GM, BFF: Mental health and the joy of missing out

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Where were you on the eve of April 11, 2023?

If, like me, you were staring at your phone calendar, contemplating a Tetris board of NFT NYC events, puzzled at how you would attend six dozen happy hours, 17 panels and five dinners in just three days — you probably understand FOMO.

We all know FOMO, or the “fear of missing out.” It’s the pervasive anxiety one feels when being left out of an enjoyable experience. Web3 is full of FOMO. It’s inevitable; we’re a global bunch of internet professionals who operate on a 24/7 clock, striving to keep up with a borderless market of digital assets that can be traded at any hour of the day.

Not to mention, the parties are pretty rad. The Web3 space attracts influencers, celebrities and top executives, yet the vibes are seemingly more relaxed than in corporate settings, our idols often more accessible. There’s a lot to miss out on, even when taking just one day off to touch grass.

Yet, as Web3 matures, sustainability becomes an important focus — both that of the planet and our bodies and minds. We’re human; we’re not meant to be “on” all the time, nor can we function forever as digital entities behind screens. The choice to stay and work in Web3 for the long haul means prioritizing work/life balance in a whole new way.

“What happens in three days here is the equivalent of what happens in three months in other sectors,” said Jana Stern, Web3 manager at virtual wellness community Peace Inside. “Things are constantly going, going, going as we build this incredible initiative. There are a lot of moving pieces.”

Co-founded by meditation guide Jordana Reim and Founding BFF Shira Lazar, an Emmy-nominated media entrepreneur, Peace Inside is working to bring mindfulness to the metaverse with ongoing events, partnerships and workshops. 

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, Peace Inside is inviting you to participate in The JOMO Effect — an exclusive charitable NFT mint on Polygon that champions JOMO, or the Joy of Missing Out.

Here's what you need to know:

  1. 🥰 Peace Inside believes JOMO is the antidote to FOMO.
  2. 👩🏽‍🎨 With an incredible lineup of partners — including Deepak Chopra and TIME Pieces, the NFT initiative of TIME Magazine — this first-of-its-kind mint will feature 40 established and emerging artists in Web3 who have each created unique digital art interpreting what joy means to them. 
  3. 🧠 All primary sales go to five mental health charities: Aakoma Project, Half The Story, The MINDS Foundation, LOVELOUD Foundation, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
  4. 🎁 The popular Adam Bomb Squad will also be gifting and airdropping original artwork when you mint a certain amount.

Are you in? Peace Inside has a special opportunity for you to participate as part of The JOMO Effect community! You can sign up for the JOY LIST aka the allowlist now, and get early access to the open mint at a discounted price of $20MATIC (around 20 USD) on May 10th at 9am ET before it goes live at 1pm ET at $24MATIC as an open mint for the public for 24 hours.

Catch Up Quick

Former OpenSea product manager Nate Chastain convicted of fraud. In what will be known as the first-ever insider trading prosecution involving digital assets, a jury convicted the 32-year-old former OpenSea employee of wire fraud and money laundering. According to sources, Chastain used privileged information gleaned from his role at OpenSea to launder at least 45 NFTs in 2021, each time selling them for two to five times what he had paid for them. He faces up to 40 years in prison.

This cybersecurity expert is empowering women in blockchain. BFF contributor Sabrina Bonini spoke to Olayinka Odeniran, former compliance officer for an SEC-registered investment advisory firm, about her path to Web3.

The year of $PEPE. Ethereum gas spiked to the highest fees in a year due to the mania over this season's favorite memecoin, $PEPE.

The SEC backs out on its 'digital asset' definition. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) got cold feet while reviewing its latest hedge fund rule and erased what would have been its first formal definition of “digital asset."

Crypto-curious investors need basic personal finance skills. BFF contributor Isabel Doonan held an enlightening Q&A with Crissi Cole, CEO and founder of Penny Finance, about the building blocks needed to participate confidently in crypto.

Blend gambles on NFT liquidity. The NFT marketplace Blur has entered the NFT lending space — and people are concerned. Blend, Blur's new peer-to-peer NFT lending platform, functions like a digital pawn shop allowing traders to lease out their NFTs via smart contract. Some collectors worry this risky lending could induce a mass margin call that would tank the market.

✨ BFF Updates

Want to grow your knowledge about Web3? 

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Sign up here and start learning today. 

We ♥️ Our Community

This week, we spotlighted community member Sierra Nawabi, founder of the online crystal boutique, Good Juu Juu. Read how she incorporates NFTs into her e-commerce business in this article by contributor Isabel Doonan

🎧 BONUS: Listen to Nawabi discuss blockchain for consumer brands with Overpriced JPEGs Founder & Host Carly Reilly in this Twitter Space replay. 

BFF Events


Thanks for reading! We’d love to hear from you. Feel free to let us know what you think of this newsletter and what you’d like to see from it in the future by emailing hello@mybff.com.

🚨 This newsletter and all the information in it does not constitute financial advice. If you don’t want to invest money or time in Web3, you don’t have to. As always: Do your own research.

Megan DeMatteo is BFF's Editorial Partner.

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