As we commemorate our 2 year Anniversary, it’s time for a full recap of our journey. It’s been two long and challenging years for us all in this space, but we still vividly remember and carry with us the enthusiasm we felt as we introduced STREETH to the world.
◾️️ A Beginning Amidst Industry Buzz
Back then, the market was completely different. Cryptocurrencies were heading to their All-Time-High, with the whole tech sector sitting at its enthusiasm peak. Meanwhile, NFTs became a global sensation with their Google Searches topping “bitcoin” & “ethereum” and companies such as Nike, Adidas, Sotheby’s, Shopify and Gucci entering the space fiercely.
And then, there was the Metaverse, the new frontier that would reshape human behaviors.
At STREETH, we felt invincible with a clear path ahead. It was just phenomenal to see a giant like Facebook betting big and launching its Metaverse with a globally aired commercial showing a Street Art Graffiti right during the time we were going public !
We felt like part of an army poised to disrupt and revolutionize most sectors of society as we knew.
◾️️ Growth in Adversity
Our team was lean and talented, we wanted to start small and grow, planning a limited raise compared to the industry standard of that time. We started building and struggles surfaced in a bubble-about-to-pop market. Hundreds of new startups all fighting to acquire the same 10,000 active users, relying on few mediocre marketing providers available with inflated prices. We learned our lessons quickly but the market was already turning its tide.
◾️️ Uncharted Waters
We indeed opened our doors with the first signs of a slowdown on the horizon but it was during our utility token launch in April 2022 that we really had to face a drastically different scenario. The bull run vanished, optimism dwindled, adoption stalled. In the following 24 months, bears took over and liquidity dried up. As a consequence, projects failed, trading volume declined and all metrics derailed.
Even Top10 cryptocurrencies lost any sort of peg and they are now down 70–80% from All Time Highs, on average.
But it’s NFTs that took the worst hit, undergoing unprecedented turbulence, with monthly trading volumes going from $17,000,000,000 (17 Billion!) in January 2022 to a low of $300,000,000 (1/50th!) in August 2023.
Not only floor prices or volumem plummeted, even the raw number of NFT trades went down massively from 120,000 in late 2021 to less than 4,000 in August ‘23, highlighting the deterioration of active traders base and general interest.
Liquidity dried up across all the board becoming a slow bleeding, to this date. Even Blue-Chip collections created by billion dollar companies such as Yuga Labs, Doodles or Moonbirds, lost 70–90% of their value.
But the real bummer was the sudden and (we think) blind decision to cut-off royalties by market key-players such as OpenSea, that left creators and NFT companies with an unpaired business model affecting their sustainability and overall good standing.
◾️️ Embracing Challenges
In this grim scenario (worsened by the Luna, FTX, 2AC, Voyager disasters and more), we quickly faced a dual sentiment. On a personal level, stress, pressure and anxiety took us over. The once soaring enthusiasm gave way to a sense of impotency. It felt as though we were holding the keys to a house without a foundation or facing a sunrise without a clear horizon. Adapting to this new reality, we swiftly embarked on the journey of streamlining our team. The original vision of building an in-house culture had to be revisited, and we embraced a more agile approach. Our roles evolved, and we found ourselves wearing multiple hats, often working 12+ hours a day as founders. This intense workload led to personal burnout and even some missteps. The process of mastering new tasks from scratch, experimenting with new strategies, and placing trust in virtual collaborators occasionally culminated in feelings of disappointment.
Nonetheless, on the business level, we kept going and worked on getting team-smarter, staying resilient and on launching our token, signing major street artists, hosting events and Street Art mints, building a Collective, 3D avatar collectibles, Virtual Land drops, Free Passes, a Metaverse gallery and then releasing our awaited Streeth Marketplace, where 1:1 Street Art masterworks can be acquired using our Token.
Through these two years, we encountered a series of challenges — both internal and external — each presenting its unique complexities. These trials were, in many ways, inevitable within an industry experiencing decline and navigating a landscape characterized by ceaseless transformation, whose underlying constant has been uncertainty (of compliance, of direction, of market fit and consumers demand). We faced few restructuring, with people that left and new ones came. We changed paths, going fully remote (our team is now located in Italy, Canada, Hong Kong and Spain), fully on-chain (our entity) and decentralized. But in the end, we are still here with the same vision.
