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

Prohibition Art aims to pioneer diverse digital art forms and community rewards on Base as part of new expansion efforts. 

The Deets

• Expanded Art Forms: Beyond generative, embracing varied digital expressions.
• Launching MOONSHINE: A gamified rewards system that drives artist and collector engagement.
• Strategic Expansion: Prohibition plants its flag on Base and Farcaster for broader impact.
• Art Meets Innovation: Emphasizing sustainable support over speculative gains.

The Bulk

Prohibition Art is broadening its horizons by embracing a wider spectrum of digital art forms and expanding its activity to Base. The new initiative also includes a new community rewards program, dubbed MOONSHINE, aiming to answer for community-centric, sustainable monetization methods.

With its expansion to the Base blockchain, Prohibition aims to enhance its technological footprint and community interaction capabilities and move beyond generative art. This move is complemented by a simultaneous launch on Farcaster, setting the stage for deeper, real-time community engagement. 

🎤 Founder Feedback

🔜 What's Next?

Prohibition plans to roll out tiered rewards, special quests, and community challenges within MOONSHINE, aiming to enhance the NFT experience through more interactive and integrated community involvement.

🎬 Take Action

Ready to explore the new frontier of digital art with Prohibition? Sign up for MOONSHINE to get started. 

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

Blur officially launched a new NFT marketplace on Blast, offering Blast Points and 2 million in GOLD rewards.

The Deets

• Chain Switching: Trade Blast NFTs by switching chains directly on Blur
• Blast Points and GOLD: Earn points through listing, bidding, and purchasing NFTs
• Points Hidden: The farming rewards remain hidden until end of the season. 

The Bulk

Blur unveiled the addition of Blast L2, allowing users to trade Blast NFTs on the leading ETH NFT marketplace. By participating with Blur on Blast, traders can earn Blast Points, which accumulate through active trading and bidding on NFTs. 

In addition to the Blast Points, Blast allocated a substantial sum of 2 million GOLD to incentivize early adopters and frequent traders on the platform. 

Users that deposit to the Blur Pool on Blast will still earn the native yield that is fundamental to the Blast L2. This native yield will be used for future creator rewards and trader giveaways. 

One wrinkle to Blast's inclusion on Blur is that the points earned from trading will remain hidden until the end of the season, keeping farmers in the dark about exactly how they're earning points and which activities will be most fruitful. 

📊 By the Numbers

As part of the launch, Blast has committed to distributing 2 million GOLD to active traders on the platform. 

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

Animoca Brands is teaming up with Saakuru Labs to integrate gasless blockchain technology into its gaming platforms. 

The Deets

• Strategic Integration: Saakuru Labs' L2 Protocol to support various Animoca Brands games
• Technological Advancements: Utilization of zero-transaction-fee technology for seamless gameplay
• Market Expansion: Focus on growing Animoca Brands' presence in the rapidly expanding Southeast Asian gaming market
• Developer Support: Saakuru's infrastructure to facilitate easier Web3 integration for game developers

The Bulk

Animoca Brands announced a strategic partnership with Saakuru Labs, known for its L2 Saakuru Protocol. This alliance is set to integrate selected Animoca games into the Saakuru ecosystem, leveraging its gasless transaction capabilities.

The partnership aims to transform the gaming landscape by enabling real-time, on-chain gaming experiences free from the usual transaction fees and delays, a common barrier in blockchain gaming. Animoca is targeting the vibrant Southeast Asian market, where blockchain technology is rapidly gaining traction yet often hindered by economic factors like high gas fees.

Saakuru Labs will provide essential infrastructure that simplifies the incorporation of blockchain features into games, reducing the barrier for developers transitioning from traditional gaming platforms to innovative web3 environments. This initiative not only accelerates the development cycle but also enhances the gaming experience by making it more accessible and engaging.

🎤 Founder Feedback

🔜 What's Next?

With the partnership now official, expect to see the integration of Saakuru's technology across Animoca's gaming platforms, with several launches slated for the coming months. 

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

Today's Morning Minute is brought to you by Arcade, the leading protocol for NFT lending.

