Page One #42
I’m late, but back. We were a bit off schedule this week but should be back to normal going forward - Round Tripping on Saturdays and NFT Recaps on Wednesdays. As always, thanks for reading, hmu on Twitter and come hang out in The One.
(Also if you are a Sol NFT expert and would be interested in contributing to P1 NFT recap, message me - hoping to make something a little more formal so be on the lookout for that)
TLDR:
Berachain collections bought up as traders anticipate
Bowie on the Blockchain sees artists pay homage to Bowie
Cool Cats strengthen partnership with Animoca Brands
Critter Cult tops Solana volume charts in second week
Clone X engages “Story Mode” with new teasers
Degenheim’s universe kicks off with Degenesis auction
DigiDaigaku holders receive Castaways airdrop
Gangster All-Star rises as boxes reveal rarity
HELIX is building a digital copy of New York City
The Hopeful by Azra Games brings more mobile devs to F2O
Kitaro World was a rare post-reveal success
KPR reimagines avatar projects - and protects a few secrets
Lineagee Naming Registrar rediscovered after 7 years
VeeFriends launches toy line with Macy’s & Toys R Us
News and Notes:
Berachain collections bought up as traders anticipate news
In August of last year, 100 Bong Bears graced the blockchain, planting the seed for what has become one of the more anticipated new protocols of late 2022 - Berachain. Bong Bears have since rebased five times, creating five new bear collections, each a bit bigger than the previous. The Bera team has been working on their new Cosmos based, EVM-compatible L1 for some months now, although no official dates have been announced. Trading volume in the Bera ecosystem has picked up substantially in the last week as traders anticipate a sixth rebase - or potentially more information about Berachain.
Cool Cats strengthen partnership with Animoca Brands
Crypto-gaming behemoth Animoca Brands has added another name to its portfolio, which now includes nearly 350 investments including Axie Infinity, NBA Top Shot and OpenSea. The strategic investment, announced on Wednesday, gives Cool Cats access to resources that could certainly assist their burgeoning gaming ecosystem. Other recent activities from the blue cats include physical comic claims and Halloween merch.
Critter Cult tops Solana volume charts in second week
Pixel artist RGB has a lengthy portfolio of immaculately detailed landscapes and created a collection of sunsets earlier this year. Critters Cult, his first avatar collection, fills his artistic universe with quirky characters of all kinds and a narrative inspired by spooky novels, conspiracy theories and 80’s aesthetics. The collection feels familiar yet fresh and creates visual diversity by pulling traits from five different “Realms” that will each play into the narrative. Total volume traded since minting two weeks ago sits around ~165,000◎, spurred forward as influencers and community members - including the Solana founders (and me) - switch to Critter PFPs.
28◎ floor | 5,555 supply | 3◎ mint | minted 9-25-22
Hyperspace | Twitter | Discord | Website
Clone X engages “Story Mode” with new teasers
Although the MNLTH 2 quest has been delayed to an unspecified date, the Clones are still dropping mysterious video hints. The first, seen above, engages “Clone X Story Mode” before displaying three words - Incubation, The Wandersmith, and Exodus. The next two videos show a research facility labeled Incubation and an egg that is presumably from said research facility. Per usual, no one has much of an idea of what is to come. In other news, Nike filed an extensive patent centered around composable NFTs such as the CryptoKick and Skin Vial - read a thread breaking it down here.
DigiDaigaku holders receive Castaways airdrop
DigiDaigaku genesis holders received a Digi x Castaways Adventure Key airdrop on Thursday night. The Adventure Key will allow holders to play Castaways, the upcoming island survival game, as their specific DigiDaigaku avatar. Alongside the airdrop, founder Gabriel Leydon said we will soon see a “MAJOR marketing announcement,” the Hero reveal, and another airdrop from genesis Digis and Heroes.
Gangster All-Star rises as boxes reveal rarity
After minting over a month ago, GAS has welcomed holders to reveal which gang their token belongs to by opening their boxes, revealing a piece of equipment associated with one of the 50 gangs. Holders can choose whether or not to reveal their box and, as in many cases, those that remain unrevealed are selling for a healthy premium (currently ~0.25Ξ more). While they’ve not yet announced a specific date for the art reveal, it could come as soon as next week.
VeeFriends launches toy line with Macy’s & Toys R Us
Six VeeFriends characters are featured in the limited series of plush toys and figurines. The collection is available for pre-order now and will officially launch on October 17th. There is also a “blind box” which includes characters not available for individual purchase. VeeFriends holders who own a character featured in the set can claim one toy for free before October 18th. Read more details on the VF blog here.
