Jack Kubinec

The NFT marketplace Magic Eden is building out a user rewards program based around the so-called diamonds it rolled out in 2023. The platform said it would retroactively disburse diamonds to “Solana OGs” on Feb. 2.&nbsp;



Magic Eden announced its decision to open-source its protocol code and grant governance rights to the newly-formed Non-Fungible DAO, to which it contributes. This move is yet another example of a project using non-trading &#8220;points&#8221; to motivate user behavior amidst increased regulatory scrutiny in the crypto industry.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/us-treasury-expanded-crypto-oversight">Treasury’s Wally Adeyemo: My agency needs more power to regulate crypto </a>‘



Magic Eden <a href="https://x.com/MagicEden/status/1641472027554091011?s=20">debuted</a> diamonds in March 2023, offering users rewards like lower fees and access to whitelists via the tokens. Now, Magic Eden users can <a href="https://magiceden.io/rewards">earn</a> diamonds by buying, selling or making offers to an entire collection of <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/nfts">NFTs</a>. Users can <a href="https://community.magiceden.io/blog/rewards-manifesto">boost</a> their rewards by relying exclusively on Magic Eden for their NFT trading.



Some have <a href="https://x.com/ThisHighUp/status/1749896256317436211?s=20">expressed</a> frustration at the ambiguity surrounding the usefulness of diamonds, which are not apparently tradable.&nbsp;



The scheme resonates with a larger movement in crypto toward systems where users accumulate non-trading points, as opposed to tokens, for their participation in a project. The SocialFi upstart friend.tech employed <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/friendtech-social-token">a points program to incentivize usage</a>, and the Solana-based exchange Drift <a href="https://x.com/cindyleowtt/status/1749948224302129641?s=20">announced</a> Drift Points this week.&nbsp;



Points tend to be winkingly <a href="https://x.com/its_airdrop/status/1749884221395759594?s=20">thought</a> of as a placeholder for a future token while projects <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-coinbase-courtroom-face-off">iron out a spotty relationship</a> between crypto and US regulators.



“God bless all the crypto founders trying points. It’s the box regulators have put us in, and we are just dealing with it and trying to figure out how to innovate with our hands tied behind our back,” Unstoppable Domains founder Matthew Gould <a href="https://x.com/matthewegould/status/1749986997207285927?s=20">wrote</a> on X this week.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lufthansa-polygon-nft-rewards">Lufthansa to offer NFT rewards program</a>



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/magic-eden">Magic Eden</a> did not immediately return a request for comment on how it conceptualizes diamonds relative to points. In a post on X, the platform <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1749870047034790329">wrote</a>: “This isn’t just another points campaign. It’s a meticulously crafted plan to give back to Magic Eden’s OGs, collectors, creators and degens alike.”&nbsp;



Concurrently with the diamonds airdrop, the just-announced Non-Fungible DAO, which now <a href="https://x.com/Non_FungibleDAO/status/1749446843564535938?s=20">owns</a> and governs the smart contracts behind Magic Eden, has announced a token. The DAO <a href="https://x.com/Non_FungibleDAO/status/1749446845888110727?s=20">implied</a> that community members will be able to accrue the future token by interacting with Magic Eden.



Details on the new DAO are sparse, but a press release reviewed by Blockworks said Magic Eden had “pledged to contribute” to the DAO to “further support industry growth.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Magic Eden expands rewards program, starting with Solana users

Bessie Liu

The NFT trading platform Tensor, which launched earlier this year, has taken the number one spot in Solana’s NFT marketplace, overtaking Magic Eden in trading volume on the network.



Over the past month, Tensor has seen an NFT trading volume of over $1 million, almost double Magic Eden’s, according to analytics platform <a href="https://tiexo.com/analytics?activeMetric=dashboard">TIEXO</a>.&nbsp;



This means that Tensor makes up an estimated 60% of the total NFT trading market share on Solana, with Magic Eden coming in under 30% of total volume.



Magic Eden still has more unique wallet users than Tensor, however, with roughly 116 thousand wallets and a 70% engagement rate compared to Tensor’s 86 thousand wallets and 52% engagement rate.



The implication is that many Tensor traders are trading higher with volumes, while Magic Eden may cater to more casual NFT buyers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Becoming the Solana NFT leader</h2>



According to Ilja Moisejevs, the co-founder of Tensor, the path to building Tensor and attracting NFT traders was not an easy one.



“At first [we did] a lot of stuff that doesn’t scale,” Moisejevs told Blockworks. “We got our first 50 users by literally hopping into the DMs of top traders and asking them to try the product. Many said no, but some said yes, and that was enough to get started.”



Tensor shipped various products in order to appeal to its audience, Moisejevs said, noting that the first version of its product looked similar to the Bloomberg terminal, an approach which appealed to more financial and analytical folks.&nbsp;



“[We] listened to user feedback and kept iterating; we’ve turned the product over like thirty times,” he said.&nbsp;



Tensor’s identity is linked strongly to the Solana ecosystem, Moisejeves added. Even when the price of SOL, Solana’s native token, dipped to $8, the team did not leave for other ecosystems, “We stayed and doubled down,” Moisejeves said.



He adds that in order for Tensor to be successful, Solana itself must be a massive success.



“That&#8217;s why we&#8217;re not shopping chains and 10x-ing our focus on Solana. We really think Solana can be the chain that brings crypto and NFTs in particular to the masses,”&nbsp; Moisejevs said.&nbsp;



Like Blur — the Ethereum NFT trading platform — Tensor initially started off as a trading platform for pro-traders. Though this cohort of customers is still prioritized by the team, Moisejevs notes that it is slowly moving towards appealing to retail traders as well.&nbsp;



Further, there has been <a href="https://twitter.com/defi_airdrops/status/1730208509067682260">speculation</a> from community members that Tensor would introduce a similar airdrop strategy to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/blur-nft-volume-opensea">Blur</a>. Most recently, community members were encouraged by speculators to purchase the Tensorian NFT, Tensor’s own NFT collection which would give buyers unique access to its pro trading product, and access to exclusive chat rooms.



The Tensorian collection currently has a trading volume of <a href="https://dune.com/ilemi/solana-nfts">$11.5 million</a>, making it one of the most popular on Solana.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Loyal customers</h2>



NFT trader that goes by the pseudonym <a href="https://twitter.com/weekend_whale">Weekend Whale</a> told Blockworks that Tensor became an instant ‘home’ for NFT trading after it came around.



“I did a little bit of trading on OpenSea, and then I used Magic Eden quite a bit when it was the dominant NFT market on Solana. When I used ME, I always felt like there was no way from a UI and speed standpoint it would ever scale well enough to be practical for someone of my portfolio size and activity level,” Weekend Whale said.



They note that the collapse of FTX actually played a large role in the decision to became a Tensor trader.&nbsp;



“All I really had after FTX collapsed was my Solana on-chain, and there wasn&#8217;t another CEX with anything particularly interesting to offer me, so I was in a perfect position to pivot to NFT trading full-time,” they said.&nbsp;



Tensor was initially presented to Weekend Whale as a marketplace which would be familiar to traders who were used to trading on centralized exchanges, and this proved to be true.&nbsp;



Then there was their belief in the potential for a significant future.&nbsp;



“That&#8217;s why I&#8217;ve stuck around and stayed loyal despite the hard times we went through on Solana and other marketplaces&#8217; and blockchains&#8217; attempts to lure us away,” Weekend Whale added.



Pseudonymous trader <a href="https://twitter.com/retiredchaddev">Retired Chad Dev</a> shares similar experiences. After taking an interest in <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-exchange-solana-spot-trading">MadLads</a> NFTs he began looking for a platform to purchase the NFT from.



“Everything felt so intuitive with Tensor, I can clearly see the prices with and without royalties, can see how the prices were moving up and the trends, just filter for traits and see how the listings have been doing in the history,” <a href="https://twitter.com/retiredchaddev">Retired Chad Dev</a> told Blockworks.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-crypto-ux-adoption">Coinbase and other crypto companies hope to boost adoption with UX</a>



As a former market maker and token trader on centralized exchanges, the “Tensor’s UI makes me feel right at home,” they said.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Solana’s NFT marketplace booms, with Tensor in top spot

Cross-chain messaging protocol LayerZero has revealed a “gas abstraction” tool to facilitate cross-chain NFT swaps.&nbsp;



The news coincides with the integration of NFT marketplace, Magic Eden, with the LayerZero protocol. This means traders can now purchase and sell Omnichain non-fungible tokens (ONFTs) across supported chains.&nbsp;



At launch, these capabilities will be available to Ethereum and Polygon, though they will soon be available to more chains.