Arcade allows users to hold on to their NFTs and still get liquidity when needed via their flexible time-based lending terms.

They changed the game with their Smart Vaults, allowing users to store their NFTs in vaults during the loan process - enabling them to claim airdrops sent to the NFT after paying off the loan.

It's a major unlock.

The protocol has seen an explosion in user growth (+130%) and monthly loans (+300%) over the past 8-9 months as more and more users find the platform.

And of course - users are being rewarded.

Lending and borrowing on the Arcade protocol earns points which convert to $ARCD tokens.

So check Arcade out today, give or take some liquidity and start earning!

🙈 Blur Launches On Blast

"Time for something new. April."

That was the tweet from the Blur account back on Feb 29 that tipped everyone off for the potential launch of Blur on the Blast L2.

On the final day of April, it finally happened.

And it came with some big incentives (and likely implications).

What Happened?

Yesterday Blur officially introduced its platform on Blast.

Highlights from the announcement:

• Users simply toggle a switch at the top of the UI to switch from ETH to Blast
• Depositing to the Blur pool on Blast continues to earn native yield 
• 2M Blast Gold* (~$20M at current prices) will be distributed to Blur traders on Blast (list, bid, trade to earn)
• A new "NFTfi" Blast multiplier was introduced, providing a 2x for using Blur or other NFTfi apps on Blast (like nftperp, Wasabi, etc.)

*The twist with the Blast Gold rewards - no points will be revealed until the end of May.

This means farmers will be flying blind, leading to some likely chaos in the market.

Market Impact

Chaos is probably the correct term for the first few hours of NFT trading on Blast.

Several leading NFTs saw major spikes then full roundtrips as Blast-front runners sold into the pump, and incentivized sellers simply listed and moved on.

OSF's PAC REKT collection is the top winner after day 1, jumping 50% to 0.28 ETH on a whopping 4,000 ETH volume.

Plutocats jumped 10% to 1.5 ETH leading notable floors.

The volume numbers are not to be trusted, as reports of rampant wash trading have been circulating already.

And with no fees and no royalties on trades, and no visible points system to track rewards - expect that to continue.

The impact on ETH NFTs - well none so far.

The large crypto dip pulled down ETH NFTs with them and that impact likely overshadowed any potential impact of this Blast announcement.

Many are calling for ETH projects to bridge to Blast - we'll see if any teams make the move.

Why It Matters

At the highest level, we may be approaching the Blur incentives end game.

Season 3 ends with the Blast launch coming in May, and it's unclear if the standing ETH NFT trading incentives will continue past that point.

That's a major potential impact for the ETH NFT market.

The Blur team will also have to find a way to prop up its token, which has fallen over 50% from local highs to just $0.37 ($590M mc) into the last month of Season 3.

The staking rewards given to BLUR stakers were seemingly outweighed by the Blast Gold farming opps, which in many cases were less risky than holding $BLUR.

As for the next month, it's going to be a chaotic sprint.

NFT Stats has the 66,666 Blast Gold/day as $1.2M in incentives, per day.

That's a big carrot and many feel "behind" in the Blast Gold farm - they will go hard at this.

And the rules are pretty murky with no visible points, leading to the chaos.

Get your popcorn ready for what will be a wild month on Blast.

🚚 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 $8.5M on the day (-2%); BTC was next with $6.8M (-10%) and then Solana with $2.8M (-10%)
• ETH NFT leaders were mostly red after crypto tumbled; BAYC -7% at 12.55 ETH, MAYC -13% at 2.2, Pudgy -4% to 11
• Azuki was the lone bright spot, jumping 4% to 5.05 ETH after the debut of their new Anime series was received very well
• Runestones led the BTC NFT board with just 8.8 BTC, rallying 20% to 0.02 BTC; new project BLIFSTONE reached 0.015 BTC in debut
• BTC PFP leaders were mostly stable as the Merlin Unlock continues; Bitcoin Puppets -20% at 0.24, NodeMonkes at 0.312, OMB at 0.42 BTC, Quantum Cats at 0.369
• Solana NFTs were mostly red on the day; Mad Lads even at 90 SOL, Tensorians -10% at 12.7, Mall Street -20%
• Blast NFTs saw an explosion in volume after the Blur on Blast debut; PAC REKT is top winner at 0.28 ETH, then Pluto Cats at 1.5
• Yuga announced an Otherside townhall held in The Otherside this Thurs at 6 pm ET;  all ecosystem NFT holders can attend

