The Latest in NFT News | Web3, Art, Gaming, Metaverse, Collectibles and More

On Friday, Kalshi won a federal lawsuit against the CFTC over its plan to offer betting markets on which party will control each house of Congress after the election.

The CFTC previously blocked Kalshi (a U.S.-based and regulated prediction market) from listing election market bets on the ground that they're considered unlawful gaming.

Kalshi then sued, and won, in what is now a massive win for the broader prediction market sector.

A Kalshi spokesperson posted to their website on Friday:

"We did it! U.S. election markets are coming to Kalshi."

But they aren't out of the woods just yet.

The CFTC approved a rule proposal to ban election markets in the U.S. back in May, which has already been approved by the commission and is currently following a review process before becoming official.

Though it is hard to see how this rule would jive with the recent court ruling, it likely would muddy up prediction markets' status in the U.S. at least for a few more months.

Why It Matters

Election markets make up something like 90%+ of prediction market volume in election years.

Polymarket has been able to skirt the rules this cycle by blocking U.S.-based users, but widespread VPN access allows savvy users to bet anyway.

Removing the ban (and need for VPN) would remove a major hurdle for adoption still.

Volumes would likely spike into the final 2 months pre-election.

But if this isn't fully resolved soon, it may not matter for another 4 years anyway...

🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• ETH led NFT trading volume with $3.25M on the day; Bitcoin was next with $1.16M, and then Solana with $1.14M
• ETH NFT leaders mostly chopped over the weekend closing a mixed week; Pudgy +1% at 10.4 ETH, BAYC +3% at 12.15 ETH, Azuki -1% at 4.63, Milady -1% at 3.3; Punks at 29.75 ETH
• Pudgy Puppets (+100%) & alignDRAW (+59%) were notable top movers
• BTC NFT leaders were mixed; NodeMonkes -5% at 0.12 BTC, Puppets +5% at 0.085 BTC, Quantum Cats -1% at 0.237 and Bitcoin Shrooms +25% to 1.49
• The Runes leaders were red; DOG -w% at $254M mc, RSIC -1% at $53M mc, PUPS -1% to $23M
• The Decentralized Rune (from the CyberKongz team) announced it would fulfill its name and go decentralized with no further building from the team (rune down 30% on week to $4.64M mc)
• Solana NFTs were mixed; Mad Lads +1% at 61 SOL, SMB Gen 2 even at 24, DeGods -1% at 24.7, Claynosaurz -1% to 15.4
• A Zombie Hoodie Punk sold for 475 ETH ($1.06M) closing a big week for Punk grails
• Pudgy Penguins gave soulbound tokens to all of their 1,000 day holders
• Doodles music video for "Can't Hold Me Down" went live on Friday and then the live premiere for Dullsville and the Doodleverse happened Saturday night
• A Doodles Cat sold for 26.25 WETH last night ($60,400), with the floor up 5% on the week to 1.79 ETH

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here's a rundown of major token or airdrop news from the day:

🌎 Around Crypto and Web3

A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are green this morning after a small weekend rally; BTC +1% at $55,235; ETH +1% at $2,315, SOL -1% at $130
• Memecoin majors are also green with DOGE +3%, PEPE +2%, WIF +1%, BONK even, MOG +6%
• Friday's US Jobs report led to a historically volatile day for rate cut futures, 50 bps hits a high at 60% before falling to 20% (now at 25% on Polymarket), briefly leading to a sell off in crypto majors 
• Crypto stocks closed their worst week of the year on Friday with majors like Coinbase down 20% and Schwab's crypto-themed EFT down 11%
• Roaring Kitty shared a Toy Story / CHEWY meme, seemingly indicating that he's finished with that meme; $GME pumped 77% afterwards
• A Court ruled against the CFTC in blocking prediction markets in US in a huge boost for Polymarklet and other protocols
• VanEck decided to shut down its ETH Futures ETF, citing factors like lack of performance, liquidity, assets under management, and investor interest in the decision

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $DOGE (+136%, $11M market cap, ETH)
• $BOBO (+41%, $44M market cap, ETH)
• $BENDOG (+35%, $15M market cap, SOL)
• $PORK (+28%, $63M market cap, ETH)
• $VISTA (+17%, $25M market cap, ETH)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Pudgy Puppets (110%, 0.13 ETH Floor)
• alignDRAW (59%, 1.49 ETH)
• RCS (30%, 0.23 ETH)
• CryptoCitizens (27%, 0.21 ETH)
• Nakamigos (16%, 0.14 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events

Today is a busier day of mints to start the week.

Mintify is launching its Ordinals Keys, Philheal is the meme card artist and then Tender x Verse launch a handful of mints from Dr Formalyst and tuukzs.

Also, Snowfro will be auctioning off 3 Chromie Squigglds with help from AOTM.

