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192 Stories To Learn About Nft Economy

The venture capital space has been somewhat shaky lately due to general economic uncertainty, rising inflation, interest rate spikes, fears of recession, and volatile economic situations. Some obvious evidence of this can be seen in overall VC deal value from 2021 to 2022. More precisely, the overall VC funding fell from $713B in 2021 to $230B by Q2 of 2022. Interestingly, deal volume had a contrary spike of 4,567 to 15,652 deals in the same period. reported reasons for VC investment reservations as a refocus on business fundamentals amid the global economic downturn and a focus on profitability rather than growth. Analysts Image source: Pitchbook Crypto VC Fund Directions - More Web3 deals, less NFT & DeFi deals Similar to other high growth industries, overall VC deals across the blockchain industry have also declined this year, dropping 71% from Q1 to Q2. But more interestingly, the most active blockchain VCs have slowly tilted their portfolio towards Web3 solutions as opposed to DeFi and NFT, which were the biggest sectors to attract capital in 2021. As displayed in the diagram above, there were quite a number of significant raises by both traditional and crypto VCs throughout 2022. Industry titans such as Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) were particularly active, raising billions in funding to enhance the growth of Web3 ecosystems. Below is a highlight of the top crypto VC raises this year: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) launches two billion-dollar crypto funds Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, announced a $2.2 billion crypto fund in Q1 targeting infrastructure and Web3 projects. Later in Q2, this established American VC launched another $4.5 billion fund to support the ‘Golden Era of Web3’. Sequoia Capital actively expanded its crypto VC footprint Earlier in the year, Sequoia Capital raised $500 million to $600 million for a token fund to invest in popular DeFi protocols. Sequoia also featured prominently in Q2 with a $2 billion early-stage venture growth fund for the Indian market and $850 million Southeast Asia fund. FTX Ventures $2 billion fund Although now defunct, FTX exchange had launched a $2 billion crypto fund dubbed ‘FTX ventures’. The fund was designed to exist in parallel with FTX sister company Alameda Research, focusing on fintech, gaming and healthcare. Haun Ventures raises $1.5 billion Web3 fund Following Katie Haun’s departure from a16z, she started Haun ventures which managed to raise $1.5 billion during the first quarter of 2022. Haun ventures has been investing this capital towards Web3 startups and innovations that are building the next generation of the internet. World Innovation Lab (WiL) $1 billion fund features Web3 Innovations WiL is also jumping into the Web3 bandwagon, this U.S-Japan focused fund raised $1 billion in Q2 and noted that it would invest in the Web3 domain as well. Given their experience in B2B Saas investment rounds, the interest in funding Web3 projects comes as no surprise. Binance Labs $500 million investment fund Binance Labs, along with key partners DST Global and Breyer Capital, as well as other private equity, family offices, and limited partners, closed a $500 million investment fund in Q2. The fund spreads capital across different growth stages to promote the adoption of blockchain and Web3. Multicoin Capital debuts $430 million Venture Fund III Multicoin's $430 million Venture Fund III was one of the biggest raises in Q3. Venture Fund III targets to invest $500,000-$25 million in early-stage blockchain and Web3 startups, as well as companies in growth rounds that can benefit from $100 million or more in capital. Coinfund Ventures announces $300 million early stage Web3 Fund While the third quarter of 2022 saw a massive capital flight following the collapse of prominent crypto VCs like Three Arrows capital, CoinFund established a $300 million fund to support infrastructure development and Web3 companies that have a significant potential of market capitalization. Funding flow topped early in the year 2022 started with quite a bullish trajectory, VC interest was still very high as most digital assets had recorded all-time highs towards the end of 2021. The estimated funding invested across the cryptocurrency and blockchain space peaked at around $11 Billion in Q1 of 2022, a number that had been on a steady rise two years prior. However, in the wake of Q2, things took a different turn as the Fed started to tighten economic policy. Add on top an escalating situation between Russia and Ukraine and all of a sudden the environment became vastly more difficult for investors to be risk tolerant in than the months before. The crypto industry was extraordinarily plagued in this regard, as major actors such as TerraLuna and their stablecoin UST went bust, . setting off cascading effects in the industry Overall, Q2 of 2022 saw drawback in VC funding across the space, with the figure slightly dropping below $10 billion. On the brighter side, the cascading streak of insolvencies from the Terra Luna fiasco came with its lessons and wisdom for VCs, shaping new investment patterns in Q3. Even with the market turning bearish, crypto VCs continued to invest in Q3 particularly in the under-explored sub-niches. Cointelegraph’s venture capital database report revealed an unusual shift in individual deals towards Web3 projects with strong infrastructural leaning; examples are GameFi and metaverse-related infrastructure projects. Contrary to the trends seen in 2021, mostly DeFi and NFT-related, over 44% of individual deals are Web3 based. High Ticket Crypto Deals of 2022 Aptos raised $150 million in a Series A in July Launched by two former Meta developers, the Aptos project is a reincarnation of Meta’s 2019 Diem blockchain project. Aptos is an infrastructural web3 project with plans to build more efficient developer tools for Web3 solutions. The Aptos Series A round included investments from Andreessen Horowitz, Multicoin Capital, Circle Ventures, and others, which ended up at $150 Million. Limit Breakers, the creators of DigiDaigaku, raises $200Million Limit Breakers raised over $200 million in two funding rounds for its novel “free-to-own” gaming incentive model. The funding was led by Josh Buckley, the chair of Mino Games and investment firm Paradigm and Standard Crypto. Limits breakers Free to own model goes beyond virtual earnings to allow players to own their preferred gaming character, which cuts at the heart of gaming infrastructures over web3. Mytsten Lab raises $300 Million at a $2+ Billion valuation Mysten Lab is a web3 infrastructure project building their flagship project, the Sui blockchain protocol, which is targeted at optimizing web applications’ speed and cost possibilities over a blockchain. Some of the leading VCs who participated in this funding round include Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Circle Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Jump Crypto, Apollo, Franklin Templeton, Sino Global, and several others. Looking Into the Horizon It’s obvious that such a strong start of the venture capital sector for crypto this year that expectations were high for the remainder of the year. Needless to say, cheques got smaller and deals less frequent as the traditional economy started showing severe signs of instability. Q2 and Q3 in particular saw a sharp decline in funding volume across tech related sectors. In hindsight, it seems obvious that the venture space (much like the rest of crypto) was a bit  inflated and now we’re slowly awaiting for the risk willingness to return to the space. Although it is hard to predict when exactly the overall crypto markets will take off again, it is evident that crypto VCs are keeping close tabs on the developments especially in Web3 and that the large amount of funding available should come as a good reassurance that continued innovation will take place in the space.