💰 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 down bad this morning; BTC -6.4% at $57,555; ETH -4.7% at $2,886; SOL -6% at $121
• Memecoin majors were also mostly red; DOGE -9%, WIF -7%, PEPE 12%, BONK -9%; ELON and BOOMER outperform
• Coinbase added support for Lightning Network on Bitcoin
• Binance founder CZ is getting 4 months in prison as a result of his most recent charges
• Prohibition Art is expanding to Base and launching MOONSHINE - a new community rewards program
• Pirate Nation announced a long-term partnership with Horizen Labs Ventures (known for its help in launching tokens)

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $ROCKY (+190%, $16M market cap, Base)
• $ELON (+90%, $21M market cap, ETH)
• $MANEKI (+18%, $94M market cap, Solana)
• $JOE (+17%, $9M market cap, ETH)
• $ROOST (+19%, $18M market cap, Base)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Infinigods (46%, 0.19 ETH Floor)
• QQL Mint Pass (29%, 2.97 ETH)
• VeeFriends (20%, 1.22 ETH)
• Kiraverse (13%, 0.18 ETH)
• Meebits (12%, 0.67 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals

Today is another big day of token claims and airdrops + mints.

The $NIM token and mainnet go live this morning, and then the Pacmoon Airdrop 3 this afternoon.

Fantasy Top is set to launch its mainnet this morning (pending no more delays).

And artists Sarah Zucker and Patrick Amadon are back with new drops.

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

• Fantasy Top (10:00 a.m. ET)
• Ether Pillar (10:00 a.m. ET)
• $NIM claim (10:00 a.m. ET)
• Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET)
• Sarah Zucker - Strabismus (12:00 p.m. ET)
• $PAC Season 3 airdrop (1:00 p.m. ET)
• Patrick Amadon - disobedient (3:00 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.

Moonbirds is building a comprehensive universe with new 3D avatars and a digital world called Volaria to help transform its brand. 

The Deets

• New Creative Direction: Led by award-winning artist Colin Hesterly.
• 3D Avatars: Built for animation and integration into virtual platforms like Otherside.
• Digital Space: Volaria will serve as a dedicated space for community interaction.
• Physical Collectibles: Partnerships are underway to bring Moonbirds into the physical world.
• Commercial Licenses: Moonbirds is ditching CC0. 

The Bulk

Moonbirds aims to fly from static NFTs to dynamic characters within an expansive digital home, Moonbirds Universe. Under the new artistic direction of Colin Hesterly, Moonbirds will not only adopt a new art style but also transition into animated 3D avatars. This development aims to enhance user engagement through high-quality animation and seamless integration into popular virtual environments, including Otherside.

Volaria, the newly introduced digital space, will provide a home for Moonbirds, offering a platform for owners to connect and immerse themselves fully in the evolving narrative. 

In addition to digital enhancements, Moonbirds is set to extend its reach into the physical world. Through strategic partnerships, they are planning to launch a series of collectibles, enriching the tangible aspect of ownership, which will be further showcased at an exclusive event adjacent to Apefest 2024 in Lisbon.

🎤 Project Prose

🔜 What's Next?

Keep an eye out for the official unveiling of Volaria and the new Moonbirds collectibles. 

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

The Eigen Foundation launched details of its $EIGEN token stakedrop for Season 1, opening claims on May 10, 2024.

The Deets

• Stakedrop Introduction: Season 1 of the EIGEN stakedrop allocates 5% of EIGEN tokens to eligible restakers.
• Non-transferable Phase: Initially, the EIGEN token will be non-transferable to foster community consensus on its unique staking features.
• Intersubjective Forking: Designed to address intersubjective faults, enhancing protocol security.
• Future Plans: Upcoming seasons will evaluate community engagement and contributions.

