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Hey, it’s Marc. ✌️

What a packed week in consumer Web3. We cover:

• Consumer: Pudgy rebuilds Disney. Louis Vuitton’s new phygital. Balenciaga and Coach enter gaming. Ferrari now accepts bitcoin.

• Gaming: Animoca Brands partners with TON (Telegram). This is huge.

• Crypto: Spot ETH ETF launches in the US. Polymarket explodes.

• AI: Meta launches the largest open-source LLM to date.

And these are just the highlights.

Let’s dive in. 🦈

⏱️ Read time: 5min

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📚 My Top 6 Reads

• The Web3 Gaming Growth Handbook. By Jihoz. Link

• The State of Smart Contract Platforms [PDF]. By Messari. Link

• The Intersection of Blockchain and AI. With Eric Schmidt. Link

• Digital identity – Web3’s identity building blocks. By J. P. Morgan. Link

• Future of Loyalty Programs with Web3 [PDF]. By Polygon, Google, Accenture. Link

• Half-year report 2024. By Binance. Link

Buy Crypto Using PayPal Balance

Traders across the U.S. and EU can now buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and hundreds of cryptocurrencies using their PayPal account, powered by MoonPay.

✨ Web3 & Consumer

The Digital Disney

Igloo, the parent company of Pudgy Penguins, raised $11M led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund to develop a new Layer 2 blockchain called Abstract.

What you should know:

• Pudgy Penguins and NFT licensing platform OverpassIP revealed their new parent company, Igloo Inc. in June.

• Abstract is designed to be a consumer-focused blockchain, leveraging zkSync and EigenLayer technology for faster and more secure transactions.

• The funding round included contributions from investors like Fenbushi Capital, 1kx, and Everest Ventures Group.

Devil’s advocate: Launching a new layer 2 chain is hard, as it’s competitive and liquidity is fragmented.

Zooming out: The race to bring the masses onchain is heating up. Now, Pudgy Penguins is replicating Disney’s growth strategy from 100 years ago – all digital of course.

Why it matters: Abstract isn't just another blockchain; it focuses on community, culture, and support for builders, offering a unique value proposition in the crowded Layer 2 space. Igloo aims to bring billions of new users into the crypto ecosystem, positioning Abstract as a key player in consumer crypto adoption.

👉 Read about the Igloo Inc. ecosystem here.

👉 Read our deep dive on Pudgy Penguins here. 

Polymarket partners with MoonPay

MoonPay has partnered with Polymarket, allowing users to buy crypto through MoonPay using all major payment methods including debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal.

Why it matters: Polymarket is the largest prediction market and has the potential for the mainstream adoption. The timing, coinciding with the US election, is strategically significant, as it offers a relevant and engaging entry point for those unfamiliar with crypto.

Read our deep dive into MoonPay’s strategy into the crypto ecosystem here.

More Web3 Highlights:

• Louis Vuitton launched a limited edition Varsity jacket designed by Pharrell Williams for the VIA community. The collectible jacket, available in both digital and physical forms, is limited to 200 pieces and showcases Louis Vuitton's craftsmanship. Link

• Balenciaga launched a collaboration with the racing video game Need for Speed Mobile, featuring custom car designs, character outfits, and exclusive merchandise. In-game content is live in China, with physical items available on Balenciaga’s Chinese website and select stores. Link

• Coach ventures into gaming and debuts on Roblox with a scavenger hunt in Fashion Famous 2 and Fashion Klossette, offering exclusive in-game items. The brand also launched an immersive photo booth experience on the Zepeto app. Link

• Doodles, the NFT project, introduced Doodles TV, aiming to bridge the gap between artists & communities. Link

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🌎 Crypto & Macro

Ethereum ETFs are officially trading

• The SEC has green lit several spot Ethereum ETFs, which began trading on US Exchanges starting July 23, 2024.

• Grayscale launched the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH), which will have one of the lowest fees of all spot ETH ETFs in the U.S. market at 0.15%.

Why it matters: People can now buy Ethereum through traditional brokerage accounts. The approval of Ethereum ETFs signals a maturing regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies. It could classify ETH as a commodity, NOT a security.

Zooming in: Nine ETFs got listed on Cboe, NYSE Arca, and Nasdaq exchanges by Grayscale, BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck, Bitwise, 21Shares, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, and Galaxy Digital.

By the numbers:

• U.S. spot ether ETFs debuted with $1.07B in trades, led by Grayscale's Ethereum Trust at $450M, but fell short of the $4.6B seen in bitcoin ETFs in January.

• It saw $113.3M in net outflows on day two, with $811M outflows from Grayscale's Ethereum Trust (ETHE) over two days, shedding just over 9% of its holding.

What they’re saying:

Prediction Markets: Ethereum price is a hot topic on Polymarket post ETF approval.

Devil’s Advocate: Ethereum is not just a store of value like Bitcoin; it's the foundation for the vast decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Large-scale accumulation of ETH by ETF providers could potentially impact DeFi liquidity and functionality, and raise concerns about centralization and control over the network.

Punchline: It has only been just two days since launch. The the value accrual of ETFs is typically assessed over months or even years.

More Crypto Highlights:

• President Joe Biden's decision not to seek re-election has led to a record $28M daily volume on Polymarket, as bets on the U.S. presidential race exceed $300M. Link

• Mt Gox has transferred 42,587 BTC, worth $2.82B, to a new address as part of its repayment plan to creditors. The move also included 2,238 BTC sent to Bitstamp, likely signaling upcoming bitcoin distributions. Link

• Ferrari will expand its cryptocurrency payment system to Europe by the end of July, following its successful U.S. launch. The scheme will also roll out to other international dealers where crypto payments are legal by the end of 2024. Link

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🎙️ Podcast Highlights

Episode: Ordinals, Runes, and the Next Bitcoin Bull Run

In our latest podcast episode, we had the pleasure of hosting Isabel Foxen Duke, who played a key role in launching the Ordinals protocol as a Communications Director. Now she’s GP at Unbroken Chain, the first Ordinals hedge fund.

