An NFT Weekly Recap: 11/7–11/13 by Metaverse HQ

Monday, 11/7

Lots of action in the marketplace as rumors abound in the broader crypto markets and pending upcoming macro updates flooded the headlines. Influencer and BAYC Whale Jimmy.ETH busted out the wallet and swept 7 Apes. Friendship Bracelets continue to shine with floors breaching the .2E range. Art Gobblers continue to capitulate, with floors now down in the 3.2E range, while KPR also saw more room to the downside with floors holding in the .72E range. ETH chose violence today and broke below $1500 for the first time in nearly two weeks.

News:

• Azuki announces a collab with Japanese luxury jewelery and clothing company, AMBUSH. Together, the teams aim to release 1000 hoodies, 500 silver pendants and 50 gold pendants with priority for holders. https://twitter.com/AzukiOfficial/status/1589618859127894016?s=20&t=PxbSwQT_gsYwcNeL1eeLDQ
• Memeland announces that the Stage 5 art for Potatoz has been delayed https://twitter.com/Memeland/status/1589601867646267393?s=20&t=oiEuI9aMGjzPCPsAAD_3mg
• RTFKT announces that Space Drip x Air Force 1 physicals have begun shipping https://twitter.com/RTFKT/status/1589702163223441408?s=20&t=FTP4OdGpSq89Mkf-dy6MCA
• Meebits announces a new upgraded PFP image. All holders can connect and make a gasless transaction for download files to their MEebits NFTs. https://twitter.com/MeebitsNFTs/status/1589771113176834048?s=20&t=MXrXDGZ-KW_buQ3gHVFdkw
• OpenSea continues to open itself to conversation surrounding Creator Royalties and will continue enforcing creator fees for collections created using their shared storefront until at least 12/8/22. https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1589766965023080448?s=20&t=iC12OiDJgTGJ3vRDoscVyg
• FEWOCiOUS pens a letter stating his stance on the OpenSea creator royalty conversation https://twitter.com/fewocious/status/1589710002545397760?s=20&t=87dRl5AT9dxo7tH1IwExwQ
• Luxury watch brand, Rolex, has filed NFT trademark applications. https://twitter.com/coingecko/status/1589640031609970689?s=20&t=iC12OiDJgTGJ3vRDoscVyg
• Nifty Gateway announces its own Creator Royalty Standard, following the lead of OpenSea and IMX. https://twitter.com/niftygateway/status/1589671138304864257?s=20&t=JKt3AmAwYEbbRbhMz3Q40w

Tuesday 11/8

Tuesday saw a historic day in the crypto markets as the titanic exchange, FTX, fell to CZ’s Binance among rumors of insolvency and poor asset management. FTX’s native token, $FTT, took a nosedive in value and FTX paused all withdrawals, leaving many customers of the crypto exchange stuck in limbo, unaware of the status or safety of their funds. Meanwhile the NFT markets saw an expected pullback as crypto trading dominated the airwaves, causing gas to reach over 900 gwei at some points! Opensea daily volume suffered as a result ending the day with a meager $9 million in sales. ETH also took a hit drawing all the way down to $1300 from it’s $1600 range it started the day with.

News:

• Gary Vee today made a big announcement, relaying to his fanbase that VeeCon 2023 will held in Indianapolis. The event will take place across various venues including the TCU Amphitheatre and Lucas Oil Stadium. https://twitter.com/garyvee/status/1589982981485363201
• Amidst the ongoing royalty debate, notable BAYC founder, Gordon Goner, took to his Substack to give his opinion, introducing the idea of allowlisting contracts among other ideas and standards. https://gordongoner.substack.com/p/on-marketplaces-and-creator-royalties?sd=pf
• In a rare newsworthy event for the Doodles team, registration is now live for their IRL activation of DoodlePutt. The event takes place from Dec. 2–3 in Miami, Florida. https://doodles.app/events/doodleputt
• In news that shook the entire crypto world, Sam Bankman-Friedtweeted about reaching a deal with CZ to essentially sell FTX and its assets to Binance after fears of insolvency and a bankrun hit the cryptocurrency exchange. https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1590012124864348160?s=20&t=1I7AQJ4G3d2TK5K8q1hVKg
• Fluf World sent out their monthly newsletter today updating holders of news such as the upcoming $ROOT token launch and signing an official deal with ASM and FIFA for Fluf holders to predict World Cup match outcomes in order to receive rewards. https://www.fluf.world/news/probably-nothing-nov-22
• NBA Top Shot released a new style of pack today where users “request” amounts of packs they’d like to purchase and winners are chosen in a draw. There is no queue and users have until November 10 to submit for the draw. https://nbatopshot.com/listings/pack/3f765a7d-44dc-4881-902c-ce2ee491af09?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=hot%20packs
• Driftershoots sold out the first ever Instgram NFT drop and saw floors rip above 2.5E! https://twitter.com/DrifterShoots/status/1590124603908947968?s=20&t=_5B_-RIhUavEat_6rb83wA