In an interview with Blockworks, LayerZero’s head of strategy Irene Wu said that the gas abstraction tool, which they have named “Gas Station,” was designed to help users create a more seamless experience when purchasing and moving <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/nfts">NFTs</a> from one chain to another.



“If a collector or an end user is only familiar with one ecosystem, they tend to only have one gas token in their wallet,” Wu said. “Gas abstraction enables the quoting and exchange upfront of gas tokens.”



Gas Station was a collaborative project between <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/magic-eden">Magic Eden</a> and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/layerzero">LayerZero</a>, and will enable users to purchase NFTs directly through the Magic Eden app or platform without needing to go to a centralized exchange to swap or borrow their tokens.&nbsp;



“The way Gas Station works is actually quite different from hot wallets who are charging a gas fee upfront. What is unique about this is that it isn’t a service, it’s an entirely open-sourced protocol-based solution, it’s decentralized and doesn’t put the security in the hands of a third party,” Wu said.



Cross-chain NFTs can be especially useful in gaming protocols, Wu explained.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/magic-eden-nfts">NFTs need to be about connecting creators with collectors, says Magic Eden’s Huang</a>



“If you&#8217;re designing your game, you need the gaming assets and the currency to be able to move across all these networks or at least be able to deliver an abstracted user experience that is chain agnostic,” she said. “I would say almost every NFT creator and gaming studio is <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-gaming-web3-argus-labs-web2">thinking about interoperability right now</a>.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

LayerZero’s ‘Gas Station’ will simplify cross-chain NFT swaps

Darren Kleine

Tiffany Huang asserts that Solana&#8217;s &#8220;superpower&#8221; is its transaction capacity, attributed to low transaction costs and high speeds.



But, Huang asks, how does this advantage translate into real-world applications? More importantly, she asks, “Why does someone outside of crypto care?”



On the Lightspeed podcast (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6TMlVN8gduhb0WwnDo3DtM">Spotify</a>/<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/magic-eden-is-the-10k-pfp-playbook-dead-zedd-tiff-and-rex/id1697548240?i=1000625540723">Apple</a>), the Magic Eden general manager says the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/nfts">NFT</a> narrative needs to change. Rather than being driven by speculation and technology, the narrative should be driven by use case, she says, with a greater emphasis on “collectible moments” and the ability to foster connections between creators and collectors.



Magic Eden, the most visited NFT exchange powered by the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/solana">Solana</a> network, brings a “highly engaged set of users that are very real and proven over time,” Huang says. According to Huang, the exchange powered “ten times the number of transactions as <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/opensea">Opensea</a>” in 2022, with average session lengths of 14 minutes — one and a half times longer than average user sessions on TikTok.



Huang sees NFTs achieving broader appeal as collectible moments, used by creators to gain a better understanding of their collectors. “This is a problem that exists in Web2,” she says. “You cannot distinguish who is watching your content versus who would actually spend money on your content.”



“You can&#8217;t distinguish your fans from your super fans,” she says. The exchange’s distribution capacity and ability to gain detailed knowledge about their users gives it distinct advantages in this regard, Huang says. “That&#8217;s where I think there are really interesting things that Magic Eden can start to play with.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Making friends with PFPs</h2>



While the 10K PFP collection is now generally <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nfts-use-cases-segment-rebound">considered a tired format</a>, it’s the “only use case that has worked so far,” says Magic Eden co-founder Zhuoxun Yin. “There needs to be a bunch of other creator types that have to come in and try things for NFTs,” he says.&nbsp;



Yin reflects on post-ICO declarations that ERC-20 tokens were “dead,” noting that many new form factors based on the tech emerged during market doldrums such as governance models, token incentives and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/defi">DeFi</a>. “All that stuff came after people were labeling tokens as dead.”



“People oftentimes forget this universal truth,” Huang adds, “the current iteration of NFTs really popped off during the pandemic because people wanted to make friends.”



“That&#8217;s the reason why NFTs are different from fungibles,” she says. “They&#8217;re inherently emotional.”



“NFTs will continue to be a way for people to connect and form deeper relationships,” she says. “I just don&#8217;t know if the 10K PFP supply is going to be the thing that brings back the next bull.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Internet level access for anything</h2>



“We should lean into the things that make the properties of NFTs really interesting,” Yin says. “All we&#8217;ve really done is we&#8217;ve pointed NFTs to images, basically.”



<iframe loading="lazy" frameborder="0" height="200" scrolling="no" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=BWG7779661326" width="100%"></iframe>







“You can make a lot of these things programmable in many ways,” he adds. “Barely anyone has touched that surface area.” 



Yin is intrigued by the ability of NFTs to “spin up internet level access for anything.”



“It&#8217;s no longer confined to things that are physically possible,” he explains. “You suddenly have <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/solana-compressed-nfts">internet level scale for anything that you do with NFTs</a>.”



“That is what makes this design space the most interesting of all of crypto.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

NFTs need to be about connecting creators with collectors, says Magic Eden’s Huang

Sebastian Sinclair

NFT marketplace Magic Eden said Monday it would axe roughly 15% of its staff as part of its company-wide restructuring efforts this year.



Out of 144 employees, 22 will be let go, CEO and co-founder Jack Lu said in a statement via a company <a href="https://contenthub.magiceden.io/a-message-from-magic-eden-ceo-and-cofounder-jack-lu">blog post</a>.



Lu also said in order for the company to meet its goals this year, its team should comprise certain types of new skills and expertise without “losing momentum.”



“[The employees] have supported us through challenges and dedicated their time and efforts to help Magic Eden get from 0 to 1,” Lu said. “This decision takes nothing away from their talent, commitment and hard work.”



Those heading for the exit are to receive two months&#8217; worth of severance pay, removal of Magic Eden’s one-year vesting period and an extended one-year exercise period.



Six months of additional healthcare coverage, a one-year subscription to mental health non-profit Headspace, as well as free career coaching and job placement services, are also to be provided to those affected.



It comes as NFT sales activity slumped at the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/november-nft-sales-volume-drops">end of last year</a> following a general decline in digital asset interest. Though volumes have <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nft-sales-bounce-back">begun to recover</a>, NFT collectors continue to comprise a fraction of the overall market.



In a bid to meet newly developed challenges, including costly overheads, Magic Eden is having to take a “hard look” at what structure and roles are needed, the post reads.



“The company remains strongly capitalized with a long runway even in today’s bear market,” Lu said. “Many of our products are entering new stages of growth and we will make it our utmost priority to support these products with the strongest teams.”



Some of the industry’s crypto firms began to unwind their ambitious growth plans last year, which first kicked off during the run-up in investor demand toward the end of 2020. That has also translated into further layoffs this year.



In January, the industry shed a further <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-hiring-2023-turnaround">2,806 jobs</a> — up 330% from December — which included <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-lays-off-950-staff-cuts-operational-costs-by-25">Coinbase’s decision</a> to axe 950 staff and reduce operational costs by 25%.



Magic Eden got its start on Solana, but subsequently <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/solana-marketplace-magic-eden-to-offer-ethereum-nfts">branched out to Ethereum</a> and Polygon as part of a long-term multichain strategy.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Magic Eden Cuts 15% of Staff, Takes ‘Hard Look’ at Restructuring

Casey Wagner

Thanks to widespread, emerging marketplace policies, NFT creators looking to cash in on royalties have been having a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/web3-watch-sec-probes-yuga-labs-degods-eliminates-nft-royalties" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">difficult go of it</a>.&nbsp;



Until yet another set of standards for corresponding smart contracts that execute NFT transactions are put into place, that’s not likely to change, according to a new research note from Galaxy Digital.



