Dispatch #134: Web3 in the Real World

In this patch of your weekly Dispatch:

• Brands are rocking with web3
• Ethereum cruising toward its next upgrade
• Elon Doge-ifies Twitter

The Big Idea

The Rumors of Web3’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

One could be forgiven for thinking that, after the heinous 2022 the crypto industry just had, the brands that were so excited about web3 just months ago would abandon us. However, that would be wrong. This week we’ve seen numerous examples of why crypto and NFTs remain a very IRL phenomenon.

First, Gucci announced a partnership with Yuga Labs to create physical jewelry that will exist both in the real world as well as be tied to NFTs that play in the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s metaverse “Otherside.” The NFTs are game pieces that unlock perks for their owners. Nothing truly original tbh but still huge.

Next, traveling to one of these crypto conferences coming up? Before long, your plane ticket might be an NFT. Buenos Aired-based Flybondi is giving customers the ability to get an NFT version of their ticket that makes it easy to change the name on the reservation, transfer the ticket, and more.

And finally, another example of luxury brands being on the cutting edge. Ralph Lauren’s new premier Miami store has announced that it will be accepting crypto as well as partnering with Poolsuite to design and gift custom NFTs.

Lots of web3-brand creativity to come friends…

The Latest In…

Ethereum

As we discussed last week, Ethereum is getting ready for its next big upgrade collectively dubbed Shapella. (If you’re curious to know more, head over to our blog.)

There is a fascinating discussion going on about whether allowing staked Ether to be withdrawn will be bullish or bearish. The bears are focused on the $2.4B worth of ETH that could become unlocked (i.e. open for people to sell). The bulls say that adding withdrawals actually makes it more likely that new stakers will come in, knowing they don’t have the same indeterminate lockups. We ran a poll that was quite split and we’re excited to see what happens after the upgrade!

The Latest In…

Guess Who’s Back? Back Again? Elon’s Back. Doge’s His Pal.

Yeah, yeah. In retrospect it was inevitable. It’s been almost a year since Elon Musk put his favorite meme coin front and center in the public eye. Well, making sure his allegiance to the doge is remembered, this week Twitter changed its classic bird logo to the doge. Just as surprising to people was the fact that the company left it there…for days. Needless to say, the price of DOGE rocketed up and open interest on DOGE futures contracts surged to almost 6B DOGE (about $600M of unsettled DOGE futures positions), a record peak.

(currency-data: doge button: Buy)

The Week’s Most Interesting Data Story

So Uh…Ordinals Are Kind of A Thing

A couple of months ago we discussed Ordinal inscriptions for the first time. The “NFTs on BTC” were initially a fun project that had lots of chatter, a bit of controversy, and overall seemed to many to be making Bitcoin extra fun. Well, it increasingly appears that they were not just a flash in the pan. We’re rapidly approaching 1,000,000 inscriptions on BTC – and the way people use them ranges from JPEGs to storing important historical documents in a censorship-resistant manner. Pretty cool.

Hot Topics

What the Community Is Discussing

Bad news for the state-level fight to protect Bitcoin mining in the US.

A day on Crypto Twitter is a month anywhere else.

Let us hope.

What to Watch for Next Week:

• Will Ordinals hit a million inscriptions?
• Can we go another full week without a regulatory lawsuit?
• Is commercial real estate the next phase of the banking crisis?