Crypto VC Behavior Reveals Market Trends for 2023 and Beyond

El comportamiento de Crypto VC revela las tendencias del mercado para 2023 y más allá

Le comportement de Crypto VC révèle les tendances du marché pour 2023 et au-delà

क्रिप्टो वीसी व्यवहार 2023 और उसके बाद के बाजार के रुझान का खुलासा करता है

2023年以降の市場動向を明らかにするCrypto VCの行動

Comportamento do Crypto VC revela as tendências do mercado para 2023 e além

Hành vi của tiền điện tử VC tiết lộ xu hướng thị trường cho năm 2023 và hơn thế nữa

加密 VC 行为揭示 2023 年及以后的市场趋势

Duncan Muchangi is a Venture capital investor with extensive experience working and starting African technology companies. He is the founder of Unicorn Growth Capital, an early-stage VC firm investing in the future of FinTech & Web3.0 in Africa by funding startups with innovative solutions at the core of their mission. Before Unicorn Growth Capital, Duncan worked at Jumia for five years, and worked, partnered and invested in several other ventures. In this episode of Founders Connect, Duncan shares his story with us. We gain some valuable insight into the state of the fintech/investment scene in Kenya, plans for the future of Venture Capital, especially as it relates to the rapidly developing entrepreneurship scene in Africa, and valuable advice that can only have been nurtured by years and years of experience. Enjoy! Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTSdJS_g_bk Video timestamps - Duncan shares what growing up was like. 1:31 - Where his interest in Finance comes from. 4:42 - Studying for his Masters. 7:01 - Getting a degree in Finance. 7:38 - Moving back from the UK to Nairobi, Settling in, etc. 8:24 - Working at the Fintech business. 13:17 - How did the company go after raising money? 16:52 - Dealing with the failure of the Company. 18:57 - Launching Zapa Cab. 20:43 - Working at Jumia, HelloFood 23:58 - Most important lessons learned in Jumia. 30:30 - The things he is most proud of from Jumia. 32:52 - Tips for learning how to get Partners. 35:29 - Leaving Jumia for Antler East Africa. 37:36 - The Venture Capital space in Nairobi. 46:36 - The kind of companies he invests in. 49:42 - Challenges specific to Venture Capital firms and things that have surprised him. 52:30 - Advice for people looking to be investors. 57:44 - Anything Duncan would like to change about his career 1:01:43