Earlier this month, OpenSea changed up its royalty policy again. Before that, the platform required all projects released after Nov. 8 to use an open-source smart contract that prohibits digital collectible exchanges between OpenSea and rival NFT market makers that don’t collect any royalties. Any transactions involving corresponding smart contract addresses were set to be blacklisted.&nbsp;



“OpenSea is effectively enforcing royalties on their marketplace at the smart-contract level by enclosing their ecosystem exclusively to royalty supporting entities,” Galaxy analysts wrote in the Friday report.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nft-royalties-sometimes-they-work-sometimes-they-dont" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How NFT Royalties Work – and Sometimes Don’t</a>



In an effort to quell public backlash, OpenSea first changed its policy. Now, starting in the new year, “projects on OpenSea will have the option to opt out of using the royalty enforcing smart-contract and be able to set royalties that are optional for collectors to comply with,” according to Galaxy.&nbsp;



Magic Eden — which previously followed a royalty-optional model — now employs an open-source royalty enforcement tool on top of Solana&#8217;s SPL token standard, known as Open Creator Protocol (OCP). The protocol is supposed to additionally enforce royalty payouts by blocking transactions with smart contracts associated with 0% royalty platforms.&nbsp;



Zero royalty payments in the NFT space have increased in popularity, as well as usage, this year, with at least three such marketplaces hitting the market for the first time, including X2Y2, Yawww and SudoSwap.&nbsp;



NFT creators <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nft-royalties-top-1-8-billion-galaxy-digital" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">raked in</a> more than $1.8 billion on the practice from its inception through October, Galaxy found in a separate report at the time. It’s a big number, but the setup has led to quite concentrated results, according to Galaxy: Just 428 collections had then accounted for an overwhelming 80% of all royalties.



“But the royalty question is contentious and the constantly shifting marketplace policies make forecasting here unpredictable,” Galaxy said.&nbsp;



If creators want to keep royalties going, it’s going to require a broader industry effort, according to Galaxy.&nbsp;



“The issue will not resolve until the NFT community develops a new standard to enforce royalties at the smart-contract level that is not reliant on blacklisting contract addresses,” the report added.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

NFT Creators Looking for Royalties Face an Uphill Battle: Galaxy

November’s combined NFT sales volume across the five top marketplaces clocked roughly $394 million, the lowest recorded this year.&nbsp;



Data provided by DappRadar and compiled by NFT gaming platform Balthazar DAO show volume across OpenSea, Magic Eden, X2Y2, LooksRare and Solanart dipped more than 20% collectively compared to the previous month of October.&nbsp;



November <a href="https://bltzr.gg/balthazar-nft-marketplace-update/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extended</a> the declining trend as the demise of major exchange FTX shook faith in digital assets at the beginning of the month, which also rocked spot market prices.



Marketplaces were chosen based on the highest all-time volume recorded, Balthazar said. Representatives for all five marketplaces did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Magic Eden, the only outlier of the five recorded platforms and Solana’s largest marketplace, managed to ride out the turmoil with a 60.9% increase in sales volume month over month.



“Blue-chip Solana-based NFT projects, including DeGods and y00ts, have seen positive price appreciation for the year, spotlighting the faith that traders and investors have in this sector of the NFT market,” an analyst at Zerocap told Blockworks.



Interestingly, the less popular Solana-based NFT marketplace, Solanart, was the worst affected among the top five — declining 93% from $6.25 million in October to just <a href="https://dappradar.com/solana/marketplaces/solanart" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$410,000</a> by November.



While sales overall have been on the decline, John Stefanidis, Balthazar’s CEO and co-founder, remains upbeat on the nascent technology, which took off in earnest toward the end of last year.



“What we&#8217;ve seen is obviously a decline in sales largely for…images and art, but what we’re starting to see is really cool and different applications of NFTs,” he said in a statement.



Macroeconomic factors including rising interest rates, contracting disposable incomes and market volatility were affecting people’s decisions to wait for future NFT use cases, which ultimately translated into fewer sales, Stefanidis added.



The shift in market sentiment since a historic rise in late 2021 and early 2022 — where the value of the entire NFT sector sat around <a href="https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/chainalysis-web3-report-preview-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$40 billion</a> — has also impacted the market share of some of its biggest players.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Who’s who in the NFT zoo</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="570" height="300" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-41166" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg?w=570 570w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/NFT-November-2022-Sales-Volume.jpg?w=50 50w" sizes="(max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px" /><figcaption>Source: Balthazar, DappRadar</figcaption></figure></div>


Marketplace OpenSea, which had thrived on the success of its early mover advantage, witnessed a 1.6 percentage point decline in its market share for November when compared to the prior month. It still commands a dominant lead at 44%, DappRadar and Balthazar data shows.



Magic Eden and LooksRare, meanwhile, snatched up 12.1 and 2.5 percentage points respectively to increase their share of November’s sales volume.



To kick off December, unique active wallets engaging with all five platforms have also dipped considerably. OpenSea has witnessed a 47% decline in user activity while Magic Eden is down about 12.5% in the first days of the month.&nbsp;



Solanart’s UAW has dipped 25% in the previous four days, while LooksRare and X2Y2 have dropped 41% and 64% respectively, representing a slow start to the last month of the year.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

NFT Sales Volume Drops 20% in November

Solana, once championed as the “Ethereum Killer” has seen the price of its native token SOL tank by roughly <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/prices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">47%</a> over the past week dominated by the FTX train wreck.



SOL is the <a href="https://twitter.com/R89Capital/status/1589268233559101440" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">second largest-holding</a> of Alameda Research, and was heavily promoted by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/news/ftx-ceo-bankman-fried-resigns-bankruptcy-proceedings-begin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resigned today</a>.&nbsp;



According to an earlier <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/02/divisions-in-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-empire-blur-on-his-trading-titan-alamedas-balance-sheet/?outputType=amp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report by CoinDesk</a>, Alameda held $292 million of “unlocked SOL,” $863 million of “locked SOL” and $41 million of “SOL collateral,”&nbsp; as of June 30, 2022.



Akeel Qureshi, core contributor to Solana-based Hubble Protocol and Kamino Finance told Blockworks that the current crypto crisis ensuing from FTX’s bankruptcy filing is reminiscent of the fall of banks during the 2008 financial crisis.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">FTX contagion effects</h3>



“The fallout from the bankruptcy announcement was immediate contagion, and we’re watching another leg down for assets associated with FTX and Alameda,” Qureshi said. “SOL, the native token of Solana, has taken a further hit due to Sam Bankman-Fried’s past open support of the network.”



In fact, according to a post by Twitter user weremeow, one of the largest challenges that the Solana ecosystem faces is that wrapped Sollet tokens such as soBTC are issued by the now-insolvent FTX.



“These tokens were launched very early in the Solana DeFi cycle to help generate liquidity in the space, and supposed to be backed 1-1 by BTC or ETH,” they tweeted. “But unlike wBTC, there was no formal process and no one knows if FTX still have the underlying assets.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">1/ One of the most challenging and unspoken issue facing the <a href="https://twitter.com/solana?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@solana</a> ecosystem are the wrapped Sollet tokens, namely soBTC, which is used widely across lending and AMM platforms. The problem? These tokens are issued by FTX (or Alameda, no one really knows)&mdash; meow (@weremeow) <a href="https://twitter.com/weremeow/status/1590461628864397312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



As all major Solana-based DeFi platforms have soBTC assets as collateral, if it is revealed that soBTC no longer has any underlying assets backing its value, the contagion effect of all of this could be much worse than expected.&nbsp;



Weighing on the situation, <a href="https://www.blockworksresearch.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blockworks Research</a> analyst Spencer Hughes said, &#8220;Solana currently has <a href="https://solscan.io/token/9n4nbM75f5Ui33ZbPYXn59EwSgE8CGsHtAeTH5YFeJ9E" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$271M</a> of soBTC and <a href="https://solscan.io/token/2FPyTwcZLUg1MDrwsyoP4D6s1tM7hAkHYRjkNb5w6Pxk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$612M </a>of soETH on the network. These assets were supposedly bridged from the Ethereum network. It is unclear who exactly is backing these assets, but many speculate that it is FTX.&nbsp;



As a consequence, he added, “soBTC is currently trading at $13.5K, a steep 25% discount from the price of BTC. At one point, soBTC was trading for $3,400. In the meantime, DeFi lending platform Solend has paused all borrows collateralized by soBTC.”



Earlier this week, Solend struggled to liquidate a whale account which tanked. Although the <a href="https://twitter.com/solendprotocol/status/1590749151980945414?" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">situation was later resolved</a>, Solend&#8217;s head of growth Soju wrote on the <a href="https://discord.com/channels/839224914720325703/1009605878460194897/1039928653427003422" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">its Discord </a>that the situation was “looking very bad now.” 



Liquidity crunches are not the only concerns faced by the Solana community. Earlier this week, the Solana Foundation revealed that <a href="https://twitter.com/thedata_nerd/status/1590307325650182144" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">47 million SOL</a> would be unstaked from the ecosystem, a poorly-timed move that was <a href="https://twitter.com/SolanaFndn/status/1590464124827635712" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">quickly reversed</a>.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Community optimism</h3>



Despite these multiple challenges since the FTX fallout, many builders in the ecosystem remain resilient.&nbsp;



Tiffany Huang, the head of marketing at Magic Eden, the largest NFT Marketplace on Solana told Blockworks that, “in spite of these developments, we remain as hopeful as ever about Solana&#8217;s critical role in building a decentralized ecosystem.”



