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📝 Field Notes #41: Night After The High’s

📝 Field Notes #41: Night After The High’s

NFT: crisis or cycle? Web3's $66m a16z funding frenzy. Yuga Labs & its on-chain metaverse. Citigroup doubles down on crypto. Galaxy Digital expands to Europe. Top 30 Web3 loyalty start-ups & more.

Hey, it’s Marc. Welcome to my weekly, obsessively curated insights on crypto & Web3 to help you filter out the noise. ✌️ PS: I’ve got free ad spots. Hit me up!

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Be inspired✨

“We are building a new organising principle for the planet and a new foundation of trust. Don’t you think it would be a good thing for humanity?” ― Joe Lubin, Co-Founder Ethereum

📚 Top 5 Reads

The future of Web3 loyalty. By Reddit, Salesforce, Media.Monks & Polygon Labs. Link
Web3 has permanently changed how marketing works. By Amanda Cassatt. Link
Property as the law of virtual things. By Joshua Fairfield. Link
An onchain model for Web3 advertising. By Mason Nystrom. Link
The Web3 growth reading list 2023. By Safary. Link

🚨 Top 5 Stories That Caught My Eye

✨ Web3 + NFTs

NFTs: Crisis or cycle? 🖼️

NFT trading volume on Ethereum dropped to $407m in Aug 2023, down 95% from Jan 2022.
On-chain NFT activity (active addresses) fell around 50% from its 2021 peak1.
Yuga Labs, the IP holder of Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and others, made $116m in royalties in 2022. A no-royalty policy by major exchanges reduced their 2023 revenue by 79% YTD.

Punchline: Though the NFT market shows signs of turbulence – lower volumes, activity, and royalty fees – the space feels much more active compared to the 2019 bear market. Brands are busy building.

An interoperable metaverse 🌍

Yuga Labs joins OMA3's board and announces partnerships for its virtual platform Otherside, one of the most ambitious on-chain metaverse projects.
OMA3 is one of many industry-wide interoperability efforts, such as the Metaverse Standards Forum and Metacircle.

Punchline: Interoperability crucial for what is commonly referred to as the “open metaverse”. Without it, Web3 is basically worthless. Interoperability enables assets like NFTs to move freely across various chains and platforms, enhancing their value (cf. Transferability). “The Road to Interoperability” is still the best report I’ve found on that topic.

🌎 Crypto & Macro

A game-changer for cross-border payments?💸

Citigroup launches "Citi Token Services," offering cross-border payments and trade finance solutions, in a push to expand its institutional offering.
It’s a permissioned blockchain that makes cross-border payments, liquidity and trade finance payments for institutional clients more efficient. Link
JPMorgan is exploring similar technology.

Punchline: Citigroup's private blockchain aims to enhance efficiency, though it contradicts the ethos of decentralization. This move doesn’t come as a surprise though: Citi’s crypto history dates back to 2017, when it became a founding member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. Adoption? Yes.

US crypto companies move East🦅

Galaxy Digital, one of the biggest digital asset service-providers for institutional investors, expands into Europe amid US crypto crackdown.
It has hired its first European head, operating from London.

Punchline: The move follows a16z crypto’s European entry. Back in April, Coinbase CEO said leaving the US for UK is “on the table”. Given the unpredictability of US regulators, this makes sense.

🧠 AI

Google unveils Bard Extensions for data imports across its products. (e.g. Gmail, Docs, Drive, etc.). Link
OpenAI introduces DALL-E 3, an AI generative art platform integrated with ChatGPT, set to launch in October. Link

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💰 Money Moves

Bastion: Ex-a16z executives secure $25M in seed funding from a16z crypto. The goal is to offer Web3 solutions with a Web2 feel for corporations. Other investors include Ryan Watt, former Polygon Labs President, and Packy McCormick. Link
Proof of Play: The on-chain game studio raises $33M in a seed round co-led by A16z’s Chris Dixon and Greenoaks’ Neil Mehta. Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, as well as founders from Twitch and Zynga also joined the round. Link
Geeiq: A metaverse data platform used by LVMH, Gucci, Porsche, and others, raised $8.2m in a Series A round. Link
Blockchain Capital: One of the pioneering crypto VCs rolls out two new funds totalling $580M, with Visa participating. Link
Oak Grove Ventures: The Singapore-based firm launches a $60M fund targeting Web3, AI, and biotech investments. Link