The Bulk

The Eigen Foundation aims to introduce a novel approach to staking with its $EIGEN token, emphasizing "intersubjective forking"—a mechanism to deal with non-objectively verifiable faults. This feature allows the EIGEN token to be forked within the EigenLayer without affecting Ethereum's mainnet consensus.

Initially, the token will not be transferable, focusing on building a robust community consensus around its novel features. This strategic move is part of the foundation's broader aim to enhance security and resilience within the EigenLayer ecosystem.

Despite being highly-anticipated, the community did not react super positively to the details surrounding EigenLayer's token distribution, mocking the company's preferable insider and VC terms. 

🎤 Community Quotes

📊 By the Numbers

5% of the initial EIGEN supply is designated for Season 1 of the stakedrop, targeting restakers who have supported the protocol's early stages.

🔜 What's Next?

Following the initial non-transferable phase, the Eigen Foundation plans to fully enable the token's functionalities, including its innovative forking capability, setting the stage for subsequent stakedrop seasons and increased community participation.

🎬 Take Action

Eligible participants in supported geographic regions should prepare to claim their $EIGEN tokens starting May 10, 2024, by visiting the official Eigen Foundation claims portal.

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

Either way, Wasabi has you covered.

With Wasabi's Perps markets, savvy traders can now win in any market conditions and earn points and Blast GOLD while doing so. 

It's a huge unlock.

They recently crossed $100M in cumulative trading volume on the platform, so traders are figuring it out.

So why not join them and start trading today, and earn those rewards!

📉 Hong Kong ETFs Disappoint In Debut

Expectations were high for the Hong Kong Bitcoin and ETH ETFs.

Those expectations grew yesterday after preliminary reports circulated saying that the HK big was going to be big.

Well, it was not.

And now Bitcoin has tumbled below $62,000 again in the wake.

What Happened?

The Hong Kong BTC ETFs closed their debut day with just $11M in volume.

This was a massive miss from expectations of $125M (besting the opening day for the US Bitcoin ETFs).

And one press conference summary showed expectations of $200M-$300M.

Even Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reported that HK was confident it could "outdo the US in Bitcoin ETF flows and volume on Day One)."

Well everyone was wrong. Now we pay the price.

Market Impact

Crypto majors were hit hard, and other beta assets, even harder.

• Bitcoin fell 1% on the day but ~5% from last night's high in the mid-$64,000s
• ETH and SOL fell 4%
• Most leading Solana memes fell 6-10% or more
• Bitcoin Runes fell harder, dropping 20-30%
• Ordinals leaders fell on the day as well, with NodeMonkes hitting 0.32 BTC

Not great.

Why It Matters

The week had a potential set up to be bullish.

Mutliple major airdrops were lined up, then delayed (FriendTech) or disappointed (Eigenlayer).

Hopes were high that HK would "save" the local Bitcoin support levels, but now that looks to be out the window as well.

More chop and decline seems to be in our future, barring some major surprise out of the FOMC meeting tomorrow.

Maybe it will be a "no screen" summer after all (here's to hoping it's not though)...

🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?

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

• ETH led NFT trading volume with $8.7M on the day (+37%); BTC was next with $7.3M (-20%) and then Solana with $3.1M (-16%)
• ETH NFT leaders were mixed with BAYC -10% at 13.75 ETH and MAYC -5% at 2.53, while Pudgy +4% to 11.8 and Azuki +5% to 4.85
• Moonbirds and Beanz were notable winners, jumping 20% each
• A Hoodie CryptoPunk sold for just 105 ETH ($333k), the lowest Hoodie sale since 2021 in ETH terms; the Punk floor is down to 36 ETH
• Moonbirds announced its Moonbirds Universe along with the puzzling decision to move to commercial rights and abandon CC0 (via a new art change)
• Pudgy Penguins announced the first 3rd party licensing deal for Orange Cap Games, bringing 200 Pudgy's into their upcoming trading card game
• Azuki will release "Enter the Garden: The Waiting Man" tomorrow live on YouTube at 1 p.m. ET
• Prometheans led the BTC NFT board with just 10 BTC volume but falling to 0.016
• BTC PFP leaders were mixed as the Merlin Unlock begins; NodeMonkes at 0.32, OMB at 0.42 BTC, Quantum Cats at 0.385, Bitcoin Puppets at 0.28
• Solana NFTs mostly chopped on the day; Mad Lads even at 90 SOL, Tensorians -4% at 14, Mall Street +35%, Wassieverse +45%
• Blast NFTs continued grinding up ahead of an expected Blur launch on Blast happening today (not confirmed); Blastopians at 0.185, Skellie at 0.075

