Welcome to the Christmas Eve edition of the Decentral Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up, where Neil and Em take a close look at the weekly crypto news and attempt to answer the age-old question: “Is this a thing?”
This week, Adidas generates millions of dollars in NFTs, millennials are crazy about crypto, and Alexis Ohanian puts up even more money for Web 3.0 startups. Also, Kickstarter turns to the blockchain, and the ASA is not playing around with crypto advertisements.
Adidas earns its NFT stripes
The NFT craze continues, with a rare CryptoPunk fetching over $10 million last week and virtual land sales dominating the NFT sector two weeks ago. It doesn’t look like the trend is subsiding anytime soon either. Adidas has gotten in on the NFT action and sold almost $23 million worth of NFTs in a matter of hours.
The shoe/clothing giant did have to stop transactions due to a technical glitch that was eventually resolved. This new foray into NFTs isn’t surprising given that Adidas has been tweeting about the metaverse, and rival Nike recently acquired NFT startup Rtfkt.
Would you pay to wear Yeezys in the metaverse? The NFT owners also get access to new Adidas merchandise that won’t be available until 2022. Adidas also acquired a plot of virtual land in Sandbox to create and curate exclusive content and experiences.
We’re used to seeing artists getting into the NFT sector… but now we have two of the biggest clothing companies in the world in on the action.
Will we see more of this in 2022? Who will win the sneaker metaverse wars?
Neil says:
Adidas isn’t playing around, and it looks like they are going out of their way to research NFTs and the metaverse. Yeezy is worth billions of dollars, and it’s a huge reason why Adidas has grown so much over the past couple of years. It seems like they are more strategic here, so my money is on them.
Em says:
As far as brands hopping on the NFT bandwagon, I’ve gotta go team-Nike on this one. Adidas who?? My ironclad reasons, you ask? I like Nike more. And, of course, that’s all the reasoning you need when it comes to collectibles with social and status-flexing value.
Bottom line:
Who do you think will win the sportswear metaverse wars? Comment #Nikeforthewin or #Adidasforthewin and tag @decentralpub. Your comment could be featured in an upcoming article.
Ohanian and Polygon put up $200M
There’s no question about it: there’s more money flowing into the crypto sector than ever before. According to Bloomberg, venture capital firms alone invested almost $30 billion into crypto. For comparison, only about $8 billion in VC money flowed into the cryptocurrency sector in 2018.
Polygon and Seven Seven Six are investing $200 million in blockchain-based social media projects. The goal is to fund projects at the “intersection of social media and Web 3.0.” Seven Seven Six is a venture fund established by Alexis Ohanian, the billionaire co-founder of Reddit. Polygon is a DeFi-focused blockchain protocol that some consider to be an Ethereum competitor.
It isn’t the first time Alexis Ohanian has invested in the crypto sector. He recently invested in Islands, a startup focused on creating and mainstreaming NFTs. Islands was co-founded by Nikhil Srinivasan and Tiffany Zhong, who we profiled earlier this week. Both Ohanian and Zhong also started an NFT-focused podcast called “Probably Nothing.”
Will we see a Web 3.0 social media platform emerge in the next couple of years, and can a decentralized platform gain viable market share?
Neil says:
I feel like it’s definitely possible, and I feel like there’s a reason why so many powerful and influential founders are excited about Web 3.0. What does it look like, and will it suddenly become as popular as Tiktok? But if the right platform appealed to Gen Z or millennials, I can see how it could help popularize and mainstream Web 3.0. I didn’t think Tiktok would have over a billion users when I first heard about it, but here we are.
Em says:
This is good and I think we need stuff like this. But alsoooooooooo, decentralized social media is a tall order in this landscape. Because social media is…well, social, it requires a critical mass of users. There are already struggles with alternative Web2 social media platforms staying viable. I see this as something we need but something still quite a way off in the future.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this could potentially be a thing, Em thinks a decade makes more sense.
Who do you agree with?
Millennial millionaires love cryptocurrency
If baby boomers are still skeptical about cryptocurrency, it’s definitely not something that is currently affecting millennials. When it comes to millennial millionaires, a whopping 83% of them own a cryptocurrency of some kind. The news gets even better: they plan on buying even more crypto in 2022.
But surely they aren’t going all in? Well, it looks like over half—53%—have allocated at least half of their wealth in cryptocurrency. These are incredibly impressive numbers when compared to only a paltry 4% of baby boomers who own crypto.
Spectrum Group conducted the CNBC survey. George Walter of the Spectrum Group pointed out “a big difference between different generations of wealth.” He also offered that “millennial millionaires are not going to ‘grow out of crypto.’” One thing is for sure: millennials, unlike others, are not concerned about crypto volatility.
Is this just a “millennial” or millionaire thing? What should we make of the generational divide?
Neil says:
Yeah, there’s clearly a very generational divide. I don’t blame boomers for not rushing to figure out what crypto is, they probably have other things on their mind. At the end of the day though, I imagine that even older people will come around. As for this survey, I think it’s extremely bullish for crypto in general.
Em says:
I would be ashamed of us as the first real tech generation if millennials weren’t the ones getting richest off crypto. And, though I love throwing boomers under the bus, of course, I can’t blame them for lagging. To be honest, I think it’s too late for the majority of boomers to capitalize. Not cause they can’t but cause they won’t. I mean, have you met your parents? Yeah. Exactly.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks it’s a generational divide thing, Em thinks it’s too late for the boomers.
Who do you agree with?
Kickstarter embraces Celo
What’s the first thing you think about when you think about cryptocurrency? Some immediately imagine a world where blockchain technology increases the transparency of various sectors and industries.
