Alpha Schedule #1 - Your Weekly NFT Calendar is here!
*Read this newsletter on the web for the best experience*
Hi Fellaz!
Welcome to the first edition of my new and weekly NFT Newsletter.
Every week brings so much NFT industry news, allowlist opportunities, new mints, new tools, changes to platforms, etc., that it can be difficult for even the most experienced degen to keep up. That's where this newsletter and my NFT mint calendar come in - I got you 🙌.
From now on, I'll be sending out everything you need to know about the NFT space and delivering it straight to your inbox. This should help you to keep up with the latest news without jumping around the web or joining several discords searching for new opportunities. Just read this newsletter, and you'll be 'in the know' about the recent developments in the NFT scene.
This newsletter is complemented by my NFT mint calendar, where you'll have a better overview of the upcoming projects and can keep track of the NFT communities I'm researching.
— 🩸💀 AMERICAN RADASS
PS. I welcome feedback about the newsletter (what you like or dislike, what I might have missed, what you want more or less of each week etc.)
Reply to this email, or drop me a Twitter DM 💬
📰 NEWS
$1.7 Million in ETH Stolen from OpenSea Users
In the wake of a series of viral tweets from panicked NFT traders, leading marketplace OpenSea says it’s investigating “rumors of an exploit” regarding smart contracts connected to its platform – a vulnerability that may have cost traders valuable tokens.
The apparent attacker’s address (which the blockchain explorer website Etherscan has already slapped with a “phish/hack” warning badge) holds about $1.7 million worth of ETH, as well as three tokens from the Bored Ape Yacht Club, two Cool Cats, one Doodle and one Azuki. [Coindesk]
IN OTHER NEWS
Deadfellaz has officially introduced Holly Longoria as their new COO and confirmed she will be focussing on the growth of the Deadfellaz brand. [Twitter]
Deadfellaz' Deadfrenz utility will have a special focus on gaming. [Twitter]
Banking giant JP Morgan is betting big on the Metaverse. The largest bank in the U.S. opened a virtual lounge in Decentraland, sending its native token up 10%. [cryptopotato]
Coachella has partnered with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and will sell lifetime passes to its annual Coachella festival via NFT's. [nbcnews]
In a bid to allow creators to monetize their content, YouTube is launching new tools that will let them mint their videos as NFTs. [cryptodaily]
💀 POTENTIAL RUGS
A “rug pull” is a wildly used term within the crypto world and NFT space to describe a scam in which the founders of a project don’t fulfill their promises after receiving funds - essentially, running away with the money.
In order to recognize these rug pulls and to help you improve your research, we'll be sharing various tips and tricks over the next few newsletters.
Looking back on the past week, we stumbled upon some shady business activities in the NFT scene. We recommend being extra careful with these projects.
The Founders of Weather Report NFT Are Having a Civil War - The current drama around the Weather Report NFT project began when Dentin, the founding artist of Weather Report, released a nine-page document claiming unfair treatment by the other project founders [DocSend and nftevening]
Various Twitter users claim that Crypto Chicks' NFT's baseline is a copy of Amanda Costa’s 2018 art. [Twitter and Twitter]
Community fears Rug Pull after NFT marketplace LooksRare team raked over $30 million in cash by staking the platform’s native LOOKS token. [cryptodaily and Twitter]
The latest NFT of former US First Lady Melania Trump was recently sold at 180,000 SOL ($170,000 at the time of purchase). However, according to blockchain data, the NFT buyer was coincidentally … the NFT creator. [blockonomi]
📅 UPCOMING MINTS
For the past few weeks, I've been maintaining a public NFT mint calendar, in which I highlight projects I'm looking forward to.
Here is a short overview of what's coming next week and why I'm looking forward to them.
PS - Don't forget to do your own research into them if they sound interesting because this shouldn't be considered as financial advice.
Valiant Comics
Date: Feb. 20th
Supply: 4001
Price: Ξ 0.077
Twitter: @ValiantNFT
Roadmap: nft.valiantentertainment.com
Valiant Comics, an American publisher of comic books founded by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, is dropping their Punk Mambo character.
This is their first character aimed to guide fans into the Valiant Metaverse with her iconic anarchistic sense of disruption. Each NFT will come with unique rarities and limited individual traits, which will have utility into Valiant's upcoming play-to-earn game.
When researching Valiant Entertainment, I stumbled upon its legacy of three full decades of publishing comics and games. I found various news clippings that indicated their sense of innovating and stumbled upon an active discord community.
Sneaky Vampiress Syndicate
The Sneaky Vampire Syndicate released their genesis collection in early September of last year, selling 8,888 profile picture style NFTs for 0.08 ETH each. Since launch, the SVS community has introduced staking, burning, Bat companion NFTs, the $BLOOD utility token, Pixel versions, and a video game.
Next to introducing various innovations in the space, the SVS has closed a few significant partnerships, from collaborating with the newest Scream movie and becoming a CoinBase launch partner to Worldwide Webb, the Pixelverse, and many more.
One thing is for sure: the team knows how to build a roadmap and execute accordingly. Unfortunately, the team hasn't got an excellent track record in getting the word out of their efforts and achievements, which is why you probably haven't heard from them yet.
Over a month ago, they announced the launch of these Vampiresses. Their roadmap tells us they'll be releasing new companions and building a function where Vampires and Vampiresses come together to "perform the Blood Pact".