#FoundersConnect: Duncan Muchangi, Principal @ Unicorn Growth, Former MD, Jumia Group & Antler E.A

Marvin Coleby has an interesting background and life trajectory. He was born in Paris, raised in the Bahamas, studied in Canada, and moved to Nairobi, Kenya. In the university, he studied PanAfrican Political Economy and History and did a Law degree in cross-border arbitration between countries. His education and multicultural background have fostered a global perspective which has influenced his desire for Panafrican Unity and he has driven him into building Raise, a digital equity management platform, with the aim of bringing "security, transparency and simplicity to the African venture capital space.” Raise aims to automate share options for African Startups by providing infrastructure to facilitate the equity distribution process. In this episode of Founders Connect, Marvin shares his unique perspective regarding running a startup in Africa and for Africans; his motivations, his passion for equity and diaspora ownership, key milestones, challenges, problems Raise is trying to solve, and plans for the company’s future. It’s a laidback and interesting conversation filled with Marvin’s refreshing perspective on tech, investments and life. Don’t miss it. Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ypwBH2MkA8 Video timestamps - Background 1:55 - Why Marvin moved to Kenya 3:19 - His favourite childhood memory 5:20 - University, Panafricanism, Searching for Answers 7:34 - Hypothesis for Financial Infrastructure 8:50 - Time Spent working at the Law Firm (Dentons) 11:05 - Lessons from time spent working at the Law Firm 11:36 -  The beginning: How Raise started 13:50 - What Raise is doing 15:09 - Key Milestones and Big Challenges 19:02 - What he would change if he went back 25:08 - What he looks for when hiring for Raise 26:29 - Why he chose Nairobi as the place to start Raise 27:13 - The Seed Rounds of Raise 29:06 - Future plans for Raise 31:10 - Why people should care about Raise 35:15 - Question Marvin would have liked Peace to ask 37:19

