Sfermion's Collider #44
Curated news from the world of web3, gaming & entertainment, AR/VR, AI, macro, and more
Mo Patel
5 min read·
Hello 👋
Bit later than our usual cadence, but welcome to the 44th edition of Sfermion’s Collider where we highlight the latest & greatest news in the world of web3, gaming & entertainment, AR/VR, AI, macro, and more!
Weekly, we aim to drop a curated list of the most exciting stories & updates that we believe are enabling the emergence of the metaverse.
This edition covers industry news for the first two weeks of May. Consider it a nice reminder on things given how fast the tech space is progressing. Next week we will return to our usual cadence and cover the remainder of May. Hope you all enjoy!
If you're looking forward to reading this edition of Sfermion’s Collider, please don't forget to subscribe below, share within your network, and follow Sfermion on Twitter to get the latest! Check out our Seam (💰) bio here :)
Web3 Updates
Mirror and Paragraph (💰) Join Forces to Elevate Onchain Publishing (link)
Uniswap Integrates Robinhood for Easier Crypto Buys (link)
MicroStrategy plans to launch decentralized ID solution: report (link)
SEC issues Robinhood Crypto with Wells Notice, citing alleged securities violations (link)
Robinhood CEO Decries 'Regulatory Onslaught' on Crypto, Vows to Fight SEC (link)
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao sentenced to 4 months in prison (link)
U.S. SEC Asking for More Millions, Dozens of Lawyers to Beef Up Crypto Oversight (link)
SEC has been investigating ETH for over a year, new court filing shows (link)
FTX Files Consensus-Based Plan of Reorganization (link)
Bankruptcy judge signs off on $450M FTX-Voyager settlement (link)
Avalanche Integrates with Stripe for Crypto Onramping (link)
MoonPay Users Can Now Buy Crypto Via PayPal (link)
Xoom Enables PayPal USD as a Funding Option for Cross-Border Money Transfers (link)
Coinbase integrates Bitcoin’s Lightning Network in partnership with Lightspark (link)
Bitcoin surpasses one billion transactions processed, eight hundred weeks after launch (link)
Solana could flip Ethereum in transaction fees within a week: Report (link)
EigenLayer reveals plan for token airdrop with 15% allocation to ecosystem participants (link)
LayerZero Labs finalizes initial snapshot for potential airdrop (link)
OP Stack-based Mode to begin initial distribution of 550 million tokens today (link)
Web3 Watch: Base kicks off Onchain Summer 2.0 (link)
Franklin Templeton claims Coinbase-incubated Ethereum Layer 2 Base has 'hit a homerun' in SocialFi (link)
Former NFL Star Rob Gronkowski to Pay $1.9M to Settle Crypto Investor Suit (link)
Gaming Updates
PC team-based shooter, Nyan Heroes (💰), officially launches $NYAN on 5/21 with airdrops for in-game participants (link)
LinkedIn now has Wordle-style games you can play every day (link)
Microsoft Plans Mobile-Game Store, Vying With Apple, Google (link)
Google objects to Epic's proposed changes to Play Store policy (link)
Hasbro's $1 billion bet on internal game development (link)
Walmart and Roblox are teaming up to make virtual e-commerce a reality (link)
Avalanche Hoops Game ‘Rumble Kong League’ Nets Gatorade Deal (link)
CCP Games Announces Playtests for Project Awakening (link)
Redstone Network Launches to Power Fully On-Chain Ethereum Games (link)
Aethir and Magic Eden Partner to Revolutionize Web3 Gaming (link)
Solana Labs Teams Up with Google Cloud (link)
Mysten Labs Partners with Google Cloud to Enhance Sui Blockchain (link)
zkMe Partners with Ronin Chain to Revolutionize GameFi with Advanced KYC Solutions (link)
Heroes of Mavia Introduces Ruby Marketplace for In-Game NFT Trading (link)
E-PAL Enters Web3 Gaming with Innovative Platform (link)
AI Updates
Apple Intensifies Talks With OpenAI for iPhone Generative AI Features (link)
Amazon Commits $9 Billion to Double Singapore Cloud Push (link)
Microsoft will invest $2.2 billion in cloud and AI services in Malaysia (link)
Microsoft to Invest $1.7 Billion in Indonesia for AI, Cloud (link)