We want to keep trying, we want to push for a positive reversal, keeping some hope for a better market ahead (bitcoin halving in 2024?).
◾️️ The Path Forward
Here are some ideas and strategies we are currently brainstorming around and pursuing, trying to take a bold step into a better environment and towards the right direction, within the realm of technology, art and community:
🔸 Genesis Collective: Empowering our Community’s Voice:
It will launch using snapshot.org infrastructure, giving Streethers owners full voting rights about emerging artists drops (more raw talent, lower price tags) and overall Streeth’s strategies
🔸 Token Bridge: A Path to Better Trading:
We are considering the development of a custom bridge to seamlessly swap erc20 STREETH to a more-cost-efficient chain to allow for a smoother and more efficient trading
🔸Real World Assets Tokenization Takeover:
Tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) isn’t just happening in art, but in bonds, cars, gold, houses and more. It’s a concept that’s gaining momentum and interest from traditional finance players. At STREETH we are working on partnerships with collectors and institutions holding premium Contemporary Art assets.
🔸 Consultancies: the Brainpower of Industry Leaders:
We will be having a round of consultancies with industry leaders starting with our backers and mentors. Tough times require smarter minds, we are confident that the counsel of brighter minds becomes a beacon of direction
🔸 Mild Spin Off: Marrying Street Art with AI’s Potential:
AI isn’t a fleeting trend, it’s a full on revolutionizing force with numerous use cases. And it perfectly marries Art and Technology. We are considering a decisive pivot towards STREETH AI, with innovative tools that churn out AI generated graffiti that will live on-chain
🔸 Hard Spin Off: Forging the Future through Innovation:
We are evaluating the launch of a tech lab comprising our development team to pursue innovation at the intersection of web3, AI and AR that would operate independently while STREETH maintains its decentralized and independent path
🔸 Human Resources: Versatile & Strategic Help
We are adding a new Partnerships Manager to our squad with focus on spotting and sealing fruitful collaborations within and outside the NFTs space.
🔸 Street Lifestyle Brand in the Web2 Realm:
As Web3 is in the midst of a dynamic transformation typical of infant sectors, we are contemplating a “roll back” shift to Web2 launching a Streetwear Lifestyle brand that echoes the urban culture in its entirety. All-over-print-graffiti merchandise takes center stage, designed to resonate with a global crowd of streetwear aficionados that revere brands such as Supreme, StockX, Kaws and so on
🔸 Web3 X2 Merge:
We are having early conversations with two other Web3/NFTs companies with a similar journey, culture and vision for the upcoming future. We are in talks for a potential deep collaboration, similar to a merger to strengthen our operations, double our output and navigate these waters together.
🔸 Embracing a Decentralized Nature:
Since last summer (2022), we made the switch to become fully decentralized as a blockchain company, breaking ties with any off-chain realm. Our commitment to turning street artifacts into digital collectibles has given birth to an experience that knows no boundaries, transcending geographical confines and physical limitations. We’ve wholeheartedly embraced the ethos of decentralization, becoming an entity that operates remotely beyond the realms of offline territories.
All these strategies. ideas and values are pursued in order to be ready for a potential market reversal.
Our gratitude extends to those who carry suggestions, a rooted passion for our project, and an innovative mind. We draw upon your energy and we encourage you to share your best ideas and contributions, as always, inside our Discord at discord.gg/streeth.
In addition, we extend an invitation to power users within our community to embrace elevated roles in management. This call seeks individuals ready to step up and actively contribute to our journey. For those interested, kindly reach out to our admins.
Adhering to our commitment of optimizing costs and channeling energy, we are reshaping our communication channels. Our Telegram will transition into more of an Announcement channel, providing concise updates. Meanwhile, our revitalized Discord will take center stage as the primary hub for discussions.
Medium remains our trusted platform for comprehensive and articulate updates, serving as the cornerstone of our communication strategy.
Do not forget to visit our recently released Marketplace at streeth.app and our 1:1 Street Art NFTs
Looking forward to the future,
Danilo, Marco, Enrico, Simone and the whole STREETH’s team