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

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

🌎 Around Crypto and Web3

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

• Crypto majors are red this morning; BTC -1.4% at $61,5000; ETH -4.5% at $3,030; SOL -4.2% at $129
• Memecoin majors were also mostly red; DOGE -3%, WIF -8%, PEPE even, BONK -3%; ELON and BOOMER outperform
• The Hong Kong ETFs went live this morning in China, bringing in a disappointing $11M in volume compared to $100M+ expectations
• Coinbase Wallet announced its new Solana trading would be powered by Jupiter, bringing trading access for 80k+ Solana tokens to its users
• Morgan Stanley filed with the SEC to allow its customer to invest in the BTC ETFs, potentially unlocking their 15k+ brokers

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $ELON (+230%, $12M market cap, ETH)
• $BOOMER (+74%, $24M market cap, Base)
• $JOE (+29%, $7M market cap, ETH)
• $ANDY (+21%, $21M market cap, Base)
• $SEXY (+21%, $4M market cap, Base)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Mavia Land (22%, 0.32 ETH Floor)
• Moonbirds (21%, 0.7 ETH)
• Beanz (20%, 0.27 ETH)
• Pixelmon Trainers (15%, 0.37 ETH)
• San FranTokyo (10%, 0.37 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals

Today is a big day of token claims and events.

Both Kamino and NFTfi launch their claims today, with $KMNO going live for trading immediately and NFTfi including a 41-day lock up timer.

Azuki debuts the first episode of its highly anticipated anime series.

And there are several mints across Base and Bitcoin.

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

• $KMNO claim (8:00 a.m. ET)
• $NFTFI claim (8:30 a.m. ET)
• Azuki Enter The Garden (1:00 p.m. ET)
• Maxi Runes (3:00 p.m. ET)
• Based Angels (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.

OKX Jumpstart is offering a Runecoin mining opportunity for BTC stakers starting today, Apr. 29. 

The Deets

• Token Staked: BTC
• Token Earned: RUNECOIN
• Brief Runecoin Mining Period: April 29 to April 30, 2024
• Runecoin Trading: From Apr. 30 onward.

The Bulk

Starting this morning, OKX Jumpstart is allowing users to engage in a unique mining event where BTC can be staked to mine Runecoin tokens. This opportunity is designed to offer early access to Runecoin, one of the leading Bitcoin Runes. 

The mining period is set for a brief 24-hour window, but thereafter mined Runecoin is eligible to be traded on OKX, marking the first major exchange listing of a Bitcoin Rune. 

📊 By the Numbers

• Total RUNECOIN available for mining: 367,500,000 or ~$5.7 million at today's prices. 

🎤 Project Prose

🔜 What's Next?

Following the mining period, participants can expect RUNECOIN trading to commence tomorrow, Apr. 30. at 3:00 a.m. ET.

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

Today's Morning Minute is brought to you by Arcade, the leading protocol for NFT lending.

Arcade allows users to hold on to their NFTs and still get liquidity when needed via their flexible time-based lending terms.

They changed the game with their Smart Vaults, allowing users to store their NFTs in vaults during the loan process - enabling them to claim airdrops sent to the NFT after paying off the loan.

It's a major unlock.

The protocol has seen an explosion in user growth (+130%) and monthly loans (+300%) over the past 8-9 months as more and more users find the platform.

And of course - users are being rewarded.

Lending and borrowing on the Arcade protocol earns points which convert to $ARCD tokens.

So check Arcade out today, give or take some liquidity and start earning!