SoftBank Sells Off Vision Fund Assets as Son Pivots to AI, Chips (link)
Meet MAI-I: Microsoft Readies New AI Model to Compete with Google, OpenAI (link)
Microsoft Creates Top Secret Generative AI Service for US Spies (link)
Apple Is Developing AI Chips for Data Centers, Seeking Edge in Arms Race (link)
OpenAI says it’s building a tool to let content creators ‘opt out’ of AI training (link)
OpenAI Is Readying a Search Product to Rival Google, Perplexity (link)
Other Updates
Apple announces largest-ever $110 billion share buyback as iPhone sales drop 10% (link)
TikTok sues the US government over law that could ban the app (link)
Amazon Q1 Ad Revenue Leaps 24% to $11.8 Billion, Helped by Prime Video’s Addition of Commercials (link)
Sony and Apollo send letter expressing interest in $26 billion Paramount buyout as company mulls Skydance bid (link)
Meta loses another $3.8 billion on VR/AR (link)
Dave & Buster's to allow customers to bet on arcade games (link)
Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery to bundle streaming services (link)
Google is officially a $2 trillion company (link)
Churchill Downs Jumps Most Since November on Record Quarter (link)
Hyundai is spending close to $1B to keep self-driving startup Motional alive (link)
Google’s Payments to Apple Reached $20 Billion in 2022, Antitrust Court Documents Show (link)
Instacart, Uber Join Forces to Add Uber Eats to Instacart App (link)
Jack Dorsey departs Bluesky board (link)
Research & Interesting Reads
Galaxy | Crypto & Blockchain Venture Capital – Q1 2024 (link)
Blockworks | Compute DePINs: Paths to Adoption in an AI-Dominated Market (link)
Crypto x AI - Going Down the Rabbit Hole (link)
Archetype | Verifiable Compute: Scaling Trust with Cryptography (link)
ZachXBT | How Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25+ crypto hacks to fiat from 2020–2023 (link)
Konvoy | Who Buys TikTok? (link)
Pantera | Investing in TON Network (link)
Binance | The Future of Bitcoin #2: Tokens (link)
The Average Screen Time and Usage by Country in 2024 (link)
a16z games | 5 Trends Driving the Future of VR Gaming (link)
Bankless | Why This Cycle is Cooked | DH + RSA (link)
0xsmac | Where Are We In The Cycle? (link)
Arthur Hayes | Mayday (link)
NFT Drops & Updates
Check out the latest NFT collection from Planet Atmos (💰), MKIV Exo: Genesis Edition (link)
Check out the recent Anichess (💰) “Missing Orbs” Mint - Whisper of Chaos (10113 minted) and Riddle of Chaos (4963 minted) (link)
Donald Trump to spend day off from trial with NFT buyers (link)
AnimeCoin Launches ‘Gacha Grab’ Game With Ethereum NFT Collection Azuki (link)
Moonbirds Building 'Moonbirds Universe' (link)
Notable Raises
Web3 community-driven gaming ecosystem SlingShotDAO (💰) completes $3M in financing, with Alphabit Fund participating (link)
Silicon Valley’s General Catalyst closes in on $6B fund for tech start-ups (link)
Self-driving startup Wayve just raised $1B from Nvidia, SoftBank, Microsoft and more (link)
AI startup Atlan raises $105M in funding at $750M valuation (link)
Hyde Park raises $98M to back Midwest and Toronto start-ups (link)
Sophon ZKSync hyperchain raises $60M in node sale (link)
DatologyAI raises $46M to streamline AI model training data diets (link)
Crypto Principal Trader Arbelos Markets Raises $28M Led by Dragonfly Capital (link)
OpenAI raises $15M for its Startup Fund. It invests in early-stage AI companies (link)
Thiel-Backed Cryptography Startup Lagrange Raises $13M (link)
Bladerite Game Developer Seeds Labs Raises $12M (link)
Kiosk raises $10M in funding round led by Electric Capital (link)
Galaxis Raises $10M, Doubling Down on Belief That NFTs Will Provide Real Value Everywhere (link)
Tokenized Asset Issuer Backed Raises $9.5M as Crypto's RWA Race Heats Up (link)
Altera raises $9M to develop AI for digital humans (link)
Botanix Labs raises $8.5M to build a Bitcoin-native DeFi ecosystem (link)
Owlto Finance Raises $8M in Strategic Funding Round (link)
Modular Liquidity Protocol Mitosis Secures $7M (link)
