web3 Memo #22
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🌈 Happy Pride Month to you all! 🌈
Join the celebrations and help amplify the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community by getting involved in some web3 initiatives. Here are some ideas:
The Metaverse Pride Parade and other Pride Month events on the Decentraland. The festivities include a 24/7 Pride parade full of outrageous floats and colourful dancers, parties, entertainment, expert panels & talks and immersive experiences.
The LGBTQ+ VR Museum; the world's first virtual reality museum dedicated to platforming and celebrating the stories of queer people. Visit in-person at Tribeca or from the comfort of your own home.
Avius Animae NFT project by ex-GQ Editor John Jannuzzi which pledged 100% of its June royalties to LGBTQIA+ charities.
📰 This Week’s News
Gucci opens a virtual piazza in Roblox. Gucci Town includes a creative corner for art, an exhibition space, a shop for digital items and a community space where members can meet and interact. Users can earn in-experience currency called GG Gems and purchase virtual items.
Prada to gift free NFTs to buyers of its Timecapsule collection drops. It also launched Prada Crypted - a new community server on Discord.
GQ Magazine jumps onto Discord to reach web3 early adopters and crypto-curious.
Phillips (Auctioneers) announced Ex-Machina: A History Of Generative Art exhibition and online auction; featuring rare works by pioneering generative artists alongside generative NFTs by digital creators.
BMW’s virtual world JOYTOPIA has been awarded a Grand Prix by the Art Directors Club for Germany as the outstanding innovation of the year.
Hyundai will launch the New Creta SUV in Decentraland this week.
Kanye West filed 17 trademark applications on his Yeezus brand for “blockchain-based non-fungible assets” and bought the yeezus.eth ENS domain.
The Weeknd and Binance are joining forces to create the first crypto-powered world tour.
Pharrell Williams launches a new NFT platform called Gallery of Digital Assets or GODA.
Bastille, the pop rock band, partnered with WPP and EMI Records to bring the Metaverse to interactive performance with Epic Games' Unreal Engine.
Pop singer Charli XCX is joining hands with Samsung to host a virtual concert in the Roblox.
Former Beatle Ringo Starr launched an NFT collection for his next tour.
Elvis Presley Enterprises announced collaborations with leading Metaverse platforms including The Sandbox and Decentraland to launch Elvis Genesis Key NFTs to commemorate the legacy of the icon.
Warner Bros. is releasing a new NFT collection, “Looney Tunes: What’s Up Block?”
OnlyFans founder to launch Zoop, an NFT Trading Card Platform.
Epic Games Store’s first NFT game is Gala’s Wild West Shooter GRIT
China to airdrop $4.5M worth of digital currency (e-CNY) to Shenzhen residents to bolster local economy.
The central bank of Singapore is tapping JPMorgan Chase, DBS Bank and Marketnode to help lead a new blockchain pilot exploring the potential of DeFi.
Brazil’s audit office and its development bank launch public sector blockchain network.
Former OpenSea Head of Product charged with NFT insider trading.
Coinbase freezes hiring and will rescind accepted job offers.
Rival crypto exchange Gemini is laying off 10% off staff.
Fidelity Digital Assets is still expected to double its staff by year's end.
💻 Platforms, Wallet Providers & NFT Marketplaces
Zora published the Zora API.
Sudoswap open-sourced its NFT AMM smart contract code.
Gem launched Live Mode.
The Sandbox distributed 5M mSAND tokens to LAND holders.
🐻 Notable Projects
We’re all living in the Goblintown, and they’ve just opened a burger joint.
Snoop Dogg to open Bored Ape NFT-themed dessert restaurant.
Bored Apes co-founder criticises Discord after NFTs worth 200 ETH snatched in an exploit.
CoolCats announced new characters for their Coolverse ecosystem.
Move-to-Earn game STEPN hit with DDOS attacks — again.
💰 Deals & Dollars
Binance raises $500M fund to invest in web3…. TRIPP got $11.2M to build web3 of Calm in the Metaverse…. and more tracked here by MilkRoad.
Other things I read, listened to and watched - and found interesting below.
📖 Read
Tim Sweeney: Epic will fight Apple and Google to keep the Metaverse open - Financial Times.
The Future of Crypto Native Consumer Products - Mercedes Bent, Lightspeed Venture Partners.
🎧 Listen
Reinventing the Internet ft. Marc Andreessen & Chris Dixon of a16z (83 mins) - Bankless.
▶️ Watch
Decentralised Society (56 mins) - Bankless. Leon Erichsen of Radicalxchange goes down the rabbit hole of DeSoc with its co-authors Glen Weyl and Puja Ohlhaver.
Thanks for reading!