#FoundersConnect: Marvin Coleby, Co-Founder and CEO of Raise

Blockchain technology has powered innovation in dozens of different industries, including finance, security, supply chains, and real estate, to name just a few. Yet few blockchain use cases have generated as much excitement as gaming. The industry is rapidly embracing the idea of “play-to-earn” NFT games that enable players to earn real-life rewards while having fun. Just over a year ago, blockchain gaming was virtually unheard of, but already the space is providing a viable income for thousands of gamers across the world. The vast majority of emerging P2E games allow players to complete challenges or win battles against others and earn cryptocurrency or NFT-based items as a reward. These assets can then be traded or sold on third-party marketplaces for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Gamers can then sell BTC or ETH for fiat currency. It’s not surprising then that the industry is growing fast. The best evidence for this might be the amount of venture capital the space has collected. Investors poured over $4 billion into the P2E gaming space last year, according to . DappRadar’s 2021 Industry Report Meanwhile, new P2E titles continue popping up on all the major blockchain platforms. These include Ethereum, Tezos, Hive, Binance Smart Chain, Solana, Polygon, and others. As competition heats up in the P2E space, there’s no better time to look at some interesting P2E gaming titles. 1. MOBLAND (Binance Smart Chain - BSC) Binance Smart Chain has emerged as a hub of P2E games. Titles include CryptoBlades, CryptoMines, and Mobox, which have picked up thousands of players since launch. One interesting addition is . Gamers can become a ‘made man’ signing up with a crime syndicate. Mobland The aim of the game is to accumulate untold wealth and power through criminal enterprise while waging war with other Mafia families. As well as battles and missions, players can manage, trade, and get items as they push to grow the power of their syndicate. Mobland is free-to-play. This is a different approach to games like Axie Infinity, which requires players to invest in NFT characters to play. The game focuses more on action-packed gameplay and rewards players, with players being able to earn rewards. Mobland also launched the most successful Initial Game Offering (IGO) on BSC. Its SYN token raised over $3.5 million within 30 minutes of its launch. To grow community participation, Mobland has created a mafia-as-a-DAO governance structure. This allows players to decide upon the future of the game in a democratic way. The game's developers have worked at large gaming firms like Disney, Ubisoft, Roblox, EA, and Gameloft. Those developers are with the gaming giant Overwolf, user-generated content creation and distribution platform that recently invested in the game. working closely It’s a partnership that will result in better gameplay within the Mobland metaverse. 2. Banger Games - Ethereum Sticking with the idea that P2E gaming must be fun is This is a gaming hub that aims to add P2E functionality to any game. Banger Games. Banger Games focuses on the PLAY in “play-to-earn”, this is due to the common complaint of many P2E games having boring gameplay. For example, some Axie Infinity players say the main reason they keep playing is because of the incentives, instead of gameplay. Banger Games wrote on : Medium “One of the most important things you need to know about Banger is that we are gamers ourselves, which is why we deeply identify with this sense of rejection towards the play-to-earn rules,” They continued to say: “To counter this, we have prioritized including AAA games in our ecosystem.” With from a range of big names in the crypto venture capital space, including: €10 million in funding Avalanche Shima Capital GSR Flori Ventures Poolz Ventures G20 LucidBlue Ventures Belobaba Fund Squares Capital CSP DAO Banger Games aims to become a hub for P2E games. “Banger is the platform aimed at unifying this ever-increasing ecosystem into one central point in the gaming universe,” Borja Villalobos. said Banger Games CEO The first title from Banger Games will be Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). The platform aims to integrate Play-to-Earn features into the latest Counter Strike game. It’s already available to play in closed beta. Gamers will be able to take part in SMART Tournaments to earn NFTs, Banger Coins, and other prizes. 3. Splinterlands - Hive Blockchain If there’s a single P2E game that doesn’t need an introduction, it has to be . Splinterlands According to DappRadar it’s the single of based on player numbers. It alone accounts for over 90% of all transactions on the Hive blockchain. most popular blockchain game Splinterlands’ popularity is best explained by its simple yet addictive gameplay dynamics. Players compete in one-on-one battles against teams of monsters to win prizes. To do so, they first have to create collections of cards (monsters). Each monster comes with different statistics and abilities, to battle other players. One of the things players love is the variety on offer, with 249 unique monsters and 40 unique summoners. Splinterlands is free to play but to unlock the play-to-earn features it’s required to buy an NFT Summoner’s Book. This book unlocks the ability to take part in daily quests, accumulate season rewards and earn Dark Energy Crystals. Energy Crystals are cryptocurrency tokens that can be used