See the full list and dive in for more details with Swizzy's daily mint monitor. 

• Mintify - Ordinals Keys (9:00 a.m. ET)
• Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET)
• AOTM x Snowfro - Squiggles auctions (12:00 p.m. ET)
• Base Boys (12:00 p.m. ET)
• Dr Formalyst x Tender x Verse - In Spirits (2:00 p.m. ET)

Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.

On Thursday, Pressman Film announced a new investment platform called Republic on the Avalanche blockchain.

Pressman is a notable studio, behind legendary titles like Wall Street and American Psycho, which gives more weight to this headline.

Through their new Republic platform, fans and investors can contribute to film production with as little as $200, buying a stake in the film slate.

So far, they have raised $314,000 of a $1.5M goal.

The new fund will support 6 potential films on the initial slate (3 based on existing IP and 3 originals), and investors will receive payouts only if one or more of those films makes it into production.

Returns look like this:

• If a film makes it to production, investors receive a portion of Pressman's producing and rights fees
• If a film makes it to release and distribution, investors receive a portion of net profits

Given the low odds of these outcomes, Pressman is also offering investors perks like set visits, producer credits and premiere tickets (though at higher investment tiers).

As for the crypto component, it is definitely behind the scenes.

Investments are taken in fiat with blockchain tech mostly involved in the backend, though still pushing forward on transparency.

What Are They Saying?

Enter Sam Pressman, head of Pressman Studios:

“My father, Edward R. Pressman, is widely considered a pioneer in our industry for the innovative methods he brought to financing film production across his five-decade career.

Now, with the entertainment marketplace amid unprecedented change, it's clearly the time for innovative, new ways to fund creativity and film innovation once again.”

Why It Matters

This story highlights how blockchain and crypto can redefine more than just finance—it could change how we create and consume media.

Blockchain enables transparency and opens up investment opportunities that were once reserved for insiders.

Tokenized investing like what Pressman is offering democratizes the film investing process - anyone can participate, and one can see all of the other investing parties as well.

It's also another feather in the cap for Avalanche, who's chain is being used for this.

Now - will it be a good investment?

That's a trickier question.

Pressman's last film "The Crow" (a reboot of the 1994 original) bombed this year at the box office. It had a $50M marketing budget and netted just $4.6M in opening weekend.

So this is not a slam dunk by any means.

But still a really cool new use case for crypto and blockchain.

🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• ETH led NFT trading volume with $4.7M on the day; Solana was next with $2.1M, and then BTC with $1.9M
• ETH NFT leaders were mostly red; Pudgy -2% at 10.5 ETH, BAYC +4% at 11.84 ETH, Azuki even at 4.77, Milady -6% at 3.15
• Anata (+110%), Nakamigos (+20%) & CrypToadz (+20%) were other notable top movers
• An Ape CryptoPunk sold for 620 ETH ($1.5M), the lowest ape sale since Feb 2021 and 2,000 ETH below recent sales
• BTC NFT leaders were red; NodeMonkes -8% at 0.105 BTC, Puppets +1% at 0.079 BTC, Quantum Cats -2% at 0.234
• The Runes leaders were also red; DOG -1% at $250M mc, RSIC -7% at $56M mc, PUPS -10% to $25M
• Solana NFTs were mixed; Mad Lads +2% at 63 SOL, SMB Gen 2 even at 24.2, DeGods -1% at 25.4, Claynosaurz -8% to 16.5
• BAYC announced Season 2 of its collaboration with BAPE, featuring an online exclusive sale for BAYC/MAYC holders opening on Sept 14

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here's a rundown of major token or airdrop news from the day:

🌎 Around Crypto and Web3

A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are slightly red this morning ahead of a big jobs report; BTC -1% at $56,150; ETH -1% at $2,370, SOL -2% at $130
• Memecoin majors are also slightly red with DOGE even, PEPE -3%, WIF -1%, BONK -5%, MOG -8%
• Drift protocol added a new prediction market bet on whether Iggy Azalea or Eric Wall will win their upcoming celebrity memecoin debate (with her odds at 23%)
• Mercuryo launched a Mastercard-enabled crypto debit card for European holders, allowing holders to convert crypto into fiat at up to 90M merchants

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $NEIRO (+55%, $95M market cap, ETH)
• $wDOG (+38%, $17M market cap, SOL)
• $Squidgrow (+27%, $14M market cap, ETH)
• $DADDY (+7%, $49M market cap, SOL)
• $TOSHI (+6%, $35M market cap, Base)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Anata (110%, 0.59 ETH Floor)
• CyberV (42%, 0.34 ETH)
• Cryptomneia (40%, 1.4 ETH)
• RumbleKongLeague (29%, 0.18 ETH)
• OSF RLD (26%, 2.84 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events

Today is another slower day of new mints.

