Welcome to GM, BFF, a newsletter hitting your inbox every week with key insights from web3, crypto, our community and beyond. Have ideas of what you want to see in this send next week? Email us at hello@mybff.com
On Wednesday, BFF cofounder Jaime Schmidt took the stage alongside independent artist and Zoratopia founder, Latashá Alcindor at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. The moderator got down to business and asked why anyone should invest in Web3 after the fall of the once-trusted crypto exchange FTX.
While this line of questioning is important to protect consumers' best interests, Schmidt and Alcindor spoke about why the FTX implosion proves we need more diversity and community-driven projects at the forefront of Web3.
"This is not going to define this space," Schmidt said of the FTX scandal. "This is not going to paint the picture of what the potential of Web3 really is."
Thankfully, there are infinite ways to learn about Web3 without exposing yourself to undue harm. A $100 NFT investment, Schmidt pointed out in the panel, can offer a Web3 newcomer access to crowdsourced knowledge (known in the space as "alpha"), networking opportunities with the potential to supercharge someone's career in tech or finance and a sense of belonging within a global community of artists, technologists and entrepreneurs.
As crypto white knights-turned-villains like FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried fall dramatically from their pedestals (not to mention Terra's Do Kwon and Three Arrows Capital's Zhu Su and Kyle Davies) we must embrace this moment as an opportunity to see the industry's flaws with open eyes. When the dust settles, we stand ready to build the world we know is possible — one that doesn't need white knights to begin with.
At BFF, we believe community and education are powerful antidotes to FUD (shorthand for "fear, uncertainty and doubt"). More important than "mooning" with the latest meme coin or flipping NFTs for profit is staying current on what your favorite communities are building, reading thought-provoking articles found in Web3 publications like Zora Zine or by joining groups like the BFF Discord channel.
Believing in Web3 is not hopium if we keep our eyes open. And remember — there's no need for FUD when we've got facts.
Catch The Summit Replay Here
SBF melodrama escalates. Apparently, there's a sex tape now, and evidence shows FTX transferred money to the Bahamian government after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Citizen journalism? After Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong credited Twitter with breaking the FTX story, individuals chimed in to criticize mainstream media outlets for framing former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison as a math-loving Harry Potter nerd and publishing a puff piece on former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Taylor turns on Ticketmaster. Taylor Swift's Era Tour tickets went on sale this week, and it was chaos. Some 4 million fans signed up for the presale lottery, and only 1.5 million won the special access code to buy tickets. The demand crashed Ticketmaster's system, and bots crawled the internet flipping tickets. Proponents of NFTs say the whole fiasco shows how blockchain technology could improve ticketing.
Crypto exchanges show receipts. Centralized exchanges like Crypto.com and OKX created "proof of reserves" dashboards in an attempt to quell investor FUD and prevent a liquidity crisis.
Investors crave decentralization. Nansen data suggests investors have a renewed interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) after the FTX crash.
Nike is (still) bullish on NFTs. Nike launched a new NFT marketplace on Polygon called .Swoosh.
SuperRare experiments with subscriptions. The Ethereum-based NFT marketplace minted a collection of 250 Genesis RarePasses through a Dutch Auction starting at 138 ETH. The passes will give serious collectors a monthly airdrop from a leading NFT artist, regular opportunities to win 1-of-1 artworks and exclusive holder perks.
Venture Fund Cofounder Li Jin and Lux Capital Partner Deena Shakir were honored in Fortune's annual 40 Under 40 list for venture and startups.
theSkimm cofounders Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg talk about their 10-year milestone with Entrepreneur.
BFF loves to support the artists in our community. This week, we’re spotlighting Aline Subi, an NFT artist who reinterprets the subjects of daily life and emotion into psychedelic color illustration, ambient glow and misty hues.
View Aline’s work on Foundation and follow her on Twitter.
No clubs this week, BFFs! Look out for more events in early 2023.
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.
