Hello 👋
Welcome to the 33rd edition of Sfermion’s Collider where we highlight the latest & greatest news in the world of web3 and gaming!
Weekly, we aim to drop a curated list of the most exciting stories & updates that we believe are enabling the emergence of the metaverse.
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
PayPal Launches Stablecoin Tied to the US Dollar, Issued on Ethereum (link)
Coinbase's Base Mainnet Officially Opens to the General Public (link)
Microsoft Partners with Aptos Blockchain to Marry AI and Web3 (link)
Circle Launches Programmable Wallets Beta (link)
Doodles and Crocs Form Partnership (link)
DeBank Announces DeBank Chain (L2 Powered by OP-Stack), Aiming to Become the Asset Layer for Social (link)
Sam Bankman-Fried is being sent to jail after a judge revoked his bail over alleged witness tampering (link)
Visa tests ways for users to pay on-chain gas fees directly in fiat with a credit or debit card (link)
OpenSea Integrates Base Network (link)
Federal Reserve to expand oversight of crypto-related activities at banks (link)
Curve Finance Exploiter Returns $8.5M in Stolen Funds (link)
Popular NFT Collection, y00ts, Migrates Back to Ethereum from Polygon (link)
NFT Context Platform, Soho (💰), Expands Social Features with Badging System Launch (link)
Reddit Community Tokens Moons After Kraken Listing (link)
MPCVault’s crypto wallet for businesses hits $500M AUM in 7 months (link)
AI Updates
Apple’s Tim Cook States $22.6B YTD Spend on Generative AI Research (link)
Nvidia announces new "superchip" and collab with Hugging Face (link)
Google launches Project IDX, a new AI-enabled browser-based development environment (link)
Google And Universal Music Group Negotiating AI-Generated Music Tools (link)
Disney Creates Task Force to Explore AI and Cut Costs (link)
Gaming Updates
Roblox’s Q2 results revealed that average DAU were 65.5M, up 25% year-over-year and average monthly unique payers were 13.5M, up +19% YoY (link)
Netflix has released a ‘game controller app’ for the iOS App Store (link)
UFC President Dana White Joins Mark Zuckerberg’s $500B Venture To Provide “Immersive” Experience for MMA Fans (link)
Pixel Vault Acquires Wolf Game (link)
ParallelTCG is Launching Starter Packs Filled with NFTs on Base (link)
Everseed (💰) Highlights Closed Alpha v2.0 Updates (link)
Shrapnel (💰), AAA Shooter, partners with Sakaba for in-game loyalty for web3 games (link)
Decentraland Is Using AI to Make the Metaverse Feel More Alive (link)
Genies Introduces AI Avatars for Celebrities and Launches Avatar Social Network (link)
Roblox Is Tapping AI to Generate 'More Rich and Dynamic' Games: CEO (link)
WAGMI Games Unveils All-Star Team to Transform Web3 Gaming (link)
WAGMI Games and Gadget Bot Partner to Create AAA Artwork for Upcoming Founder Pack Drop (link)
Research & Interesting Reads
Alchemy | Web3 Development Report (Q2 2023)
thecoreloop | Super Apps Part II: The Gaming Revolution - Redefining Interactive Entertainment
WASD | The Ultimate Guide to the MUD Ecosystem
Chris Ahn | Economies of Scale
NFT Drops & Updates
Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi (Last Auctioned for $450M) Will be Sold Officially as NFTs Via Elmonx Marketplace (link)
Reebok and VeeFriends Step Up with a Joint Sneaker Collection (link)
FingerprintsDAO and Larva Labs Unveil “Voxelgyph”, an NFT Representing DAO Membership (link)
Pudgy Penguins Releases 150 Edition “Left-facing” Physical Collectibles With an ERC721 Claimable (link)
Jack Butcher and Pudgy Penguins Tease a New NFT Collection (link)
Jack Butcher Launches “Infinity Checks” Collection, Early Contract Issues Leads to Stolen Funds (link)
DeGods Welcomes Holders to Season 3 (link)
Elvis Presley Dances Into the Metaverse via 'The Sandbox' - Some 3,000 Elvis Presley NFT avatars and unique emotes will launch in-game on Ethereum (link)
McFarlane Toys Collabs with Rarible for Their New Batman NFT Collection (link)
Notable Raises
Xverse (💰), the leading Bitcoin Web3 wallet supporting Ordinals and BRC-20 inscriptions, Raises $5M in Seed Funding Round Led by Jump Crypto, with participation from participation from RockawayX, Sfermion, Alliance, NGC Ventures, and others (link)