The most important thing to watch today is likely the jobs data that gets published this morning. Pending those results, we should have insight into whether the Fed will move towards a 25 or 50 bps cut in rates this month - which should move markets one way or another.

See the full list and dive in for more details with Swizzy's daily mint monitor. 

• Jungle Seed (12:00 p.m. ET)
• Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET)
• Milady in Christ (12:00 p.m. ET)
• Datura x Nubplus - Sunken (2:30 p.m. ET)

Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.

ETH has seen $85M in net outflows so far this week.

It brings the 2-week total to $142M in outflows and the overall total since launch to $562M in net outflows, driven by Grayscale's $2.65B in outflows.

Which means there has been roughly $1.9B in inflows across the 7 ETF providers. That's good, right?

Well, the current problem is the volume is slowing down substantially.

There was no buy volume from the 7 ETF providers yesterday, just $4.9M the day before and 0 the 2 days before that.

ETH ETF buy volume has slowed to a trickle - there is no demand from institutions, for ETH.

Why It Matters

The lack of demand for the ETH ETF is a bad sign for any future crypto ETF to launch in the near future.

Many have cited the political atmosphere as the primary reason we haven't seen a Solana ETF, index, or other.

Yet the hard reality is - there isn't enough demand for a SOL ETF or any other "alt."

If institutional demand for the ETH ETFs doesn't pick up soon, it's hard to see the scenario where any new crypto ETF launches.

Bitcoin ETF demand has fallen off as well, with 6 straight days of net outflows and Blackrock's IBIT notably at 0 volume on 5 of the last 6 business days.

Perhaps it's just end of summer and buyers will be back at their desks soon.

Let's hope, because this current trend is not a good one.

🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• ETH led NFT trading volume with $4.1M on the day; Solana was next with $2.4M, and then BTC with $1.3M
• ETH NFT leaders were green in a welcome reversal; Pudgy +3% at 10.6 ETH, BAYC +1% at 11.44 ETH, Azuki even at 4.77, Milady +1% at 3.35
• Jirasan (+20%) and Checks (+20%) were other notable top movers
• BTC NFT leaders mostly chopped on the day; NodeMonkes even at 0.115 BTC, Puppets even at 0.077 BTC, Quantum Cats even at 0.24
• The Runes leaders were slightly green; DOG +1% at $257M mc, RSIC +5% at $61M mc, PUPS -5% to $28M
• Solana NFTs were green; Mad Lads +4% at 62 SOL, SMB Gen 2 even at 24.2, DeGods even at 26, Claynosaurz +27% to 18
• Claynosaurz dropped a new mindmap showing different focus areas for the project, including what appears to be a Netflix series
• Bored Ape Yacht Club teased the re-release of Dookey Dash with another $1M in prizes, a collab with Bape for a limited edition bear, and also announced a partnership with BMW to create a 1:1 ApeCar with a community artist
• Gordon Goner teased new details behind the "treasure hunt" he's working on along with his core goals of bringing attention back to BAYC, fun, social media take over and minimal casualties
• The FOMO Hour team (including yours truly) gave away a $35,000 Bored Ape on yesterday's show; tune in daily at 10 am ET for your chance at prizes like this

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here's a rundown of major token or airdrop news from the day:

🌎 Around Crypto and Web3

A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are mixed with SOL leading; BTC +1% at $56,700; ETH even at $2,390, SOL +3% at $132
• Memecoin majors are more red with DOGE +2%, PEPE +3%, WIF +8%, BONK +3%, MOG -1%
• The CFTC ordered Uniswap to pay $175,000 for violations tied to illegal trading of digital asset derivatives, specifically levered versions of BTC and ETH indexes
• Ethervista launched "safe token" creation, eliminating scam risks such as mintable functions and taxes
• Trump's WLFI project is reportedly planning to give 70% of its token supply to insiders 
• Clusters introduced 1-click address generation with automatic backup and private key export with its new "1 Click Clusters"

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $NEIRO (+75%, $62M market cap, ETH)
• $PUFFY (+42%, $12M market cap, SOL)
• $GINNAN (+30%, $17M market cap, SOL)
• $APU (+17%, $64M market cap, ETH)
• $BILLY (+15%, $17M market cap, SOL)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Genuine Undead (25%, 0.11 ETH Floor)
• Nouns (22%, 3.15 ETH)
• Jirasan (21%, 0.64 ETH)
• Checks Originals (16%, 0.17 ETH)
• Checks Edition (16%, 0.21 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events

Today is another slower day of new mints.

Ai Weiwei is partnering with Avant Arte today to launch "Everyone is a dragon."

See the full list and dive in for more details with Swizzy's daily mint monitor. 

