Web2 VS Web3
Letâs put 2 events against each other this week: Top Shot VS NFT thirst traps.
On February 6th, the basketball collectible game NBA Top Shot decided to drop some Holo packs. There were 2,423 packs available, for $999 a pack. That sounds like a lot, but when you realize that most rare Moments sell for thousands, it looks like a good opportunity.
And other people thought so too, because over 25,000 people showed up. Top Shot had been preparing for demand and came up with a whole queue system, only for the system to glitch.
There were people who could immediately buy a pack without lining up. So when it came around to number 2000 in the line, packs were already sold out. Hereâs Top Shotâs explanation on what went wrong.
Weâve been participating in their queued drops last week, and really, itâs weird. The beauty of the blockchain is that itâs permissionless. It doesnât matter if the UI goes down, the contracts will still exist!
So why is there a fake, manufactured line to buy this NFT?
It felt even weirder in contrast to the thirst trap movement on Twitter this week. The Defiant breaks it down in depth, if youâre interested.
But the summary is: Coindesk called the selfie NFTs of influencer CryptoFinally a thirst trap. The selfie in question wasnât even anything sexual, it was just a good old flattering selfie.
So this week, Rachel of CryptoFinally has been actively speaking out against the article. People started minting their own âthirst trapsâ in solidarity.
And this is cool. Weâre big fans of how NFTs enable people to sell anything, and no one can stop you or censor you. Sell selfies, sell actual thirst traps! Mark Cubanâs already out here making $90,000 selling Cameo-style videos.
Itâs just beautiful to see the results of permissionless creation and permissionless selling on the blockchain. Top Shotâs still fun, and yes, it is in beta, but damn is it more Web2 than Web3 right now.
And Web3âs just better.
A small ask
We want to make a beginnerâs guide to NFTs, but in the style of a bingo board. Weâd love feedback on what weâve gotâis it accessible? Does it make sense?
If youâd like to take a look, hit us up on Twitter!
Other news
đ€Ż A historic $1.5 million Axie Infinity land sale took place on February 9th! The sale was for an estate of 9 Genesis land plots, the rarest pieces of land in Axieâs Lunacia. The buyer, Flying Falcon, wrote a great thread about their reasoning for the purchase too. Truly amazing to see people getting into the potential of the Metaverse. Why buy physical real estate when you can just buy digital land?
đ People have been finding secrets in the Hashmasks! Someone found a duplicate, someone else deciphered some Sanskrit, and someone even found a Chinese poem! The project launched with so few details, so itâs really fun to see how obsessed people are with finding meaning in them.
Reading list
Matty (DCLblogger) shared this great guide on navigating NFT Twitter hype. You can also go with the Twitter thread, if youâre short on time. Itâs a good reminder to buy NFTs because you love the art or artist or story, not because of the person talking about them.
NFTfi provided an explanation on their promissory note. If you havenât dug into taking a loan against an NFT, itâs a great place to start.
Writer and Audius team member Cooper Turley released this article on the NFT Issuance Landscape. Great walkthrough of the platforms currently available for minting an NFT, and the difference between them all.
Creative corner: Roger Kilimanjaro
Roger is a brilliant 3D artist based in Paris, and he makes the most satisfying loops. Really needs no further bio, because his work speaks for itself.
If you do one thing today, please, watch the video. Never been more delighted by anything. Honest.
Find more of Rogerâs satisfying loops on Instagram and SuperRare.
Try this: enter the NFTfi giveaway
Really canât believe weâre diluting our odds like this, but here we are. Check out this cool giveaway from NFTfi for a NFT-backed promissory note.
đ” As always, thanks for reading!