Christian DYOR

Damn, they don't make 'em like this anymore

Welcome to The Web 2.5 Newsletter featuring news, content, musings, and memes at the intersection of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0.

Animal House

Happy International Orangutan Day! Celebrate today by bidding on an NFT created by an orangutan. Launched as a fundraising initiative for orangutan conservation efforts by The Oklahoma City Zoo, the Elok collection (named after the orangutan, Elok) is thought to be the world's first NFT created by an animal.

 

Oh 💩

If you’re into potty humor, puns, or both, here’s a project for you. The emoji brand, with help from NFT shop Recur, is launching — drum roll, please — poo emoji NFTs. There will be 2,222 poo emoji icons with everything from rainbow poo to sprinkle poo.

Meet Me in the Metaverse

To promote the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards, MTV is opening a metaverse experience on Roblox. The activation is taking place in tandem with a new MTV VMA category this year — best musical performance in the metaverse — where artists like BTS, Charli XCX, and Justin Bieber are all nominated.

Meta shared an update to its VR game Horizon Worlds this week, with Mark Zuckerberg announcing an expansion of the product to France and Spain. The internet took the opportunity to poke fun at the graphics, with numerous memes popping up on Twitter to roast the image.

Phygital Phashion

NFT influencer Gmoney launched 9dcc, a crypto-native luxury house and lifestyle platform. The first drop for the venture is an NFC-connected black T-shirt, where after purchasing the shirt through a traditional e-commerce site, collectors can connect their crypto wallet to claim a corresponding NFT. The activation is powered by phygital powerhouse IYK, known for tokenizing physical items.

I.P. Freely*

*This Simpsons clip never gets old. 

Yuga Labs released the IP rights agreement for both CryptoPunks & Meebits this week, giving NFT holders the ability to generate revenue from their NFTs.

Behold the most Web 2.5 Screenshot of the Week:

In other IP news, NFT brand Boss Beauties signed with talent agency WME to “assist in adapting its intellectual property across Web3, film, TV, digital and gaming platforms, as well as live events and brand partnerships.” The NFT brand will focus on developing IP across both its Boss Beauties and Super BBs brands.

I Ate His Liver with Some Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti

If your portfolio isn’t Hollywood enough, get ready for Sir Anthony Hopkins NFTs.

The Eternal Collection digital collectibles are intended to “conceptualize” 10 different character archetypes Hopkins has portrayed over his film career — including Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs” and Odin in three of Marvel’s “Thor” movies — and incorporating themes and styles from the actor’s body of artwork.

What if You Could Own a Moment…

The NFL is getting into the digital moments game, officially launching NFTs for micro-sports highlights. The NFL worked with Dapper Labs, the company known for first pioneering digital collectibles with NBA Top Shot, to create the platform. Patrick Mahomes chipped in for a promotional video, too.

Longer Reads (and Listens)

Why Fox is investing millions in NFTs and blockchain technology. Variety.

A how-to guide for sharing your NFTs on the ‘gram. Coindesk.

A Bohemian noble family redefines modern aristocracy by selling NFTs to preserve and share a 700-year-old legacy. CNBC.

A recipe to start a DAO. Cointelegraph.

How Farfetch is predicting the future of fashion in web3. Fast Company.

Retail isn’t dead, it’s “phygital”. Fast Company.

Fundraising News💰💰💰

Ryan Breslow raises $8M for Love pharmacy DAO. Axios.

NFT minting platform Fair.xyz raises a $4.5M seed round backed by OpenSea. News.

Bill Ackman is among the investors Shima Capital’s $200M fund. Coindesk.

CoinFund launches a $300M early-stage web3 venture fund. Cointelegraph.

Tweet of the Week

The Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov shared how the country spent the $54M in crypto aid donations received from Aid for Ukraine.

 

And before we go, beach reading…

And that’s all, folks! Thanks for reading The Web 2.5 Newsletter.