• Kanoi (9:00 a.m. ET)
• Ai Weiwei x Avant Arte - Everyone is a Dragon (9:00 a.m. ET)
• Sleeping Eight (11:00 a.m. ET)
• Tigerbob (12:00 p.m. ET)
• Kitoshi's World (4:00 p.m. ET)

Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.

Samsung Next announced investment in Startale Labs to accelerate the development of web3 infrastructure and drive the future of decentralized technology.

The Deets

• Investment Partnership: Samsung Next's investment supports Startale Labs in its mission to build the backbone of Web3.
• Focus Areas: Startale Labs develops tools for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts, enhancing Web3 accessibility and scalability.
• Key Projects: Initiatives like the Astar Network and Soneium are central to Startale Labs' strategy for expanding Web3 technologies.
• Joint Venture with Sony: Startale Labs collaborates with Sony Group to develop the Soneium blockchain network, aiming to support next-generation decentralized applications.

The Bulk

Samsung Next's recent investment in Startale Labs underscores the company's confidence in Startale's ability to make an impact in web3. Startale Labs focuses on building essential tools that simplify the deployment of decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts, making web3 more accessible to developers and businesses.

Startale Labs' projects, such as the Astar Network, are designed to enhance interoperability across various blockchain networks, promoting a seamless digital ecosystem. A key Astar Network initiative is the Soneium blockchain network, developed in partnership with Sony Group, which aims to support innovative dApps with robust, scalable infrastructure. 

🎤 Founder Feedback

🔜 What's Next?

With Samsung Next's backing, Startale Labs is poised to advance its key projects, such as enhancing the Astar Network and expanding the capabilities of the Soneium blockchain. 

For more web3 and NFT news, visit the Lucky Trader newsfeed.

Yesterday Coindesk published excerpts from the World Liberty Financial white paper, the project touted by Donald Trump and his sons recently on X.

The protocol looks to be a crypto borrowing and lending service (similar to Dough Finance) and will include a token WLFI.

Built on Ethereum and its DeFi platform Aave, the project will look to include a "credit account system," while other aspects of the white paper describe it more as a crypto brokerage service.

Here are some other core details for the project:

• Built by 4 team members from Dough Finance (recently hacked for $2M)
• Early GitHub shows code directly lifted from Dough Finance
• Barron Trump identified as its "DeFi visionary"
• Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are listed as "Web3 Ambassadors"
• An LLC for the project is registered to Zachary Folkman (Head of Operations) who is the co-creator of Subify (censorship free competitor to Patreaon & OnlyFans)
• Includes a non-transferable governance token $WLFI
• Gabriel Shapiro's law firm MetaleX Pro is receiving 1.3% of $WLFI for their role as legal counsel

So a recently hacked protocol's (Dough Finance) fingerprints are all over this one, with 4 team members and the code base existing in early GitHub.

Barron Trump (18 years old) is the visionary behind it.

And they're launching a token, albeit non-transferable.

I'm sure ETH DeFi maxis are on the edge of their seats for this one.

Why It Matters

Trump is running a hotly contested campaign which is basically a coin flip 2 months out from the election (Polymarket has it at 52-47 Trump right now).

There isn't much room for error.

And the crypto base is almost unanimously voting his way (at least it seems on Crypto Twitter). At least, as of right now.

But running out a haphazard DeFi protocol ahead of the election which 1) is a cheap copy of a protocol that didn't see much success or worse 2) gets hacked and hurts users, is a bad outcome.

Trump does not want to lose the crypto vote in such a tight election where a few thousand votes in a few key states can swing everything.

Yet his team seems to be acting fairly recklessly here.

The best advice for them? Push out any more launch details until mid-November.

We will see if they take it.

🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• ETH led NFT trading volume with $4.5M on the day; Solana was next with $2.1M, and then BTC with $1.4M
• ETH NFT leaders were red on the day following crypto majors; Pudgy -2% at 10.3 ETH, BAYC -5% at 11.3 ETH, Azuki -1% at 4.77, Milady -5% at 3.29
• Winds of Yawanawa (+90%) and San FranTokyo (+46%) were other notable top movers
• BTC NFT leaders were red; NodeMonkes -3% at 0.1116 BTC, Puppets -3% at 0.078 BTC, Quantum Cats even at 0.242
• The Runes leaders were red; DOG -3% at $252M mc, RSIC -8% at $58M mc, PUPS -6% to $29M
• Solana NFTs were slightly red; Mad Lads -2% at 60 SOL, SMB Gen 2 even at 24, DeGods -4% at 26
• The NFT-funded film "Calladita" will be listed on Netflix Spain starting on Sept 11, according to Director Miguel Faus
• Jenkins the Valet announced it is no longer pursuing the Writer's Room or Azurbala, will focus on other opportunities
• Rocktoshi revealed that he was a co-founder of Ordinals along with Casey Rodarmor (no impact to NodeMonkes floor price)

