Sup, nerds!

Here’s what you’re getting in today’s edition:

• 💅 This is cool: Web3’s version of ‘Survivor’

• 🔎 This seems important: Crypto tanked, but we're still bullish…

• 🤝 Partner: Fuller, thicker hair in 3-6 months​

• 🔪 Let's dissect this: This dude woke up to find $2M in his wallet…

Terms used in this edition (click for an explanation, or ask Web(GPT)3!):
Web1/2/3, NFTs, Bull Run, Crypto Wallet.

💅 This is cool:

Web3’s Version of ‘Survivor’

In one sentence: “Crypto: The Game” is the virtual version of ‘Survivor’, where 800 NFT holders compete to win a $115k prize (highlighting a key feature of Web3 in the process).

When describing the differences between Web1/2/3, we often say that each new generation of the web is the same as the last…

With one cool new feature (a CNF, if you will).

Web1’s was information at your fingertips (plain text on a screen), Web2’s was interaction (upload photos/videos to websites, leave comments, etc.).

Web3’s CNF is defined by digital ownership.

And “Crypto: The Game” is a great example of Web3’s CNF being applied to existing concepts.

The basic gist of the game is that its a real time virtual version of ‘Survivor’ — 800 people are granted entry to a digital island, where they complete in challenges in an attempt to win the $115k prize.

(And similar to Survivor, you get voted off the island by your peers).

So just as you’d expect in any competitive Web2 gaming tournament, folks are being enticed with a cash prize, while revenue is generated via entry fees and digital sponsorships.

Now, here’s where Web3’s CNF comes in (and shines):

Player entry tickets are being sold as NFTs, and every time someone gets voted off the island, that ‘player’ NFT turns into a ‘voting’ NFT.

(Allowing eliminated players to vote on who will get booted in the next round).

If eliminated players want a second shot at the prize, they can offer to buy an active ‘player’ NFT from anyone left in the game (allowing active players to cash out early, for the right price).

…and for every secondary sale that is made:

The game maker’s get a cut (giving them a cool new way to generate revenue).

It feels like a relatively niche use case (and it is), but as Web3 technology proliferates, the ability for both users and creators to own (and profit from) the digital networks they support will become more and more common place.

We love to see it!

🥇 Want the news before anyone else?

🔎 This seems important:

Crypto Tanked (But We’re Still Bullish…Here’s Why)

In one sentence: The crypto market shed a cool $190B in value overnight, but 5, 10, 20, even 40 percent corrections like this are typical in the lead up to the Bitcoin halving.

Ah the irony…

Yesterday, as the crypto market traded sideways and volatility tapered off, we wrote an article telling you to:

“This is the calm before the storm (enjoy it while you can)”…

Since we hit publish on that article — the crypto market shed a cool $190B in total market value, wiping out hundreds of millions of dollars worth of leverage along the way.

(Leverage = loans that folks take out in order to buy more crypto — as prices drop, buyers are forced to sell their crypto to pay back their loans).

Waking up to see all of the top 30 cryptocurrencies in the red is a pretty jarring site…but we’re still bullish!

Here’s why:

• Bitcoin dipped below $65k, a price we haven’t seen since…last week (not so scary when you put it like that).
   

• 5-10% drops like this are normal in a bull run (in fact, in past bull markets, these dips were often closer to 20-40%).
   

• Dips, corrections, n’ crashes are a staple leading into Bitcoin halving events (so this is right on cue).
   

• Bitcoin has been in the green for the past 7 months straight — which is a new record! (And also means we’re about due for a red month).

The takeaway:

While gut-wrenching, this latest crypto market correction is right on cue (and light compared to previous bull cycles).

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🔪 Let's dissect this:

This Dude Woke up To Find $2M in His Wallet…

In one sentence: Imagine waking up to find you’ve been airdropped almost $2M into your crypto wallet (this actually happened to someone during the Ethena airdrop).

Imagine waking up to find you’ve had almost $2M dropped into your crypto wallet…

Seems a little too-good-to-be-true, right? 

Well, it’s not.

This actually happened to someone earlier this week, during the Ethena Labs airdrop (aka crypto giveaway) campaign, and after looking into it — it seems like a helluva strategic move by Ethena. 

Here’s what we mean: 

Ethena Labs runs a synthetic dollar cryptocurrency, $USDe. At launch, they created the ‘Shard’ campaign which incentivizes people to contribute to their ecosystem. 

You could earn points (or shards) through purchasing and staking $USDe or by telling your friends to interact with the ecosystem (like a crypto referral program).

The main objective here was to onboard people into the ecosystem. 

(Which our man with the $2M airdrop maxed out on).

But this is where Ethena got really freaking smart. 

The airdrop didn’t reward early users with $USDe, but instead, Ethena’s new governance token $ENA.

(Where, for every $ENA token someone holds, they get one vote in any changes made to the network).

In doing so, Ethena was able to reward early users without diluting the supply of $USDe, and simultaneously incentivizing users to vote, participate, and help to grow its ecosystem.

Round of applause to the Ethena Labs team!

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