Recent Launches:
Bowie on the Blockchain sees artists pay homage to Bowie
Nine cryptoartists including Defaced, Fewocious and Pussy Riot created pieces honoring the late David Bowie, whose estate partnered with OpenSea to organize the sale. The supply and price of each piece varied, but the most notable sale was certainly Fewocious’ animated Bowie, which sold for 96Ξ and comes with a six-foot statue.
0.22Ξ floor | 15 pieces of varying supply | varied mint price | minted 9-30-22
HELIX is building a digital copy of New York City
Hyper Expansive Lifelike Interoperable eXperience (HELIX) has incredibly ambitious plans. The metaverse project places players in Parallel City, a “meticulously detailed 1:1 scale recreation of NYC” complete with “cutting-edge graphics, diverse game modes… and true digital ownership.” The company behind the project raised a $3.5M seed round led by Play Ventures in September. Holding a Founder’s Pass grants exclusive airdrops of in-game items, early access to the game and other benefits to be announced. Read more details in their docs here.
The Hopeful by Azra Games brings more mobile devs to F2O
Continuing the free-to-own meta, The Hopeful by Azra Games is another VC-funded F2O game from a team of former mobile game developers. Azra CEO Mark Otero was previously a General Manager at EA, where he worked on Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, a free-to-play mobile game that grossed over $1.5B of revenue. Azra received funding from a16z and Coinbase Ventures, among others. Each Hopeful acts as a “play forever pass” for Legions & Legends, their keynote game, which will be detailed this winter.
Kitaro World was a rare post-reveal success
After minting on the 26th, this collection of anime-inspired cat-creatures settled in a range between 0.02Ξ and 0.04Ξ and remained there until its reveal on the 30th. Their roadmap includes an AR coloring book that will feature Kitaros from the collection, plushies, merch and other storytelling elements. But even its biggest fans likely did not expect to the collection rise to a peak of ~0.6Ξ within the next three days. While it has since descended, it was encouraging to see a bullish reveal, which has become increasingly uncommon in recent months.
Lineagee Naming Registrar rediscovered after 7 years
While combing through the first contracts created on Ethereum, Mason Keresty discovered a name registrar that was deployed on August 8, 2015, only about a week after Ethereum was launched. The historical NFT community was quick to embrace the project, which predates any other NFT on Ethereum, despite the fact that only 60 domain names were minted in 2015. Amongst the commotion, LNR tokens were briefly quite valuable, with some paying up to 3Ξ for three-digit names. Read more about LNR in this NFTnow article.
Probably A Label sees Warner Records start a web3 label
The collaboration between Warner Records and Jeremy Fall’s Probably Nothing is potentially the first web3 music label - and certainly the first with backing from a major label like Warner. PAL aims to use crypto innovations to create new opportunities in IP ownership and community participation. They’ve announced the first drop for holders - a song from Diddy and Jason Martin (aka Problem).
Upcoming Launches:
Degenheim’s universe kicks off with Degenesis auction
A fully gamified play-and-earn project, Degenheim is welcoming its first community members with a genesis auction of 250 well-rewarded NFTs. Their team of experienced crypto developers and game designers want to create a game with AAA levels of entertainment where nearly everything is an NFT. With a rolling roadmap and a full collection coming at a yet-to-be announced date, Degenheim will be one to keep on the radar. The Degenesis auction ends on Saturday.
250 genesis supply | fair auction mint | auction closes Saturday
KPR reimagines avatar projects - and protects a few secrets
Within the New Eden safe zone, two factions unite to protect the Keep, the last bastion of knowledge in a world threaten by mankind’s greatest discovery. As Keepers, holders will play an important role in this universe built around collective narratives. With eye-catching art, lore that creates genuine curiosity and a refreshing all-around design, KPR hopes to create a brand that can stretch well beyond avatars.
Led by former TreasureDAO Product Lead End and former DeFi founder Adventure, the KPR team includes alumni of IBM, Riot Games and EA - most of whom are experienced NFT traders and collectors. While specific details around the collection’s roadmap are scarce, it’s difficult to believe a team with these credentials isn’t still protecting a few secrets. Check out the KPR website for more info.
Other Stuff Happened/ing
NFTs:
Bored Ape Yacht Club introduces its new community council
Jenkins the Valet opens feedback survey after disastrous PFP previews
insrt finance vaults make NFT alpha accessible
Lacoste prepares to reveal UNDW3 avatars
Manifold launches Gallery, a zero-fee marketplace for artists
OpenSea launches support for bulk listing and purchasing
Ragnarok is launching a rebrand today after being DMCA’d
General News:
Facebook and Instagram now supports NFTs for all users
Fluer is an NFT aggregator that provides sellers instant liquidity
Japan’s Prime Minister says government will invest in digital transformation
Three Arrows Capital’s expansive NFT collection may soon be sold off