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here's a rundown of major token or airdrop news from the day:

🌎 Around Crypto and Web3

A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are very red following a bad day in stocks; BTC -4% at $56,550; ETH -4% at $2,400, SOL -4% at $128; RLB was a notable top mover, up 17% to $180M on the day
• Memecoin majors are more red with DOGE -4%, PEPE -7%, WIF -8%, BONK -8%, MOG -8%
• Bitcoin funding rates have hit January 2023 lows, along with google search trend results for Bitcoin
• The SEC fined crypto investment firm Galois Capital for keeping funds with Fireblocks, a non-qualified custodian
• The FBI has released an alert that North Korea is aggressively targeting the crypto industry, including ETF providers, with social engineering attacks
• Arbitrum introduced Stylus, creating a new interoperable coding environment for any languages that compiled down to WASM
• Avalanche announced a major upgrade to Avalanche9000 unlocking "an expansive world of purpose-built blockchains," making it more economical and easier to customize building on top of Avalanche
• Samsung announced support for Startale and its mission to make web3 more accessible globally, along with participation in Soneium's Spark incubation program

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $POX (+240%, $22M market cap, SOL)
• $SHIT (+42%, $10M market cap, SOL)
• $VISTA (+39%, $24M market cap, ETH)
• $NEIRO (+20%, $35M market cap, ETH)
• $MAGA (+10%, $42M market cap, ETH)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Winds of Yawanawa (89%, 7.55 ETH Floor)
• Cryptomnesia (50%, 1.5 ETH)
• San FranTokyo Genesis (46%, 0.24 ETH)
• San FranTokyo Visions (44%, 0.07 ETH)
• Creepz (30%, 1.69 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events

Today is a slower day of new mints.

Ruben is the meme card artist and Floor is back for their weekly drop.

Otherwise, expect more focus on macro action and crypto majors to drive beta action, one way or another.

See the full list and dive in for more details with Swizzy's daily mint monitor. 

• Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET)
• Yoshi Sodeoka x SOLOS x Verse (1:00 p.m. ET)
• Floor Icons Series 4 Drop 6 (1:00 p.m. ET)
• CatsPetsZero (1:00 p.m. ET)

Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.

Avalanche announced Avalanche9000, its most significant network upgrade since its mainnet launch, designed to make launching Layer 1 (L1) blockchains more feasible and scalable.

The Deets

• Avalanche9000: A major network upgrade featuring Avalanche’s unique consensus mechanism for near-instant finality.
• Customization: Offers builders full control to create L1 blockchains with custom staking economics, gas tokens, and more.
• Interoperability: Enhanced with Avalanche Interchain Messaging (ICM) for seamless communication and shared liquidity between L1 chains.
• Developer Support: Launching a testnet environment soon, along with incentives and rewards for early builders.

The Bulk

Avalanche, a leading blockchain platform known for its high-speed and low-cost transactions, is rolling out Avalanche9000. This upgrade marks a pivotal shift in how developers can build and scale their blockchain applications. The central feature of Avalanche9000 is its ability to make launching a dedicated L1 blockchain simpler, more economically viable, and more efficient.

Avalanche9000 introduces customizable options for developers, allowing them to tailor staking rules, gas tokens, and other blockchain parameters to fit their specific needs. This flexibility ensures that businesses and developers can create blockchain solutions without the constraints traditionally imposed by existing platforms.

The introduction of Avalanche Interchain Messaging (ICM) as part of this upgrade is a game-changer. ICM facilitates interoperability between all Avalanche L1s, enabling them to operate independently while still benefiting from a shared liquidity pool. This creates a cohesive network where each new chain enhances the scalability and utility of the entire ecosystem.

🔜 What's Next?

The Avalanche9000 testnet will soon be launched, offering developers a chance to explore these new features and prepare for mainnet deployment. Builders should watch for Retro9000 rewards and Bounty9000 initiatives designed to incentivize early adoption and innovation.

🎬 Take Action

Developers interested in Avalanche9000 should prepare to engage with the upcoming testnet and explore the opportunities for innovation and rewards available through the program.

For more web3 and NFT news, visit the Lucky Trader newsfeed.

Pump dot Fun hit a major milestone over the weekend, crossing $100M in lifetime revenue.

The kicker?

They did it in 6 months.

That incredible run to $100M makes Pump dot Fun one of the most successful crypto apps of all time (Rollbit technically hit $100M faster).

They have found clear product market fit in making the launching of memecoins and trading of them in-app as easy as possible.

And given their success, it should be no surprise that new competitors have entered the scene.

Pump Fun's Newest Competitor - Ethervista

The Ethereum memecoin ecosystem has been strikingly different from Solana this cycle.

Why?

