📝#85: Game Changer
📝#85: Game Changer
SEC's token ruling. ManU's NFT game. Olympics goes Roblox. Adidas launches on Fortnite. Bitcoin announcements. OpenAI launches SearchGPT & more.
Hey, it’s Marc. ✌️
My highlight: This week the SEC has dropped its attempt to classify tokens like Solana and Cardano as securities, setting an important precedent for the whole ecosystem.
We also cover:
Consumer: Manchester United launches NFT game. Olympics goes Roblox. Toyota explores Ethereum. Tottenham signs with Kraken.
Gaming: Adidas launches new collection in Fortnite.
Crypto: Nashville: All eyes on Bitcoin. Coinbase revenue up 105% YoY. Tether’s $5.2B record profits.
AI: OpenAI has launched SearchGPT.
Let’s dive in. 🦈
⏱️ Read time: 5min
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📚 My Top 5 Reads
State of Play: Web3 Fundraising in H1 2024. By Marc Baumann. Link
America's $175 Trillion Problem. By Balaji. Link
Crypto is over allocated venture, under allocated liquid. By
Farhad Fatkhulov. Link
Hollywood's New Star: Artificial Intelligence. By Marc Baumann. Link
Q2 2024 Crypto M&A & Financing Report. By Architect Partners. Link
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✨ Web3 & Consumer
Beyond the Pitch: Decentralized fantasy ⚽️
Manchester United has launched “Fantasy United”, the Web3 fantasy football game with player trading cards on Tezos blockchain, which went live on July 31.
What you need to know:
Fantasy United is a web3 fantasy football game where players score points based on the real-life performances of Manchester United players, set to officially launch on August 16.
Manchester United has launched digital Player Trading Cards for the 2024/25 season, featuring hand-drawn art of first-team players as digital collectibles.
The player trading cards come in a pack of 7, featuring 3 rarities (Classic, Rare, and Ultra-Rare) and 9 evolving stats, available for £3 per pack via crypto or credit card. Cards are also available on secondary markets.
Why it matters: Digital native fans are reshaping how they engage with content, demanding a more integrated, personalized, and interactive experience across various platforms.
Stepping back: Manchester United launched "The Devils," a collection of 7,777 unique digital collectibles on the Tezos blockchain in 2022, offering fans exclusive rewards and access to club benefits, which sold out in a few days.
How it works:
Players build their Fantasy United line-up using cards from their collection, selecting five cards for each matchday.
Points are earned based on the real-life performances of Manchester United players in matches, including goals, assists, tackles, and saves
Players can create or join mini-leagues to compete against friends, family, and former United players, with a global league for all participants.
Be smart: It’s not just another fantasy game; it's a fan loyalty program that offers exclusive rewards like VIP experiences and signed merchandise.
The big picture: 71% of all fans say that live sporting events are their favorite type of sports content. However, this drops to only 58% for Gen Z and Millennial fans.
Punchline: Manchester United is blending sports, fantasy, digital assets, and loyalty for fan engagement. Other sports brands can adopt this strategy to deepen fan loyalty and create new revenue streams by integrating digital assets and exclusive rewards, setting a new standard for fan interaction.
👉 Read our deep dive: How the next generation of consumers is reshaping brand engagement and sports fandom.
More Web3 Highlights:
nWay, the maker of an official mobile game of the Olympics, has brought Phryges, the Paris 2024 mascot, onchain. The claim is live on Magic Eden, as part of Coinbase's Onchain Summer event with 138,093 mints. Link
Toyota is exploring using Ethereum’s blockchain to create digital accounts for vehicles, potentially enabling autonomous driving and improved vehicle management. Link
The IOC has launched the Olympic World on Roblox, a virtual space featuring Olympic-themed mini-games, shops, and interactive content to engage a global, young audience ahead of the Paris 2024 Games. Link
Tottenham Hotspur FC has signed a multi-season sleeve sponsorship deal with Kraken, making it the club's first official crypto partner and boosting the US-based crypto exchange’s presence in sports. Link
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🎮 Brands & Gaming
Adidas on Fortnite
Adidas launched the customizable Three Stripe Squad Bundle in Fortnite, featuring Adidas-inspired characters and accessories.
Zooming in: The Three Stripe Squad Bundle included five unique skins, each priced at 1,500 V-Bucks, along with other items. Watch how it works.
The bundle allows for extensive customization, including the selection of human and creature heads, color zones, and LEGO-style options.
It was available in the Fortnite Item Shop from July 23 to July 29, 2024.
Be smart: The take rate (aka the platform fee on sales) on Roblox is considerably higher than the estimated 30% on Fortnite.
Stepping back: Adidas launched its first digital clothing NFT collection, "Into the Metaverse," in December 2021. In July 2024, it released "Adidas Onchain: Summer of Sports," an NFT collection in collaboration with Ethereum L2 Base, followed by the partnership with Manchester United to launch its phygital collection on Roblox.
Why it matters: By introducing in-game skins and items, Adidas is tapping into a growing trend where virtual and real-world fashion intersect, appealing to a younger, tech-savvy audience. This multi-faceted approach, including NFT collections and collaborations with platforms like Fortnite and Roblox, positions Adidas at the forefront of Gen Z consumer engagement, driving brand awareness, loyalty – and hopefully revenue.