Others might imagine a world where cryptocurrency helps the unbanked population who may be living without access to traditional banking infrastructure. Regardless, many experts still seem to overlook that crypto can be used to crowdfund projects and businesses of all kinds.
Either way, it looks like Kickstarter got the memo. The company has struggled during the pandemic, but remains one of the largest crowdfunding platforms in the world. Since its inception, Kickstarter backers have pledged over $6 billion to over 200,000 projects. Now, they will be working on a decentralized crowdfunding protocol built on the Celo blockchain.
The move was met with some backlash, with Twitter users claiming that they would abandon the platform. Kickstarter clarified the move in a blog post, but made no indication that it was abandoning its plans. The online chat app Discord also recently received backlash for hinting at adding crypto wallet features, and the CEO eventually backed off.
Is the backlash real, or is this just a very vocal minority? Should these companies move ahead anyway, or listen to the critics?
Neil says:
I think a lot of social media backlash really comes from a vocal minority, but I do recognize that there are some people that just hate crypto for whatever reason. I do notice that Kickstarter didn’t necessarily back down, so their reaction is already different from Discord. Blockchain can be a gamechanger for crowdfunding, and critics aren’t going to be able to change that.
Em says:
Perhaps Kickstarter’s audience actually doesn’t give a rip about blockchain and they don’t want it. Oh well, let the market speak. Not every company can or will transition into future technologies. *cough* looking at you Kodak *cough* That’s life sometimes, move on and try different things—some are bound to fail (or get shouted down).
Bottom line:
Neil thinks this is a thing, Em thinks it might be.
Who’s right?
Musk says DOGE can buy Tesla merch
Elon Musk is back in the weekly crypto news, and we can’t say that we’re surprised. Musk has been vocal about his support for Dogecoin, which tumbled in price after he joked that the meme-inspired coin was a “hustle” on Saturday Night Live.
However, he has been open on social media that he’s a big fan of Dogecoin, even recently saying that it was better than Bitcoin when it comes to transactions. The billionaire Mark Cuban has even echoed this sentiment. Now, Elon Musk claims that Tesla will accept Dogecoin as a form of payment for Tesla merchandise.
The problem is a common one with Elon: is he serious or just joking around? Either way, Dogecoin rallied over 20% on the heels of the announcement. It should also be noted that Elon Musk previously claimed that Tesla would accept Bitcoin, only to backpedal, citing environmental concerns.
Can we trust Elon to deliver, or is this just another re-run of “Maybe we’ll accept it, maybe we won’t?”
Neil says:
I really don’t think Elon’s word should be trusted when it comes to cryptocurrency. He speaks his mind on social media, and there’s a good chance that he will flip-flop on this like he did before. I’d love to see a day where the markets aren’t moved by what Elon Musk says, but that day certainly isn’t today.
Em says:
We’ll always have influencers, pump-and-dumpers, shills, and—dare I say—snake oil salesmen. At least Elon is a known quantity, so we might as well keep him as our very own snake oil salesman. If we’ve gotta have them, let them be Shiba loving, awkward nerds that we can all collectively laugh at and roll our eyes at.
Bottom line:
Neil doesn’t think this is a thing, Em thinks this is a “better the pumper you know” thing.
What do you think?
Bad idea of the week: Don’t anger the ASA
If you want to advertise your cryptocurrency-related business, you’re going to have to follow some rules. It seems like that was the message that the Advertising Standards Authority wanted to send last Wednesday.
The ASA, the UK advertising watchdog, singled out seven ads that could potentially take advantage of consumers, given that they do not highlight the risks of crypto investment or trading. The regulator had seemingly warned the crypto sector weeks ago, stating that cryptocurrency ads were a “red alert” priority.
It isn’t surprising to see major crypto companies like Coinbase, Kraken, and Etoro on the list, but apparently, even Papa John’s landed in hot water over ads celebrating Bitcoin Pizza Day. For those unaware, the crypto holiday commemorates when Laszlo Hanyecz decided to spend 10,000 Bitcoin on pizza.
The pizza chain was trying to offer free Bitcoin through a promotion with Luno, which also had a separate in-app ad that the watchdog banned. The watchdog did not impose fines but instead stated that the “ads must not appear again in the format complained about.”
Was Papa John’s wrong for trying to stack extra dough? (Come on, you knew that was coming.) Is it better to tread cautiously until regulation settles, or should we encourage more crypto marketing campaigns? What’s best for mass adoption?
Neil says:
I think there will be issues with crypto advertising for a while now, with platforms probably going back and forth about what is acceptable. I think it’s fair to say that people should know that crypto investing can be risky…but as long as the ASA can really identify and articulate what’s wrong with the ad, companies will just have to adjust. At the end of the day, no one should think that crypto isn’t “risky.” It is. Ultimately, more people are realizing it’s WORTH the risk, though.
Em says:
The bad idea here, in my mind, is the ASA. Over-eager regulators and monopolies (including government agencies) are largely the reason crypto exists. Of course they’re going to throw a tantrum about it but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea or justified. It’s fine though, adoption is still climbing anyway—things like this will only spur it on.
Bottom line:
Neil thinks companies should be careful, but Em thinks the ASA is the bad idea here.
What do YOU think?
Meme of the week
As always, Em brings you your meme of the week:
What do you have in mind for your 2022 crypto investing plans? Be sure to tune in next week for the last weekly crypto news wrap-up of the year, the December 31st Decentral Publishing Weekly Crypto News Wrap-Up. Get your New Years’ crypto resolutions ready!
