Metaversal is a Bankless newsletter for weekly level-ups on NFTs, virtual worlds, & collectibles
Dear Bankless Nation,
NFT marketplace Blur has gained considerable ground on OpenSea in recent days.
Now, OpenSea has responded back with its own tactics accordingly. The reigning NFT marketplace juggernaut just announced its testing 0% fees, optional royalties, and removing Blur from its blocklist.
Sheesh! The entire NFT space is caught in the crossfire between Blur and OpenSea now, that much is clear, and today’s events show the dust here is far from settled.
What happens next remains to be seen, but definitely expect more fireworks and intrigue as the top NFT marketplaces continue to try and improve their positions in the ecosystem. In the meantime, let’s get you caught up on the past week in NFTs — thanks for reading everyone ✌️
-WMP
👉 Add MetaMask Learn to your onboarding guides for your community ✨
For the fifth time in as many weeks the cumulative market cap of the NFT space has risen, this time climbing to 9.36 million ETH for a gain of 2.75% since the last Friday recap. While the number of addresses interacting with NFTs have stayed steady lately, the activity levels around NFTs have been uptrending for over a month now.
Otherdeeds plots were the most traded NFT collection this week by far, both with regards to volume (Ξ22,604) and number of sales (10,555). In a distant second place came Moonbirds, which saw its own trading frenzy in recent days, followed by the MAYC, BAYC, and Azuki collections.
The long-awaited $BLUR airdrop arrived this week, along with the announcement of Season 2 $BLUR rewards. The buzz around these developments put Blur decisively in the lead over OpenSea in this week’s de facto trading volume contest, so the big question for now is can Blur keep up this big lead for the foreseeable future.
After seeing multiple giant collectibles sales over Ξ800 last week, the top blue-chip NFT sales this week were much more down to earth in comparison. However, and per usual, ‘Punks and Bored Apes have remained the collections with the largest recent transactions.
This isn’t a specific mint per se, but rather a new discovery system for mints. Zora just rolled out its new homepage UI that’s centered around aggregating NFT edition releases and drops from around the ecosystem. If you like to surf through new projects as they arrive, this new homepage experience is certainly something to put on your radar.
-
TreasureTags — Treasure, the decentralized gaming ecosystem on Arbitrum, just launched TreasureTag “gamertag” domain mints this week; if you’re trying to hit the Arbitrum NFT scene hard this is an interesting option
-
CryptoCoaster — A 100% onchain, randomly generated rollercoaster series? Super cool! This upcoming experimental mint comes via xtremetom, a Cool Cats founder
-
Gachamon — An upcoming NFT game where you collect and battle mons in a passive arena format, the mint for this project is coming in hot on Feb. 22nd, 2023
1. MoonCat2878 on the basics of AI art platform BrainDrops:
2. Rafa on Web3 media and publishing:
3. Luke Cannon on how to optimize your $BLUR Season 2 rewards strategy:
With Manifold’s Burn Redeem App, you can mint NFTs for your fans and then let them “burn” those NFTs in order to redeem new, scarcer NFTs. This approach offers novel gamification avenues for collections, and fortunately Manifold’s just released an optimized version of the app!
RabbitHole, which lets people earn tokens for participating in crypto projects, just rolled out its V2 system. Notably, the protocol has been rebuilt from the ground up for improved learning, quest, and gig experiences. As crypto projects look for more ways to engage their communities onchain, RabbitHole is poised to shine.
With all the unidentified objects in the skies lately, is an alien invasion happening? Who knows, but just in case let’s hope the Galactic Federation has a favorable NFT policy:
William M. Peaster is a professional writer and creator of Metaversal—a Bankless newsletter focused on the emergence of NFTs in the cryptoeconomy. He’s also recently been contributing content to Bankless, JPG, and beyond!
Subscribe to Bankless. $22 per mo. Includes archive access, Inner Circle & Badge.
MetaMask Learn is an educational resource to help people understand what web3 is, why it matters, and how to get started. While you may understand core concepts of this decentralized technology, many don’t—consider adding MetaMask Learn to your onboarding guides if you’re a dapp developer or NFT creator to give your community the welcome they deserve.
Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here.