Key Takeaways:

• Immutability and decentralization: Bitcoin Ordinals are stored directly on the Bitcoin blockchain, ensuring greater censorship resistance and immutability compared to NFTs on EVM chains or Solana.

• Bitcoin Renaissance: There is renewed interest in Bitcoin, with liquidity expected to flow back to Bitcoin from other ecosystems as new possibilities are unlocked.

• Memecoin era and investment trends: The "memecoin era" is expected to continue, with venture capital focusing on layer 2 solutions built on Bitcoin, while retail investors prioritize fair launch projects like Ordinals and memecoins.

Listen to it on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts.

🎮 Gaming

Animoca Brands x TON: 900M Web3 users?

• TON Foundation has partnered with Animoca Brands’ marquee project Mocaverse, along with MOCA Foundation to create a joint identity and reputation network.

• The partnership includes a token swap of MOCA Coin and Toncoin, valued at a combined $20M, aimed at driving user engagement and cross-pollination across both ecosystems.

What's Mocaverse? A huge Web3 app ecosystem supercharged with loyalty points. It is deeply integrated with Animoca Brands' vast network of over 450 Web3 projects and investments.

How it works:

• Users earn points with engagement, tied to their Moca ID.

• This gives them exclusive access to new experiences and IRL benefits.

Zooming out: By integrating Moca ID with TON Society ID, Animoca Brands is positioning itself as a leader in the development and adoption of decentralized identity solutions along with Web3 gaming and metaverse.

Why it matters: TON is one of the biggest emerging gaming ecosystems, integrated into Telegram’s 900M+ users – and this partnership brings it into Mocaverse. This could be a massive step for Web3 mass adoption.

Be smart: TON aims to onboard 30% of Telegram's active users in the next 3-5 years.

What they’re saying:

So what? This Mocaverse partnership is a massive step for Animoca Brands and a big step for Web3 gaming with a unified identity and reputation system.

👉 Read our deep dive into Telegram and TON ecosystem.

More Gaming Highlights:

• Coach is launching its "Find Your Courage" digital fashion collection on Roblox and Zepeto, allowing users to style their avatars with the latest designs. Link

• GEEIQ has partnered with Century Games to expand brand integrations in Roblox, which grew 215% in the first half of 2024. This partnership helps brands use data-driven insights to connect with the right audiences in gaming and virtual worlds. Link

• Atari is launching its classic game Asteroids on the blockchain, with scores recorded as NFTs on Base. Link

🧠Artificial Intelligence

Llama 3.1, the 405B model – the most powerful yet?

• Meta released Llama 3.1 and a 405B parameter model, the largest open-source language model to date, exceeding NVIDIA's Nemotron-4-340B-Instruct.

• It already outperforms GPT-4, GPT-4o, and Claude 3.5 on several benchmarks.

Features:

• State-of-the-art performance in various tasks like general knowledge, reasoning, math, and tool use.

• You can fine-tune, distill, and deploy it anywhere.

• Optimized to run on a single server using cutting-edge quantization techniques, making it more accessible to edge devices.

• Integrating image, video, & voice capabilities—still under development.

Why it’s important: It's potentially the first time anyone can download a GPT-4-class large language model (LLM) for free and run it on their own hardware. And it fuels the arguably hottest debate in AI right now: Open VS closed AI models.

You can get the model from Meta, Hugging Face or Kaggle.

More AI Highlights:

• xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, launched the world's most powerful AI training cluster, using 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, with a $3B investment. The supercluster will train advanced AI models and may be integrated into Twitter's platform. Link

• The Coalition for Secure AI (CoSAI), launched by OASIS and backed by tech giants like Google and Microsoft, aims to create open-source tools and standardized practices to enhance AI security. Link

• OpenAI is in talks with Broadcom to develop its own AI chip, aiming to reduce reliance on Nvidia's GPUs. This move could accelerate OpenAI's mission towards AGI by overcoming the current GPU shortage. Link

• Mistral AI has released Mistral Large 2, an upgraded model with improved capabilities in code generation, reasoning, and multilingual support, available on multiple cloud platforms. Link

• OpenAI introduced GPT-4o mini, a cost-effective AI model that excels in both text and vision tasks. It's priced at $0.15/ M input tokens and $0.60/ M output tokens, significantly cheaper than previous models. Link

• Elon Musk has teased Grok 3.0; launch by December. Link

🪙 Regulation Highlights

• Russia's parliament is considering legalizing crypto for international payments to bypass Western sanctions, despite domestic bans on crypto payments. The U.S. is closely monitoring this move, concerned about its use for sanctions evasion. Link

💰 Money Moves

Funding rounds:

• NPC Labs: Base’s gaming ecosystem project has raised $21M n Seed + pre-Seed funding. Link

• Caldera: Web3 infrastructure platform raised $15M led by Founders Fund. Link

• Igloo Inc.: Pudgy Penguins’ parent company raised $11M led by Founders Fund. Link

• Bitlayer: Bitcoin Layer 2 raised $11M, reaching $300M in valuation. Link

That’s all for now, folks. Thank you for being part of the journey.
Talk soon,

– Marc

PS: Follow me on LinkedIn and X for shorter insights.

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Top Web3 Marketing Jobs This Week

• Growth marketing manager, TON Foundation

• Marketing manager, TON Foundation

• Product marketing manager, TON Foundation

• Growth Marketer, Uniswap

• CMO, Cryptology

• Web3 CMO, Islamic Coin

• Marketing Lead, Animoca Brands

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