Bitcoin-native application platform Arch raises $7M led by Multicoin Capital (link)
Singapore-Based UXUY Secures $7M in Pre-A Funding (link)
X10, a crypto exchange founded by Revolut alumni raises $6.5M funding (link)
Arcium raises $5.5M in strategic round to develop 'confidential computing' network (link)
Web3 wine marketplace Baxus raises $5M from Multicoin Capital, Solana Ventures (link)
Haun Ventures leads $5M seed round in cross-chain governance platform Agora (link)
ZKM raises $5M ahead of Bitcoin-based Layer 2 launch (link)
Shadow War Raises $5M for Futuristic 5v5 Action Gaming (link)
Milkyway has raised $5M in seed rounds (link)
Airstack Announces $4M Seed Financing (link)
Web3 game startup GFAL raises $3.3M from Supercell and Mitch Lasky (link)
Iconic Arts raises $3.1M to create original properties for games and Hollywood (link)
Holograph Secures $3M to Expand Omnichain NFT Use in Web3 Gaming (link)
Blade Games Secures $2.4M In Seed Funding Round (link)
Ambient Raises $2M to Scale DePIN Globally (link)
Resonance Security secures $1.5M in pre-seed funding as cybersecurity industry gains steam (link)
Blade of God X Secures Multimillion-Dollar Investment for ARPG (link)
Mo & Andrew's Curated
Macro
JUST IN: 
Hong Kong spot #Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF trading officially live.
Hong Kong spot #Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF trading officially live.
14.8K
JUST IN: 
Europe's second-largest bank, BNP Paribas, buys BlackRock spot #Bitcoin ETF shares.
Europe's second-largest bank, BNP Paribas, buys BlackRock spot #Bitcoin ETF shares.
JUST IN: $438 billion asset manager Susquehanna discloses $1.3 billion #Bitcoin ETF portfolio.
“I’m good with Crypto. If you’re for crypto you better vote for Trump.”
JUST IN: Former PayPal President David Marcus says #Bitcoin is “going to be the native currency of AI” 
Legendary trader Michael Burry called the 2008 financial collapse 2 years in advance.
He gives talk on how why US government is running a Ponzi:
When the interest on your debt eclipses your tax income, your country is a Ponzi scheme
WATCH
He gives talk on how why US government is running a Ponzi:
When the interest on your debt eclipses your tax income, your country is a Ponzi scheme
WATCH
VanEck's @MarketVector launches $MEMECOIN index, top 6 assets, 30% cap.
Warns potential customers: "These coins are intended for entertainment purposes"
Warns potential customers: "These coins are intended for entertainment purposes"
This is extremely concerning
US government spending (inflation-adjusted) since 2020 now exceeds the combined spending of:
- World War I
- World War II
- 1970 to 1990
US government spending (inflation-adjusted) since 2020 now exceeds the combined spending of:
- World War I
- World War II
- 1970 to 1990
Web3
We hit a new milestone!
7 MILLION MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS
7 MILLION MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS
Just launched a new way to check your address for airdrop allocations
1. Go to defillama.com/airdrops
2. Click "Check airdrops for address"
3. Input any address
4. We'll display EIGEN allocation + other airdrops
No need to sign anything with wallet or go through hoops anymore
1. Go to defillama.com/airdrops
2. Click "Check airdrops for address"
3. Input any address
4. We'll display EIGEN allocation + other airdrops
No need to sign anything with wallet or go through hoops anymore
Pumpdotfun has silently generated ~$9.54M in fees over the last 30D
A lesson in there
A lesson in there
A16z Makes $90 Million Private Purchase of Optimism’s OP Token
.@a16z is betting on the future of Optimism — and specifically on its Ethereum L2 tech stack.
@michael_bodley reports
Read more: unchainedcrypto.com/a16z-makes-90-…
.@a16z is betting on the future of Optimism — and specifically on its Ethereum L2 tech stack.
@michael_bodley reports
Read more: unchainedcrypto.com/a16z-makes-90-…
NFT
Persona Platform is live! Dive into Timefall Valley and join our gaming community.