to buy items or sold for other digital assets. Artists have shown interest in the game too. Wacka Flocka Flame had an NFT drop last month, which . sold out in under 30 seconds Splinterlands also with Warner Music Group. recently partnered This partnership will see them collaborate with leading musicians to create new play-to-earn games designed for their fans. 4. Xaya - Polygon If sounds like a familiar name, that’s because they're the creators behind the first-ever blockchain game, , which launched back in 2014. Xaya Huntercoin Huntercoin is a decentralized, MMO game that runs on its own blockchain. It's a game that paved the way for the P2E gaming space to emerge. Having created the opportunity, now Xaya intends to realize it. Xaya is a blockchain-agnostic P2E game platform that’s to ensure it’s compatible with its Ethereum sidechain. partnered with Polygon As part of the partnership, it will work to integrate itself into Polygon’s EVM-compatible sidechain. This will be done to develop a variety of P2E titles for the Polygon ecosystem. This will add to other successful games it has previously created, such as and . Taurion Soccer Manager Elite The idea is that Polygon’s low-cost and high throughput EVM sidechain will help these games reach a much larger audience. This is due to the inefficiencies faced on the main Ethereum blockchain. “We’re excited to bring our vision of deep economics and complex gameplay to the Polygon blockchain,” Xaya co-founder Andy Colosimo of the partnership with Polygon. said “Following the growth of DeFi and NFTs, we believe blockchain gaming will be the next big opportunity to take blockchain mass market. Our partnership with Polygon will only accelerate that trend.” 5. Battle Drones - Solana is a drone battle game based on the Solana blockchain that’s well known for its fast transaction speeds and low costs. Battle Drones The team behind the game is focused on creating an immersive combat-style game in the same vein as classic hits such as Fortnite and Call of Duty. Whilst anyone is free to play Battle Drones, those who purchase an NFT will benefit from additional P2E features. That’s because the gameplay is backed up by an in-game economy that allows players to win BATTLE tokens. These tokens are won when players emerge victorious in contests against other players (PvP mode) or in solo games (PvE). BATTLE tokens can be used to buy in-game items or sold for other cryptocurrencies or fiat. Besides the main drone shooter game, Battle Drones will also launch multiple game modes: Battle Royale - Multiple players will battle against each other in a large arena Tower Defense - Players get to try and defend structures against endless hordes of enemies Drone Racing Mode The game also features daily rewards and challenges, as well as a player leader-board. Staking and loaning functionality will be added to the game updates later this year. The real promise of Battle Drones however is that players won’t need huge financial resources to compete. This is a different approach to so-called “pay-to-win” (P2W) games. P2W games are games where purchasing power often makes the difference between winning and losing. Players’ individual playing styles make a real difference. This will make it possible for players to win through a combination of smart tactics and skill. 6. DOGAMI - Tezos is a pet simulation game based on its unique “ ” that’s home to innumerable adorable digital canine avatars. DOGAMI Petaverse It's a P2E game on Tezos where players have to look after their furry friends throughout each stage of their life. This includes raising them and training them while they’re still a puppy. Then players need to guide them through an adventurous adulthood stage that will see the dogs pursue multiple career paths. There's also an unreleased afterlife stage that will be added to the game later this year. In DOGAMI, each dog is an NFT. New NFTs begin their life in the puppy phase, and players will be responsible for ensuring their pups are fed, kept clean and groomed, trained and more. Players face daily challenges for which they’ll be rewarded with DOGA tokens and receive a boost to their pet’s Bonding and Boosting scores. In the adulthood phase, there are different tasks to contend with. Players must continue bonding with their pets whilst completing various challenges. These challenges allow players to progress through their chosen career path, for which they’ll earn more DOGA tokens. Players can choose from jobs such as police dogs, firefighter dogs, farmer dogs, skater dogs, and more. As with Battle Drones, there will be both player-vs-player and player-vs-environment challenges to take part in. DOGAMI plans to introduce an annual DOGAMI Olympics later this year. Players will be able to take their dogs to compete against the others in the Petaverse. Like many other emerging P2E games, DOGAMI is doing its best to tackle the problem of accessibility. To that end, there will be various ways for players to acquire DOGAMI: They’ll be able to breed their NFTs with other dogs The DOGAMI Day Care will give new players a way to rent puppies to train on a reward-sharing basis. Similarly, the DOGAMI Academy will allow players to rent adult DOGAMIs. Final Thoughts As the Play-to-Earn space continues to grow, more and more interesting new games will come into the space. In the end, only the projects that bring value to users and the crypto gaming community will have an advantage over games.

