⚓️ tokengating and the future of NFT events
gm. people keep asking me what my goals are with this newsletter and how I will monetize (to the latter I say, LOL).
so here it is:
I want to be the Bill Simmons of NFTs. column to podcast to rich and washed by the age of 50. and the Cool Cats will be my version of the Boston Celtics.
ALPHA ⚓️
with NFT NYC right around the corner, many projects have started rolling out teases and announcements of their events. Gutter Cat Gang is partnering with Stadium Goods, Moonbirds have Tame Impala playing for their holders, and Azuki is asking you to meet them in a dark alley at night.
however, NFT NYC will still likely be anchored around ApeFest - Yuga’s long teased and highly anticipated event at Pier 17.
yesterday, they announced they are partnering with TokenProof to ensure holders can get in, while still being safe with their NFTs.
for those unaware, a lot of these events are exclusive to holders, meaning that you might get a +1, but no one else is allowed in.
but you can imagine the process of verifying ownership is time consuming and not ideal for getting a lot of people into an event quickly. remember the lines for the Azuki event in LA?
TokenProof can help bridge that gap, making it so holders don’t have to access their wallet from their phones or even funnier, bring their Ledgers to the event.
“Tokengating” in real life events will only get more prominent with time, as it ensures there is actual utility associated with an NFT. innovations like TokenProof will help keep lines short and events exclusive, which will in turn help these brands build.
look into innovations like TokenProof that will help facilitate the bridge between Web3 and touching grass.
BETA ⚓️
yesterday, a mod in the Cool Cats Discord posted a threat he received online after someone was booted.
“watch your back in NYC”.
it’s scary and something that is completely uncalled for. at the end of the day, these people are doing their jobs, and their IRL peace and sanity should not be affected by cartoon JPGs.
but it did make me wonder how projects will deal with issues like these moving forward (and there’s bound to be a lot of them considering all the internet trolls out there).
if someone is representing your IP spreading something like hate speech or making open threats to your team, how do you combat that? you can disassociate with them publicly but that will ultimately only bring them more of the attention that they’re looking for.
you also can’t force them to the sell - like the NBA did with Donald Sterling, for example. that’s what make NFTs such a special asset class of collectibles; they’re yours forever immutably on the blockchain, in theory.
what’s worse is that the bad actors can continue to use the IP and misrepresent your brand online…while the only thing you can do is remind people there is no official association between the bully and the brand. and that can be more damaging than you think.
DELTA ⚓️
a gambling site called Rollbit bought 12 Apes in what will prove to be a very expensive marketing campaign. that being said, I’m shocked NFTs haven’t been used more for marketing at this point (whether it be officially or unofficially). Shopify gave away a Doodle that once, but other than that I haven’t seen other big projects dig into their community wallet to form some really big partnerships.
Jim Carrey bought his first NFT yesterday. talk about a gateway NFT…degen incoming.
