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Headline News - Binance Gets Sued, Yuga Partners With Gucci, and Web3 Gaming Heats Up
Binance Sued By CFTC
Even slow weeks feel fast in the NFT space. First things first, some wider crypto news: Binance and CZ are being sued by the CFTC. The CFTC allege Binance knowingly offered unregistered crypto products to U.S. citizens and encouraged compliance evasion via VPN.
As part of its lawsuit, the CFTC wants Binance to repay allegedly ill-gotten gains that stem from the misconduct it is accused of. It also wants Binance to pay civil penalties and accept bans on trading, as well as its ability to register within the U.S.
CZ, however, appears confident Binance have little to worry about. He responded to the news by simply tweeting “4,”. The context? 4 is a reference to a past tweet of his that connects the number to “Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc.” Time will tell if Binance faces long-term consequences, or this lawsuit truly is short-term FUD with no real implications.
Yuga x Gucci Partnership, Otherside Updates
Yuga continues to drop big news after the second Otherside trip concluded, beginning with a multi-year Gucci partnership.
We’ve seen fashion and digital assets converge with RTFKT and Nike, while brands like Tiffany and Adidas have also got their feet wet. Admittedly, the success of fashion initiatives in web3 to date has been lukewarm. But if Yuga and Gucci can’t do it, who can? Two premier brands partnering for the long term helps cement the importance of web3 and NFTs in the broader crypto ecosystem, and that can’t be a bad thing.
What does the partnership look like? We’re still in the dark on a lot of the details. That said, it does appear that Gucci's perfume lines will feature heavily in the brand’s storytelling; both Yuga and Gucci tweeted an image of a Gucci-themed potion bottle in their announcements.
Next, Yuga announced Legends of the Mara, a 2D strategy game exploring the lore of The Otherside ecosystem. Fueled by ApeCoin, each Otherdeed holder will receive one “Vessel” NFT. Legends of the Mara is a great way for Yuga to keep Otherdeeds holders engaged while Otherside continues development—plus they’ll be able to play and earn. Otherdeeds were up 26% at 1.73 ETH as a result of the news.
Web3 Gaming Updates
Is web3 gaming getting closer? Perhaps Yuga’s Otherside is our biggest hope for new, web3-native IP. After all, never fade Yuga. But while Yuga’s moves will always capture headlines and community attention, we’re starting to see more moves from big players in the gaming space—despite tough market conditions.
Two giants, Polygon and Immutable, are partnering to create a new zkEVM network designed for web3 gaming. Immutable President Robbie Ferguson said “this is how the next billion users will be onboarded into Web3.” Polygon wasn’t done; the company also announced a major partnership with Nexon last Tuesday. Nexon will be building a “dedicated, application-specific Polygon Supernet’ to power the MapleStory Universe, a platform boasting 180M registered users and a robust in-game economy.
Away from Polygon, CCP Games announced a $40 million raise—led by A16z—to create a AAA blockchain-based MMO set in EVE Online’s universe. EVE Online is a huge existing IP that’s been around since 2003. While Otherside builds out IP from scratch, big investments and partnerships bringing web3 to existing IP bodes well as an alternative.
Popular streamer Dr Disrespect’s Deadrop is also leveraging NFTs as a tactic to engage gamers. The company dropped 10,000 Midnight Society Access Passes, which grant perks including a skin to be used in-game, voting rights on game features, and access to studio events. None of the NFT components are required to play, just simply an additional way for gamers to both customize and engage—think CS:GO weapon skins. It’s safe to say many gamers aren’t the biggest fan of NFTs; slow, familiar introductions like this might be a good approach right now.
Web3 gaming might still be a way off, but big brands experimenting with different approaches in the depths of a bear market keeps our hopes alive.
For full articles on all the above and much, much more, head into the sections below and click on the relevant links.
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Curated News - the biggest stories of the past week
BIGGEST NFT Sale: CryptoPunk #6036 - 209.95 ETH
Nike and RTFKT Dazzle Collectors with Physical Air Force 1 Sneakers
NFT Atlanta home sells for over $200K: https://tinyurl.com/ye3kev7s
President's Economic Report Blasts Crypto for 'Ignorance of Basic Economic Principles'
XRP Token Surges on Positive Outlook in Ongoing Ripple vs SEC Case
Sony's Latest NFT Patent Push Suggests Web3 Path for PlayStation
Gaming Giant Nexon Taps Polygon for NFT Game MapleStory Universe
Doodles have a 'sesh' and announce Mar 31 as Genesis Box day
Gaming Giant Nexon Taps Polygon for NFT Game MapleStory Universe
Educational: ZenAcademy’s 30 Days Of NFTs - Entry Level NFT Course
A word from our Founder: Welcome to ZenAcademy! and why to join
Talking Point - y00ts Migrate to Polygon
Frank and his projects (DeGods, y00ts) are as relevant as ever, but their relationship with Solana is coming to an end. DeLabs, the Los Angeles-based startup behind both projects, received a $3 million grant from Polygon to facilitate the move. y00ts began their Polygon migration today, while DeGods’ migration is just around the corner.
Do token holders have a choice to migrate? Yes, but no. y00ts transferred within 24 hours of migration opening were eligible for a BTC DeGod giveaway. The Solana collection will also have a 33.3% royalty fee imposed on all trades. Solana utility will be stripped; points, airdrops, and community access will be no longer. Every y00ts lister on Magic Eden Polygon will receive $5 in USDC—plus all trades are fee-free for 30 days. Essentially, migration is strongly incentivized.
