Tiffany & Co NFTs sell out
White Star Capital Digital Asset Fund - newsletter #95
August 17th - Tiffany & Co NFTs sell out
Tiffany & Co’s ‘NFTiff’
Tiffany & Co is embracing the metaverse. Back in January, the CEO of LVMH (who acquired Tiffany & Co in 2020) said that the applications of the metaverse and NFTs “can undoubtedly have a positive impact - if it is done well - on the activity of the brands”.
Since then the iconic US jewellery brand has acquired a 115ETH Okapi NFT rocket (by American artist Tom Sachs) and also launched its own NFT collection. The NFT mint called ‘Nftiff’ sold out in just 22 minutes. The collection comprises 250 pieces, which each sold for 30ETH each, combining for a mint revenue of $12.5m. Tiffany & Co collaborated with blockchain start-up Chain on the project. Chain was in charge of the NFT design concepts, developed the smart contracts, and devised the marketing and sales plans.
NFTiff is a tokengated project offered exclusively to holders of the popular NFT project CryptoPunks. The NFTiff acts as a digital pass, starting off as a pixelated image of Tiffany’s signature blue box. Holders of the NFTiff then have the option to redeem the NFT for a physical pendant (each piece will use at least 30 gemstones and/or diamonds) representing the CryptoPunk that they own. Once redeemed, the NFTiff acts as a certificate of authenticity and ownership. These made-to-order jewellery pieces are expected to be ready for February 2023. Tiffany & Co teased that there will be more to come, stating ‘We are sold out of all 250 NTFiff. Until the next mint’.
E-commerce Metaverse
Despite the metaverse being commonly linked to gaming, there are many other use cases. E-commerce in the metaverse is already here and growing. Sector giants such as Amazon have already incorporated some metaverse technology into marketplaces. For example, it recently launched a new augmented reality shopping tool to visualise what the furniture you’re browsing would look like in your own space. The metaverse is likely to change the regular e-commerce experience altogether by making it substantially more immersive and authentic.
As shown by Tiffany & Co’s project, NFTs also have e-commerce use cases and can be used to improve the shopping experience further. Brands could use NFTs as receipts, access passes to special events such as pop-up stores, access to new product launches and much more. Many companies have begun exploring how to bring their presence into the metaverse, and finding that they are able to maintain their branding whilst entering the space. NFTiff was an example of being able to maintain exclusivity and strategically control a public sale process.
By implementing the metaverse, companies will also be able to reduce their operational costs as they cut back on physical store presence, reducing the need for costly samples as digital samples improve, requiring less overproduction. Having more digital dominant models in industries such as fashion will help reduce the carbon footprint of the industry substantially. Additionally, the metaverse enables designers to tap into even more creative elements of design allowing for greater experimentation, having avatars try on prototype designs. This is an immense use-case for consumers, to be able to generate an avatar that represents themselves and to try on products they are interested in before making a purchase.
🔦 White Star & Portfolio Spotlight
Optimism Network is live on ParaSwap
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Atlendis Labs completed their first $1M+ loan cycle
Atlendis Labs achieve a milestone in their first $1M+ loan cycle completed, the loan was safely returned to the pool by ZigZag Exchange
Superfluid is now on DeBank
Superfluid Super Tokens are now fully supported on DeBank, allowing users to see real-time, streaming token balances directly in their app
🏦 Enterprises & Institutions
Neobank Revolut To Dump Paxos in Favor of New Crypto Provider
Revolut is tapping Chicago-based Apex Crypto, moving away from Paxos.
BlackRock launches private trust offering direct bitcoin exposure
The trust will be available to US-based institutional clients and will be BlackRock's first product that offers direct exposure to the price of bitcoin.
Brazilian Brokerage XP Launches Bitcoin, Ethereum Trading
XP’s new XTAGE platform will allow 3.5 million customers to buy, sell, and trade Bitcoin and Ethereum via a tie-up with Nasdaq.
Jump Crypto Plans New Solana Validator Client to Boost Performance, Decentralization
The Solana Foundation and Jump Crypto are teaming up on the project to provide more stability to Solana.
Crypto.com secures UK registration for ‘crypto asset activities’
As defined by the FCA, “crypto asset activity” includes anything that involves exchanging one crypto for another or exchanging crypto for fiat and vice versa.
