Blockchain marketing news in August 2022
Two of the main themes coming out of this month’s news are social media and NFTs, with some stories showinging the crossover between the two.
Starting with social media, the narrative isn't particularly optimistic. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed skepticism about Meta's metaverse ambitions, signaling potential misfires in corporate-driven virtual worlds.
This skepticism is echoed in sentiments that predict the obsolescence of traditional platforms like Facebook and Twitter, spurred by blockchain technology’s decentralized nature. This perspective gains further weight from Andreessen Horowitz's shift in strategy, signaling a broader industry move towards breaking up Big Tech's dominance through crypto innovations.
Bridging the gap between social media and NFTs, Meta's initiative to roll out NFT support across 100 countries via Instagram and Facebook marks a pivot towards integrating blockchain technologies within established social platforms. This move is designed to enhance user interaction and content monetization, shaping a new era of digital engagement.
The realm of NFTs itself is buzzing with activity and innovation. Gucci’s adoption of ApeCoin for transactions showcases luxury brands embracing crypto payments and emphasizes NFTs' role in transforming commerce and consumer interaction.
The conversation around NFTs also dives into the contentious issue of artist royalties, sparked by new marketplaces challenging the norm of compensating creators during secondary sales. Moreover, the creative use of NFT-like smart contracts by Telegram for auctioning popular usernames illustrates innovative applications of blockchain technology.
Finally, a story that diverges from these themes but is equally important is the one from Bllomberg on President Biden’s approach to crypto regulation. New legislative frameworks are being considered to ensure stability and security in the crypto markets, which could have profound implications for the industry’s trajectory.
News and Reports
The Disastrous Record of Celebrity Crypto Endorsements
As the title suggests, Bloomberg magazine curated a list of the celebrity crypto endorsements that happened through the crypto bull market in 2021, downward price change since their promotion, and how and if celebrities commented on their crypto support in recent times.
Crypto Biz: Gucci ‘apes’ into crypto
First week of crypto August is depicted in this Crypto Biz article from Cointelegraph. The most interesting news comes from Italian fashion brand Gucci, which announced that it would start receiving payments in the Bored Ape Yacht Club-affiliated ApeCoin (APE) — but only through BitPay.
Meta Confirms NFT Rollout Across 100 Countries Amid Coinbase Integration
Meta’s social media platform Instagram has started NFT Rollout across 100 countries after integrating with Coinbase (COIN) Wallet and Dapper. The company will also add support for Flow Blockchain, and soon start testing NFT integration on Facebook.
Reddit partners with FTX to enable ETH gas fees for community points
Reddit has partnered with FTX exchange to provide their community with new crypto perks for Reddit Community Points. Reddit users will now be able to purchase Ether from Reddit apps through FTX payment infrastructure and use it to pay blockchain gas fee or any premium features on the Reddit platform.
Facebook Joins Meta’s Instagram in Supporting NFTs
NFT integration that has been available on Instagram is now supported by Facebook as well. Users can connect their crypto wallets and post NFT on both Meta-owned platforms. Supported NFTs are minted on Ethereum, and the layer 2 companion blockchains - Polygon and Flow.
Features and Interviews
Facebook’s metaverse will ‘misfire,’ says Vitalik Buterin
In a Twitter conversation thread with Dialectic co-founder Dean Eigenmann, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared his thoughts on Meta's ambition to build Metaverse. He believes that corporate’s existing intentions are “going anywhere,” because “it is far too early to know what people want.”
Why NFT Creators and Collectors Can’t Stop Talking About Artist Royalties
This month a new Ethereum NFT marketplace from Sudoswap has been launched and it is already making a buzz on crypto Twitter. NFT creators, collectors, and personalities have had a strong discussion whether or not NFT creators should be paid royalties for secondary market trades, a feature that Sudoswap marketplace doesn’t support.
Telegram founder suggests ‘NFT-like smart contracts’ to auction usernames
Telegram founder Pavel Durov made the suggestion about a marketplace that could utilise “NFT-like smart contracts” to auction popular usernames. In a message to his personal Telegram group he stated that: “This would create a new platform where username holders could transfer them to interested parties in protected deals — with ownership secured on the blockchain via NFT-like smart contracts.”
Biden’s Approach to Crypto
In this Bloomberg podcast about US crypto legislation, Nathan Dean, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, discusses Biden’s executive order on how to regulate cryptocurrencies and stablecoins after the Terra/Luna collapse, The Responsible Financial Innovation Act, and regulation proposal by the Agriculture Committee, who oversees the CFTC: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Industry opinion
Facebook and Twitter will soon be obsolete thanks to blockchain technology
In this opinion piece from Cointelegraph cryptocurrency entrepreneur Darius Moukhtarzadeh believes that decentralised social media powered by blockchain technology will end the old social media model of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and give power back to its users.
Andreessen Horowitz bets on crypto to break up Big Tech power
Chris Dixon, founder of Andreessen’s crypto arm a16z Crypto, is betting on crypto to break the dominance of Big Tech companies that Andreessen Horowitz invested in the early stages. This comment comes as the company is looking for a new crypto investment strategy to replace traditional equity investment.
Crypto Is Coming to Esports: The Games and Economics of Tomorrow
This opinion piece from futurist Daniel Jeffries takes some interesting stances on popular culture, gaming, evolution of blockchain technology and crypto, making it easy to assume that the future of gaming is heavily based on crypto payments, nfts and pay-as-you-go tournaments