Monkey Business
ApeCoin DAO Elections. Pay to Play. And a Tyrannical Chairman.
👋🏽 Hello everyone, gm gm, WELCOME BACK to another edition of the Overpriced JPEGs newsletter, where we’re catching you up on the web3, NFTs, and the greater world of emerging tech.
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🌪 All Great Changes are Preceded by Chaos
Is it me, or is it beginning to feel like the giant cloud hanging over crypto & NFTs has overstayed its welcome? Between the shitstorm of regulatory beef, courtroom rulings, and macro economics, it’s safe to say we’re ready and longing for a sunny crypto summer 🌞
In the meantime, let’s get you caught up on this week’s chaotic series of events:
🟢 US Reps. Warren Davidson & Tom Emmer filed the SEC Stabilization Act to restructure the agency & protect consumers by firing the “tyrannical Chairman” that is Gary Gensler
🔴 A court issued a default judgment in favor of the CFTC in a landmark case against Ooki DAO after no one from the DAO showed up, presumably in an attempt to evade a ruling on personal liability for DAO activities
🟢 US Financial Services Comm. held a 5-hour hearing on The Future of Digital Assets. You can watch the entire thing here, but the TLDR is it’s becoming more and more difficult for politicians to turn a blind eye to blockchain tech + crypto
🟡 A federal judge expressed skepticism about the SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement policy, calling it “inefficient and cumbersome,” while also urging the SEC to strike a compromise with Binance allowing the exchange to keep operating in the US.
🟢 The infamous Hinman docs were finally released this week, and Adam Cochran is calling it a win for $ETH
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🗣 Planet of the Apes
Political shenanigans are spilling over into CT this week with the impending ApeCoin DAO elections, where two seats on the governing body’s Special Council are up for grabs
It’s a crowded race, with 21 eager hopefuls vying for very lucrative positions that pay a whopping $250k/year
There’s plenty of debate around whether DAO salaries - which range from $96k for mods to $900k for the chief administrator - are exorbitantly high. And we can say objectively, yes, absolutely.
But the dominant discussion has centered on the candidates themselves - and one in particular - Mr. Director of Vibes himself, ThreadGuy
TG proclaimed himself the Savior of ApeCoin, and CT lost their collective minds: His vocal supporters came out in droves to back him, while detractors were quick to point out his ‘lack of experience,’ previous ‘disinterest’ in the DAO, and how he straight up just ‘doesn’t fit in’ on the council
I don’t have skin in this game, but I do think those folks are missing the bigger picture. With just one tweet, TG single-handedly made the DAO the topic du jour on CT, attracting interest from folks who aren’t even $APE holders. He brings something of value that you simply can’t put a price tag on.
And look, we’re not here to advocate for one candidate over another (although … heyyy Swickie), but credit to everyone - including TG - for stepping up to shape political discourse and keep discussions going in our small corner of the interwebs. GL to all 👊🏽
🧶 Web3 is Going Great
$MEME isn’t even out yet, but demand for the token is so high that degens are flipping waitlist codes distributed to Captainz and Potatoz - and at .04 - .06 ETH, it’s been a solid play for early birds
Before you pop up OpenSea, the codes aren’t digital tokens, they’re being sold OTC and given away randomly; if you’re lucky enough to snag one, head over to play this game, where you’ll need to earn 69 coins to secure some $MEME
Adidas and Fewocious finally released drop mechanics on their not-so-secret inaugural collab, which launches June 22. It’s the first time Adidas is offering a token-gated, NFT-tagged sneaker tied to an NFT, and it’s a massive long-term partnership for the up-and-coming artist
Talk about a liquidity unlock: Someone took out a $14k loan on two Rolexes by tokenizing their watches with escrow firm 4k Protocol. The owner used those NFTs to secure the loan at 12% APR. If they default, the lender gets the watches.
Snoop Dogg is leaning harder into the blockchain-based fan + artist relationship with a new Passport Series collection that gives holders behind-the-scenes exclusives and future access to drops & experiences
The reasonably priced NFTs ‘evolve’ after each tour stop and come with free drops from prominent artists like Coldie, Terrell Jones, and Alien Queen
Snoop’s been relentlessly vocal about the lopsided streaming music industry, so it’s no surprise to see him making moves to take more control over his fan base
It’s been 5 months since Casey Rodarmor introduced the Ordinals protocol and it’s safe to say at this point, they’re not a fad. But are they a thing, thing? Tune in to OPJ next week when Carly interviews self-proclaimed Ordfluencer, Leonidas, to get his take on this explosive ecosystem. In the meantime, be sure to catch the first of Zeneca’s two-part series on all things Ordinals.
