Volume 4

Doodles, the PFP project made up of whimsical artwork by Burnt Toast, has teamed up with the cozy footwear giant Crocs. 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.

This announcement comes right before an exciting Doodles pop-up event from August 11 to 13 at Shibuya PARCO in Tokyo. This is significant because Shibuya PARCO is home to a host of culture-defining luxury brand retail stores, high-end eateries, technology, entertainment, and arts & culture pop ups and experiences.

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 that 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.

On August 8th, 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. After the 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."

DeGods, also owned by DeLabs, 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 Female DeGods.

The internationally renowned Beijing-based pop artist Yue Minjun once again made waves in the art world with his NFT collection, Kingdom of the Laughing Man, which began pre-sales on August 8 and sold out the same day.

The artwork features the 61-year-old artist's famous alter ego, the Laughing Man. This release is generating significant buzz, given Minjun's stature as a blue-chip contemporary artist.

VeeFriends and Reebok 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 for free, from August 3rd to August 17th. On August 17th, the gates open for holders of VeeFriends Series 1 and Series 2 NFTs.

This week, Nouns DAO celebrated its second birthday, proving the Nouns’ staying power. Nouns embraces innovative IP experiments that mobilize and inspire its passionate holder base.

Currently, the 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.

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

Base is a blockchain built by Coinbase as 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.

While the NFT ecosystem may be navigating headwinds, there continues to be endless innovation and building happening all around us. This creativity was on display earlier this month when FWB gathered over 700 creative, web3, tech, and cultural leaders for FWB Fest, a world-class festival consisting of music, panels, art, and experiences. OpenSea sponsored the event by curating an NFT gallery and participating in panel discussions.

OpenSea’s gallery, Build in Winter, told the story of 17 drops that are pushing the boundaries of what NFTs can do, both on chain and off. For a full list of participating artists and creators, click the button below!