NFT Innovation Digest #8

Most innovative (author's pick)

Bluezelle, a decentralized storage network, announced the release of its file storage solution on Ethereum mainnet. The solution was created to enhance the decentralization of NFTs and their data.

More:

• The solution was created amid concerns about the lack of immutability on InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) protocol, transitioning from a raw data storage provider to becoming a hosting platform for all types of files that require high security, unmatched availability, and censorship resistance;
• The company will provide a solution for saving immutable files on decentralized storage improving cost and speed of storage;
• Bluezelle solution is already been used by industry leaders such as Mintable and several others in the testing phase.

Most discussed

Discord CEO and co-founder Jason Citron tweeted an image of a possible Ethereum wallet integration.  Part of the Discord community showed resistance to the idea.

More:

• Citron's tweet came in response to a blog post called "Discord: Imagine a Place". The post calls the platform “the coordination platform of choice for all manner of projects including NFTs, DAOs, crypto investing groups, and crypto startups.”.

Twitter is creating a Web3 team to explore integrations with decentralized applications. Tess Rinearson, formerly involved with the Cosmos blockchain, revealed that she will lead the team.

More:

• The Web3 team will work with Twitter's decentralized media project Bluesky;
• As in the reveal, Tess that the team will "be working to figure out what crypto can do for Twitter, as well as what Twitter can do for crypto. Twitter truly “gets” crypto (hello bitcoin tipping & NFTs!) but there’s so much more to explore here".

Mainstream Adoption

Rolling Stone Magazine mints first-ever NFTs with Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection. The magazine enters into the NFT space auctioning two digital magazine covers created in partnership with BAYC.

More:

• The collaboration first launched last week with the instant sale of 2,500 limited-edition paper zines featuring a Bored Ape into the magazine cover;
• The same magazine cover is being auctioned on the marketplace SoRare alongside a "Mutant Ape" version from the Mutant Ape Yacht Club.

Steve Aoki and Todd McFarlane announced a collaboration on OddKey, a curated NFT marketplace on Solana. The marketplace will be focused only on creator-owned properties.

More:

• OddKey will not allow third-party licenses or knock-off projects to be sold on the platform;
• The creators choose to use Solana due to the low transaction fees and better energy consumption from its proof-of-stake consensus model.

Reddit to turn 500 million users' karma points into ERC-20 tokens, reports company's engineer Rahul Kothari. Karma points are awarded to users if their post threads gather votes.

More:

• According to the engineer, Reddit aims to decentralize the Internet that could benefit the individuals and communities that thrive on the platform;
• In July 2021, the platform had launched its L2 using Arbitrum technology for its reward points, called Community Points.

New products and ideas

Axie Infinity launched its decentralized exchange Katana on the Ronin sidechain. Katana will enable users to swap assets within the Axie Infinity ecosystem.

More:

• Alongside Katana, the Ronin chain ecosystem token Ron was unveiled. The token will eventually be used to pay gas fees and secure the network for both Axie Infinity and future games/products hosted on the chain;
• At the launch it is possible to provide liquidity and trade between AXS, SLP, USDC, and WETH;
• Just 4 days after the launch, Katana breaks $1B in TVL.

Coinbase launched a standalone browser extension for Coinbase Wallet. The extension allows users to directly access decentralized apps and NFTs from their browser without the need to confirm transactions with the smartphone.

More:

• With the launch, the Coinbase Wallet now competes directly with wallets like MetaMask;
• Coinbase's product manager Sid Coelho-Prabhu said the company will keep working "to empower everyone to use dapps and web3 by building the easiest-to-use and most accessible self-custody wallet in the ecosystem".

Recommended Readings

• Nader Dabit on how NFT smart contracts work: This Twitter thread shares a lot of valuable information on how NFT metadata is stored;
• The movie industry is turning towards NFTs: This NonFungible article explores how the movies industry is using NFTs as an innovative method of content distribution and consumption;
• A real ‘NFT Winter’ market pullback is coming: This article by Decrypt explores the vision of VeeFriends creator, Gary Vee on the NFT market.

New podcasts and shows

• The Defiant Podcast: In this episode, the NFT investor Zeneca talks about his journey into the crypto space and why he believes gaming is setting up to be the next big movement in NFTs;
• Unchained Podcast: This episode, is a recording of a panel at the NFCastle 2021 where four experts debate about the hottest topics on the Metaverse;  
• The Scoop Podcast: In this episode, Adam Goldberg, co-founder of Standard Crypto discusses his work in crypto as a VC and how his company is also looking closely at NFTs.

Save the date

• 30th November - 1st December: DCENTRAL Miami is the largest NFT & DeFi conference in Miami, don't miss it!

NFT space in numbers

The values below are from 5th - 11th November 2021. Source: DappRadar.

Top Marketplaces

Top Sales

Top Collections

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