📝#90: Priceless
📝#90: Priceless
Mastercard brings Bitcoin to 100M merchants globally crypto debit card.
Hey, it’s Marc ✌️
Today we will cover:
Consumer: Mastercard’s Bitcoin debit card. Emily in Paris redefines brand integration. Nars launches unique virtual experience. Hugo Kids goes Roblox.
Gaming: Kansas City Chiefs tab into 5M+ users of first NFL Web3 game.
Let’s dive in 🦈
⏱️ Read time: 4min
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📚 Our Top Reads
What Is Consumer Crypto? By Luca Netz. Link
Youtube’s culture & trends report. Link
When Big Tech Betrays You, Where Do You Turn? By Dani Luftus. Link
Does Web3 have a growth playbook? (Video) Link
State of Play: Web3 & Gaming. By 51 Insights. Link
Karate Combat: Reinventing Fan Engagement. By 51 Insights. Link
✨ Web3 & Consumer
MaterCard embraces Bitcoin
Mastercard brings Bitcoin to 1B+ users & 100M merchants worldwide.
What you need to know:
The card is a euro-denominated crypto debit card launched together with Mercuryo.
Users can spend Bitcoin from self-custodial wallets at 100M+ merchants globally
This is a massive step for Mastercard, building on a pilot with MetaMask
This legitimzes Bitcoin as an every-day currency beyond a store of value.
Even more important:
Direct spending: Just like using a regular debit card. No need to convert to fiat first.
Seamless: The card is compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Full control: Users retain full control of their crypto assets in their self-custodial wallets.
Previously users had to:
Transfer crypto from a self-custodial wallet to a centralized exchange.
Sell the crypto for fiat currency.
Transfer the fiat currency to a traditional bank account or debit card.
Finally, making the purchase using the fiat currency.
All this is reduced to one step. 🤯
The catch: the fees. €1.6 issuance fee, €1 monthly maintenance fee, 0.95% per transaction.
Punchline: This is a big step for Mastercard. And an ever bigger one for crypto adoption. Will stablecoins be next? 🤔
Boson Protocol – Real Web3 Commerce, with Web2 UX
As the next bull market emerges, so does a new crypto-rich, Web3-savvy demographic, who are demanding authentic Web3 commerce experiences. Uniquely, with Boson, you can sell physical things as NFTs, with a slick Web2 experience while running on a fully decentralized Web3 backend. No more Web3 washing required!
Emily in Paris: Redefining brand integration in streaming era
Season 4 of Emily in Paris integrates digital fashion and sustainable trends through collaborations with Zepeto and Vestiaire Collective, reaching 58M households.
What you should know:
In Emily in Paris Season 4, Zepeto's virtual fashion collaboration highlights its digital avatar capabilities.
Vestiaire Collective also launched a curated 'Emily in Paris' resale collection.
Netflix also launched ‘Emily in Paris,’ a free mobile game available to Netflix subscribers on Android and iOS.
Zooming out: This season's brand integration stands out as traditional advertising becomes less effective. With 86% of viewers skipping TV ads and 47%1 using ad blockers online, luxury brands are looking for new ways to reach their audience.
By the numbers: Emily in Paris was recognized as one of the most-watched shows in 2022.
It was Netflix's most popular comedy of 2020, reaching 58M households within a month of its debut.
The show led Netflix’s ratings for the week of December, with 77% of its viewers being women.
It has 8.3 times the average audience demand in the U.S., with outstanding global performance, particularly in Russia.
Why it matters: Emily in Paris sophisticated blend of narrative and product placement and potentially redefines brand integration in streaming era.
👉 Read our deep dives on crypto, loyalty and fan engagement:
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More Web3 Highlights:
Nars launched a virtual experience, Maison Explicit, on its website to celebrate its 30th anniversary, blending storytelling, gaming, and commerce across global markets, following its success on Roblox. Link
HUGO KIDS has launched a Roblox pop-up adventure featuring limited digital wearables inspired by the Fall/Winter 2024 collection & ollaborating with UGC creators. Link
Inter Miami has partnered with Polkadot, featuring the blockchain platform's logo on their First Team training kits. Link
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🎮 Brands & Gaming
NFL Rivals X Chiefs 🏈
Mythical Games’ NFL Rivals, the first NFL (National Football League) licensed web3 game, is partnering with the Super Bowl LVIII champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, as it enters its second year.
Why it matters: NFL Rivals has already attracted 5M+ football fans. With this partnership, Kansas City Chiefs can engage users more directly with IRL exclusive experiences.
What you should know:
Gameplay: Players can collect and trade officially licensed NFL player NFTs, where cards range from regular to legendary for team building and competition.
In-Game Currency: Gems (for rare items), Coins (for general purchases and upgrades), and Gold (for exclusive offers).
Experience: The game is user-friendly with seamless marketplace interactions, and on-chain elements are integrated smoothly in the background.
Partnership with Chiefs: It offers fans VIP game experiences at Arrowhead Stadium and exclusive tickets to a special Rivals-themed home game.
Zooming out: The partnership shows the growing convergence between sports, gaming, and Web3 tech.
What they’re saying:
“We remain focused on reaching fans wherever they engage and consume the NFL, and mobile gaming is a growing market, especially amongst our young fans.”
Kim Hobbs, VP of partnership strategy and development, Kansas City Chiefs
By the numbers: Launched in 2023, the game has surpassed 5M downloads and $7M in lifetime trading, with 600K transactions and 160K+ unique NFT owners.
The Big Picture: While NFTs are losing traction, games like NFL Rivals are showcasing new strategies to utilise Web3 technology for fan engagement. The user flow is simple: Web2-like sign-up, play games and claim digital collectibles to access added incentives and perks.
More Gaming Highlights:
GameSwift has partnered with Fetch.ai to integrate its AI technology into the GameSwift Launcher, allowing users to offer unused GPU power for AI applications. This collaboration also enables users to host AI models locally, enhancing privacy while exploring AI-driven tasks like text and voice generation. Link
Mysten Labs, the Web3 infrastructure company, has opened preorders for its SuiPlay0X1 gaming handheld, integrating Sui blockchain tech. Priced at $600, the device supports PC and blockchain games, with delivery starting in 2025. Link
GOAT Gaming, developed by Mighty Bear Games, has surpassed 250K users and over 3.25M transactions on Telegram, driven by its "Road to $GOAT" campaign. The platform aims to expand with more mini-games and broader developer access in the future. Link
Roblox will soon allow creators to sell avatar bundles, offering collections of items for a single price on the Marketplace and within experiences. Link
💰 Money Moves
Funding rounds:
Hypernative: Web3 security firm raised $16M Series A led by Bloccelerate VC, Boldstart Ventures, and Borderless Capital. Link
Treble Technologies: Iceland-based sound simulation and synthetic audio data generation technology company, raised €11M in Series A. Link
Double Jump.Tokyo: The blockchain gaming company raised $10M led by Sony Group Corporation, Taisu Ventures, and Gate Ventures. Link
That’s all for now, folks.
The next edition on crypto, macro & AI will follow on Tuesday.
Talk soon,
– Marc & Team
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according to a Nielsen 2023 report.