Houston Texans become first NFL team to sell game suite with crypto
After penning a deal with Texas-based crypto wallet providers BitWallet, the Houston Texans join a long list of crypto partnerships and payment deals in the NFL.
Citi Nabs Crypto Leaders for Treasury and Trade Solutions Unit
Digital assets are “key” to Citi’s goal of enabling the bank and its clients to compete in today’s digital world
Paradigm and FTX Team Up To Launch Crypto Futures Spread Trading
Liquidity platform Paradigm has partnered with crypto exchange FTX to launch spread trading, allowing users to take advantage of pricing dislocations with “cash-and-carry” plays.
⚖️ Government & Regulation
Revolut Receives Nod From Cyprus Regulator to Offer Crypto Services
The authorization will enable Revolut to offer crypto services to its 17 million customers in the EEA ahead of MiCA becoming law.
The EU is on the verge of creating a new AML regulator that will oversee crypto
Under a package of legislation targeting anti-money laundering, the European Union is building a new regulator that will have direct oversight over crypto businesses.
US Fed Opens Pathway for Crypto Banks to Tap Central Banking System
The U.S. Federal Reserve said Monday it is publishing its final guidance for novel financial institutions to access its "master accounts," something these firms need to participate in the global payment system.
Colombia to prevent tax evasion with national digital currency
A national digital currency would help curb tax evasion in Colombia, which is estimated at up to 8% of GDP, the head of Colombia’s tax and customs agency said.
Crypto needs ‘enabling environment,’ Philippines central bank says
Amid the rising cryptocurrency adoption in the Philippines, the country’s central bank is seeking measures to better protect investors through elevating local crypto awareness.
💰 Funding & Exits
Solana MEV infrastructure developer Jito Labs raises $10 million
Jito Labs, a crypto startup building infrastructure to mitigate the negative impact of maximum extractable value (MEV) on Solana, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round.
Crypto Venture Company Dragonfly Buys Hedge Fund, Rebrands
Digital-asset venture capital firm Dragonfly said it acquired MetaStable Capital, one of the oldest investment funds in cryptocurrencies, and completed a rebranding.
Tencent veterans secure $13M to build cross-chain decentralized identities
Four Tencent veterans want their offering .bit, an identity protocol built on the blockchain, to become the universal identification system in web3.
Injective Protocol Raises $40M to Expand Ecosystem
Decentralized smart contracts platform Injective raised $40 million in a funding round that was led by Jump Crypto.
Binance Labs Makes a Strategic Investment in Ankr
The funds will go toward ramping up the work on Ankr’s remote procedure call (RPC) service and building out its Web3 developer suite.
Satellite IM Closes $10.5M in Seed Funding
The round was led by Multicoin Venture Fund and Framework Ventures, with participation from Hashed Venture Fund, IDEO CoLab, Solana Ventures, and Pioneer Square Ventures Fund.
ReadON Completes $2M Seed Round to Build a Decentralized Content Distribution Platform
ReadONcompleted its seed investment round of $2M led by SevenX Ventures. Other investors included HashKey Capital, Foresight Ventures, and others.
CreatorDAO received $20 million to help grow the creator economy, with a16z leading the raise
CreatorDAO, a community that invests in creators in exchange for a percentage of their future earnings, announced today that it raised a $20 million seed funding round led by prominent crypto investor Andreessen Horowitz and Initialized Capital.
🚀 Project Launches & Updates
LongHash Ventures Launches Its $100 Million Web3 Venture Fund II with Successful First Close
LongHash Ventures, Asia’s first Web3 Accelerator and one of Asia’s leading Web3 venture funds, officially announces the launch of its $100 million LongHash Ventures Fund II.
Brazilian Fuse Capital launches new $50 million fund focused on Web 3
Brazilian-based Fuse Capital has started raising Fuse Capital Fund II, whose central thesis will be investing in the next generation of Web 3 startups in Latin America.
Web3 investment firm CoinFund launches $300 million fund
Web3 investment firm CoinFund raised a $300 million fund amid a period of turbulence in crypto markets.
🔥 Other Bits We're Excited About
Bank of China unveils new e-CNY smart contract test program for school education
Under the pilot test, parents could enrol their children in after-school vocation programs via smart contracts.