It's Game Time

Game time for Yuga Labs abs & The Sandbox . ???

Big moves in Web3 loyalty. ??

渣打银行 enters crypto.?

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This week's obsessively curated field notes: ??

?? Top 5 Reads

• The Phygital?Stack. By Aleksija Vujicic . https://t.ly/HpaCf
• A message from Yuga Lab’s CEO. By Daniel Alegre . https://t.ly/cXp_B
• Why Onchain? The Source of?Truth. https://t.ly/Vf14A
• The Techno-Optimist Manifesto. By Marc Andreessen. https://t.ly/ToZVE
• 6th annual State of AI report.?By Air Street Capital . https://t.ly/trdPm

?? Top Stories That Caught My Eye

? Web3 + NFTs

It's Game Time for Yuga Labs and The Sandbox ???

• Yuga Labs’ CEO Daniel Alegre , formerly of Activision Blizzard, pivots focus to gaming and its metaverse Otherside.
• The Sandbox appoints Nicola Sebastiani, ex-PlayStation Studios, as Chief Content Officer.

Reality check. Blockchain-based virtual worlds lag in user engagement compared to Roblox 's 200m monthly users (vs. Sandbox’s <100k), with Sandbox’ revenue declining –15% in Q2.

?? Punchline: It's back to the drawing board for IP holders like Yuga Labs and blockchain-based virtual worlds. They now need to figure out how to keep users –?and the community –?engaged. Their bets? Gaming –?not hype.

Unlocking Loyalty’s Future ??b

• Insomnia Labs , known for Web3 campaigns with Coca-Cola and Under Armour, teams up with CO:CREATE , Cookie3 , Crossmint , and Smart Token Labs to launch Loyalty+.?
• The program aims to help Web2 businesses build Web3-based, interoperable loyalty experiences (cf "open loyalty”).

Loyalty crisis. In 2022, US consumers averaged 16 loyalty memberships, but less than 50% were actively used. Fragmentation and closed ecosystems contribute to this issue.

Rethinking rewards. Brands like 星巴克 , Alo Yoga , IWC Schaffhausen , and others are experimenting with Web3-based loyalty experiences, using ownership, community, and gamification to boost engagement.

??Zooming out: Loyalty is poised to be one of Web3's key apps, as its shared data layer enables seamless collabs across brand ecosystems. Loyalty+ could be an important step towards a universal, Web3 loyalty stack.?

?? Crypto & Macro

The Global Pivot: Everywhere but the US ??

• 渣打银行 will offer bitcoin and ether custody services in Dubai by early 2024, citing regulatory uncertainty elsewhere.?
• Coinbase has chosen Ireland as its regulatory hub within the European Union (EU).?
• Last week, Coinbase , Ripple , and Sygnum Bank got Singapore Institutional Payment licenses.

??Zooming out: Regulatory clarity is advancing in Europe, the UAE, and Southeast Asia. Unregulated crypto players face increasing pressure. If Binance falters, Coinbase could be the big profiteer.

That’s all for now, folks. Thoughts?

Back to building! ??

–?Marc

As always, much more in full notes for subscribers!

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