⚓️ Instagram NFTs are no more...
and the SVB fallout for NFTs
gm.
a chaotic weekend has for some reason left crypto in *better* shape than we were in on Thursday.
as promised, I’ll now include the top 5 projects (by volume) over the past 24 hours in the newsletter so you can get an *idea* of how we’re doing.
(I’m sure they are better metrics than this out there, so I’ll be updating this as I find them)
ALPHA ⚓️
SVB (sucks very bad)
why was this weekend particularly chaotic (as I mentioned above)?
well, for those living under a rock, a pretty prominent bank named Silicon Valley Bank went belly up.
as its name suggests, it held many of the funds for Bay area start-ups and beyond. the domino effect could have *huge* ramifications in the tech world and the economy at large.
but for NFTs? we’ve been largely unaffected by the news (at least price-wise).
Proof and Moonbirds seem to be the most prominent NFT project affected. though they were “transparent” in letting their holders know they had funds tied up in SVB, they didn’t necessarily disclose *how much*.
it appears to be a negligible amount but doesn’t help the fact that they’ve had a horrible 2023 so far.
wishful thinking, but maybe these banks collapsing means it’s up only for crypto and NFTs (and *maybe* Moonbirds considering how poorly it’s gone for them recently).
BETA ⚓️
Instagram sunsetting NFTs
I guess I’m going to be talking about big tech a lot in this newsletter, huh? call me BivCrunch.
(do people still read TechCrunch?)
that’s because on Monday, Instagram announced they’ll be sunsetting their NFT experiment. yes, yet another innovation that was going to bring NFTs to the masses has failed.
Meta (Instagram’s parent company) has shifted away significantly from the metaverse as their stock price plummeted. this means that NFTs are a casualty of these cuts (along with a lot of their employees and company perks, apparently).
it’s not surprising though, as the marketing efforts of Instagram NFTs always seemed a bit half-assed. though they had some cool collaborations intially, it never seemed like they were set up for any kind of “mainstream” success.
and now they’re gone…but wait, does that make Instagram NFTs historical now?
*goes and buys them on OpenSea*
GAMMA ⚓️
TwelveFold
many are not impressed with the generative output for Yuga’s Bitcoin NFT project.
TwelveFold…which cost many up to 2 BTC (~$50K as I write this)…had some disappointing outputs. but with Yuga, it’s never really the *art* that makes them valuable…it’s the brand behind it.
while I too find them a bit underwhelming too, the number of derivatives projects I’ve seen ripping off TwelveFold already (see TwelvePepes and their 200 ETH of sales so far) proves they probably have more staying power than we give them credit for.
DELTA ⚓️
NFT LA
I have booked a ticket to NFT LA…or Outer Edge as it’s called now (horrible name).
I decided to ape this weekend after having a beer and realizing the week of March 20th was clear for me…on account of my “not having a job anymore” thing.
this will be my first conference of *any* kind. the closest I’ve been is that I once got a pass to a trade show when I worked by the San Diego Convention Center. another time, I walked around and looked at some booths when I picked up my bib for a half-marathon. but that’s it.
so I’m pretty nervous. if you could please send me recommendations on what I should do and how to best plan my days, it would be much appreciated.
and better yet, if you are attending NFT LA, I would love to connect at the conference. hit me up on Twitter or reply to this email so we can exchange deets.
I’ll hook you up with a couple of my stickers and give you a special shout-out in the newsletter if we hang out IRL (if you’re cool with that kind of doxxing).
see you Thursday.
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*this newsletter was made for informational purposes ONLY and does not constitute financial or legal advice*