Welcome to the OpenSea digest. Let’s look back through the biggest NFT and web3 news of the week.

Tyler Hobbs sets a 10-artist chain in motion with Please Respond

Tyler Hobbs Studio has invited nine artists to join Please Respond, a project where one artwork gets handed off in sequence and each artist changes it while keeping visible traces of what came before. 

The releases will run daily from May 6 to May 16 on Shape, a digital platform that tracks onchain ownership, with 50 editions, or identical copies, per drop and access tied to prior activity on the platform.

Pricing is set at 0.07 ETH, with a portion reserved for Season Pass buyers and the rest available one per collector. After the full run, a complete set of signed prints from all 10 artists will be released.

Separately, Hobbs’ QQL monthly prompt opened April 16 and asks participants to submit images built from “seeds” that are split in half, a phenomenon that Hobbes says is fairly common. 

Art Blocks opens Marfa 2026 artist application

Art Blocks, the generative art platform, is now accepting artist applications for Marfa Weekend 2026, its annual gathering in Marfa, Texas, running Oct. 22 to 25. 

The event brings together artists, collectors and fans for four days of programming, and participation is free for artists, though travel and lodging are self-funded. 

Applications close June 12, and Art Blocks will notify all artists starting in July. The platform wants artists bringing live demonstrations, interactive experiences, work for sale, or formats that invite the audience to participate directly. 

Separately, on May 2, the Museum of Art + Light will display selections from the Art Blocks 500, a curated collection of 500 works generated by code rather than a paintbrush, alongside an exhibition dedicated to Pablo Picasso during the museum’s annual gala. 

NBA Top Shot adds game-worn jerseys and signed gear to its 2026 playoff rewards

NBA Top Shot, the collectibles platform where fans collect officially licensed video highlights as digital items, is launching an airdrop event tied to the 2026 NBA Playoffs with the chance for physical redeemables.

Starting April 20, a $10 pack will drop at noon ET the day after every standout playoff play, each containing that clip with a chance at one of six limited parallels, including a 1-of-1 called, “Omega.”

Separately, a limited-time points event called “Road to the Ring” will run April 17 through June 26, where purchases, picks and gameplay earn points redeemable for signed jerseys and game-worn gear sold exclusively through the platform. Two more drops will follow on May 20 and June 24.

Foundation NFT marketplace is shutting down

Foundation, the marketplace where artists have sold digital works since 2021, announced it is closing after a planned sale to an unnamed buyer fell through. 

The platform's infrastructure has already been taken offline, and founder Kayvon Tehranian said no alternative buyer is being pursued. 

Creators who hold NFTs listed in Foundation's marketplace smart contract will be able to retrieve them once the team releases a process for doing so. The announcement says Foundation will continue hosting the underlying media files for one year, during which users are encouraged to back up any work they want to preserve using IPFS, a decentralized file storage system. 

XRP Ledger adds privacy layer for institutional transactions

The XRP Ledger, a public blockchain used by banks and financial firms, has integrated Boundless, a zero-knowledge proof network, to let institutions transact privately without exposing transaction amounts, counterparties or treasury positions to the public record. 

Zero-knowledge proofs let one party confirm a transaction is valid and compliant without revealing the underlying details, similar to a credit check that confirms someone qualifies for a loan without disclosing their finances. 

Institutions including SBI Holdings, Zand Bank and Guggenheim Treasury Services already reportedly use the network.

Ledger is building hardware-backed security tools for AI agents

Popular crypto hardware storage company Ledger is rolling out a security stack designed to keep humans in control as AI agents gain access to wallets, credentials and financial accounts. 

According to its roadmap, the stack is designed to address the concern that an AI agent, once compromised by a malicious file or webpage, could be redirected to send funds or expose sensitive data without the user knowing. 

With these new updates, Ledger's physical device acts as a required checkpoint where an AI agent can line up a transaction or action, but nothing actually executes until the person holding the device presses a button on it. 

The full system is expected to roll out in three stages through 2026, starting with tools that give each agent a verified identity, then rules that cap what an agent can spend or do without asking first and, finally, a way to confirm a real person is running the agent.

Visa launches a validator node on Tempo, a stablecoin payment blockchain

Visa is now operating a validator node on Tempo, a blockchain built for real-time stablecoin payments. The move positions the payments company as having a direct role in confirming and ordering transactions on the network. 

Validator nodes are the computers responsible for verifying that transactions are legitimate and recording them to the network's shared ledger. Visa built the node over six months using its own infrastructure and joins Stripe and Zodia Custody, a digital asset custodian, as early validators. 

The move extends a broader push by major payment companies into stablecoin infrastructure. For instance, Stripe acquired stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion in 2024, and Mastercard agreed last month to acquire stablecoin payments company BVNK for up to $1.8 billion.

Ethereum Foundation launches $1M subsidy to cover smart contract security audits

The Ethereum Foundation is putting $1 million toward covering part of the cost of security audits for developers building on the Ethereum network. A security audit is an independent code review conducted before a project goes live to catch vulnerabilities.

The program is a joint initiative with Areta, a crypto advisory firm that runs the audit marketplace where applications are submitted, alongside research firms Nethermind and Chainlink Labs. 

According to the announcement, priority will go to projects advancing the foundation's CROPS principles, short for censorship resistance, open source, privacy and security.

Telegram lets users create personal AI bots

Telegram has added a new feature that lets users quickly create AI “agent” bots inside the app with just a couple of taps. Users can go through a short setup inside a mini app, pick preferences like tone or language, and get a new bot with its own username that remembers those settings across sessions.

Each new bot reportedly acts like a personal helper, closer to personal assistants that sit inside Telegram messaging platform and carry out instructions, as opposed to autonomous chat partners.

A user can use a bot to summarize messages, draft replies in a certain tone, manage reminders, pull information from connected services, or coordinate other bots that handle specific tasks inside the messaging platform.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or trading advice. References to specific projects, products, services, or tokens do not constitute an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by OpenSea. OpenSea does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information presented, and readers should independently verify any claims made herein before acting on them. Readers are solely responsible for conducting their own due diligence before making any decisions.‍