📝 Field Notes #58: Fake News

Roblox rivals. Blockchain gaming. Fox partners with Polygon. Starbucks Korea goes NFTs. ConsenSys launches NFT studio. MiuMiu goes Web3. Larry Fink is bullish. OKX enters Dubai. Top charts & more.

Jan 19, 2024

Hey, it’s Marc. Welcome to our weekly, obsessively curated field notes on Web3 & crypto to help you filter out the noise. ✌️ Follow me on LinkedIn.

⏱️ Reading time: 3 min

Be inspired✨

“We forget, in our generation, that things don’t have to be physical. They can be digital, and they have meaning to people.” — Bob Iger, CEO of Disney

📚 Top 5 Reads

The labour of our time, and the work of our minds. By Yat Siu. Link
Beyond the hype of real world assets. By Jasper De Maere, Outlier. Link
Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CVVC) “Top 50” report. Link
How Web3 and real world assets unlock exponential wealth. By Jamie Burke, Outlier. Link
Statement on the BTC ETF approvals. By SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. Link

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Roblox Rivals?🕹️

Nifty Island, a blockchain-based social gaming platform similar to Roblox, launched its open beta. Link
It has partnered with some of the world’s leading NFT projects including Bored Ape Yacht Club, Azuki and more.

Why it matters: After a dismal 2023, it’s one of the promising Web3 consumer verticals, accounting for 34% of all wallet activity.

Zoom in: In the 3D game, players can complete quests, run around with friends, and build their own environments in real-time, similar to the UGC (User Generated Content) modes found in games like Roblox or Fortnite.

The big picture: Major NFT projects are all leaning hard into gaming, such as Yuga’s Dookie Dash and Otherside, Pudgy Penguins World Game, or Pixel Vault’s Reboot.

Just in November, Animoca Brands partnered with Ubisoft for Web3 gaming push.

By the numbers: The blockchain gaming market was valued at over $3 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to between $65 to $90 billion by 2030. In 2023, more than 30% have been discontinued. 2023 witnessed a substantial surge in networks targeting Web3 gaming.

Be smart: Big platforms like Roblox or Fortnite have an incentive to keep their users on their platform, whereas Web3 is all about open, interoperable ecosystems.

Punchline: Despite their potential, blockchain games are still in their infancy, attracting far fewer users than established giants. It’s a long road ahead.

Fake news? 📰

Fox has launched an open-source protocol called “Verify” on Polygon to help media companies prove the origin of content. Link

Why it’s important: Consumers will be able to verify the origin of a piece of content through the protocol.

Punchline: Ensuring the authenticity of content is one of the popular Web3/AI narratives. This might be the first initiative that could make this mainstream.

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🌎 Crypto & Macro

“Bigger than any government”🏦

Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, sees Bitcoin and Ether ETF as “stepping stones” towards the broader tokenization of assets. Link
He described Bitcoin as a store of value to protect against devaluation of currencies due to excessive deficits. Link
Meanwhile, Franklin Templeton’s X feed is all about crypto. Link

By the numbers: Digital asset investment products saw $1.18bn inflows last week.

Punchline: The Bitcoin ETF approved last week is part of a broader sentiment shift among institutional investors and is likely just the start of what’s yet to come in 2024.

🏗️ Start-ups to watch

Capsule launched a non-custodial wallet that moves across chains, devices, and applications. Link

💰 Money Moves

HashKey Group: The Hong Kong crypto exchange new unicorn with $1.2B valuation after $100M raise. Link
Renzo: EigenLayer’s Ethereum staking protocol raises $3.2M seed round. Link
Tune.FM: Decentralized music streaming platform receives $20M from LDA Capital. Link

That’s all for now, folks. Thank you for being part of the journey.
Talk soon,

– Marc

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