The Round Up: September 6th
A new game launch, defi incentivisation and a mainstream NFT entertainment deal is cut
Hi all - have decided to collate some highlights across the crypto-sphere into a “round up” series for all of the subscribers. Essentially, a personal “to-read” list for all of you to keep informed on the most exciting technological sector of this generation :-)
My picks for top news this week:
Star Atlas launches teaser trailers, releases in-game tokens.
Celo announces $100mm developer fund
Larva labs, maker of Crypto Punks, signs with UTA
Hope you find this useful.
Stay well,
Jack
Pick #1: Star Atlas launches native-tokens
This week, Star Atlas, a space-economy strategy game, went live with their in-game tokens. The game is still in production and may take a few years until complete launch, but they just launched their NFT market where you can buy posters, with potential utility in-game.
Highly recommend checking out the trailer below and you can see the quality we are working with:
Blockchain-enabled economies are a massive use-case for next generation gaming. Instead of passively consuming a virtual experience, games are being created to allow gamers to fully participate in a virtual economy that aligns economic interests with entertainment interest… this could be a catalyst for deeper, engaged participation in the metaverse.
Interestingly, Star Atlas did launch their tokens pre-launch of the game… one take could be that by building hype around the game and increasing the value of the token, they are able to strengthen their internal treasury, which allows Star Atlas to hire more people to build and potentially ship earlier?
Axie has shown us the power of aligning economic incentives with virtual experiences, but can you imagine a game that reaches mass-market appeal, a crypto Fortnite/Roblox? I am high conviction in this space, and I believe that next-gen gaming will onboard the next 100mm onto crypto and I look forward to be more technical teams building in this area.
Pick #2: Celo Launches $100m developer fund
Celo Labs, a mobile-focused, financial inclusion protocol has announced a US$100m developer fund for projects to build on Celo. The partnership has been announced with the following consumer products: Aave, Curve, Sushi, 0x, UMA, Valora, Ubeswap, Moola Market and PoolTogether.
The funds will be used as incentives to reward developers for working on each project, and as bonuses for retail investors to contribute liquidity to each network.
The real aim of a defi protocol is to optimise for network strength: (i) to maximise tech talent building on the network, and (ii) to maximise total % value locked in the network. The game theory is simple: as protocols increasingly compete for technical talent and liquidity, the incentives that competing projects will offer will need to more efficient, which can only mean more competitive return profiles for all. Technical teams and retail investors should be cheering at this.
Pick #3: Larva Labs, maker of Crypto Punks, signs with UTA, a Hollywood Talent Agency
UTA represents A-List celebrities like Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, and will now represent Larva Labs in commercial deals, which could include video games, films and TV mainstream content deals.
Remember, Crypto Punks are one of the OG NFT projects… the project has seen $300mm worth of volume being traded in the last 7 days. Big stuff.
Expect to see IP contracts with Crypto Punks, which may unlock further revenue opportunities for the NFT makers, further incentivizing activity in this area.
This deal is reflective of a nexus between crypto and mainstream culture. The bridge for the next 100mm retail users will come from the intersection of crypto and entertainment/gaming… speaking of, Steph Curry bought a NFT and made it his DP on twitter. Is this crypto culture going mainstream?
Thanks for reading 💕
I hope you enjoyed this round-up, feel free to connect with me by replying directly to this thread, follow me on twitter @infinityhai.
Disclaimer: Don’t take this newsletter as investment advice, all of this content reflects my opinions and ideas on where the world is going. As always, DYOR and stay safe - it’s the wild west out here.