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“As we pick up the pieces, we are going to keep building from a place of deep belief. We remain bullish on the future of Solana and have seen the community come together to remind each other of the incredible projects that have come to market,” Huang said.</blockquote>



This sentiment is shared by Jules Mossler the chief marketing officer at Metaplex Studios who told Blockworks, “We are now seeing projects support each other and plan the next chapter of reinvestment together, and we’ll be right there with them.”



An outpouring of support from crypto twitter has also been apparent over the past few days.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">this crucible moment for <a href="https://twitter.com/solana?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@solana</a> ecosystem is as difficult as the last one. the difference is, there are 10x more of us to band together this time. next time, there will be 10x more. and each time, we&#39;re stronger. the fundamentals are better. same goes for crypto at large, tbh&mdash; raj 🖤 (@rajgokal) <a href="https://twitter.com/rajgokal/status/1590359525521264640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Co-founder of Solana Labs Anatoly Yakovenko <a href="https://twitter.com/aeyakovenko/status/1590348163722145793" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>, “the builders on Solana are second to none, and the projects they&#8217;re building can often only be built on Solana.”



Adding that, “we launched in 2020 after markets crashed and the world went into lockdown — chewing glass is in our DNA, and we&#8217;ll get through together.”



Qureshi believes that the latest events that have unfolded is a tell-tale sign which echoes the importance of decentralization.



“​​Meanwhile, centralized crypto exchanges and lenders with closed books are in the crosshairs, but decentralized finance (DeFi) is looking stronger than ever due to its transparency and reliance on users custodying their own assets,” Qureshi said.



As the ecosystem works on recovering from the shakeup, it is expected that there will be a lot more quality DeFi projects that will help the ecosystem prevail, he said.&nbsp;



The price of solana is now around $16, down by <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/solana" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">about 9%</a> in the past 24 hours.



Ornella Hernandez contributed reporting.



Updated on Nov. 16, 2022 at 11:11 am ET: Soju is the head of growth at Solend.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Solana Community Remains Bullish Despite FTX Fallout

Ornella Hernandez

<div id="highlights-block_63321f5ec362c" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Apple will take a 30% from NFTs sold as in-app purchases</li>
 <li>Any transactions must be made in USD and not cryptocurrency</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Tech giant Apple now allows NFTs to be bought and sold through applications listed on its App Store. This enables developers of current apps to sell non-fungible tokens in-app and new apps to install NFTs within them.



The first catch, however, is that Apple applies its existing Web2 monetization structure, taking a 30% cut from app developers who make over $1 million through the ‌App Store‌ on an annual basis, and 15% making less than that.



Android’s app store Google Play applies the same policy.



Before this decision, apps that were storing or displaying NFTs may have been breaking Apple&#8217;s rules. Now, developers can sell NFTs with Apple’s blessing.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">No crypto allowed — not very Web3</h3>



The second catch is that transactions must be in USD. Crypto is not an option.



Public reaction is mixed. Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games — the company behind the Fortnite video game and no stranger to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/10/1036043886/apple-fortnite-epic-games-ruling-explained" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">picking a fight</a> with the tech giant — tweeted that, “Apple must be stopped.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Now Apple is killing all NFT app businesses it can’t tax, crushing another nascent technology that could rival its grotesquely overpriced in-app payment service. Apple must be stopped. <a href="https://t.co/4KChp6jtFZ">https://t.co/4KChp6jtFZ</a>&mdash; Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/1573377990100238338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



He believes that the 30% cut Apple takes may be unaffordable for some and may even kill small NFT businesses.



This is the foundation of Epic Games’ lawsuit <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/23/apple-versus-epic-games-fortnite-app-store-saga----the-story-so-far" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">against</a> Apple that has been ongoing since 2020. The video game publisher sued Apple for not allowing it to use its own payment platform instead of in-app purchases through the App Store and its 30% cut.



Another company nonplussed by the move was Magic Eden, the largest Solana NFT marketplace, which declined in-app trading support after learning about the new policy, the company told Blockworks.



“Our app remains available as a tool showcasing listings and mints from Magic Eden but it does not have trading support,&#8221; said a Magic Eden spokesperson.



There is an issue when it comes to secondary NFT sales. Marketplaces like Magic Eden or OpenSea typically take a commission no larger than 5%.&nbsp;



In this case, if a collector wants to purchase an NFT on the Magic Eden or OpenSea app on an iPhone, the seller of that NFT will only get 70% of the sale price. And the marketplace will likely not be interested in covering the difference.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“This primarily benefits primary sales or mints of NFTs where the 30% fee can be accounted for,” Milan Harris, game director at Cool Cats, told Blockworks, adding that the “fee is worth the accessibility and user experience that can be provided directly on an Apple device.&nbsp;</blockquote>



He sees this policy primarily benefiting video games, while “the types of transactions that make NFTs and blockchain technology valuable will likely still remain outside the Apple ecosystem,” he added.



Only purchases made directly in the app incur any fees, and any transactions happening on other platforms are untouched.



On the other hand, Gabriel Leydon, founder of the Digidaigaku NFT project, who is quite bullish, is “happy to give Apple a 30% cut of a free NFT.”&nbsp;



He tweeted this could give millions of more people access to NFTs because developers can still give away free NFTs and let users sell them on secondary marketplaces, while avoiding the 30% tax.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Apple has decided to let developers sell NFTs inside of games/apps. Everyone is focusing on apple wanting its 30% cut of each transaction without realizing this could put an ETH wallet in every single mobile game onboarding 1B+ players! <a href="https://t.co/BPJj3gD5r2">https://t.co/BPJj3gD5r2</a>&mdash; Gabriel Leydon (FREE,OWN) (@gabrielleydon) <a href="https://twitter.com/gabrielleydon/status/1573432171972685826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



When asked about the timing of this announcement, Harris said Apple likely felt pressure to act quickly.&nbsp;



Given that Apple’s iPhone is the company’s most profitable product, Apple “doesn’t want to make the mistake of letting competitors take a lead on being the platform of choice for mobile NFT activities — whether that be gaming, collecting, etc,” Harris said.



One competitor, for example, could be Solana which recently <a href="https://solana.com/news/saga-reveal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">debuted</a> its Android-powered crypto-first smartphone, slated to be released in early 2023.



It is also rumored that Apple is <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-glasses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">working on</a> augmented reality smart glasses that could be distributed by the end of this year — potential competition for Facebook in the metaverse.



This story was updated on Sept. 27, 2022 at 10:00 am ET with comments from Magic Eden.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Apple Allows NFT Sales On Its App Store — But There’s a Catch

<div id="highlights-block_62e93785b2356" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>OpenSea integrated Solana NFTs in April</li>
 <li>Magic Eden is valued at $1.6 billion</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



NFT marketplace Magic Eden, which generates roughly 90% of secondary trading volume on Solana, will be adding and integrating Ethereum NFTs onto the platform, the company announced on Tuesday.



Magic Eden will enable cross-currency purchase support for Solana and Ethereum NFTs (non-fungible tokens) so that collectors can purchase NFTs in either solana or ether and trade more easily using new market analytics tools.



The marketplace first <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nft-marketplace-magic-eden-raises-130m-for-creator-collector-support/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hinted</a> at a multichain expansion when it raised $130 million in a Series B funding round, led by venture capital firms Electric Capital and Greylock, in June. Magic Eden is now integrating Ethereum, the largest blockchain for NFTs, at a time when the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-investors-guide-to-the-ethereum-merge/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">upcoming Merge</a> has many questioning the Ethereum’s future.



The timing coincides with a bear market, and despite the fact that “volume was a little softer in July compared to June,” according to Zhuoxun Yin, chief operating officer and Magic Eden co-founder, “there are enough collectors and creators across Solana and Ethereum who are still innovating.” 


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="176" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png" alt="" class="wp-image-24970" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=444 444w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=373 373w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=50 50w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/alternative-option-300x176.png?w=1818 1818w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure></div>


The NFT marketplace recently <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/web3-watch-gamestop-opens-nft-marketplace-magic-eden-fund-focuses-on-web3-gaming/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a> Magic Ventures, a new venture capital fund focused on investing in Web3 games and funding its own games. The fund operates under Eden Games, the company’s internal gaming division. It also <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/web3-watch-what-are-semi-fungible-tokens-and-why-is-coinbase-making-a-movie/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">introduced</a> its own semi-fungible token (SFT) marketplaces for Web3 games.&nbsp;



“We believe that the future of NFT and Web3 mass-adoption is cross-chain marketplace experiences,” Yin told Blockworks.&nbsp;



“Creators launching with Magic Eden will no longer have to face the difficult decision of choosing one chain over another at the cost of limiting their potential audience reach,” he stated in a press release.