6 Interesting Play-to-Earn Games to Look Out For in 2022

Non Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, seem like the most popular digital asset in 2021. An NFT is a tokenized asset that has been used extensively in the art world this year. They can be traded on the blockchain, with some selling for tens of millions of dollars. The could be much wider than fine art. future of NFTs This novel token format may also transform markets including , , and . Like Bitcoin and altcoins, NFTs are stored on a blockchain. However, each NFT is unique. Imagine ten pennies. These are like Bitcoins. Interchangeable, or “fungible”. But if you cut one into a star, it would become one-of-a-kind, or “non-fungible”. Each NFT is a distinct token that operates on a public blockchain. retail products vehicles recorded media Fine Art and NFTs: Ground Zero in 2021 NFTs were created as a new form of digital asset that allows people to buy anything in the digital environment – and depending on the laws, assets in the physical world as well. These assets may include digital art, photography, music, GIFs, tweets, and lots more. In theory, NFTs can turn any digital file into something unique and irreplaceable through a type of security protocol, and record the information on the blockchain. Since NFTs represent non-fungible assets, it is possible to trace the authors of an NFT and verify its authenticity. For NFT paintings that are selling for , that makes a big difference. more than $69 million The adoption of NFTs in the art world is expanding rapidly. In fact billionaire Mark Cuban in mid-2021: “Nobody ever changed the world by doing what everyone else was doing.” The quote from Cuban was priced at 0.96 ETH, which is around $3,800 USD at the time of writing. sold this quote as an NFT One of the most interesting things about NFTs is how 'royalties' operate. Unlike traditional royalties, which are paid by a publisher to an artist, NFTs can pay the original creator a percentage of every sale – for the rest of time. For recording artists, this may become a powerful tool in creating passive income. Think about a used record store that pays the artists (not the label) every time a record sells. Boosting Blockchain Gaming NFTs are a massive boon for blockchain-based gaming. The existence of economic systems in the game industry is not new – but NFTs allow gamers to own in-game items. It works like this – in the old days, the game devs controlled everything. Top to bottom, the company owns the gaming platform and has all the control. Sure, a gamer could accumulate 'valuable' items in a game, but they had no cash value. NFTs are starting to change this model in a big way. NFTs make it easier to tokenize gaming assets. Because these assets are freely tradeable on exchanges, in-game NFTs are now as good as cash (as long as there is a buyer). Players can buy video game in-game items with cryptocurrencies as NFTs and also stack in-game tokens. This gaming model is already at work in Axie Infinity – and it has created loads of new games now and under development. The ICO Boom All Over Again Remember the Bitcoin boom of 2017? BTC at $20,000 used to seem like a high price. Big money was made in many of the ICOs during that massive ramp in BTC and ETH prices, but . With the success of NFTs and Axie, the same problems that the ICO boom suffered through are now present in the NFT-based gaming space. many of them were scams The sector is hot – and the scammers may be evil - but they aren’t stupid. Unlike the ICO boom of 2017, there are a few companies out there who are working on keeping the NFT-based gaming market on the rails. is a social platform where gamers engage with content, create groups, community pages, and keep up to date on what is growing in the blockchain-based gaming sector. Gamerse With everything compiled into one central hub, it will be much more difficult for scammers to slip through the cracks unnoticed. The platform allows people to find newly minted NFTs from all NFT marketplaces aggregated into one place, NFT promotions, and also to trade their own NFTs. By trading their in-game items on an open market, they no longer depend on a gaming studio to hold custody of their hard-earned loot. Game developers can earn money when an item is resold in the marketplace if they build a royalty payment into the NFT, which may become a form of passive income for the devs on top of the fundraising model. Gamerse will open a game studio as well to help even more NFT projects find funding and launch. NFTs could actually create a for both players and developers by giving players ownership and devs the ability to sell directly to anyone who is interested in their tokens without middlemen and in a safe environment. mutually beneficial business model NFTs Will Only Grow From Here NFTs are creating a global economy that connects people and allows new thinkers to grow into a highly supportive global marketplace. With the kind of money that has flowed into NFTs in 2021, the development side of the blockchain economy is taking notice. The next stage of this rapidly evolving digital ecosystem is likely to be a Metaverse. People want to have digital ownership over their assets, and NFTs make that possible. People no longer have to settle for whatever large tech companies will offer them, they can take their autonomy into their own hands and become a participant in the system, not a product/consumer. It is telling that Facebook is working on . Smart money knows that metaverses are the next frontier and that the days of many centralized online platforms are numbered. Survival is no longer guaranteed, and any platform that doesn't adapt to decentralized tools will likely fall behind. changing its name, and creating the Metaverse Disclaimer: The author holds tokens in the above-mentioned companies. The opinions in this article belong to the author alone and should not be considered investment advice. This article is part of The hosted by HackerNoon in partnership with . Gaming Metaverse Writing Contest The Sandbox Submit your story today for your chance to win up to $2000. #gaming-metaverse

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