Many fewer options to choose from.

While Pump was launching 10k+ memes per day on Solana, Ethereum saw an order of magnitude less.

That may be about to change.

Ethervista launched over the weekend, with its native coin VISTA soaring to a $25M market cap ($16M at time of writing).

Here's how it works:

• Users must create their own coin's contracts (Ethervista doesn't do this)
• Ethervista does help with the Luanch, providing users with LP tokens from their own DEX (users decide to burn or not)
• The Ethervista DEX has hard-coded buy/sel fees that go to the LP and to the coin creator

Because of the native DEX, many are comparing Ethervista more to Uniswap than Pump Fun.

And the DEX is important, as it uses a portion of its fees to autobuy and burn its native VISTA token, with 2.17% burned forever already. 

Market Impact

Ethervista has created its own ecosystem of memecoins on ETH, now findable via the multi-colored Ethereum symbol on Dex.

The ecosystem was booming into Monday, but has since pulled back a bit.

• VISTA is the clear leader, running to $25M+ on Monday before pulling back overnight (now at $16M)
• BONZI was one of the first meme runners, up 33% to $1.2M mc on the day
• VISTADOG was the first dog-meme and is holding at $900k

Overall only 1 meme (BONZI) is over $1M mc this morning.

It's going to need to see more winners than that to draw more interest, but it's still very early.

Interestingly, ETH meme leaders like PEPE and MOG are underperforming their Solana competitors on the day. This will be another interesting trend to track in the Ethervista era.

Will Ethervista be able to go on a Pump-esque run? How will it impact the broader ETH meme ecosystem?

Time will tell. Stay tuned...

🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• ETH led NFT trading volume with $3.M on the day; Solana was next with $2.3M, and then BTC with $1.7M
• ETH NFT leaders were slightly red on the day; Pudgy -1% at 10.6 ETH, BAYC -1% at 11.9 ETH, Azuki -1% at 4.8, Milady -3% at 3.45
• Punks down 10% from local highs at 27.5 ETH after whale holder liquidates 20 Punks
• Eggs from the CryptoKitties team were the runner of the weekend, moving over 36x to a 0.36 ETH floor (from a sub 0.01 ETH mint)
• Pebbles (+90%) and Remnants (+22%) were other notable top movers
• BTC NFT leaders were mixed; NodeMonkes even at 0.12 BTC, Puppets +6% at 0.08 BTC, Quantum Cats -1% at 0.242, Pizza Ninjas +3% at 0.144, OMB even at 0.16
• The Runes leaders were mostly green in a welcome rebound; DOG +2% at $272M mc, RSIC -17% at $66M mc, PUPS -3% to $32M
• Solana NFTs mostly chopped; Mad Lads even at 61 SOL, SMB Gen 2 even at 24, DeGods -4% at 27
• Yuga cofounder Garga revealed The Workshop, a team of elite builders inside Yuga with products coming to Apechain soon

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here's a rundown of major token or airdrop news from the day:

🌎 Around Crypto and Web3

A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are slightly green; BTC +1% at $59,030; ETH -1% at $2,510, SOL +2% at $134
• Memecoin majors are more green with DOGE +2%, PEPE +1%, WIF +9%, BONK +3%, MOG -1%
• Ethereum daily revenue reached a 2024 low over the weekend and is now down 90% YTD
• A Bloomberg article cited that crypto owners are more likely to be psychopaths than normal people
• Base monthly active users hit 14M over the weekend, up from just 4M in June 2024
• Donald Trump teased the family's next crypto project World Liberty Financial, with plans to connect users to "decentralized finance's best tools for secure, high-yield crypto investments"

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $POX (+47%, $22M market cap, SOL)
• $WOLF (+40%, $18M market cap, SOL
• $RYU (+34%, $20M market cap, ETH)
• $r/snoofi (+34%, $18M market cap, SOL)
• $GINNAN (+30%, $16M market cap, SOL)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• EGG (85%, 0.36 ETH Floor)
• Pebbles (84%, 1.75 ETH)
• Pudgy Puppets (45%, 0.04 ETH)
• Remnants (22%, 6.66 ETH)
• Early Retired Cats Club (21%, 0.11 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events

Today is a slower day of new mints, mostly focused on Bitcoin.

The highlight is definitely the launch of Predict Dot Fun today on Blast. The new prediction market offers native yield and 900k in Blast Gold as incentives in its first month.

See the full list and dive in for more details with Swizzy's daily mint monitor. 

• BIT L'ORDS (9:00 a.m. ET)
• kerishaBTC (11:00 a.m. ET)
• For the Culture (11:00 a.m. ET)
• Predict dot Fun - launch (12:00 p.m. ET)

Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.

Yesterday, OpenSea announced it has received a Wells Notice from the SEC and is expecting a lawsuit over their belief that NFTs are securities (and OpenSea enabled the selling of said securities).