The Magic Eden <a href="https://magiceden.io/launchpad/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Launchpad</a> is the marketplace’s exclusive minting platform and has helped bring over 300 NFT projects to market. Now Solana and Ethereum-compatible, Launchpad will maintain its minting set up, white-glove marketing support and customized launch build outs, according to the company.&nbsp;



The first native Ethereum project to soon launch on Magic Eden — for users to mint in both ether and solana — is called EZU, a sister collection of the popular ETH project Psychedelics Anonymous.



When asked about OpenSea’s integration of Solana NFTs back in April, Yin said OpenSea has not taken any liquidity from Magic Eden. “We remain community centric and are proud of our relationships with the collections and collectors on Solana, and view this as a core differentiator for our entry into ETH,” he said.&nbsp;



OpenSea <a href="https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1552321794081624066?s=20&amp;t=ipYpWKAb2PZGaX5FjhF9xw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> about “Solana marketplaces taking custody of NFTs,” on July 27, and while it did not explicitly name Magic Eden, it may have been one of its targets. &#8220;We believe marketplaces that custody your NFTs limit choice and utility, and compromise security,&#8221; OpenSea said in its Twitter thread.&nbsp;



Magic Eden has a policy of keeping users’ NFT assets in escrow wallets, and while this is not a new policy, the two companies have publically tiffed on multiple occasions via Twitter.



Magic Eden argued its policy is about security and has <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1549808692794920960" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously fired back</a> at OpenSea for getting sued after multiple hacks.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Solana Marketplace Magic Eden To Offer Ethereum NFTs

<div id="highlights-block_62e2439f90d49" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Wharton business school to offer online certificate program on metaverse economies</li>
 <li>Art Blocks NFT collection tops OpenSea 24 hour trading volume chart for first time in long time</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Magic Eden introduces a semi-fungible token (SFT) marketplace</h3>



Solana-based NFT marketplace Magic Eden has enabled Genopets players and NFT members to mint and trade so-called semi-fungible tokens within the move-to-earn digital pets game via the Magic Eden marketplace. Crystals and Terraform Seeds are among the first Genopets SFTs that will be listed on Magic Eden’s marketplace. 



While most non-fungible tokens are built on the ERC-721 standard, semi-fungible tokens are built on the ERC-1155 standard. Created by blockchain gaming developers Enjin, SFTs are mostly used in blockchain-based video games. SFTs act like fungible tokens until they get used. Similar to a gift card that can be exchanged for a gift card of the same value, an SFT loses its value as soon as it is used.&nbsp;



Main advantages of using SFTs over NFTs in games is that token transactions to the wrong addresses are reversible and refundable. Players can also transfer multiple SFTs in a single transaction.



Magic Eden recently <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/web3-watch-gamestop-opens-nft-marketplace-magic-eden-fund-focuses-on-web3-gaming/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a> Magic Ventures, a venture capital fund that focuses on investments in Web3 games as well as funding its own games.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">2/ SFTs are digital assets that can be minted/traded in quantities greater than one. In <a href="https://twitter.com/genopets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Genopets</a>, SFT Crystals and Seeds are the base ingredients you’ll need lots of to craft and create items in the game. What’s the difference between NFTs &amp; SFTs? ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/l5W5qfJjPq">https://t.co/l5W5qfJjPq</a> <a href="https://t.co/r0SsNHMbGq">pic.twitter.com/r0SsNHMbGq</a>&mdash; Magic Eden 🪄 (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1552397784296431621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Coinbase gets in the movie business</h3>



Coinbase released part one, out of three, of the “The Degen Trilogy” of films featuring characters from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). The five-minute-long animated film titled &#8220;Run The Chain,&#8221; presents five “degens” who compete for a chance to win ApeCoin.&nbsp;



Coinbase <a href="https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1551976182576402432?s=20&amp;t=a2Oh4k-MoLOmLh_cbgI-sQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> that those who would like a chance for their NFTs to be featured in the upcoming Parts 2 and 3 need to create a profile on the exchange&#8217;s NFT marketplace.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Degen Trilogy: Part 1" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I26DE3c48rY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



Reactions on Twitter were mixed, with some users praising the animation and others questioning the film’s purpose and timing.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Let me tell you why this is a miss: 1. Zero emotional connection to the characters 2. No anticipation or interest in the market for this content 3. Too lengthy (you think you can keep a degen’s attention for 5min on twitter?) 4. Random ape shills (neglects all other communities)&mdash; Thrown (@Thrown_eth) <a href="https://twitter.com/Thrown_eth/status/1552012576287928320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



On the same Tuesday the trailer dropped, asset manager Ark Invest, run by Cathie Wood, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ark-invest-sells-off-1-4-million-shares-of-coinbase-during-stock-plunge/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sold off</a> roughly 1.4 million shares of Coinbase as the crypto exchange’s COIN is down nearly 20% over the past seven days.  



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Universities offer metaverse courses</h3>



The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school <a href="https://news.wharton.upenn.edu/press-releases/2022/07/wharton-launches-business-in-the-metaverse-economy-executive-education-online-certificate-program-becoming-first-ivy-league-business-school-to-launch-a-program-on-the-emerging-techn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> a new online certificate program titled the “Business in the Metaverse Economy.” This six-week executive education course is designed for business and technology professionals who want to learn how their companies can gain value by using metaverse technology. Wharton claims it is the first Ivy League business school to launch a program on the topic of the metaverse.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">NEWS: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhartonExecEd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhartonExecEd</a> has launched “Business in the Metaverse Economy,&quot; an online certificate program. The course, which includes interactive learning experiences, is designed to help leaders develop strategies to capture value in the emerging market. 📝: <a href="https://t.co/rRu2fiG7hZ">https://t.co/rRu2fiG7hZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/f8pu8bR7On">pic.twitter.com/f8pu8bR7On</a>&mdash; The Wharton School (@Wharton) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wharton/status/1551934118107152386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Additionally, the University of Tokyo plans to <a href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14677709?utm_source=Iterable&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=campaign_4744032" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">offer</a> a range of courses on the fundamentals of metaverse technology, such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The primary purpose is to retrain students and professionals in digital transformation. The certificate courses will also be open to junior and senior high school students who want to get a head start on learning about engineering and information science, and potential career paths in such fields.



Japan’s Ministry of Economy also recently <a href="https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2022/0715_002.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a> the “Web3 Policy Office” to develop the country’s Web3 business environment.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Coca-Cola to celebrate International Friendship Day with NFT drop</h3>



Coca-Cola plans to airdrop limited edition digital collectibles on July 30 to members of Coca-Cola&#8217;s existing NFT community to mark International Friendship Day and the one-year anniversary of the brand’s first NFT drop.



This latest collection features a design inspired by the bubbles within Coke bottles, and each International Friendship Day digital collectible is meant to be shared with a friend. Once shared, the artwork will be revealed for both holders. Owners may also gain access to future experiences with the brand.