Elon Musk-Backed Neuralink Raises $280M led by Founder Fund (link)
L1 Digital Raises $152M for Second Crypto VC Fund (link)
GoStudent raises another $95M to go after VR and AI-enhanced tutoring (link)
Illuminati Capital raises $50M for Web3 investments including games (link)
Futureverse's Co-Founders Start $50M Venture Fund - The Born Ready venture studio will invest in early-stage Web3 and metaverse projects (link)
Futureverse and Outlier Ventures launch Base Camp Accelerator for metaverse startups (link)
Mahjong Meta raises $12M Led by Dragonfly. Mahjong Meta is a Web3 gaming platform on Ethereum, offering a rewarding and innovative gameplay experience for Mahjong enthusiasts (link)
Blockchange Ventures leads $8.2M seed round for web3 security startup Cube3.ai (link)
Cantina has raised a $7M round, led by Framework, to launch a web3 security marketplace (link)
Puffer Finance Raises $5.5M Seed Funding to Strengthen Ethereum Decentralization & Scalability (link)
1kx leads $5M seed round for generative art NFT platform fxhash (link)
Web3 ad firm HypeLab raises $4M in round led by Shima Capital and Makers Fund (link)
Monetizr raises $4M to replace intrusive game ads with engaging brand experiences - Change Ventures led the round (link)
Windup Minds raises $1.6M to build virtual pets in VR and MR (link)
Zibra AI, which specialises in AI-generated 3D assets for games and virtual environments, raises $500K from a16z Speedrun (link)
Mo & Andrew's Curated
Macro
SEC to appeal judge ruling that Ripple $XRP is not a security.
5,492
Web3
Become a part of Base history by minting “Base Day One” to join the story of bringing the world onchain
Our story.
onchainsummer.xyz/base
Starting today, you can earn and use badges on Soho to:
Express your identity
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Connect with interesting people
Unlock new featuresGet started with badges
Get your alpha directly from the chain
Discover the top things people are doing onchain across DeFi, Swaps, NFTs, and much more.
A timeline of significant decentralized semi/non-fungible assets (ownable & transferrable), from 2009 Bitcoin genesis block to today.
(file link
)
1. I have never been so obsessed about anything. But the reason I am obsessed with bitcoin is simple: it is the most incredible thing to ever happen in the world.
1. AI Agents
2. Decentralized Social
3. Onchain Gaming / Autonomous Worlds
4. NFT Financialization
5. Content Co-Creation
6. Digital / Physical Intersection
Gaming
This is going to be insanely fun
ThreadBefore the metaverse, there were MMOs
Before NFTs, there were virtual items
Before freemium, there was shareware
And before AI companions, there were Japanese Dating Sims
Games originates some of the most important tech on the planet and here's why...
INTRODUCING IRONROOT NEW MAPS HARDER LEVELS BUGS SQUASHED(Enter our Discord for more info)
NFT
Made 800 ETH profit thanksss
There are only 150 made, and each one comes with an ERC721 claimable token.
More information below.
Lots close 16 August 2023 14:00 EDT / 20:00 CET
Link below
100 Degods market sold today by 1 entity, price down -30%, she still has 100 more left
she also sold 6 figs of $DUST with almost no Liq in the main ETH pool, -50%
and now ontop of that a hundred+ loans are underwater on Blend, a lot of these at 100% APY
Steve Aoki will be launching his very own exclusive digital fashion line on Metropolis World's upcoming platform, Persona Parlor. Apply for membership now and use our special referral code
Random
Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all.
I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location.
UFC President Dana White held a meeting with Italian government officials to discuss hosting Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg fight at the Roman Colosseum. White predicts the fight would generate over $1 billion in total revenue.
💰 = 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.