Earn points as you participate in the activities:
- Complete quests for points
- Share Persona or Unagi related content to get more points
- Accumulate points for a chance to get Capsules filled…
Earn points as you participate in the activities:
- Complete quests for points
- Share Persona or Unagi related content to get more points
- Accumulate points for a chance to get Capsules filled…
$MOCA Public Sale results now live
Sale Results
• Total Funds Committed: US$29.3M
• Total Funds Raised: US$5M
• Oversubscription based on available lots: Over 12x
• Total $MOCA Allocated: 126,984,127 $MOCA
• Price: US$0.03938
• Fully Diluted Value:…
Sale Results
• Total Funds Committed: US$29.3M
• Total Funds Raised: US$5M
• Oversubscription based on available lots: Over 12x
• Total $MOCA Allocated: 126,984,127 $MOCA
• Price: US$0.03938
• Fully Diluted Value:…
We’re excited to launch the first 3rd party licensing deal on @OverpassIP, provided by @ocapgames.
Orange Cap Games is bringing 200 Pudgy Penguins to life for their upcoming trading card game.
Submit your Penguin below.
Orange Cap Games is bringing 200 Pudgy Penguins to life for their upcoming trading card game.
Submit your Penguin below.
The $NFTFI Airdrop Claim goes live tomorrow @ 12:30 UTC.
All smart contracts have been:
• Audited by @HalbornSecurity;
• Included in a bounty program with @immunefi where no incidents were discovered; and
• Whitelisted on @PocketUniverseZ transaction checker.
All smart contracts have been:
• Audited by @HalbornSecurity;
• Included in a bounty program with @immunefi where no incidents were discovered; and
• Whitelisted on @PocketUniverseZ transaction checker.
The Garden Awaits.
Azuki will release "Enter the Garden: The Waiting Man" tomorrow live on YouTube at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Azuki will release "Enter the Garden: The Waiting Man" tomorrow live on YouTube at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Gaming
GTM for web3 games high level
I use my own 10 step process for our clients but every client is custom. I would never reveal custom work as that’s unethical. But this shows the basic blueprint.
Step 0: chain discussions, token expert hires and contractors. nft strat markups…
I use my own 10 step process for our clients but every client is custom. I would never reveal custom work as that’s unethical. But this shows the basic blueprint.
Step 0: chain discussions, token expert hires and contractors. nft strat markups…
AI
Telegraph: Microsoft reportedly planning "Stargate", a $100billion supercomputer to be powered by several nuclear plants
The era of the great uranium brains approaches.
The era of the great uranium brains approaches.
This is an important chart for LLMs. $/token for high quality LLMs will probably need to fall rapidly. @GroqInc leading the way.
Other
2024 valuations:
Nvidia: $2.2 trillion
Intel: $132 billion
2009 valuations:
Intel: $90 billion
Nvidia: $5 billion
Nvidia: $2.2 trillion
Intel: $132 billion
2009 valuations:
Intel: $90 billion
Nvidia: $5 billion
Warren Buffett on paying taxes:
"If we send a check like we did last year... and if 800 other companies had done the same thing, no other person in the United States would have had to pay a dime in federal taxes."
"If we send a check like we did last year... and if 800 other companies had done the same thing, no other person in the United States would have had to pay a dime in federal taxes."
Here's an embedded version of the Broken Money video.
-An analysis of the past, present, and future of money, and how technology impacts it over time.
-How the current disequilibrium (transactions way faster than settlements) creates centralized and corrupted money clusters:
-An analysis of the past, present, and future of money, and how technology impacts it over time.
-How the current disequilibrium (transactions way faster than settlements) creates centralized and corrupted money clusters:
Here's an embedded version of the Broken Money video.
-An analysis of the past, present, and future of money, and how technology impacts it over time.
-How the current disequilibrium (transactions way faster than settlements) creates centralized and corrupted money clusters:
-An analysis of the past, present, and future of money, and how technology impacts it over time.
-How the current disequilibrium (transactions way faster than settlements) creates centralized and corrupted money clusters:
💰 = Sfermion Portfolio Company
Curated by @mopat1214 + @AndrewSteinwold
If you enjoyed reading this edition of Sfermion’s Collider, please subscribe below, share within your network, and follow Sfermion on Twitter to get the latest! Check out our Seam (💰) bio here :)
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Sfermion does not offer investment advice/analysis and makes no recommendations on how to act. Information regarding any company or investment in this Newsletter, including any links to information on our website, should not be viewed as an endorsement or recommendation of that company or investment for any purpose whatsoever. Any person receiving this Newsletter is encouraged to consult with their own financial advisor, or relevant personnel, before making any investment decision.