Members eligible to receive the airdrop include collectors of the Coca-Cola International Pride Day 2022 drop and the Coca-Cola Hamburger Day drop from earlier this year.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">For <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FriendshipDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FriendshipDay</a> we&#39;re celebrating YOU! Owners of our digital collectibles from last Friendship Day, Burger Day, and Pride will be gifted a new collectible NFT and one to share with a friend.🎁✨ These will give you future access to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CocaCola?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CocaCola</a> exclusives. <a href="https://t.co/SEBwUDjcN6">https://t.co/SEBwUDjcN6</a> <a href="https://t.co/IgbCpk4PsO">pic.twitter.com/IgbCpk4PsO</a>&mdash; Coca-Cola (@CocaCola) <a href="https://twitter.com/CocaCola/status/1552309136397852674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Latest Funding News</h4>



<ul><li>FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried led the seed round of a new Web3-focused content production studio called Trustless Media. The NFT community-owned media company <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/27/ftx-ceo-leads-trustless-medias-seed-round-to-help-build-community-owned-web3-shows/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a> on Wednesday with the announcement of a $3.25 million raise, with additional investments from Avalanche’s Ava Labs and Red DAO founding member Megan Kaspar. Co-founder and financial journalist Zack Guzman plans to produce “NFTV” news shows, the first of which, named Coinage, is slated to air in the Fall. </li><li>Ex-Meta employees and founders of Aptos Labs <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/funding-roundup-some-300-million-poured-into-crypto-projects-last-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">secured</a> $150 million in funding for the high-throughput, low-latency Layer 1 blockchain. The Series A round, led by FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto, more than doubled the unicorn’s valuation, which was over $1 billion in March. Other VC firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, Multicoin Capital and Circle Ventures participated in the latest round. So far Aptos Labs’ <a href="https://medium.com/aptoslabs/entering-the-next-phase-of-the-aptos-journey-with-added-funding-and-new-partners-d4daa03dd17c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">has raised</a> $350 million in capital in 2022.  </li><li>The video game publisher Big Time Studios <a href="https://twitter.com/playbigtime/status/1552283520755798019?s=20&amp;t=AZND9qo67kVwkk_6ajA3FA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">released</a> the Open Loot (OL) platform to enable AAA developers to distribute their NFTs, as well as the OL Ecosystem Fund with $11 million in its first closing. The company plans to invest $500,000 – $1 million in each qualifying partner studio, via token purchases or revshare agreements. Partners can elect to launch on Open Loot without engaging in the Eco fund. Big Time’s CEO, Ari Meilich, is the former chief executive officer at Decentraland.</li></ul>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Web3 Watch: What are Semi-Fungible Tokens and Why is Coinbase Making a Movie?

<div id="highlights-block_62cf2cefbc39c" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Crypto Punk #4464 was the top NFT sale of the week, which sold on Tuesday for 2,500 ETH, or $2.6 million</li>
 <li>Ethereum Name Service domain names has the highest sales of any NFT collection in the past 24 hours</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



A Playboy-themed immersive social and gaming experience is coming to The Sandbox metaverse. Playboy Land will be home to a MetaMansion, inspired by the magazine company’s LA-based Playboy Mansion.



This licensing collaboration plans to include NFT collectibles releases and exclusive events for Playboy’s Rabbitar community — holders of 3D avatar-based NFT collectibles first released in October 2021. Owners will get special access to experiences, quests and giveaways at the MetaMansion and can give input about the mansion’s future.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Anybunny home? 🐰👀🏘 We&#39;re teaming up with none other than&#8230;. <a href="https://twitter.com/Playboy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@playboy</a>! 👯‍♀️ Together, we will be creating a Playboy MetaMansion social game inside <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheSandbox?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheSandbox</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFT</a> collectibles &amp; special experiences for the Rabbitar <a href="https://twitter.com/PlayboyNFTS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PlayboyNFTs</a> community! <a href="https://t.co/3l6Wq6ncvt">pic.twitter.com/3l6Wq6ncvt</a>&mdash; The Sandbox (@TheSandboxGame) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSandboxGame/status/1546479658601938947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



In addition to hosting parties at the MetaMansion, The Sandbox intends to build the biggest virtual skatepark in the metaverse. Tony Hawk Land will be crafted in partnership with the project&#8217;s namesake and Tom Brady’s NFT marketplace Autograph.



Hawk wants to “bring [skate] culture into the virtual landscape,” the world champion skateboarder said in a statement.



Autograph plans to create avatar NFTs based on Hawk and his most iconic equipment and apparel, including the skateboard he used when he landed the first-ever 900 at the 1999 X Games.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Coming soon to The Sandbox: alongside <a href="https://twitter.com/Autograph?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Autograph</a>, I’m helping to create the biggest skatepark in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/metaverse?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#metaverse</a>. Stay tuned for updates. <a href="https://t.co/0R2ODsR4qt">pic.twitter.com/0R2ODsR4qt</a>&mdash; Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) <a href="https://twitter.com/tonyhawk/status/1547242461218877441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Web3 around the world</h3>



Web3 initiatives are heating up across the globe as governments and international companies look to get in on the emerging space.&nbsp;



Spain



Spain’s government <a href="https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/07/09/economia/1657358931_237839.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> it will issue 4 million euros worth of grants and aid for metaverse-related developments. The country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation will first evaluate companies and individuals working on gaming and entertainment projects based in the European Union. Women must make up 25 percent of the membership of participating teams.



Additionally, Santander Bank, the largest bank in Spain, is <a href="https://www.santander.com/en/landing-pages/santander-x-global-challenge-blockchain-beyond#introduction" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">co-hosting</a> a global blockchain competition focused on startups and scaleups. The event will be streamed in Decentraland on July 14. 



Germany



Germany-based telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom is sponsoring an NFT social media campaign to promote volunteering.&nbsp;



The initiative, called WhatWeValue, invites youth volunteers throughout Europe to support existing organizations that Telekom works with or to propose activism and community service projects for a chance to receive funding from Europe’s largest telecommunications provider. Chosen projects will earn a “Value NFT” and added support from Telekom’s digital community.



Korea



South Korean imported car dealer Han Sung Motor digitized its customers’ digital documents and digital warranty, and minted them as NFTs. The metadata will contain pictures, videos and texts that certify ownership for secondhand cars purchased at the dealer. This move is part of the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) campaign, <a href="https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20220708000445" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to The Korea Herald, which reported that Han Sung Motor seeks to not only reduce the cost of paper but also attract millennials and Gen Z customers. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">GameStop NFT marketplace’s debut </h3>



GameStop launched its NFT marketplace on Monday, just days after the gaming retailer laid off hundreds of employees, including its chief financial officer. Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2022/07/08/gamestop-fires-game-informer-staff-as-it-doubles-down-on-nfts-and-the-blockchain/?sh=5803367f6ae7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> that the CEO claimed the changes were in pursuit of “new products that empower customers within the digital asset and Web3 gaming verticals.”



By Tuesday afternoon, Gamestop NFT had surpassed 1,028 ETH in volume, reaching at least $1 million, in its first 24 hours. Messari compared GameStop’s results to those of Coinbase’s NFT marketplace, which launched in April and has amassed around 1,699 ETH in volume since then.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">.<a href="https://twitter.com/GameStopNFT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GameStopNFT</a> Marketplace volume surpassed 1028 ETH yesterday afternoon. <a href="https://twitter.com/Coinbase_NFT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coinbase_NFT</a> has amassed around 1,699 ETH in volume since its launch. Bullish <a href="https://twitter.com/GameStopNFT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GameStopNFT</a> or bearish <a href="https://twitter.com/Coinbase_NFT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coinbase_NFT</a>? data via: <a href="https://t.co/wA9iElyK3R">https://t.co/wA9iElyK3R</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/CryptusChrist?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cryptuschrist</a>/<a href="https://twitter.com/DuneAnalytics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DuneAnalytics</a> <a href="https://t.co/wqfIaXagiB">pic.twitter.com/wqfIaXagiB</a>&mdash; Messari (@MessariCrypto) <a href="https://twitter.com/MessariCrypto/status/1547174104628731908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



@Thrown_eth, the owner of the MetaBoys collection, which is currently <a href="https://nft.gamestop.com/stats" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trending</a> at the top of the charts for total volume, <a href="https://twitter.com/Thrown_eth/status/1546994061466226688?s=20&amp;t=-H8PmmsSfjqOTTf-CB6CSg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> about his GameStop marketplace experience. While the layer-2 bridging process was “easily the best” for him, and there was a “seamless ability to transfer NFT to L1 (ETH) and to sell on OpenSea,” the marketplace “obviously needs a lot of work.” 



Another user and “big NFT guy” @tropoFarmer also <a href="https://twitter.com/tropoFarmer/status/1547090368679874560?s=20&amp;t=orV3iqBSdxIgneKEyrJk7A" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> that as long “as volume is there,” functionality will take a back seat. 



At the time of publication, no collection had a floor price over 1 ETH.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Magic Eden&#8217;s exploring Web3 gaming</h3>



Magic Eden, the largest Solana NFT marketplace, <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/magic-eden-launches-magic-ventures-with-focus-on-web3-gaming-301584577.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a> a new venture capital fund that will focus on investments in Web3 games as well as funding its own games. Dubbed Magic Ventures, it will operate under Eden Games, the company’s internal gaming division, which recently hired former Tencent executive Tony Zhao as head of gaming investments.



Blockworks conducted a Q&amp;A with Zhao and Zhuoxun Yin, Magic Eden’s chief operating officer, to learn more about Magic Ventures and the company’s expansion beyond its core profile picture NFT business.



