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In today’s edition:

• Nike's NFT team is goated

• Changes to the Mint List

• Three new drops

More info on Mint/Watch lists HERE.

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And for those curatooors out there, you can get free NFTs just by finding drops that end up on the Mint or Watch list.

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Nike's NFT team is goated

Context

Yesterday Nike announced a partnership between their .SWOOSH metaverse platform and Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite.

.SWOOSH members who connect their accounts to Epic Games by June 27, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET will receive a digital trophy that grants early access to Nike’s next drop, the Air Max Virtual Collection.

You don’t need to download the game to get it.

This is the second major partnership for .SWOOSH members after Nike announced an EA Sports collab earlier this month.

Our take

Here’s a classic story. Back in 1983, absolutely nobody wanted to hear the words “video game”.

Consumers were burned after a flood of low-quality titles, including E.T. by Atari, which is considered the biggest flop in gaming history.

As a result, sales dropped 97% from $3.2 billion to just $100 million.

This was horrible timing for Nintendo, who was trying to enter the market with their NES console. Retailers didn’t want to work with them, with one mall even saying that they attracted a “wrong sort of crowd”.

So what did they do? They tried their best to avoid any links to traditional gaming. They made sure to never use the term “video game”, and instead labeled it an entertainment system. And the NES wasn’t called a console at all, but a control deck. (more on this story here)

This worked. Eventually, enough people bought the NES to encourage Nintendo to keep investing in the U.S. Then they launched Super Mario Bros in 1985, which became a huge hit, and the rest is history.

I’m seeing the same today with Nike and NFTs. Nike was the first major brand to jump into NFTs, first with a “Cryptokicks” patent in 2019, and then with the acquisition of RTFKT in 2021.

They’re true believers, but the timing is tough

NFTs are a radioactive term for most people right now, partly due to the focus on hyperscarce ponzinomics and the spread of low-effort scams in the last couple of years.

So what are they doing? They’re selling NFTs without bringing attention to the fact that, well, they’re NFTs.

When you connect your .SWOOSH and Epic Games accounts you’re getting an “Account Linking Achievement”. You can then use this to later access their next “.SWOOSH Virtual Collection”.

It’s a striking parallel to Nintendo.

This seems to be working. Fortnite tweeted about the collab from their official Twitter, which got over 1 million views and received minimal pushback from what I can tell. Somehow they’re navigating the minefield and getting people excited about digital collectibles.

And yet, I’m not sure most NFT collectors see the big picture here. Nike’s genesis Our Force 1 collection, which gets you access to future drops as well, didn’t even sell out (although it did sell 100k NFTs in this market).

Nike is trying to build the Web3 Holy Grail:

A large base of people seeking and buying NFTs for non-speculative reasons.

And they’re winning. They’ve mostly taken speculation out of the equation. The NFTs are untradeable (for now). The drops have large supplies. They don’t promise some life-changing utility. There are no lame Ponzi mechanics like staking or any other nonsense.

These are just cool digital items for people who like Nike, offered at a fair price.

What’s next

I’m guessing they’ll open up their own marketplace where these will finally be tradeable.

THEN, and this is just a guess, they’ll introduce scarce limited drops that sit at the top of the food chain. Patience though, we’ve learned that you can’t start at the end – you can’t pitch people a Lamborghini when they don’t even see a reason to be driving on any roads yet.

So props to Nike for seemingly doing all the right things, and also for convincing the big boys to play along too.

✨ Added to Watch List ✨

NOTE: These drops are lightly curated. Our only requirement is that they have recognizable founders. As usual, DYOR. To learn more go here.

Cre8ors Collective Passport

Cre8ors is an upcoming media brand created by DEFIENT, a web3 entertainment studio led by Sidney Swift. With their centerpiece PFP collection AiPEP (Artificially Intelligent Protocol-Enabled Picture), they’re aiming to build a community for web3 creators emphasizing collaboration.

The project’s first mint is the Cre8ors Collective Passport, a VIP membership limited to 888 units that’ll grant access to the AiPEPs later on. Right now it’s invite-only but starting June 30th any remaining supply will be available for public sale on Magic Eden.

Considering the high membership cost, we’ll have to see what additional content the project can produce leading into the mint.

Shadow Hats

An enigmatic Ordinals collection emerges with Shadow Hats, a creation from the makers of Forgotten Runes, featuring inscription numbers under the 1,000 mark.

This could certainly be a drop to watch, given the current 0.85 BTC floor on sub 1k inscriptions and the enduring strength of the almost 2-year-old ETH genesis collection Forgotten Runes, but we’re still waiting on full-fledged details for now.

Bubbles by Santiago Grau

Santiago Grau, a 3-time Art Blocks artist, will be making his artistic debut on Wildxyz later this month with Bubble, a generative dynamic collection focused on the ephemerality of the value of art.

A set of hidden transaction rules are placed on the pieces, which differ from token to token. When any of these rules is broken by a collector (e.g. by either holding a piece too long or selling it too soon) the Bubble bursts, dramatically changing its appearance.

Quite a fun one, innit?

The Mint List

1. Taproot Wizards. OG Bitcoin meme inscribed as ordinals

2. Project Animus. RTFKT's biggest launch since Clone-X

3. Symbiogenesis. Square Enix's upcoming gaming NFT

4. Garbage Friends. New PFP from the creator of Invisible Friends

5. 10KTF PFP. Drop from a team that includes Yuga and Beeple

6. Dimensionals - EVE. Free gaming PFP from doxxed studio

7. Tony Babel x Typical Friends. Limited edition from the popular artist

8. Ether. Anime PFP collection by viii, an artist with a cult following

9. World Flag by Gerrard. AB x Pace drop featuring an established artist

10. Dopamine Machines. Delightful satire from the 5-time AB artist

Adidas announced they were pausing their Adidas Original X Fewocious drop after recent allegations made against the artist.

Because of this we’ve dropped Fewoworld from the Mint List and removed the Adidas collection entirely until a resolution or verdict is found.