⛓️ Bear Market who? - What The Block

WTB #07

Welcome back to What The Block, a newsletter packed with insights & intelligence about the Web3, Blockchain, NFTs and the Metaverse—written by me, David Klingbeil

gm everybody,

The biggest NFT event of the year took place in New York City last week, and I was there to witness it all.

In a celebration of the future of NFTs, NFT NYC attracted 15,000 participants (including hundreds of speakers and panelists) and offered them the opportunity to brainstorm on the future of NFT space.

NFT.NYC @NFT_NYC

We are chatting with @Spike_Lee_Joint and @SadeABC at @RadioCity about the Future of Film and NFTs. #NFTNYC2022

The conference tackled all the important topics shaking up the industry:

• Music NFTs

• Advanced Utilities

• Security and scam

• Onboarding of brands

• …

One has to be comfortable with a certain sense of chaos to fully enjoy this kind of event. However, the level of energy that came out of the various stages and social events was unprecedented.

Despite the current state of the crypto market, such a vibrant event showed that the NFT trend is not just hype. People and businesses are realizing more and more how disruptive NFTs can be.

In the meantime, the web3 space getting more and more mainstream. Last week, fashion brand Lacoste released an NFT collection that was sold out instanteanously while Snoop Dogg & Eminem transformed into Bored Apes NFT characted in their latest music video. At the same time, eBay and Moonpay are trying to onboard even more users to the NFT world by launching their own marketplaces.

Through this newsletter, I hope to make the world of web3 more accessible and entertaining by curating news and insights that will make you think... What the Block ?!

WAGMI*

David Klingbeil
(Twitter - LinkedIn)

PS: feel free to hit reply to leave a comment, I read and answer every message

*We’re All Gonna Make It, a popular way to cheer in Web3 ;)

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This week’s must read

🎨 NFTs

• Eminem and Snoop Dogg turn into Bored Apes in new music video

• eBay Just Acquired an NFT Marketplace

• VeeFriends Surpasses $500 Million in All-Time NFT Sales

• MoonPay Partners with Universal and Fox to launch NFT platform

• Lacoste NFT collection gives physical and experiential benefits

💸 Cryptocurrencies & DeFi

• Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot is now accepting bitcoin

• Solana announces the first web3 mobile phone

• Six Weird Crypto Moments We Must Not Forget

• Was Aristotle a Bitcoiner?

• The Islamic Coin Gets Fatwa From Muslim Scholars and launches private sale

🕹️ Gaming & the Metaverse

• Mark Zuckerberg Launches Meta Pay, the Digital Wallet for the Metaverse

• How Crypto Casinos Are Evolving For Web3 Era

• Metaverse Academy – Are Educational Institutions Ready to Move to the Metaverse?

• In the Economy 3.0, metaverses will create jobs for millions

• Could We Be Working In The Metaverse?

✌️ Misc

• Kraken Announces Global Hiring Push and Commitment to Crypto-First Culture

• Crypto Industry Layoffs May Have Unintended Consequences

• It seems NFT-themed Bored & Hungry restaurant no longer accepts crypto

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Food for thought

Jesse Powell (CEO of crypto exchange Kraken) on his stand against “woke workers”

Everyday, the workplace seems to be turning more and more into a minefield. It is becoming increasingly harder to make sure employees are aligned with the company’s stance on the “current things”.

Therefore, startup leaders in general and crypto leaders in particular are wondering if they should keep politics out of the workplace entirely?

Jesse Powell @jespow

9/ Most people don't care and just want to work, but they can't be productive while triggered people keep dragging them in to debates and therapy sessions. The answer for us was to just lay out the culture doc and say: agree and commit, disagree and commit, or take the cash✌️

In this video, Kraken’s CEO Jesse Powell takes a radical stance on this topic. Kraken is one of the largest crypto exchanges with 3,200 employees and its CEO thinks that politics is a distraction that prevent people from getting work done.

He highlights that employees who want to bring politics in the workplace can have great talent but they’re a bad fit for the company.

He explains why he doesn’t believe in DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and Kraken’s unique approach to gender balance. Powell highlights how they track the male / female ratio to identify bias but they’re not targeting a specific ratio across the company.

This is quite a controversial topic and Jesse Powell’s stance is quite unique for a tech CEO.

What do you think about it? Should crypto import this part of the web2 work culture? Feel free to share your point of view in comments

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What I’m watching

Gmoney’s Emphasis for Inclusivity in Admit One

Replay of Gary Vee’s VeeCon 2022

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