This Week in Web3 and NFTs

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

Crocs Dips Into Web3 With Doodles

If you've ever wanted to sport NFT charms on your shoes, now is your chance. 

Doodles, the highly recognized pastel PFP project made up of whimsical artwork by Burnt Toast, has teamed up with the cozy footwear giant Crocs to give us a fashion fusion worth stepping into. 

The collaboration is breaking boundaries by introducing Crocs wearables and the shoe brand’s snazzy signature “jibbitz” embellishments as NFTs, fusing digital art with comfortable fashion that collectors of all generations can appreciate.

This announcement comes right before an exciting Doodles pop-up event from August 11 to 13 at Shibuya PARCO in Tokyo. From 11am to 9pm (while supplies last), visitors can be one of the first to buy the latest Doodles vinyl figurines at the in-person event.

This is significant because Shibuya PARCO is home to a host of luxury brand retail stores, high-end eateries, technology, entertainment, and arts & culture pop ups and experiences. Doodles joining the ranks of the other major brands in the space, including Japan’s first Nintendo store, signals that the web3 brand is expanding beyond the digital world into the big leagues of high end physical retail. 

This follows the June announcement that Doodles is partnering with Camp, a hybrid shop/play experience with locations in cities across the United States, for their first flagship retail and entertainment experience, with the goal of expanding the reach of Doodles' art and providing a new avenue for artists to showcase their work.

PayPal Launches PYUSD Stablecoin Linked to US Dollar

Hold onto your crypto wallets, because PayPal just introduced PYUSD, a stablecoin tied to the U.S. Dollar. Per PayPal’s press release, PYUSD is underpinned by a combination of U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. treasuries and analogous cash equivalents. They explain, this dollar-equivalent backing ensures that PYUSD can be redeemed on a 1:1 basis for U.S. dollars, establishing trust and stability in its value.

According to the press release, eligible U.S. PayPal customers who purchase PayPal USD will soon be able to transfer PayPal USD between PayPal and compatible external wallets, send person-to-person payments in PYUSD, fund purchases with PYUSD at checkout and convert supported cryptocurrencies to and from PYUSD.

Y00ts Announces Move to Ethereum

On August 8th, celebrated NFT collection y00ts announced they were migrating to Ethereum. This news comes only a number of months after y00ts migrated from their original chain, Solana, to Polygon earlier this year. In this week’s announcements, y00ts vowed to return the $3M grant from Polygon. The team explained the goal of the migration is to "unite the DeGods and y00ts communities."

Y00ts is owned by the startup, DeLabs, which also oversees DeGods, which moved to Ethereum in April of this year. This week, DeGods released Season III of their collection which  introduced 20,000 new art pieces (no dilution), four generations of art for each DeGod, and introduction of Female DeGods.

Yue Minjun’s Iconic ‘The Laughing Man’ Collection Dropped August 8th

The internationally renowned Beijing-based pop artist Yue Minjun is set to once again make waves in the art world with his eagerly awaited second NFT collection. Kingdom of the Laughing Man, which began pre-sales on August 8, features the 61-year-old artist's famous alter ego, the Laughing Man, as a collection of NFTs.

The LiveArt platform served as the stage for this momentous event, offering collectors a chance to acquire one of Minjun's iconic laughing figurines for a relatively modest starting price of 0.35 ETH. This release is generating significant buzz, given Minjun's stature as a blue-chip contemporary artist. 

The release was in collaboration with the IV Gallery in Los Angeles. 

Reebok x VeeFriends Sneaker Collab Lands This Month

VeeFriends and Reebok have just kicked things up a notch with their electric new partnership resulting in a redeemable NFT sneaker collection. Introducing the VeeFriends Aspiring Alpaca Classic Nylon sneaker collection, primed for release to the general public on August 24. 

These limited-edition kicks, which flaunt VeeFriends’ spunky Aspiring Alpaca persona, come with a price tag of $90. VeeFriends Series 1 Aspiring Alpaca holders can snag a pair of these swanky shoes absolutely free, from August 3rd to August 17th. On August 17th, the gates swing open early for the fortunate holders of VeeFriends Series 1 and Series 2 NFTs, who have first access.

The VeeFriends NFT collection is a treasure trove of 283 idiosyncratic characters that represent distinct virtues. For this first sneaker collab, the project selected the Aspiring Alpaca to front the team-up. The Alpaca was chosen for how it seemingly embodies personal aspirations, aligning with Reebok’s mission to embolden people to unlock their full potential.

The sneakers are constructed from nylon with suave suede overlays, adorned with the VeeFriends insignia and a classic Series 1 depiction of Aspiring Alpaca. The Reebok x VeeFriends footwear fusion underscores the power of collaboration between two dynamic realms — a classic sportswear brand and a cutting-edge web3 community striding boldly into groundbreaking territory.

Nouns Dao Celebrates Its Second ‘Nouniversary’

This week, Nouns DAO celebrated its second birthday, proving the Nouns community staying power.

Arguably, the community-driven and open-source nature of Nouns is responsible for its positive momentum. The Nouns community continually produces fresh content with its no-copyright intellectual property (IP), such as a highly anticipated comic book series with book publisher Titan Comics.  Nouns embraces innovative IP experiments that mobilize and inspire its passionate holder base.

As the Nouns looks ahead, changes may be afoot: Currently, the Nouns community is deliberating over the potential impacts of a major proposed overhaul to its smart contracts. The discussion, however, seems to further solidify Nouners’ overarching commitment to fostering creativity above all else. 

For those captivated by the world of DAOs, the ongoing Nouns forking debate will unfold in the coming months. Whether turmoil or triumph, Nouns DAO continues to captivate attention as a true force to be reckoned with in the NFT landscape.

OpenSea Is Now Compatible With Base

As of August 3rd, Coinbase’s Base blockchain is compatible with OpenSea.

Base is a blockchain built by Coinbase as a Layer 2 chain for the Ethereum network. It was announced in February 2023 with the goal of integrating with Coinbase’s suite of products and onboarding the next billion users to web3. 

The Base blockchain will operate as a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, meaning that it will process its own transactions and then store a compressed summary of that transaction data on the Ethereum chain. Base’s features will include low gas fees and higher transaction throughput.