When the announcement went out, y00ts’ floor dropped around 15% (139 SOL, $2,860, 1.6 ETH). It’s since recovered to 1.8 ETH, and migration appears to have been a smooth process for all. Bigger picture sentiment appears mixed. Leaving Solana is seen as risky given y00ts and DeGods found—and maintained—great success on the chain. Some community members think a move away from Solana could hurt it’s brand identity among a sea of ETH giants. But the argument around betting on Ethereum long term has merit. Solana is arguably less culturally relevant, and DeLabs loves culture. One thing is for certain, migration or not: Frank talks a good game. We’ll keep a close eye on how both projects perform in the coming weeks and months.
So far, so good:
Zeneca’s Tip Of The Week:
AIRDROP FARM LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT
Seriously. There is NO better way to spend your time and energy, if you have a small-medium bankroll, than to actively explore all the potential airdrops out there. Time and time and time again, platforms drop 4 or 5 figures of value to users, and usually all it takes is spending a bit of time + a small amount of money poking around their ecosystem.
At any given time there are a plethora of potential airdrops to farm for. Many of them will result in nothing, or a nominal amount of money - but every now and then you strike gold and get an Arbitrum, Blur, ENS, Optimism, PRIME, and so on.
Fortunately we have an airdrop wizard part of our team at ZenAcademy (@phalanx) and he has set up a forum especially to help people stay on top of all the drops. Access is exclusive in our Discord for those who have a ZenAcademy Genesis, ZenChest, or 333 club token.
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Note: All links in the above text are referral links; by using them you are directly supporting the ZenAcademy Community. Thanks for your ongoing support.
ZenAcademy & 333 Club Noticeboard
ZenAcademy Community News
Introducing ‘Who Wants To Be A Zillionaire?’ This fun quiz game will run twice a week during ZenDaily, on Tuesdays and Thursdays! Three contestants are chosen live from the audience, and are asked six questions. If you answer right, you get a prize. You can then take that prize, or try and answer another question for a better prize. Make it all the way and you could land yourself a ZenChest. But answer wrong, and you lose everything.
Impact Theory, our friends and partners, have invited us to a virtual event unlike any other! They've teamed up with Raoul Pal and Real Vision to offer you The Festival of Learning, which will be held on March 30th and 31st. Along with 15 other brilliant thinkers, Tom Bilyeu is a featured guest! Normally a $399.00 event, it is now available for FREE this year!
The ZenAcademy community has exclusive access to this event as an Impact Theory partner, and we encourage you to register using this link: https://www.realvision.com/impacttheory/festival-of-learning-2023
ZenAcademy’s Student IDs are here and available for everyone! We’re so excited to have rolled this out, with over 13,700 Student IDs already claimed. This is a FREE access point into our community for anyone wants to join. If you’ve not done so yet, Claim your token here: https://zenacademy.com/enroll. Remember, these are Soulbound NFTs which means that they cannot be sold or transferred out of the wallet that mints them. Also, the supply is unlimited which means that you do not need to rush.
ZenAcademy - Latest Content Releases
YouTube Video: The Importance Of Asking Questions In Web3 - Zeneca at MET AMS
Zeneca Newsletter: Letter 36: All about ERC-4337
Zeneca Newsletter: Letter 37: SVB & USDC
YouTube Shorts: The Future of NFTs: Embracing Subscription Models
YouTube Shorts: Building Real Communities vs Ponzi Schemes
ZenAcademy Regular Events
The ZenDaily Show hosted by Zeneca and Emileevee, every Mon-Fri (at 10:30am EST). This space is all about education, information and entertainment. It has a focus on Web3 education, topical perspectives, and being a forum for the ZA community and beyond to join in and discuss what’s going on in the web3 world. Additionally, Zeneca will be doing what he does best: distilling complicated information into easily digestible bites.
Wellness Wednesdays - Hosted by @Kit777 every other Wednesday. Kit talks with one of our highly esteemed members in a Twitter spaces where we pause, take a break and discuss all things related to mental health/wellness and our shared human journey in life.
Artists Corner - Every other Wednesday, hosted by KingInTheCastle, this event takes place in our Discord for our members. Artists take to the mic and share their journey, experiences and knowledge with our community. Hop in the call to learn and have fun.
333 Club’s weekly ‘This Week in NFTs’ Twitter Spaces, each and every Sunday. Follow the 333 Club Twitter page here for more info.
Join Poker Nights via our Discord. Events held weekly, with prizes to be won.
There’s a ‘global-events’ forum in the ZA Discord to help facilitate IRL meet-ups amongst the community. Find more details here.
Don’t forget to keep across the Giveaways Discord channel, with plenty of allowlist spots up for grabs on a regular basis.
If you enjoy ZenCaps, don’t miss out on ZenDaily. It’s published Monday to Friday and provides a short recap of the past 24hrs in the NFT space. Subscribe for free here.
Nothing in this or any other ZenCaps publication should be construed as financial or investment advice. The views and opinions expressed in ZenCaps publications do not reflect those of Zeneca or the ZenAcademy.
We occasionally use affiliate links in this Newsletter where we may earn a commission on any successful referrals.
Always exercise caution within the NFT space and adhere to best practices when it comes to making any investments. There is plenty of potential, but this comes with inherent risks.
Stay safe, and as always, good luck.