This is not the first time NFTs have come under fire, with the SEC seeing prior success coming after individual founders like Tom Bilyeu and his Impact Theory collection and Mila Kunis's Stoner Cats.

But this is the first time the SEC has come after a marketplace like OpenSea with more broad, sweeping charges.

And the SEC has not provided any additional detail on which specific NFT projects or types of NFTs might fall under scrutiny.

OpenSea is pledging $5M to cover legal fees for any artists and/or developers which may also receive Wells Notices to "ensure creators can continue innovating without fear."

So they are fighting the good fight.

What Are They Saying?

This is unsurprisingly a very hot topic on Crypto Twitter and beyond.

Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea commented in a long announcement post:

"Cryptocurrencies have long been in the crosshairs of the SEC...

But this is a move into uncharted territory. By targeting NFTs, the SEC would stifle innovation on an even broader scale: hundreds of thousands of online artists and creatives are at risk, and many do not have the resources to defend themselves."

Congressmen are weighing in as well.

Pro-crypto Democrat Wiley Nickel called the SEC's approach "regulation by enforcement" and "a blatant abuse of power that erodes trust and transparency in our regulatory system."

He went further to say actions like this could "derail the progress driving digital innovation in the United States."

A spokesman for the pro-crypto lobbying group the Blockchain Association, Jake Chrevinsky, commented:

"The idea that a financial markets regulator established in the 1930s would have jurisdiction over digital art in the 2020s defies not only common sense, but also the SEC's statutory authority."

It's hard to argue with any of those statements - but this case does have more nuance.

Why It Matters

For starters, it's a shame that SEC is going after OpenSea in this way.

Are all NFTs securities? Definitely not.

Is digital art a security? No, cmon.

Is a 10k PFP collection with a team driving it that raises $30M+ to execute a roadmap, and perhaps goes as far as offering dividends to holders, a security? Probably yes.

In reality, several 2021-era NFTs did likely operate as securities (based on the Howey Test).

The question is - should OpenSea be held accountable for that, or the individual project founders?

I lean the latter.

OpenSea has done what seems like a good job at complying with the SEC and removing collections deemed securities (i.e. Stoner Cats, Impact Theory, etc.).

And complying with Sanctions regulations by removing art from Iranian artists, for example. But the reality it, OpenSea was the wild west in 2020, early 2021, where anything and everything was available for sale.

Iranian artists were featured on OpenSea's home page back in 2021 (it's illegal for US citizens to make direct purchases from anyone in Iran due to Sanctions rules).

But they fixed it.

Which is why this case against them is so surprising, given their cooperation.

The optimist in me thinks this could still have a positive outcome, as we may have more clear regulations and a framework for moving forward for NFT marketplaces once this case is resolved.

Thankfully, OpenSea seems to be one of the best-positioned companies in Web3 to fight this fight, and go get this clarity for the broader space.

🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• ETH led NFT trading volume with $4.7M on the day; Solana was next with $3.4M, and then BTC with $1.7M
• ETH NFT leaders were mixed on the day; Pudgy -1% at 10.43 ETH, BAYC +1% at 13.15 ETH, Azuki +1% at 4.96, Milady -2% at 3.6
• Mid-tier Punks saw several nice sales on Wednesday in the 38-40 ETH range, while Gondi reported $1.125M in loan volume on Punks on the day (floor at 29.5)
• Party Bears (+67%) and The Undead (+60%) were other notable top movers
• BTC NFT leaders were mostly green; NodeMonkes even at 0.134 BTC, Puppets -1% at 0.093 BTC, Quantum Cats +3% at 0.279; Pizza Ninjas up another 10% to 0.159 BTC
• The Runes leaders were mostly red; DOG -2% at $285M mc, RSIC -5% at $69M mc, PUPS -7% to $46M
• Solana NFTs were slightly red; Mad Lads even at 55 SOL, SMB Gen 2 -1% at 27, DeGods -3% at 30
• Doodles dropped "Certified Viral No. 2." with their new short "you blow me away," available for collecting and trading on Zora
• The NFLPA has sued DraftKings over its NFT fantasy game Reignmakers, claiming that DK owes them $65M
• Sam Spratt celebrated the 1-year anniversary of The Monument Game by teasing the next Chapter of Luci saying he looks forward to sharing it "as soon as it's ready"

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here's a rundown of major token or airdrop news from the day:

