#89 Walmart Takeover: Pudgies Slide Into 2,000 US Stores
How the Web3 IP is taking NFTs mainstream
GM - this is The Snapshot, edition #89.
Welcome to the new subscribers this week - we are now at 2,062 subscribers!
I write about NFTs/crypto, and solopreneurship in web3.
This is what I’ve got for you this week:
This Week In NFT World - Pudgies Land in 2,000 Walmart Stores
Sponsored Post - Lil Nouns Go Skating In Chicago
Notable Sales - Beeple, CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, Cherniak
Crazy Tech - Tesla Robotics, Meta Glasses, Spotify Voice Translation
For sponsorship enquires, please DM me on Twitter.
Disclaimer: The content covered in this newsletter is not to be considered as investment advice. It is for informational and educational purposes only.
Have a great day,
B
Penguin Lovers Rejoice as Pudgies Land in 2,000 Walmart Stores
This week famous Web3 IP Pudgy Penguins hit the shelves of the biggest retail store in the US, Walmart.
The toys come with a “blockchain experience”, meaning they come with a QR code which unlocks digital traits which can be redeemed in the Pudgy digital social experience, Pudgy World.
In addition, instead of launching the toys “alone”, they have leveraged the IP and traits of other popular web3 brands. This activates the holders of those communities to become purchasers of the physical Penguins when they see the love their own project has received.
The price of the underlying Pudgy Penguin NFTs also rose by 10% on the news - to go above 5 ETH ($8k+) for one Penguin for the first time.
This is the first example of great news not being a “sell the news” event: truly extraordinary execution from the Pudgy team, proving that IRL success can drive value to the underlying digital collectibles.
Tokenised Pokemon cards bring back excitement to NFTs
For a long time there hasn't been a hyped mint to excite. Courtyard has really brought that back with these Pokemon drops.
$60,000 worth of packs sold out in 30 seconds
The floor price was instantly up almost 2x.
NB. These cards are vaulted with Brinks, the 19th-century-founded leading global provider of cash and valuables management.
An investor has spent 333 ETH ($525k) in 2 months on Beeple's Politics is Bullshit editions
Two important aspects of the investment thesis:
Creators are startups: you have to spend to succeed
Art has a marketcap: comparisons will be made against other art/crypto
Whilst it does not strike me as wise to compare fine digital art with random coins (which are typically more liquid and artificially pumped up with low circulating supplies), the idea of calculating a marketcap of an edition and making comparisons is correct.
Mercedes Benz brings their era of luxury to NFTs…without success
The NFT collection was sold as a dutch auction (1 ETH → 0.1 ETH).
There were 2,694 collectibles in Era 1, but only 176 had been sold at the time of writing.
As such, so far 17.6 ETH ($29,000) has been raised.
The plan is for there to be six more “eras” in which NFTs will be offered.
Not the best execution for Mercedes who have many more eras - and many more thousands of NFTs - still to sell.
BAPE X BAYC
The Bored Ape Yacht Club announced a collaboration with iconic brand BAPE.
At ApeFest in Hong Kong they will debut a limited quantity physical collection.
Bored Ape NFT holders will get first access, followed by BAPE NFT holders, followed by the public.
Yuga recently hired Michael Ghory, who has a long history in apparel, as VP of Apparel and Lifestyle which could indicate the BAYC ecosystem leaning much harder into the streetwear industry.
Sponsored Post - Lil Nouns Go Skating In Chicago
Lil Nouns DAO funded 8 ETH ($13k+) to a team of Lil Nouners to take over ETH Chicago with a Skate Jam and a hackathon.
Here you can see how they got on with the skating side of things:
Congrats to the team! Another great example of how Lil Nouns DAO is still open for business for talented and committed builders.
If you are curious about contributing to a cutting-edge DAO and getting paid to bring your ideas to life check out the website for more details.
Notable Sales - Beeple, CryptoPunks, Bored Ape, Cherniak
Beeple, Politics is Bullshit - 79.69 ETH ($126,000)
CryptoPunk, Wild Blonde Welding - 69.42 ETH ($109,,000)
Bored Ape, Beam - 112 ETH ($178,000)
Dmitri Cherniak, Eternal Pump - 109 ETH ($173,000)
Crazy Tech - Tesla Robotics, Meta Glasses, Spotify Voice Translation
Some truly astonishing technological advancements for you to enjoy.
Tesla Robotics - watch Tesla’s robot do a better yoga pose than you!
Meta Glasses - watch Zuck explain how you can leverage AI from your Rayban glasses - available for $299 on Oct 17 (very soon!)
Spotify Voice Translation - Spotify launches voice translation for podcasts - podcasters can now automatically upload in different languages IN THEIR OWN VOICE (!)
Have a great day,
B
Disclaimer: The content covered in this newsletter is not to be considered as investment advice. It is for informational and educational purposes only.
I hold some of the NFTs mentioned in these newsletters