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Crypto.com suspends US institutional exchange, citing limited demand due to the current market landscape; sponsorship deals remain intact and ‘unaffected’
Uniswap released a draft code for Uniswap v4, which will be entirely open source and features ‘hooks’ (plugins that allow devs to create custom liquidity pools)
SEC says it needs four months to respond to Coinbase’s rulemaking petition
OECD, an international org aimed at creating guidelines for policy regulations, created a new worldwide standard for crypto and CBDCs
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🌐 web3 + NFTs
PROOF joins Zen Academy, GrailersDAO, and other communities granted access passes to AI-gen art project Botto
Pudgy Media introduces the MVP Soulbound Token, awarded to outstanding Pudgies nominated by others in the community & Luca sets up shop at the Licensing Expo in Vegas
10KTF’s announces mid-July start date for its long-awaited Battle Town season 2, where holders earn rewards for completing missions
Kraken NFT launches with 250+ collections on Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon; no gas fees for trading, only for transferring on/off the platform
0N1FORCE kicks off the Web3 Ally program; offers project resources and support for partners and allies working on gaming, media, IP development and NFT projects
Chippy’s World creator Zain Gaziani joins Cool Cats as Sr. Content Producer
OpenSea introduces gas-less cancellations on new offers across all chains
CT ‘influencers’ Shillin Villain, Books, and Bark accused of rugging after dropping $NET token, pulling liquidity, and disappearing from Twitter. You know it’s bad when Ben.eth is calling you out.
Foundation releases Dynamic Pricing, a rebate dutch auction mechanic letting everyone pay the same price after an auction settles
Twitter account hacks and SIM swaps are on the rise, be safe out there
Yuga dropped an Otherside StarMap update that was honestly confusing, even for gamers
NFT Inspect’s new Chrome extension gives real-time data on Twitter PFPs
Sound.xyz is now on Optimism; Gigamesh & Weird ETH Yankovic drop a free Vitalik-themed tribute mint to celebrate
📈 Brands + Biz
Guy Fieri + Sammy Hagar launch The Santo Spirits Club, an NFT tequila loyalty program
Snapshot for Otherside x Gucci Koda Pendant is June 21 with claim info to follow
Meta employees shared sneak peeks of Instagram’s Twitter competitor
Mark Cuban will release his e-book, How to win at the Sport of Business, as a Polygon NFT via book.io
Neutrogena and Lush headline a slew of cosmetics and beauty brands participating in Metaverse Beauty Week, with events in Decentraland, Spatial and Roblox
Gucci & MoonPay partner with Christie’s on an Art+Tech Summit in July
🤖 AI + Metaverse
Redditors showcased creative + artistic QR codes generated with Stable Diffusion
Puma’s new 3D metaverse platform Black Station will house product launches and unique digital experiences
Sunscreen maxi Mark Zuckerberg says Apple’s competing headset is not the vision of the future that he wants.
The tale of how AI-generated art killed an indie book cover contest
Meta’s going all in on AI, announcing plans to include text, image, and video generators into Facebook and IG
IKEA’s design lab unveils a flat, modular Couch in an Envelope as part of its ‘Design in the Age of AI’ exhibition in Copenhagen
Former MetaMask ops lead co-develops web3 gaming platform HyperPlay; Secures $12M Series A raise
Gala’s Sarah Buxton joins the pod to share Gala’s ambitious plan to decentralize music. Sarah shares how Gala’s tokenized music ecosystem works, who will be the early adopters of decentralized music, and how to build benefits that are attractive to both users and artists.
Carly’s got a bonus interview this week with Jonathan Rosen, author of The Best Minds: A story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions. It’s not our typical content, but we hope you it. Let us kno what you think!
Former SEC Attorney Karen Ubell joins the pod to share her perspective on the recent Coinbase and Binance allegations. Having worked for years inside the agency, she has insightful takes on the SEC’s agenda and the overall government regulation of crypto. Plus, Gavin and Zeneca are back for another weekly recap of all things web3. Check it out here.
Got something to share with our readers? Leave a comment below or connect with me @hawaiianft (Sparkitysparkz) on Twitter or @jacy (Sparkz) on Bluesky 🤙🏾
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