🗓 Crypto FUD As Big Week Looms

This is arguably the most important week of the year for the crypto space.

The biggest potential airdrop in crypto history is now rumored to come, along with several other major protocol token drops.

But it comes against one of the most unstable regulatory backdrops in a long time.

What Happened?

Let's start with the bad news.

On Friday, news spread that MetamMask parent company Consensys was suing the SEC after it was revealed the SEC had sent them a Wells Notice earlier in the month.

Wells Notices typically come before enforcement actions, like the ones the SEC has filed against Coinbase, Binance, etc.

For Consensys, the SEC alleges that they violated securities laws via MetaMask Swaps and Staking.

Later in the day, the DTCC filed a change to its Collateral Hairucts mandating that Bitcoin and other crypto should be marked down to 0 collateral value for loans.

Not great, although the DTCC headline seems to have less substance than the SEC one.

This all went down Friday as the Japanese Yen fell to its lowest value against the USD after BOJ decided to keep its interest rates unchanged.

Combined these headlines made for a shaky Friday night.

And really bad timing as the crypto market prepares for a massive week of token launches.

Airdrops SZN Heats Up

Here is the list of tokens expected to come this week:

• $DRIFT on Apr 29 
• $FRIEND on Apr 29 
• $RENZO on Apr 30 
• $KMNO on Apr 30
• NFTFI on Apr 30*
• $EIGEN on May 1**

*NFTFI will be claimable but not tradeable for 41 days

**Eigen is not yet confirmed, just speculated

The wildcard on that list if Eigenlayer which has $15B+ in TVL for the leading ETH restaking protocol.

If it does indeed airdrop this week, it could very well be the biggest one in crypto history. And many pointed to the ETH pump from Saturday as insider's buying ahead of that airdrop.

FriendTech v2 officially launches today with its $FRIEND expected to come as well (though also not confirmed). Given all of the influencers with big point totals, expect a ton of chatter around this one today (especially with Fantasy Top delaying).

And Solana sees a few major protocol airdrops this week with Drift and Kamino dropping their tokens, with Kamino likely to garner more attention.

It's a huge week with a massive potential influx of capital - if macro markets can cooperate behind the scenes.

Buckle up. It may be a bumpy ride...

🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?

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

• BTC led NFT trading volume with $7.2M on the day (-17%); ETH was next with $7M (+31%) and then Solana with $4.4M (-20%)
• Prometheans led the BTC NFT board with 43 BTC volume but falling ~70% after the runes snapshot
• RSIC pumped 15% to 0.048 BTC after its genesis RUNECOIN was listed on OKX Jumpstart
• Udi announced the OP_CAT proposal will go live on Bitcoin's "signet" this week, an upgrade that will enable a bigger crypto economy on BTC
• Ink announced its new INKUBATOR for builders (NFTs at 0.02)
• BTC PFP leaders dipped 5-10% on low volume; NodeMonkes at 0.34, OMB at 0.4 BTC, Quantum Cats at 0.4, Bitcoin Puppets at 0.28
• ETH NFT leaders were mixed with BAYC even at 15.2 ETH, Pudgy -6% to 11.4, Azuki +7% to 4.6 and MAYC -4% at 2.66; most closed the week up 15-25% still
• Mintify Genesis and Mocaverse were notable winners, jumping 19% and 9% respectively
• Solana NFTs were mostly green on the day; Mad Lads even at 90 SOL, Tensorians +10% at 14.8, Mall Street +19%, Saku +15%
• Blast NFTs were led by Skellie at 0.059 ETH, Blastopians jumping to 0.18 ETH & BAC Genesis Runner at 0.24
• 0xMaki launched the Hero Glyphs whitepaper along with a cross-chain scavenger hunt to mint the NFTs
• Yuga announced broad layoffs on Friday as the company looks to go back to its roots

