📝 Web3 Field Notes #24 - Nike, Mercedes-Benz & Bitcoin

Bitcoin becomes 2nd largest blockchain for NFTs. Mercedes-Benz launches NFT studio. Nike’s first digital collection goes live. ChatGPT iPhone app + plugins. The best charts & more.

Marc Baumann

May 26, 2023

Hey, it’s Marc. I write about Bitcoin, Web3, and technology. ✌️

Welcome to another issue of my obsessively curated field notes to help you filter out the noise.

⏱️ Reading time: 3 min

“To attain knowledge add things every day. To attain wisdom subtract things every day.”

– Lao-tzu

📚 Key Reads

From UGC to UGP: Consumer Brands & Co-Creation. By Multicoin Capital. Link
Life after lifestyle. The birth of cultural brands and communities. By Toby Shorin. Link
Building on passion. By Gaby Goldberg. Link
The open metaverse is under attack. Outlier Ventures. Link
Narrative over numbers: Andreessen Horowitz's State of Crypto report. By
Molly White
Link
Tales from the crypto winter. By Christopher Beam, Bloomberg. Link
Institutional Interest in Blockchain Applications and Digital Assets. By Fidelity. Link

🚨 What caught my eyes

✨ Web3 + NFTs

The public mint of Nike’s first digital collection on its Web3 platform “.SWOOSH” started this week. Users mint a OurForce 1 box, containing a digital AirForce 1 sneaker, called “OurForce”. In a few days, users will have the choice to participate in a “community reveal moment” or keep it closed forever. With .SWOOSH, Nike decided to integrate its Web3 initiatives more closely with its parent brand and core customer base. .SWOOSH offers a glimpse of how a future Web3 enabled digital ecosystem of co-creation and co-ownership might look like.
Alo Yoga integrates free in-store NFT claiming for customers during Mental Health Awareness month. US customers of the wellness brand can claim NFTs by tapping a separate terminal. The NFTs provide access to mental health resources and may provide additional benefits in the future. Alo will also offer further NFT collection opportunities through email for customers. Not impressed? This is likely just the beginning. Letting customers collect NFTs at brand touch-points will give Alo Yoga an additional data point to hunt down its most loyal customers and hopefully reward them with exclusive experiences down the road.
Mercedes-Benz launched a Web3 creative studio 0xNXT, describing it as a long-term commitment to building a dedicated presence within the Web3 community and to blockchain-based digital objects. The scope spans all of the Mercedes-Benz brands and product portfolio. Link
Pudgy Penguin, one of the big NFT “core” communities, released its own merch (penguin toys) on Amazon and generated about $500k worth of sales within the first two days. The toys are connecting to a virtual experience through a QR code. It looks fun. The onboarding journey looks intuitive. But will people actually use that? I doubt it. The much bigger innovation is that the toys are licensed directly from the community. Each Pudgy Penguin holder receives a royalty on sales worldwide. Link

🌎 Crypto & Macro

Bitcoin becomes the second largest blockchain for NFTs as ordinals volume soars. Again, I think ordinals are here to stay. You can read my primer here.
Fidelity published its report “Institutional Interest in Blockchain Applications and Digital Assets”. Out of 1’052 respondents, 81% revealed they believed digital assets should be part of a portfolio. The majority of institutions are interested in investing in the tokenization of real-world
assets or NFTs. Link
The EU Council has unanimously approved the MiCA bill, completing its legislative journey. The bill is set to become law this summer, but its implementation will be delayed for 12 to 18 months, allowing firms and regulators time to adjust to the new requirements. MiCA is one of the most comprehensive crypto regulatory framework in the world and puts the Europe into a strong lead against the US. Link

🧠 AI

OpenAI launched a free ChatGPT app for iOS in the US. Link
ChatGPT plugins and internet access went live for premium users. It’s useful, but not as useful as I thought (yet).
Microsoft plans to adopt the same plugin standard that OpenAI introduced for ChatGPT, enabling interoperability across ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant for Windows offerings. Link

If you’re new here, we welcome you to join 4’015 bright + avid readers by subscribing here:

💡Word on the street:

It's quiet. Brands are back to the drawing board figuring out how Web3 tech can help us build the next generation of community-led brands.

No consumer brand has cracked the code yet to make it mainstream. The flurry of activity remains confined within the circle of Web3 enthusiasts.

However, I’m optimistic that it will happen soon. This week, Nike made promising strides. I'll share a detailed case study soon on how they're outpacing other consumer brands. Stay tuned.

That’s all for now, folks.
Back to building! 🚀

– Marc

⚡️ Partnership Opportunity

I’m looking for suitable partners willing to put their brand in front of thousands Web3 opinion leaders, brand builders and innovators and to support my work. Limited spots available. You can email me at hello@dematerialzd.xyz or reply to this email. I have a sponsorship deck I can send you. Talk soon!