CyberBrokers by Josie Bellini
Date: Feb. 22nd
Supply: 10.001
Price: Ξ0.35
Twitter: @CyberBrokers_
Roadmap: cyberbrokers.io/faq
Josie Bellini has been creating art that tells the story of the crypto ecosystem since 2017. She has exhibited in virtual worlds and at major blockchain conferences like Consensus, NFT NYC, and Satoshi Roundtable. Her work has been sold at Christie's and Sotheby's, featured on Obama.org, and sells on OpenSea, Nifty Gateway, and Async Art.
Josie has a tight NFT community, and prominent NFT collectors own her art (Pranksy, Coldie,..) which is why I am looking forward to it.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK
Date: Feb. 22nd at 11:11 am EST
Supply: 1.111
Price: Ξ0.1111
Twitter: @bookcoinhq
Roadmap: bookcoin.com/subtle-art
Mark Manson, the author of the NYT Bestselling book "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck," has pulled 1,111 unique quotes from his book and created 1/1 NFT, which you can now "co-own."
While "The Subtle Art" and Mark Manson are both internationally known, they haven't been building much in the NFT space and left the actual release in the hands of BookCoin - a brand new company with the goal to "memorialize books to the blockchain".
According to their announcements, they have over 17.000 people on their waiting list / mint schedule, which is why I'll probably keep an eye out and monitor the sales volume.
Starcatchers
Date: Feb. 22nd
Supply: 10.000
Price: Ξ0.111
Twitter: @StarcatchersNFT
Roadmap: starcatchers.io
Ever since the start of January '22, Starcatchers has grown out to become an enormous engagement bomb on social media and collaborated with various respected NFT projects and communities such as WonderPals, Robotos, Woodies, Creature World, Vinnie Hager, and many others.
On top of this, the Starcatchers team took the time to organize Twitter Spaces with all these communities during the run-up of their launch, to introduce themselves and their project to these audiences.
Other than that, the team has publicly announced they don't have a roadmap as they want to "under promise and overdeliver", this while their goal is to "create a brand recognizable across web3, web2, and the physical world".
While their community isn't doxxed, the Starcatchers discord contains an overview of every team member - including a link to their Twitter profiles and history in this space, showing they are in it for the long run.
Invisible Friends
Date: Feb. 23rd
Supply: 5.000
Price: Ξ0.25
Twitter: @InvsbleFriends
Roadmap: invisiblefriends.io
The Invisible Friends NFT collection will feature 5,000 animated NFTs created by animator and illustrator Markus Magnusson.
While Magnusson already had a big fanbase and was known to the NFT community before, he decided to launch the Invisible Friends project as part of the Random Character Collective - which launched two other projects before; SlimHoods and Mood Rollers.
In essence, the Random Character Collective is a collective of animated generative projects - started when James Curran (SlimJim), was working on his NFT project, SlimHoods. After launching his own project in October, they launched Mood Rollers (by Lucas Zanott) in December.
Given their reputation, but also based on the current demand in the NFT market, minting an Invisible Friend should be interesting. The limited supply (only 5000 instead of 10000) makes us wonder about the future floor-price of this project.
Wonderpals
Date: Feb. 26th
Supply: 10.000
Price: Ξ0.08
Twitter: @WonderPals
Roadmap: wonderpals.com
The charming Wonderpals have wrapped the entire NFT space around their fingers by unleashing these cute profile-picture illustrations and creating a wholesome community who are reinforcing their mission statement to "spread kindness and joy".
Their founder and artist Mina has been active in various Twitter Spaces over the past few weeks, explaining her vision and showcasing her talent.
On top of this, Wonderpalls partnered with various trusted communities: Deadfellaz, Doodles, Cool Cats, Time, Alien Frens, and many more blue-chip projects.
Rubber Duck Bath Party
Date: March 1st
Supply: 10.000
Price: Ξ0.08
Twitter: @RubberDuckBP
Roadmap: duck.art
Rubber Duck Bath Party is an NFT project with a unique style in which their artist Gal Shir draws the ducks with dots that connect into a line. We haven't seen this style many times before in the NFT space, and it helps the Ducks stand out. As shown below, it's also super handy for collaborating with other projects because it makes the RDBP reference so obvious.
As their name might suggest, the ducks are all about the party! Their roadmap explains that you're able to send them to "bath parties", after which they "might come home with a third eye, a rare crown, a regrettable tattoo or a refreshed background".
From how I understand it; the more you send your duck to parties, the more custom it'll become ... and the higher its rarity will be. Sick concept, right?
Doxxed founder, unique art style, unique roadmap ... and an active community on social media. What's not to like?
🔮 LOOKING FORWARD
We are already looking ahead to the next few weeks, meaning we're currently doing our due diligence and researching the projects listed below.
It's no financial advice at all, but you might want to start doing your research and grinding for these allowlists before it's too late.
PS - Don't hesitate to tell them you found out about them via this newsletter ;)
📖 LEARN HOW TO DO YOUR RESEARCH
Earlier this week, I stumbled upon this great Twitter Thread with impressive examples and insights on what to look at before buying an NFT.
😂 LAUGH OUT LOUD
Meme of the week, hands down 😂 😂 😂
😊 ENJOYED THIS WEEK'S ALPHA?
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🤓 DISCLAIMER: NFA & DYOR
This newsletter is a curated overview of the most interesting things I've read the past week, the projects I've researched, and the NFT's I'll be trying to buy.
This means I'm - per definition - biased, so don't consider this as financial advice and keep doing your own research if you see something you like.