More Gaming Highlights:
Notcoin has launched "Lost Dogs," a new story-driven Telegram game featuring NFTs and the WOOF token, where players make choices that affect their in-game dog characters' journey. Link
Animoca Brands has partnered with LayerZero Labs to enhance Web3 gaming by using LayerZero’s technology for improved digital asset interoperability and cross-chain interactions. Link
Developed by industry veterans from EA, Nintendo, and Blizzard; nWay, Animoca Brands, and Mocaverse have launched "Cosmic Bomber," a Web3 action game featuring real-time PvP and digital asset ownership, accessible to 1.79M Moca ID holders. Link
🎙️ Our Latest Podcast
The Future of Web3 Gaming
In our latest podcast episode, we had the pleasure of hosting Carlos G. Pereira, a partner at BITKRAFT Ventures. BITKRAFT is one of the lading VCs in gaming. It has raised $275M for a third fund bringing its total assets under management to over $1B.
Key Takeaways:
BITKRAFT sees gaming as a vast market worth roughly $300B annually, including both content and surrounding businesses. They concentrate heavily on the content side, with a significant portion of their portfolio dedicated to core content deals, such as popular games like "Call of Duty" and "Super Mario” than the broader category of gaming.
Financialization in gaming isn't new, but Web3 makes it more transparent and integrated by enabling open economies and property rights for in-game assets, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
Web3 gaming's slow mainstream adoption is due to the lengthy development cycle of quality games, compounded by evolving Web3 infrastructure and market disruptions, which often misalign with the faster expectations set by early token launches.
Listen to it on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts.
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🌎 Crypto & Macro
All Bets on Bitcoin
The Bitcoin Conference 2024, held from July 25 to 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee, featured presidential candidates Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., underscoring the rising influence of cryptocurrency in politics.
All political: 10 US senators and 2 presidential candidates attended the event.
The highlights:
RFK Jr. promised to sign executive orders promoting U.S. Treasury Bitcoin reserves, transferring government-held Bitcoin to the Treasury, exempting Bitcoin-to-USD transactions from reporting and taxation, and allowing Bitcoin in 1031 exchanges for real property.
Trump pledged to lead Bitcoin innovation in the U.S., counter Biden’s anti-crypto stance, and support pro-Bitcoin policies, including halting CBDC plans and protecting Bitcoin from government sales.
John Deaton, running for a US Senate seat in Massachusetts, revealed that 82% of his net worth is in Bitcoin. He received $1M from Ripple, despite trailing in polls and facing primary competition.
Senator Lummis proposed a bill to build a $1M BTC reserve, starting with 210,000 BTC and adding 790,000 BTC over five years to cut national debt in half by 2045.
Meanwhile: Kamala Harris's campaign is aiming to reset relations with the crypto industry to build a positive regulatory framework and counter Donald Trump's crypto support.
Zooming out: Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy, held a passionate speech about Bitcoin's power as a hedge against currency devaluation and a way to preserve wealth. He was also pumping his own bags.
Why it matters: The event showcased the biggest intersection of crypto and politics yet, as it turns into a key topic for the 2024 elections.
More Crypto Highlights:
The SEC has dropped its attempt to classify tokens like Solana and Cardano as securities in its Binance lawsuit, marking a major win for the crypto industry. Link
Coinbase reports Q2 revenue up 105% YoY to $1.45B, vs. $1.39B est., a $36.2M net income. Link
Tether reported a record $5.2B profit in H1 2024, with $97.6B in reserves, surpassing national economies and maintaining a $11.9B net equity surplus. Link
Swiss regulator FINMA issued new guidelines for stablecoin issuers, requiring them obtain a banking license or maintain a default bank guarantee. Link
🪙 Regulation Highlights
A new bipartisan bill, the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act, was reintroduced to the US Senate, proposing a tax exemption for low-value cryptocurrency transactions. Link
The Central Bank of Brazil plans to finalize cryptocurrency regulations by early 2025, with input from market participants to tailor the rules to local needs. Link
South Korean crypto exchanges, including Upbit and Bithumb, will now face supervisory fees under the newVirtual Asset User Protection Act, adding financial pressure to the industry. Link
🧠Artificial Intelligence
Google 2.0?
OpenAI has launched SearchGPT, a new tool that offers real-time access to information across the internet.
Users can engage with SearchGPT through both text and voice, ask follow-up questions, and receive answers complete with cited links.
Zooming in: SearchGPT is still in the prototype phase and OpenAI plans to integrate its features into ChatGPT.
It is powered by GPT-4 and will be initially available to 10K test users.
To access the SearchGPT, ChatGPT users are required to join the waitlist.
Why it matters: OpenAI has taken an interactive and a more conversational approach, potentially can challenge the Google Search's long-standing dominance. It plans to build an ecosystem of publishers and creators to highlight their content with AI capabilities.
Devil’s Advocate: With the rise of conversational search engines, traditional keyword-based SEO might become less effective.
More AI Highlights:
Meta Platforms is investing heavily in AI and data centers to compete with Google and Microsoft, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg reassures investors with strong revenue growth and plans for future expansion. Link
Meta introduces SAM 2, an advanced model for real-time object segmentation in images and videos, releasing it with open-source code and a new dataset for broader use. Link
Google introduced the Gemma 2 model, which delivers outstanding AI performance in a compact size. Link
💰 Money Moves
Funding rounds:
Layer2 Financial: Canada-based regulated payment infrastructure company raised $10.7M led by Galaxy Ventures. Link
Metabit: The blockchain infrastructure startup raised $10M in strategic funding. Link
That’s all for now, folks. Thank you for being part of the journey.
Talk soon,
– Marc
PS: Follow me on LinkedIn and X for shorter insights.
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