🌎 Around Crypto and Web3

A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors chopped on the day; BTC even at $59,700; ETH +1% at $2,540, SOL -1% at $145
• Memecoin majors also chopped with DOGE even, PEPE -1%, WIF -1%, BONK +1%, MOG +2%
• The TON blockchain went down again on Wednesday, marking the 2nd time in as many days
• Soneium introduced its Minato testnet and Spark Incubation details as Sony's new ETH L2 went live, with investments up to $100k per team and a laundry list of major partners
• Own the Doge announced a licensing deal with Revolut, putting the iconic Doge on new card designs
• In raise news, Lemniscap raised $70M in funding for early stage crypto project investing, and Solayer Labs raised $12M to expand Solana restaking 
• Cobie's Echo announced $10M invested into crypto startups, with their vision to provide open access to private crypto investing

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $PHIL (+77,000%, $72M market cap, ETH)
• $MUNCAT (+82%, $35M market cap, TRON)
• $NEIRO (+62%, $13M market cap, SOL)
• $APES (+54%, $29M market cap, SOL)
• $PORK (+32%, $45M market cap, ETH)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Cryptomnesia (310%, 0.98 ETH Floor)
• Party Bears (68%, 0.12 ETH)
• The Undead (65%, 0.74 ETH)
• Meebits (21%, 0.48 ETH)
• Treeverse (21%, 0.27 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events

Today is a busier day of mints as the velocity of new drops picks up.

The highlight is likely Danny Cole's Creature Cubes, the Creature World founder's new venture into NFTs with an ERC-404 collection dropping on Base.

See the full list and dive in for more details with Swizzy's daily mint monitor. 

• Pixel Packets (10:00 a.m. ET)
• Monkey Maxis (11:00 a.m. ET)
• FSIC (11:00 a.m. ET)
• Danny Cole - Creature Cubes (12:00 p.m. ET)
• Tiny Dinopunks (12:00 p.m. ET)

Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.

Sony Block Solutions Labs launched Soneium Minato Testnet, an Ethereum layer-2 testnet designed to empower web3 developers and drive blockchain innovation.

The Deets

• Public Testnet: Open to all developers and creators for building Web3 applications.
• Ethereum Compatibility: Utilizes tools familiar to Ethereum developers, enabling easy integration.
• Community Building: Early access allows developers to gather feedback and improve their apps.
• Soneium Spark: An incubation program with up to $100,000 in funding for projects on Soneium.

The Bulk

Sony Block Solutions Labs is making waves in the blockchain space with the launch of Soneium Minato, a public testnet that operates as an Ethereum layer-2 solution. This platform offers a fast, cost-effective environment for developers, aligning with Sony's broader vision of an open internet that crosses borders. With its Ethereum-compatible tools, Soneium Minato ensures a seamless development experience, attracting a diverse range of Web3 creators.

In tandem with the testnet, Soneium Spark, an incubation program, has been introduced to support the next generation of blockchain innovation. Backed by notable partners, including Astar Network, Optimism, Alchemy, Circle, The Graph, and Chainlink, the program aims to provide strategic support and funding opportunities to developers. Successful applicants can secure investments of up to $100,000 to fuel their projects, paving the way for sustainable long-term growth in the Web3 space.

🎬 Take Action

Developers interested in exploring the capabilities of Soneium Minato or applying for the Soneium Spark program should visit Soneium's documentation for more information.

🔜 What's Next?

Stay tuned for future updates from Sony Block Solutions Labs, including new partnership announcements and additional features on Soneium Minato, as the project evolves to meet the needs of the Web3 community.

For more web3 and NFT news, visit the Lucky Trader newsfeed.

The SEC has issued a Wells Notice to OpenSea, indicating potential legal action against the platform for allegedly offering unregistered securities through NFTs.

The Deets

• Legal Threat: The SEC's notice suggests NFTs on OpenSea might be classified as securities.
• Broad Impact: This action could affect hundreds of thousands of artists and creators who rely on NFTs.
• Industry Resistance: Major crypto platforms, including Coinbase and Uniswap, have faced similar enforcement efforts.
• OpenSea's Response: OpenSea pledges $5M to support NFT creators and developers against legal threats.

The Bulk

OpenSea is facing a legal challenge from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The agency has issued a Wells Notice, which signals potential enforcement action, asserting that some NFTs offered on OpenSea may be considered securities. This move by the SEC could set a precedent that not only affects OpenSea but also the entire NFT industry, which thrives on the creativity and innovation of digital artists, game developers, and collectors.

OpenSea’s commitment to defend the rights of creators is evident in its $5 million pledge to cover legal fees for NFT creators who receive similar notices. This initiative underscores OpenSea’s belief in the transformative power of NFTs, as evidenced by stories of student artists launching full-time careers and indie developers creating vibrant in-game economies through the platform.

🎤 Founder Feedback

🔜 What's Next?

The next steps for OpenSea include preparing for potential litigation while continuing to advocate for sensible regulation that acknowledges the unique nature of NFTs as creative assets rather than financial securities.

For more web3 and NFT news, visit the Lucky Trader newsfeed.