Wednesday 11/9

Wednesday provided no relief from the shocking revelations of the FTX collapse, as Binance formally walks away from the deal to purchase the now defunct exchange. As a result, NFT floors across the board were a bloody mess as the focus remained on the expansive damages of the last 48 hours in crypto. ETH briefly touched under $1070 at one point but has since recovered back above $1100 as the dust continues to settle on the broader crypto landscape.

Please take some time to read through the #hq-announcement from @jakeandbake — it goes without saying, please reach out to a staff member at any time if we can help you through anything at all. We are all lucky to have eachother to lean on. Make sure you are taking time for yourself, getting some fresh air and never be shy to reach out if you are ever in need. Much love MVHQ fam.

News:

• Binance announces that the company will not be bailing out FTX and are walking away from a deal proposed yesterday to purchase the suddenly insolvent crypto exchange. Binance pointed to reports of mishandled user funds and alleged investigation as reasons for the change of heart. https://twitter.com/binance/status/1590449161069268992?s=20&t=xyDAi6IpWb8GR383zfWXvA
• The U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly announce an investigation into the fallout from the FTX collapse. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1590506447493742594?s=20&t=dTUShVGylIzCum-BRymNtQ
• MetaMask has opened up a new bridge aggregator and integrated it into its nativer portfolio dapp. The new feature allows for seamless bridges across Ethereum, Avalanche, BSC and polygon networks. https://twitter.com/MetaMask/status/1590350599815540736?s=20&t=_5B_-RIhUavEat_6rb83wA
• Instagram continued its week of drops with two more sellouts, this time on collections from Sara Baumann and Amber Vittoria. Both drops sold out, making it three sellouts in two days after Driftershoots found success yesterday as well. https://twitter.com/NFTSaraBaumann/status/1590369225616785408?s=20&t=_5B_-RIhUavEat_6rb83wA
• NBA Topshot announces that 2.5 million Moments are set to be burned with all set to come from unsold NFTs from the companies vault. https://blog.nbatopshot.com/posts/burning-moments?utm_source=Twitter
• The Azuki x Ambush physical merch drop went live with entrants entering a drawing that required an ETH deposit of selected items. A refund will take place for those that are not selected. https://twitter.com/AzukiOfficial/status/1590391824224780292?s=20&t=dTUShVGylIzCum-BRymNtQ
• Sorare announces Futbal superstar, Lionel Messi as its next Athlete Ambassador. https://twitter.com/Sorare/status/1590313675520638978?s=20&t=_5B_-RIhUavEat_6rb83wA

Thursday 11/10

Two big newsworthy events dominated the talking points of the day. First, CPI data came in lower than expected, leading both traditional and crypto markets to incredibly strong rallies during the morning. Later, NFTs took the stage as KPR (.5E, 6500E vol.) revealed with seemingly all eyes on it. The reveal went well with many admiring its art with rares being scooped for a premium. The day ended on a bittersweet note however asBlockFi paused withdrawals after revealing their significant investment in FTX and Alameda. Opensea daily volume came in at a meager $8.5 million while ETH rebounded to $1330 before falling back to $1240 to close the day.

