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

Wrangler and MNTGE Release NFC-tagged Wrangler Items

Classic denim brand Wrangler is stepping into the future with its latest offering: vintage clothing tagged with near-field communication (NFC) chips.

This innovative move, made in collaboration with authenticated vintage clothing brand MNTGE, brings classic fashion into the digital age. Each piece comes with a phone-scannable NFC tag that unlocks an on-screen portal to exclusive stories, historical insights, and information about the 77-year-old Wrangler brand. 

It’s not every day that an iPhone can make a person feel closer to a rodeo, but that’s exactly how Wrangler global creative and concept director Sean Gormley describes the NFC chip-enabled experience: “Our communities have told us they’re interested in the history of the brand,” he said in a recent Glossy interview. “They want to know more about how the brand is related to the rodeo and who buys our more exclusive products. It makes the feeling of being a customer richer if the brand is willing to reveal more about what goes into the product or how it’s made.”

So far, Wrangler’s ride into the web3 rodeo seems to be lassoing in buyers, with a 7% reported spike in revenue since the brand began experimenting with blockchain (first with its 75th anniversary commemorative “Mr. Wrangler Legendary” NFT dropped in 2022 in collaboration with Grammy-nominated artist Leon Bridges). 

Consumer Engagement Platform, Arianee, Partners with Polygon on New L2

Arianee, a consumer engagement platform behind some of the world’s biggest brands like IBM, L’Oréal, and Lacoste, has partnered with leading Layer Two (L2) blockchain Polygon to launch a new appchain for tokenizing digital product passports for real-world assets. 

Utilizing Polygon’s signature chain development kit (CDK), Arianee now offers brands a seamless way to engage with consumers through on-chain digital proofs of ownership. These digital passports turn regular product information into a unique digital ID that can track an item’s provenance (origin) and ownership history, making every product interaction an opportunity to build personalized experiences for buyers. 

The Arianee x Polygon partnership significantly upgrades Arianee’s protocol which has been in use since 2018. To date, Arianee has created over 1.5 million digital product passports. This announcement marks a significant step forward in the integration of blockchain technology with existing consumer engagement solutions.

Unstoppable Domains Partners with Pudgy Penguins

Web3 domain provider Unstoppable Domains is joining forces with Pudgy Penguins to launch the first NFT community-focused web3 domain. Now, Pudgy Penguin holders can purchase custom top-level domains (TLD) ending in the recognizable “.PUDGY” registration. 

This new capability unlocks numerous new ways for the Pudgy community to interact online, from exclusive group chat access for those with .PUDGY domains to interactive badge-earning opportunities for those with multiple. Holders can also sign up for the .PUDGY ambassador program, which offers opportunities to win domains through social media storytelling.  

Doodles Reveals Their ‘Entertain, Engage, Exchange’ Strategy

Doodles is gearing up to disrupt the entertainment industry with its new playbook for equitable intellectual property (IP) development.

The playbook, entitled “Entertain, Engage, Exchange” and outlined in a detailed thread on X, covers plans to entertain mainstream audiences with “world-class IP,” convert passive audiences to active members through the Stoodio community hub and facilitate the exchange of digital collectibles with web3 products that “give you more to do with your NFTs.”

While early adopters understand web3’s fertile ground for industry innovation, the new Doodles strategy reflects a clear, three-pronged approach to track viewer engagement and incentivize participation. 

“NFTs provide the ultimate attribution playground,” wrote Doodles head of business development, Austin Hurwitz, on X.  “Every action — from watching content to attending experiences to co-creating lore — is acknowledged, rewarded, and analyzed to give each community member a personalized experience in the ecosystem.”

GameOn LALIGA War Chest Launches

Football (or soccer, depending on where you’re from) has met the future in a big, exciting way. On February 28, fantasy sports company GameOn and Spanish men’s football division LALIGA unveiled their War Chest NFT collection, a digital treasure trove of unique digital items celebrating the passion of Spain’s premier football league.
Available now on OpenSea, the collection promises exclusive content and unlocked fan experiences like never before. Owning a GameOn LaLIGA War Chest can elevate holders’ status to OG within the ecosystem, giving them priority access to fantasy games and enhanced $GAME token rewards. Not to mention, War Chest NFTs also grant select access to VIP prizes within GameOn, including in-game boosts and playable avatars.

DeLabs Drops First NFTs for Upcoming ‘Metabolts’ Game

South Korean gaming giant DeLabs dropped its first group of NFTs for its eagerly anticipated game, Metabolts, originally announced in April 2023.

The role-playing game (RPG) will progressively release 7,777 NFTs in three parts: a private sale, an allowlisted sale, and a public sale. The Metabolts private sale opened for a 24-hour period on February 25, giving holders of the Adventure Pass (a catalog-wide access key) and close ecosystem partners the opportunity to reserve their mint. 

A link to the private sale was provided for participants. On the designated mint day, those who made their deposits were able to claim their reserved NFTs. 

On February 27, Delabs reported that 3,139 Metabolds were scooped up in the private sale, leaving 4,638 for the upcoming allowlist sale on mint day. 

Owning a Metabolt NFT is critical for gameplay. Each comes with varying mint costs and will unlock rewards like exclusive airdrops, opportunities for staking rewards and in-game boosts.