🤠 Web3 Weekly Round-up #10

Hey there, I’m Luca - lifelong startup nerd, crypto fanatic since 2016, and now keeping up with trends across Web3 is my second full-time job.

Here’s everything you need to know about the last week in Web3 - in 5 tweets 🐦

 ⛪️ #1 - White House executive order on crypto

The White House released its much-anticipated Executive Order on crypto, or rather, it was leaked in a press release last week. Most of the crypto community seemed to dread the exec order for the past few weeks, expecting a fresh round of crackdowns on NFTs and crypto trading. It certainly came as a surprise then that Biden's exec order did almost the opposite.

On the whole, the Executive Order takes a neutral tone and avoids making any concrete assertions. Most notably though, the order calls on federal agencies to get their sh*t together when it comes to crypto. 1) Agencies must work to understand this new technology because it's here to stay, and 2) they need to coordinate their efforts to protect consumers and innovate responsibly. This marks the first time that the US government has clearly communicated its desire to work towards, not against, a crypto-empowered future.

🎭 #2 - Mega NFT acquisition

If the Executive Order wasn't enough for you, last week also played host to the largest NFT-related acquisition we've ever seen. Yuga Labs is the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), one of the top-two NFT collections alongside CryptoPunks. A merger of these collections is the NTF equivalent of Facebook acquiring Instagram.

The two collections couldn't be more different. CryptoPunks is one of the OGs in the space, and that's where the collection derives most of its value from. Unlike most NFT collections, the Punks don't have much utility, and their creator, Larva Labs, does not provide any form of IP rights to NFT owners. The same goes for Meebits. BAYC is more of the new kid on the block, and most of its value is the result of an insanely strong community, legendary events, and brands that have spawned around individual Apes.

As a result of the acquisition: 1) Punks and Meebits holders will receive full commercial rights to their NTFs, and 2) Yuga Labs has shown just what a financial force it is in the NFT space. There's no telling if this acquisition will be net-positive or -negative in the long run, but BAYC has seen a strong rally since the news was announced.

 🦓 #3 - Stripe embraces crypto

Stripe essentially built the rails for modern-day financial transactions. It's worth over $100B, making it the most valuable startup in the US and one of the most valuable privately-held companies in the world. If you've ever used Lyft, Amazon, or Airbnb then you've used Stripe, likely without even knowing it. Now, Stripe is bringing its expertise in financial infrastructure to Web3.

What does this mean for Web3? Most notably, it reduces the barriers that between turning fiat money into crypto and vice versa. Buying crypto is still one of the most challenging aspects of onboarding to Web3, especially outside the US where companies like Coinbase have yet to build a more seamless on-ramp. Plus, Stripe's identity tools will come in handy for NFT marketplaces to vet buyers and sellers in order to reduce the risk of scams and fraud.

 🍋 #4 - Blast from the past

If you were born before 2000, you probably recall the nostalgia of LimeWire, the somewhat sketchy file-sharing website that found its home in the early days of sharing and downloading music. LimeWire's business was shut down back in 2010 after a lengthy series of lawsuits over music piracy, and that seemed to be the end of this dot-com-era brand. That is until two Austrian brothers bought LimeWire's IP last year and recently announced that they're turning it into an NFT marketplace starting in May. While the new iteration of LimeWire has nothing to do with the old business, the familiar name and associated nostalgia may just bring some new millennials into the NFT fold. 

 🎡 #5 - NFTs x SXSW

This past weekend was the first weekend of SXSW, an annual weeklong extravaganza highlighting the biggest things in tech, business, music, and film. The first weekend of SXSW tends to host most of the tech-related "activations." There are flashy events and experience for companies to flex their technology and money, usually accompanied by free food and open bars. For example, I went to the Cheetos Hands Free House, which was a glorified IRL commercial for Alexa voice assistant complete with Cheetos margs and Flamin Hot cheese sticks. Anyway...

SXSW 2022 is notable because it's the first conference that's happened in the era of Web3. 2020's conference was cancelled due to Covid and 2021's was entirely virtual and quite watered down as a result. 2022 was the year for NFTs and Web3 to make a statement at SXSW, and they did not disappoint. There were tons of Web3-related events happening all weekend, but the most notable was the Doodles IRL activation. It showcased just how strong of a brand the Doodles NFT collection has become and that there's some tangible value behind these insanely expensive JPEGs.

🎉  If you learned something new, forward this to a few friends! It goes a long way for me, your crypto-curious friends, and the growth of the Web3 community :)

💬  What did you find most intriguing this week? Let me know by replying to the email or tweeting at me - any and all feedback is welcome!