Blockworks: What kinds of games or projects is Magic Ventures looking to invest in?



Zhao: In the first wave of Web3 games, we saw NFT gaming studios trying to directly compete with high-tier game IPs from the Web2 space. More recently, we have seen Web3 gaming projects gain significant market traction not by competing directly with traditional gaming studios to launch high-concept games, but by introducing innovative applications of real-life user interaction and blockchain technologies. Games like <a href="https://stepn.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stepn</a> launched walk-to-earn mechanisms, and Mini Royale with Battle Pass minting have become cases of early NFT gaming innovation. Magic Ventures will be looking at games that demonstrate that same ability to deliver unique gaming experiences that are both immersive and seamless. 



Blockworks: What aspect of blockchain-based gaming is Magic Eden most excited about?



Yin: Games are a $180 billion market today, with 3 billion players worldwide. We are very excited to be exploring this new frontier with developers and partners to iterate on everything from marketplace infrastructure and tokenomics to games marketing and NFT gaming education for new users coming to the space.



For game developers, we will provide essential tooling and operational support. Unfortunately, games take a long time to develop, and there are many pain points that builders will need to contend with. For example, minting tech, in-game marketplace governance and user acquisition.



Blockworks: How does the metaverse tie into these plans?



Zhao: We believe that Web3 games will be an on-ramp for millions of users to blockchain, propelling it into the mainstream and for the technology to be widely adopted. But, gaming and metaverse projects remain at a nascent stage. The biggest challenge to Web3 gaming is simply that we need more amazing, playable, fun games — and that takes time to build.&nbsp;



Despite these challenges, we know that the case for gaming NFTs is strong. We also know that gaming user behavior overlaps with existing NFT communities, such as social, showcasing player status, and digital ownership. Blockchain technology will introduce innovative gameplay utilizing digital ownership through in-game NFT assets, to the benefit of all, including both players and game creators.&nbsp;



This interview was edited for length and clarity.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Web3 Watch: GameStop Opens NFT Marketplace, Magic Eden Fund Focuses on Web3 Gaming

<div id="highlights-block_62c4983a78f87" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The Wanderers art NFTs saw its floor price increase the most between July 5 and 6, while Pixel Vault’s Punks Comic dropped more than any other top collection</li>
 <li>Ethereum Name Service domains recorded the largest ETH volume on OpenSea earlier this week</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, traded $646.6 million in volume during June, down more than 65% from May, <a href="https://dappradar.com/multichain/marketplaces/opensea" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to DappRadar.



Solana NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace Magic Eden <a href="https://dappradar.com/solana/marketplaces/magic-eden" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">registered</a> nearly $111 million in trading volume last month, down 63.5% since May.



This data indicates that declining prices of many underlying cryptocurrencies, including ether (ETH) and solana, combined with sinking NFT floors, may have contributed to plunging trade volumes.



Trends across the past six months show that NFT floor prices have been much more likely to rise when ETH goes up, <a href="https://twitter.com/punk9059/status/1538666371575386112?s=20&amp;t=QUBNOmrttv2N53lvxYfXhg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to data compiled by NFT analyst @punk9059.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/X-Sj9LfXXm3lJONsaHlCgnhRZVxEVHxo2iHRH0LxfMY0uzMc7pzbXfufd8E5oo_mA-upzjfaYgCqef_wJYcufr3dDbg70_WINC4BVyZX1ADoGxhzuLMjxyLuH49iwPE0q-WkrduOjK3J12ri9g" alt=""/><figcaption>Source: @punk9059 on Twitter</figcaption></figure>



However, trading volume must not be totally conflated with prices, which Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-29/nfts-have-fallen-off-the-cliff-as-sales-sink-to-lowest-in-year" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> to have “plummeted” due to sinking sales.



Many factors contribute to movement in NFT floor prices. Given that NFTs are momentum assets, floor prices are more likely to go up today if they went up yesterday, and vice-versa <a href="https://twitter.com/punk9059/status/1538666355884539904?s=20&amp;t=gIdjN9ZJjKlV6nwDd7ADQw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> @punk9059. 



The entire market value of the NFT ecosystem went from $35.6 billion to $22.3 billion during the second quarter of the year, <a href="https://nftgo.io/analytics/market-overview" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">as shown by data</a> from NFTGo. Still, the chart below shows the number of NFT holders has been steadily increasing over the past three months, and the number of traders is minimally down by 14%.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/bPd94gmiXPQb7cnA9fLPKrD5z_dpLbOZN-fDrjRkvbzlE1fa5qY2BObcx8rRteE7WVpnfLFou8ddS1KmEqlHLYn1ciYIcY56ZeKrKFqV4sINSQpJcawduFDlgpKyH5R1tvh1wKjskLb3RV-1uQ" alt=""/><figcaption>Source: NonFungible</figcaption></figure>



“The reduction in the price of ETH has removed trading barriers for many traders,” Boris Rebo, DappRadar research analyst, told Blockworks, which has resulted in continued healthy demand for NFTs despite the pullback.



When it comes to blue-chip NFTs, Rebo pointed out that floor prices may have seen a drop at the start of June but experienced a resurgence that coincided with the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nft-nyc-recap-bored-apes-and-doodles-and-snoop-dogg-oh-my/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NYC.NFT convention</a>. 



DappRader found that Meebits led the pack with a 76% bounce, denominated in ETH, while Doodles and CryptoPunks recovered 44% and 43% and Bored Ape Yacht Club jumped 23%. The number of CryptoPunks traders and sales were also up by 87% and 120%, respectively, on July 1.



It is important to question if floor price or average price are fair indicators of an NFT project’s true value. The floor price may be the latest price of the cheapest NFT in that collection, but it is just one of many value indicators, such as rarity, utility, ownership history, creator reputation and buyer interest. Buyer demand (or lack thereof), leading to a rise or fall in the number of NFT purchases, is what causes floor prices to fluctuate.&nbsp;



Changes in the number of daily NFT sales, while in decline since the beginning of 2022, are not as drastic in the past three months. NonFungible data shows that while the number of daily sales fell down to 20,000 at the end of June, mid-April recorded the lowest sales count within the past year, at 15,000.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/zTmqw7OX2xEbAQLI2Y3yy68r0GBigXax6-CSW2DF2lG-m562ifdIKEKTgS5zz6eG3H6EDS9zPP6nC2LU1UwXFq29EqRddLhxdcep8u3p_eOvSvMa6LKG6MvsMLtr4kMun6iuu06NAwuB5oUJlw" alt=""/><figcaption>Number of daily NFT sales from April through July 2022 | Source: NonFungible</figcaption></figure>



The top collectibles sales of the month, <a href="https://nonfungible.com/market-tracker?days=30" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to NonFungible, included Bored Ape #7537 for 1,024 ETH, or $1.2 million on June 16; Bored Ape #2488 for 1,000 ETH, or $1.16 million on the same day; and CryptoPunks 8531 for 825 ETH, or $872,916 on June 22. 



Autoglyphs and ArtBlocks were among the top earning collections in the art segment, while BAYC’s Otherside land was the top metaverse NFT earner, and in-game NFTs from Axie Infinity and Loot had the top sales.&nbsp;



Utility NFTs such as Ethereum Name Service (ENS) decentralized domains saw increased interest in June, with top seller “porno.eth” going for 184 ETH, or $203,892. July 3 <a href="https://twitter.com/ensjournal/status/1543660436528238593?s=20&amp;t=A0J46wYhaysrtpHt-aGa_w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marked</a> the sale of the most expensive ENS name, “000.eth,” for 300 ETH or $320,000.  



Other notable June winners are the GoblinTown project that “has completely thrown established practices to the wind” by making the mint free and neither having a Discord nor a roadmap, Rebo said.



The Gallery of Digital Assets (GODA) Mint Pass climbed charts for giving NFT holders access to privately curated modern art collections in addition to supporting emerging NFT artists. 



Overall, June <a href="https://twitter.com/Travis_Kling/status/1542657942293446657?s=20&amp;t=QUBNOmrttv2N53lvxYfXhg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">highlighted</a> an immense amount of volatility and activity within the crypto industry. And within the Web3 and NFT space, only the collections that can deliver on promised value are the ones that are going to make it. From multimillion-dollar <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nft-marketplace-magic-eden-raises-130m-for-creator-collector-support/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">funding raises</a> and activations at NFT.NYC, Web3 companies will need to determine better ways to measure their customers’ loyalty.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

NFT Markets Experienced a Roller Coaster Month During June

Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_62bf2533b47ae" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Metamask operations lead set to join the BitDAO ecosystem</li>
 <li>Abra and Bitpanda cut jobs while Kraken still on the hunt for talent</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The global head of business development for <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/9869818Z:US" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Citadel Securities</a> is set to lead the company’s joint venture focused on increasing investor access to crypto, Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-28/citadel-securities-nazarali-leaves-to-run-firm-s-crypto-venture" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Citadel Securities and Virtu Financial were in the process of building a cryptocurrency trading platform, a source familiar with the matter <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/citadel-securities-virtu-financial-building-crypto-trading-platform/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Blockworks last month</a>. Jamil Nazarali is reportedly expected to become CEO of the platform.



