OpenSea introduces new stolen item policy to combat NFT theft
Hi WEB3 friends,
In between all the Web3 and NFT news this week, an interesting Twitter Thread from Chris Cantino caught my eye. In this thread, he talks about the future of subscription NFTs, making the point that Web2 subscriptions are rented and not owned (as you can't re-sell your Spotify membership). Chris then ran through a few potential use cases on how web3 subscriptions could improve this system.
Another article that sparked my interest, documented how 17 celebrities (incl. Dj Khaled, Eminem, Jimmy Fallon, Madonna,..) got a letter from a consumer watchdog group that suspects they got their BAYC for free. The letter reminded them that they must disclose their connection to an NFT collection when they promote it on social media.
Anyway - I stumbled upon many other interesting articles, so let’s get on with things!
PS - Please do keep forwarding this email to friends, family, gaming buddies, or colleagues you think would benefit from receiving this newsletter in their inbox every weekend. I would love the 1000 subscribers mark soon 🙏🏽 🙏🏽.
— 🩸💀 AMERICAN RADASS
OPENSEA INTRODUCES NEW STOLEN ITEM POLICY
As asset theft remains one of the biggest headaches in the NFT space, NFT marketplace OpenSea is making an effort to tailor its policy to incorporate additional measures against stolen items.
In its Twitter announcement, the firm highlighted that its policies were made considering United States laws, where knowingly allowing the sale of stolen items is prohibited. However, the marketplace admitted that in some cases, buyers who unknowingly bought stolen items were penalized even though they were not at fault. Because of this and the NFT community’s feedback, the marketplace has adjusted its policy to expand the use of police reports.
TORNADO CASH SANCTIONED AFTER NORTH KOREA LAUNDERS $1 BILLION IN CRYPTO
Tornado Cash saw a massive decline in deposits and an increase in withdrawals after it was sanctioned by the US Treasury as North Korean hackers laundered $1 billion in crypto funds.
Additionally, Roman Semenov - the founder of Tornado Cash - got arrested, and their discord got deleted.
Since the sanctions came down, just $6 million has been deposited into the protocol. This represents a 78.5% decline compared to the same length of time during the previous week.
At the same time, users have rushed to withdraw their funds, resulting in increased volumes overall. Since the sanctions were announced, $62 million has been withdrawn from the protocol, decreasing the amount of crypto held in its addresses by 15%. Out of that, $14.7 million was withdrawn in the first three hours alone.
DEADFELLAZ PRESENT PIXELFELLAZ, ONCYBER, AND METADATA UPDATE
The NFT collection Deadfellaz has released various announcements over the past week, celebrating the launch of their Pixelfellaz metawrapping, their limited and exclusive Oncyber gallery launch, and a metadata collection update.
Back in March, Deadfellaz announced they were working on Pixel-, and 3D metawrapping versions of their NFT collection, allowing their holders to move through various metaverse worlds while still maintaining their WEB3 identity. Earlier this week, Worldwide Webb launched the first integration of these pixelated versions, which are an asset connected to the NFTs.
Another surprise involving the Deadfellaz collection was the exclusive Oncyber gallery drop, branded as the "District 13 Hideout", and was exclusively made for DF10K holders.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Rarity Tools have changed the Deadfellaz 10K rankings without approval or consultation of the DFZ team. As a result, deadfellaz updated its metadata and added its official ranking to be part of the 10K trait metadata.
But that's not all! The Deadfellaz collection is about to turn 1 year old on August the 13th, which might be accompanied by a celebration...
📰 OTHER NEWS FROM THE PAST WEEK
NFT project Imaginary Ones announced the launch of Imaginary Junior, a digitally native brand focusing on interactive kids' content.
Samsung Electronics has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with partners, including Theta Labs, to operate an NFT ecosystem for its new range of Galaxy mobile phones.
Ethereum’s long-awaited upgrade—known as “the merge”—could happen sooner than expected, on September 15 or 16, according to a prominent member of the blockchain’s community.
Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin suggests the idea of private NFTs whereby the owner would not be known through blockchain data.
A new partnership in the crypto space has emerged, involving Sam Bankman Fried’s crypto exchange FTX and social media giant Reddit. The collaboration will allow users to buy Ethereum directly on Reddit and pay gas fees on transactions using community points.
NFT marketplace Magic Eden has submitted a proposal to the ApeCoin DAO to build a marketplace where $APE holders can buy and sell NFTs for a 0.75% transaction fee.
Roblox CEO and co-founder David Baszucki confirmed the company is planning to test out immersive advertising systems later this year as it leans into finding new ways to monetize the platform.
✨ NEW IN THE SPACE
OpenSea has backed NFT minting platform Fair.xyz in a $4.5 million round led by venture capital firm Eden Block.
LongHash Ventures, Asia’s first Web3 Accelerator and one of Asia’s leading Web3 venture funds, officially announces the launch of its $100 million LongHash Ventures Fund II.
Minted, an NFT marketplace accelerated by Cronos Labs, launched on Thursday and said it had entered into a tie-up with exchange giant Crypto.com.
In a survey conducted at EVO 2022 by PlayStation, participants were asked what they thought about NFTs. Although the PlayStation survey’s primary intent is uncertain, it may be evaluating consumer interest in digital collectibles and/or NFTs.
💀 HOW TO RECOGNIZE A RUG PULL
Popular email service provider Mailchimp has suspended several crypto-focused media outlets and firms using its platform, including Decrypt and Messari.
🔮 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 ;)
😂 LAUGH OUT LOUD
Both Steve Aoki and Farokh sold their Cool Cat NFTs, which triggered Azuki developer Cygaar_dev to jokingly write code that would prevent Steve Aoki from buying NFT projects — to avoid the “Aoki curse.” He later also tweaked the code to ensure Farokh can't sell on pumps.
The NFT community reacted to these events by creating memes and sell-shaming them.
OTHER FUNNY MEMES
😊 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 NFTs 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.