The NFT space can feel like information overload at times, so we’ve cut through the noise to deliver you a curated dose of what matters most. Your all-in-one weekly companion.
Headline News - Solana's Okay Bears Top All Ethereum NFT Projects With $18M in Sales in 24hrs
NFT headlines, in general, are dominated by Ethereum “blue-chip” NFT collections. This is especially true of late with the excitement around the Otherside project and BAYC and MAYC’s relentlessly up-trending price action. So this week I thought we’d lead with some big news related to a project on another blockchain. That project is OKAY BEARS and the blockchain is Solana.
OKAY BEARS is a collection of 10,000 bear-themed avatar/pfp NFTs, each with an array of traits making every one unique. Their mint sold out two days ago at 1.5 SOL, and the collection floor price is now around 62 SOL (approx. $6,150 USD).
It is the first time ever that a Solana-based NFT project has generated more trading volume in a 24hr period than its Ethereum counterparts. That’s quite an achievement, especially considering VeeFriends Season 2 and Meebits were pumping too.
You can find the teams manifesto here, and their equivalent to a roadmap, which they’ve termed a blueprint, here.
Undeniably, BAYC and MAYC are leading the charge in the blue-chip NFT/web3 domain, but there’s certainly room for more big players.
It’s refreshing to see a team like that of OKAY BEARS who seem to have a firm understanding of how to build a strong community and deliver on what they say. Their execution to date appears to be on point and their ambitions for future development are far-removed from a Bored Ape Yacht Club copy and paste. It’s certainly one to watch.
For a more detailed look into their ecosystem, visit their website here.
For a more in-depth article on their launch and the collection, please click here.
Curated News - the best bits of the past week
BIGGEST NFT Sale: Moonbirds #2642 for 350ETH ($1,03M USD)
OpenSea Acquires Ethereum NFT Aggregator Gem in Push for 'Pro' Users
Ryan Carson (of PROOF Collective and Moonbirds) steps down as COO and sets up NFT fund 121g.fund
Nike and RTFKT Reveal CryptoKicks—Their First Ethereum NFT Metaverse Sneakers
Beyond collectibles: How NFTs are revamping the ticketing industry
Wildlife conservation efforts turn to NFT-funded initiatives
Maybe Something - things we’re keeping an eye on
Moon.Art is releasing a limited number of keycards with lifetime utilities
Vintage/Historical NFT Insight: Curio Cards are the 1st NFT Art project on Ethereum, launched on May 9th 2017. There are a few whales, but they are distributing. Once they have, the price action will very interesting.
Toomuchlag launches new collection on Nifty Gateway April 28 @ 6:30 p.m. ET
EightBitMe (mentioned here 2 weeks ago) flew from a 0.05 floor to over 2.5ETH before a huge pullback to around 0.5ETH. Floor now rising.
Animoca Leads $3.5 Million Funding Round for NFT Innovators Metakey
UNXD x Dolce and Gabbana minted out after some delays. It momentarily traded below mint price, and is expected to steadily rise approaching the reveal
This tweet by BAYC co-founder @GordonGoner caused a pump in Meebits as he suggested it would be a priority after The Otherside launch
Zeneca DYOR pick: Interleave. One of Zeneca’s favourite builders in the space, Loopify, has been teasing a bunch over the last few days that there is something big coming
There is a lot of buzz around The Possessed. Getting on their WL is probably not a bad idea
Talking Point - The ENS domain name hype
The past 48hrs has seen a huge rush on ENS domain names. More specifically, people are after 4-digit numbers. Why? Scarcity possibly, culture more likely, speculation most definitely.
If we look back to August 2020, we can find a tweet by Vitalik Buterin stating the following:
I feel as though I remember this tweet and the resulting rush it created, and then of course the inevitable tumbleweed as people wondered where exactly the value lay.
Not much happened in the interim, until two days ago, when 4-digit ENS domain names went wild. They sold out in about 6hrs and are now trading well above the +/-$200 USD they were purchased for.
As a result the ENS Domain name page on OpenSea saw an enormous amount of traffic and led Jeff Lau of ENS Domains to tweet the following:
During the madness @Danielgothits invited everyone to join @10kClubOfficial and a related Discord channel. The club is described as the following:
A web3 social club for ENS holders 0-9999. No roadmap. Just the first 10k numbers on the ethereum blockchain.
This sparked another Twitter account under the name of quit.pcc.eth to write a thread about the cultural significance and future potential value in sub-domains of these and other ENS domain names.
It’s an interesting and quick read which posits there may be more than meets the eye with regards to the most recent rush on ENS domain names. I’ll leave you to make your own decisions.
I went about buying up a number of domains myself some time ago after an acquaintance hit the jackpot by selling to a venture capitalist firm for 420ETH. I’ve had no such luck, but if you can come across a decent find, not yet minted, it represents a largely affordable gamble for the majority of participants in the NFT space. Happy hunting.
Tip Of The Week - Avoid NFT Phishing Attacks
It’s a shame that this section has had to feature so many scam-prevention tactics recently (next week will be different, i promise), but it’s so very important that people are made of aware of the risks associated with connecting their wallets to third parties.
This week saw the Official Bored Ape Yacht Club Instagram account get hacked, with those responsible sharing links to a fake airdrop for holders. Victims who connected their wallets were then drained of their apes.
It’s estimated that around 100 BAYC NFTs were stolen in this manner although the number may be higher. This equates to approximately $40M USD of assets.
The scam was made all the more believable due to its timing. It was enacted on the anniversary of BAYC and led users to believe this was an airdrop in celebration of the milestone.
What can we learn from this?
If you ever see anything claiming to be free for holders, which requires you to connect your wallet, always proceed with extreme caution. Do not connect straight away, and take the time to check if the information is legitimate.
The best way to do this is to check multiple sources. In the above case, if users had checked in with the BAYC Twitter account, and then also in their Discord, they would have realized that this was a scam. Also simply by biding their time, they would have found out that it was a scam as it hit the news relatively quickly.
Never rely on one information source despite how legitimate it seems. A single point can become compromised as this example shows. And if in doubt, err on the side of caution.
Stay safe.
ZenAcademy and 333 Club Noticeboard
Regular Event Reminders
Join our poker nights via our Discord. Events held every weekend, with prizes to be won.
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Irregular Events and Info
PLEASE all ZA and 333 Club members cast your eyes on this Discord post which lays out some best practices to avoid falling victim to scammers.
HUGE thank you to Pandez for helping secure our Discord servers after they were compromised
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our Founder Zeneca, who turned a year older 2 days ago
The 333 Club now has an Official Twitter account. Please check it out and ‘follow’. Thanks for your support.
A little secret: a PFP project is in the works, yes. Wen? We don’t know yet. We want to do it right, and these things take time.
We are planning an event for NFT NYC. If you are interested in attending, please join 🗽 | nft nyc meetup so we can begin to get a rough head count.
We’re also planning an IRL meetup at MET Amsterdam which is taking place from the 14th-17th June. Join the chat here for more info.
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_33 or the ZenAcademy.
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.