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

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

🌎 Around Crypto and Web3

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

• Crypto majors are red this morning; BTC -1.9% at $62,370; ETH -3.5% at $3,170; SOL -4.7% at $135
• Memecoin majors were also mostly red; DOGE -5%, WIF even%, PEPE -6%, BONK -4%; MICHI and USA outperform
• Coolman's Universe debuted its $COOL token on Solana at $32M mc
• The SEC sent a Wells Notice to Consensys saying that it violated securities laws through MetaMask Swaps and Staking
• The DTCC declared that Bitcoin ETF collateral should be marked down to 0 in its latest Collateral Haircuts notice

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $COOL (+700%, $33M market cap, Solana)
• $MICHI (+55%, $55M market cap, Solana)
• $USA (+39%, $70M market cap, Solana)
• $PAC (+22%, $18.5M market cap, Blast)
• $KEYCAT (+17%, $39M market cap, Base)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Cecu Cube (35%, 0.32 ETH Floor)
• Mintify Genesis (19%, 0.12 ETH)
• Honey Comb (10%, 0.33 ETH)
• Mocaverse (9%, 4.08 ETH)
• Yogapetz (8%, 0.43 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals

Today is a huge day of events to kickstart the week.

Friend Tech v2 is set to launch (and potentially airdrop $FRIEND) along with the $DRIFT airdrop.

Prometheans is airdropping and launching its DECENTRALIZED runes today.

And new mints are picking back up across Bitcoin (gas fees are going back to normal) and Base (with artist Resaang highlighting).

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

• BitLads (7:00 a.m. ET)
• Ultiverse (8:00 a.m. ET)
• Petopia airdrop (10:00 a.m. ET)
• Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET)
• Resaang - Kintsugi (3:00 p.m. ET)
• Prometheans - DECENTRALIZED airdrop (TBD)
• Friend Tech v2 (TBD)
• $DRIFT airdrop (TBD)

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.

Are you ready to dive into the world of NFT trading but hesitant due to high entry barriers? Look no further than nftperp.

nftperp allows traders to go long or short NFTs with the click of a few buttons. 

And now it is officially live on Blast L2, providing a lower fee environment for traders along with:

• New "Degen Draw" raffle game

• Punks, Penguins and Milady's live for trading

• 100% of their Blast airdrop being shared with the community

• Additional $VNFTP rewards for traders

So start trading today.

💳 Stripe Unveils Onchain Settlement with USDC

"Crypto is back."

Some of us have been shouting it for a year.

But it's louder when people like John Collison, co-founder of Stripe ($65B payments giant) say it.

Actions speak louder than words though, and Stripe is backing up John with some big moves.

What Happened?

Yesterday Stripe announced that it is re-entering the crypto game and will global stablecoin payments.

This means that businesses using Stripe will be able to accept USDC, with onchain settlement, and will receive Fiat (USD) on their end of the transaction.

It's a massive unlock for Stripe and it's 300k+ integrated partners around the world.

The demo John walked through highlighted Phantom Wallet and executed the payment transaction on Solana (and showcased Solana's low fees).

After finishing the transaction, John also highlighted how the transaction was posted to the blockchain (pulling up Solscan to show the details).

How this will work:

• Stripe ends up taking the crypto (USDC) and settling with the business (who gets FIAT), effectively meaning that Stripe is buying the USDC
• Payments will be available on Solana, Ethereum and Polygon, with the business and/or customer able to choose
• Rollout begins this summer

What They're Saying

Some of John Collison's notable comments from the keynote:

"We’re excited to announce that we’re bringing back crypto as a way to accept payments, but this time with a much better experience."

“Crypto is finding real utility. With transaction speeds increasing and costs coming down, we’re seeing crypto finally making sense as a means of exchange.”

Notable collector (and crypto mega-whale) Batsoup shared deep comments in a thread:

"I've said in the past that corporations are the trojan horse for mass crypto adoption and that it would likely happen via payments."

He goes on to walk through the 2.5% credit card transaction fee and how crypto can solve it, along with the myriad of loyalty programs that blockchain enables for merchants.

And one more key point from Daniel Got Hits:

"The most insane part of the Stripe announcement isn’t just that you can pay in crypto…. It’s that the SELLER receives normal fiat. Aka, they don’t need to know or care that you paid in crypto."

