling limitations, DAO optimists see new use cases for a democratic, token-based future
The adoption of decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, has skyrocketed in the past year, and participants believe this is just the beginning, claiming more use cases will form in the subsector.
DAOs are community-led groups that, in theory, allow participants to make operational decisions without centralized leadership. The groups are self-governing, typically raising capital through a token linked to the DAO. The tokens often provide members voting power on governance rules, and, through smart contracts, those votes affect and dictate what DAOs do.
A16z’s Future: Decentralization for Web3 Builders: Principles, Models, How
The promise of decentralization has been heavily discussed and debated, from why it matters to the bigger question of who will control the software that powers the internet. These questions are critical, because as we have seen, when control is held in the hands of a very few, encroachments on personal freedom, choice, and privacy are inherent. “Don’t be evil” is very different than “can’t be evil” when a CEO decides one course or another.
Fast Company: Tech workers are fleeing FAANG for Web3, here’s why
Accelerated career progression, flexible work cultures, and creative perks are luring traditional tech workers to the worlds of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Web3.
The Great Resignation has hit the tech industry especially hard over the last few months. Recent surveys reveal that nearly three-quarters of tech employees plan to quit their jobs within the year, citing limited advancement opportunities, lack of flexibility amidst the post-pandemic return to the office push, and toxic workplace culture as key reasons for leaving. Seeking career development, remote work opportunities, and compelling salary and benefits packages, many are trading in their FAANG badges—that’s tech speak for major companies including Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google—and Web2 jobs for new roles in the worlds of blockchain and Web3.
Things we’re listening to
Bankless Podcast: Into the Funtier | Packy McCormick
Packy McCormick is the writer of Not Boring, an investor at Not Boring Capital, and an advisor to the a16z Web3 Fund. Packy has a sharp intuition for general trends, and he puts in the work to understand and thoughtfully communicate his findings outward. Writing and creating content is a great way to learn and share knowledge—we would know.
In this episode, we explore five of Packy’s most salient articles orbiting around the crypto space. Unraveling the secret recipe for crypto (and life), managing the delicate balance between money and fun is the key to winning these games. Making money on the internet with friends is the new normal.
PROOF Podcast with Kevin Rose: We're Going To Make It: Thomas Mancini and the NFT Portfolio Tracker
WGMI is the indispensable portfolio tracker and account valuation tool NFT collectors use. Kevin chats with the founder Thomas Mancini, aka nftommo.eth about the origins of the tool, its current capabilities, and its promising future.
Web3 Breakdowns: round21: Helping Athletes & Artists Build Brands
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Jasmine Maietta, founder of round21. Our conversation is a masterclass in brand building and collaboration. We cover how round21 was able to collaborate with large brands so early, how she builds a digital-physical model around goods, and why it’s so important to speak the same language as your partner, whether they would be a world class athlete or celebrity. Please enjoy this episode with Jasmine.
Projects we’re following
David from Bankless explores how and why 15 guardians received a $1,000,000 airdrop from a weird corner of the internet.
This Mila Kunis-Backed TV Show Lets NFT Holders Choose the Plot
The animated series is Kunis’ latest project at the intersection of Hollywood and blockchain.
A Decentralized Google Maps? Solana-Based Hivemapper Raises $18M to Build It
Hivemapper rewards users with tokens for passively capturing mapping data with dashcams in a model inspired by Helium.