Citadel Securities did not immediately return a request for comment.&nbsp;



Web3 gaming company Immutable hired a former global head of product design for payments at Facebook to lead the protocol’s product design.



Henry Cho will help the company build an API-only user experience that enables mainstream developers to build simply.&nbsp;



“Immutable will continue hiring the best talent across the globe to continue building our vision of enabling the next billion players to truly own their in-game items,” Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson said in a Twitter post.



Andrei Serjantov joined crypto startup Nym as its chief financial officer. He is set to develop the company’s multi-purpose mixnet that helps enable privacy for any application, as well as the underlying finances of its NYM token.



Serjantov joins Nym from French banking group BNP Paribas, where he worked for 16 years. He was most recently the company’s head of electronic credit trading and head of flow credit quantitative research.



“As the bear market rages on, all eyes are on crypto to prove its worth,” Serjantov said in a statement. “Skeptics assume people join crypto to make a quick buck and scam the typical user, but those working through the bear market have something more to prove.”



The former operations lead for self custodial wallet MetaMask is set to join the BitDAO ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of Web3 gaming.



Jacob Cantele is now head of product strategy for BitDAO’s <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=RahCDqBPLaBstxmOiHGQa1CDZiEMesp8Rq0nyXTHCEpKTcTSFrZNgyb-TjJRHcgYqG_b2Y9OQw4S5FdLSsh8dg==" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Windranger Labs</a> and head of product for the <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=8VFB9yNCFXlRwlXlNa_pyfLRfykSOvleobU6PPWrNw6gy8oJY0kZWyRKlngn5dRx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Game7</a> DAO. 



Before working at MetaMask, Cantele led product for the Panvala grant funding DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), one of the earliest grant DAOs in the Web3 ecosystem.&nbsp;



NFT marketplace Magic Eden hired Joseph Doll to the role of general counsel.



Doll previously served as a corporate associate for Fenwick &amp; West, where he structured, negotiated and executed equity and token funding.



Web3 Ventures appointed Zach Rosen to its advisory board as the company gains Rosen’s expertise in software engineering and investment banking.&nbsp;



Rosen is a co-founder of Brydge, a startup that enables decentralized applications to deploy on one chain and accept payments from others. He said in a statement that he would leverage his network and background within the Web3 space to help identify and evaluate crypto projects for Web3 Ventures’ platform.



Crypto trading and lending platform Abra reportedly laid off about a dozen employees this week as market turbulence continues. Abra CEO Bill Barhydt <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/155209/abra-becomes-latest-crypto-firm-to-cut-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told The Block</a> that the job cuts — representing about 5% of the company’s workforce — were done “purely as a cost-saving measure.”



An Abra spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. &nbsp; &nbsp;



In case you missed it, crypto exchange Bitpanda <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/bitpanda-to-slash-nearly-30-of-workforce-citing-recession-threat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">is letting go about a third of its workforce</a>. The company, backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, wrote in a <a href="https://blog.bitpanda.com/en/way-forward" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">letter to employees</a> that it wants to cut down its headcount from more than 1,000 to 730 as it seeks to improve its financial health.



Meanwhile, crypto exchange Kraken posted more than 600 new job ads in the United States in the last seven days, according to a June 29 study by <a href="https://cryptojobslist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto Jobs List</a>. The Kraken listings account for nearly 20% of the new American crypto job ads over the span.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Latest in Crypto Hiring: Former Facebook, BNP Paribas Pros Join Space

<div id="highlights-block_62b0dc3fa1740" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Funds will be used to expand its primary and secondary marketplace and explore multi-chain opportunities</li>
 <li>The marketplace receives an average of 22 million unique sessions per month and sees over 40,000 NFTs traded daily</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Magic Eden, the top Solana NFT marketplace, announced a $130 million series B funding round Tuesday, bringing its valuation to $1.6 billion. 



Electric Capital and Greylock co-led the round, and Lightspeed Venture Partners joined as a new anchor investor. Previous investors Paradigm and Sequoia Capital participated as well.&nbsp;



Funds will be used to expand the company’s primary and secondary marketplaces to fully support the NFT (non-fungible token) creator and collector journey, Magic Eden told Blockworks.



The primary marketplace, the Magic Eden Launchpad, is a dedicated service for Solana creators that has launched over 250 projects to date. 



“We want to be there every step of the way of the long creator journey: pre-mint, launch, post-mint. We have always known our creators deeply, and we intend to develop other tools across operations, marketing and tech support,” Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu said.



As for the company’s secondary marketplace, which accounts for 92% of the Solana NFT market share, the plan is to explore multi-chain opportunities, invest in the team, and enhance the user experience with improved insights, analytics and trading tools.&nbsp;



Additionally, the company intends to double down on its nascent forays into NFT gaming after <a href="https://blog.magiceden.io/p/eden-games-launch-announcement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launching</a> the Eden Games platform earlier this year. Believing that the “future is ultimately cross chain,” it will also use funds to explore multi-chain opportunities to attract new users and projects.



Regardless of market movement, Magic Eden is building on a 10-year time horizon. “Magic Eden’s goal is to define the future of NFTs by supporting the next generation of digital creators and introducing the next billion users to Web3,” Lu said.&nbsp;



“We know that NFTs are the on-ramp into blockchain,” added Lu, and the most successful collections “pique people’s curiosity not because they’re simply an NFT, but because the value that the NFT represents entices new user acquisition — whether it’s token gated content, access…community-based projects, or artistic value.”



Magic Eden’s cumulative volume was at 19,901,672 solana at the time of writing. The marketplace’s most popular NFT collections in terms of trading volume in the past seven days are Primates, Okay Bears and Yeah Tigers.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

NFT Marketplace Magic Eden Raises $130M for Creator, Collector Support

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_622f6a34c8037" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The capital will go toward staff expansion, product development and future partnerships</li>
 <li>Other investors include Sequoia Capital, Electric Capital, Greylock Partners, Kindred Capital, Variant Fund and Solana Ventures</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Magic Eden, a Solana-based NFT marketplace, announced a $27 million Series A funding round on Monday. The round was led by Paradigm with participation from Sequoia Capital, Electric Capital, Greylock Partners, Kindred Capital, Variant Fund and Solana Ventures.



The raise will go toward staff expansion, future partnerships and product development.



Jack Lu, CEO and co-founder of Magic Eden, told Blockworks that the funding will “help [them] expand as a company, including hiring the best talent, improving [their] product and infrastructure and investing in community initiatives.”



Among those initiatives is MagicDAO, a recent attempt to launch a decentralized autonomous organization (<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-investors-guide-to-daos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DAO</a>) gated by the startup’s NFT (non-fungible token) collection Magic Ticket. The project airdropped 30,602 such tickets, which provide access to the group&#8217;s Discord channels, to community members and plans to involve those members in governance decisions in the future.



Magic Eden has recorded over $736 million in total trading volume since its launch last year — establishing itself as the largest Solana marketplace, according to data dashboard <a href="https://dappradar.com/nft/marketplaces/protocol/solana" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DappRadar</a>.



Trading volumes for Magic Eden, however, have declined 85.76% to roughly $41 million in the past month — mirroring the performance of the broader NFT market.



The NFT marketplace OpenSea&#8217;s trading and transaction volumes fell as well, declining <a href="https://dappradar.com/nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">22.4%</a> and <a href="https://dappradar.com/nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">11.61%</a> respectively over the past month. OpenSea, unlike Magic Eden, auctions off NFTs on Ethereum and Polygon.



Paradigm, which launched <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/paradigm-launches-2-5-billion-crypto-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a $2.5 billion crypto fund</a> last November, is an investor in OpenSea as well.Benjamin Cohen, managing partner of crypto fund Web 3 Equities, previously <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-portfolio-managers-collectors-say-nft-market-bound-for-correction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a> Blockworks when a market is as fast as OpenSea, it is “fair to assume that [it] will experience large swings and corrections.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.