Apple's Big Bite of the Web3 Pie

One-click Crypto Buying. Marketplace Moves. And the 30% Innovation Tax.

Dec 7, 2022

👋🏽 Hello everyone, gm gm, WELCOME BACK to another edition of the Overpriced JPEGs newsletter, where we’re catching you up on the world of web3, NFTs, and the metaverse.

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🐍 Apple’s Walled Garden of Evil

Coinbase says Apple blocked its latest app update and must disable NFT sales or give 30% of gas fees to Apple
In addition to being… impossible… many feel it’s another greedy move by the monopoly trying to protect its payments empire at all costs

Why is Apple doing this? Some Twitter snarks say the company just doesn’t understand how a blockchain works, but that’s hard to imagine at a company full of engineers. Perhaps this is all to intimidate the crypto world and make it clear their 30% tax isn’t going anywhere… Is it Ignorance or Power-Hunger?

MetaMask co-founder & ex-Apple employee Dan Finlay went off on Twitter & says he’s ready to dump Apple ecosystem
1inch Network’s co-founder says they lost 70% of its features in latest release following 6+ months of negotiation w/Apple
Founding board member of Israeli Blockchain Industry Forum Maya Zehavi pointed out Apple’s hypocrisy in not taxing TradFi payments the same

💎 Bulls Keep on Building

Macro crypto environment is bearish, but long-term believers say there are crypto catalysts on the horizon and some are banking (heavily) on it:
Stripe introduced a new crypto transactions solution that lets customers buy crypto with one click
- Businesses can embed the customizable widget for: incoming + outgoing fiat payments, digital wallets, KYC + ID verification, and fraud prevention
Animoca Brands is raising $1-2 Bil for new metaverse-focused fund
- Targets mid- to late-stage metaverse startups; offers good entry point to web3 for risk averse investors
Bankless branches out, acquiring EarnFi, a tool that tells you which unclaimed airdrops are sitting in your wallet

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👣 Marketplace Moves

Uniswap launches NFT trading; airdropping $5 Mil to ‘historical’ Genie users
Magic Eden’s “Open Creator Protocol” allows royalty enforcement for new collections that opt in + additional features
OpenSea adds support for Binance NFTs
LooksRare’s latest update reduces incentives for gaming the system
Blur’s 2nd airdrop commenced with some q’s around reward calculations and contract flaws resulting in max pain
Dapper is beta-testing a self-custody wallet for crypto and NFTs on Flow blockchain
PROOF Collective launches bespoke marketplace that will honor royalties and has zero platform fees

Telegram has plans for non-custodial crypto wallets and a DEX
- Sold $50 Mil in usernames via on-chain auction platform, Fragment
NY Dept. of Financial Services threatens innovation by proposing regulations that increase barriers to entry for crypto co’s seeking licenses
- New rules would bump annual assessment fees up to 5x per year payments + require higher fees to cover the mounting costs of regulation
- Costs for license applications can already exceed $100k
SBF won’t STFU
- After whirlwind interviews with every media outlet + wannabe Twitter journo that would have him, SBF says he’ll testify in House financial hearings investigating the FTX collapse later this month
- Kevin O’Leary + Bill Ackman sing SBF’s praises, immediately get ratioed:
  Cryptofungus @Cryptofung
  @kevinolearytv @ftx @BillAckman
  1:25 AM ∙ Dec 1, 2022
  3,078Likes206Retweets

Ledger launches next-gen of their technology: Ledger Stax, built by creator of the iPod, Tony Fadell
Starbucks Odyssey loyalty program launching for select beta testers this week
Micah Johnson announces Aku x Instagram ‘story-driven NFTs’ collab
Discord’s new ‘Server Subscriptions’ feature exposes users to new hacks; adds to lengthy list of Discord security vulnerabilities
Decentral Games celebrated 2-yr anniversary in Decentraland
BMW extends web3 presence, follows Porsche into the metaverse
Toys “R” Us launching Geoffrey the Giraffe collection on Solana
Vayner3 and Crown Royal collab on “pay it forward” initiative
3AC yacht “Much Wow” is seized and up for auction
Punk 6529 airdropped Meme #42, FTXPepe to random collection holders & others
RTFKT announced Cryptokicks iRL, their 1st native web3 sneaker

Aaron McDonald is a big-brained web3 pioneer who says the Metaverse is the collision of our IRL and digital worlds - and guess what - we’re already living there. You know him from Altered State Machine, Non-Fungible Labs, and Fluf World. Settle in as he introduces his newest venture, Futureverse, and why he needed to create a whole new blockchain to build it on. 🤯

Blake Finucane’s back on the pod for an IRL weekly recap straight outta Miami! They’re talking ApeCoin staking, Art Basel undertones, and the legend of c0ckpunch. Catch it all here.

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