News:

• Reddit has launched the next set in their Digital Collectibles line by offering World Cup themed avatars for sale. The set has a collection size of 92,992 and is available now. https://opensea.io/collection/reddit-cup-2022-x-reddit-collectible-avatars
• Amid the ongoing crisis and turmoil, FTX opened withdrawals for a brief window today on their platform. Some users were able to withdraw a variety of tokens before it closed again unexpectedly. https://twitter.com/Blockworks_/status/1590747527430967296?s=20&t=1jsC8u7sd2pEgdsTNxqE4w
• The highly anticipated Memeland Captainz mint signalled it’s 1 step closer as the team tweeted about signups for its Waitlist going live soon. Waitlist will be gated in some way, most likely through a general raffle. https://twitter.com/Memeland/status/1590750250549276672
• Expanding on its NFT-sport related offerings, SoRare is offering a World Cup inspired competition. Users are allowed to draft players to their roster for use throughout the tournament. https://twitter.com/Sorare/status/1590690780758552577
• Never to be out of the public eye for long, Gabe Leydon and co. announced a partnership between his Digidaigaku project and the My Pet Hooligan team. Not much is known but a Digi avatar was shown partying with a MPH character in the “Interloop”. https://twitter.com/gabrielleydon/status/1590836064775974912?s=20&t=zFSJh5x2aAf9DgHaMFfncw
• Gutter Cat Gang’s collaboration with Jeff Staple and Stapleverse officially went live today with their redemption for limited edition merch offered by the two companies. https://guttercatgang.com/redemption-is-open-for-staplegutter-series-one/

Notable Reveal:

• KPR’s reveal date finally came and brought a ton of excitement along with it. Floors vacillated and got as low as .35E before finally settling at .6E to end the day. Rares and Holo trait sales ranged from 3–7E showing collectors prioritizing and reaching high for the more desirable traits. KPR traded 2500E in volume on its reveal day and boasts 3300 holders for its 10k collection.

Weekend Recap 11/11–11/13

The leading headline over the weekend continued to be the alarming descent of FTX and the many angles that surround the story. On Friday, the company officially filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, in addition to “130 additional affiliated companies.” SBF also formally stepped down as CEO. Many rumors continued to surface, including a report that SBF used a “secret backdoor” to help transfer funds from FTX to Alameda Research, without alerting compliance officials.

Additionally, a Saturday “hack” saw over $450 million disappear from both FTX and Alameda wallets before recovering over $185 million by a team of White Hat hackers. ETH took a dive under $1200 while volume on OpenSea saw a two-day total under $14 million with Sunday closing a new local low of $6 million in transactions.

News:

• Gary Vee officially announced the location for the first Fly Fish Club location; 141 E Houston St, NYC https://twitter.com/garyvee/status/1591174079390023681?s=20&t=TqoQ-L6vJVrlIIKYDv158A
• Potatoz Stage 5 Reveal is now live on the projects dashboard. https://twitter.com/Memeland/status/1591873319527395328?s=20&t=JPC2-d4Mwj0EFpoTyEPyAQ
• Cool Cats and Animoca Brands are partnering with OneFootball to bring a new Cool Cats FC collection to life, with each NFT representing one of the 32 World Cup teams. The 4k supply collection will drop on 11/17. https://twitter.com/CoolCatsFC/status/1591443980817793025?s=20&t=RAvDdxAdCRo4DaS2fwiLxA
• Draftkings announces that the company will finally be releasing a public API for its marketplace. https://twitter.com/DK_Marketplace/status/1591126997823987712?s=20&t=RAvDdxAdCRo4DaS2fwiLxA
• Gordon Goner tweeted an update regarding the BAYC treasury amidst the ongoing FTX chaos. https://twitter.com/GordonGoner/status/1591104988708999171?s=20&t=FTR1HhhKEXr-FeRBh8pA7g
• Gamestop has cancelled its partnership with FTX and will refund anyone that purchased a giftcard. https://twitter.com/GameStopNFT/status/1591177707173412864?s=20&t=-i9VnKzCHMcOSfNfuvnQ-Q
• DeadFellaz and Wrangler Jeans partnered for a merch collab featuring two items. The t-shirt is selling for $45 while the denim jacket is going for $125. https://www.wrangler.com/shop/collections-collabs-wrangler-x-deadfellaz