Why It Matters

There's so much to unpack here, but this is one of the single most bullish crypto headlines of 2024.

A payments giant is re-embracing crypto after abandoning it 6 years ago, effectively saying that the user experience has improved enough to give it another shot.

That's a huge signal.

Merchants can accept crypto without even knowing it or without even liking crypto - and it doesn't matter for them because they settle in fiat.

Merchants who do choose to embrace it can do so with lower fees, and if they go down the rabbit hole, can get creative with loyalty programs as they'll have their customers' wallet data handy.

And the biggest winner here may be crypto maxis.

The biggest hurdle to keeping and holding crypto over the past decade has been balancing the need to spend money irl and the broad inability to do so with crypto.

Now that's changing.

The more irl goods and experiences that can be purchased direct with crypto, the less need holders will have to "sell" crypto for fiat.

There is a real path to holding and keeping wealth in crypto.

We aren't there yet, and it will take time - but the path is more clear than ever.

🚚 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 $27M on the day (+274%); BTC was next with $7.5M (even) and then Solana with $3.4M (-32%)
• ETH NFT leaders saw big green with BAYC +20% to 17 ETH, Pudgy +8% to 12.5, Azuki +14% to 4.6 and MAYC +35% at 3.2
• MAYC, BAKC and Moonbirds were notable winners, jumping 35% each
• Alien Punk 635 sold for 4,000 ETH ($12.4M) on Thursday in the 3rd Alien Punk to sell in the past 1 month (others at 4,859 ETH and 4,500)
• Prometheans led the BTC NFT board with 72 BTC volume, jumping 50% to 0.093 BTC ahead of their pending runes airdrop
• Ink was a big winner, rallying 4-% to 0.025 BTC
• BTC PFP leaders mostly chopped; NodeMonkes at 0.38, OMB at 0.42 BTC, Quantum Cats at 0.4, Bitcoin Puppets at 0.32
• A rare sat (the first sat) from this past Bitcoin halving sold for 33.3 BTC ($2.13M) at auction yesterday
• Solana NFTs were mostly red on the day; Mad Lads even at 90 SOL, Tensorians -7% at 13.3, Saku -30%
• Magic Eden officially expanded to Base on Thursday with a reduced 0.5% fee on transactions 
• Blast NFTs soared on the day led by Blastopians 3x'ing to 0.13 ETH after Wasabi announced a new quadruple farm with them via fractionalization

💰 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 this morning; BTC +0.7% at $64,200; ETH +1% at $3,130; SOL -1% at $143
• Memecoin majors were slightly green; DOGE +1%, WIF +3%, PEPE +4%, BONK +12%; POPCAT outperforms (+60%)
• Base memecoin leader BRETT fell 25% after inside trading allegations around the launch circulated
• Consensys is suing the SEC, citing "the SEC shouldn't be able to expand its jurisdiction and wrongly label ETH a security"
• Pantera announced its raising a $1B crypto fund, just a few days after writing that "memecoin trading creates gigantic opportunities"
• Robinhood Wallet's cross-chain swaps feature went live, allowing users to swap any tokens from supported chains onto Arbitrum's L2
• Immutable launched the biggest web3 gaming rewards pool ever with $50M in prizes

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $CHICK (+700%, $26M market cap, Base)
• $MICHI (+85%, $35M market cap, Solana)
• $BOOMER (+78%, $17M market cap, Base)
• $POPCAT (+60%, $520M market cap, Solana)
• $CATGPT (+53%, $26M market cap, Solana)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Skyborne (52%, 1.49 ETH Floor)
• BAKC (37%, 0.69 ETH)
• MAYC (34%, 3.29 ETH)
• Moonbirds (34%, 0.68 ETH)
• Grapes (33%, 0.28 ETH)

🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals

Today is a busier day of new mints and potential announcements.

Many have hinted that something big is coming from Blur and/or Blast today - so let's see if it delivers.

Frenpet is launching the next version of its app, and many PFPs are dropping across Base & Blast today.

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

• Oogaverse (9:00 a.m. ET)
• Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET)
• Frenpet new version (12:00 p.m. ET)
• sneaky - buddies (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.