Popular yet gloomy NFT trends💨+ Another stablecoin causes instability
Gm 1Walletoors
A shortage of stories in Web3? Don’t know her. But we do know how to make the most current stories related to crypto, NFTs, and other degen activities digestible. Here are this week’s spotlights:
👺Doom and Gloom: In NFT, the dark aesthetics reflect the current market sentiment
🌡️Too hot to handle: DeFi fragility and contagion fears
🍨 Sweet Scoop: Dollar Cost Averaging in an unpredictable world
📲 1W Updates: Looking for user feedback + look out for team Harmony at NFT NYC
From WAGMI to WAGDIE, ETH projects take a sinister turn
🌯 Why the front page of OpenSea looks like a Brother’s Grimm Story
After Goblins took the NFT world by storm by creating a dark and dystopian themed NFTs, the creators are doubling down on dark memes to capture the soured market sentiment that has gone from a wagmi (we’re all gonna make it) to ngmi (not gonna make it). Goblin copycat projects made their rounds as buyers tried to guess whether the projects were related and would also catch on like wildfire. Soon after, proximate themed projects started appearing – Trolltown.wtf, Leave Me Alone NFT, Begin as nothing, and even lil poop it NFT – with the sh💩t NFT projects (literally) fetching thousands
After the success of Goblintown, with its hideous yet lucrative creatures and unpredictable storyline, eager buyers looked for the next delightfully ghoulish hit. With money scare and buyers uncertain, free mints have become the way to gain interest and popularity in a crowded space. At the same time, creators realized, perhaps people connect stories and projects that reflect the mood of the market. How will this turn around? Where will the stories take us next? Only time will tell.
Staked Eth becomes the latest focus of crypto stress
🌡️ Celsius calls a halt on lending out stETH
An ongoing DeFi contagion stemming from the Terra collapse continues to rock the market as previously reliable pegs lose their footing triggered by the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt), resulting in a self-fulfilling liquidity crunch. Such is the case with crypto lending company Celsius, who was one of the major lenders of staked ETH on the market. The minimum staking threshold is 32 ETH (currently approx. $34K), a high hurdle for many investors. Celsius removed this barrier to entry by allowing its users to stake any amount of ETH and reap the benefits of a staking return. Celsius would in turn stake ETH in exchange for an IOU (stETH) to their clients. Sounds too simple and good to be true? Turns out, it was. This scheme required a major assumption for it to work: majority of users would remain content with the IOU and the staked rewards and would not attempt to withdraw ETH (which is locked indefinitely until the first phase of the Ethereum transition from PoW to PoS completes). As is often the case, the worst did play out when the users flocked to limit their DeFi exposures, causing stETH to lose its peg to ETH, causing mass hysteria across the crypt market of a potential and broader contagion that could further bring down other major players.
The key takeaway from a month-long DeFi contagion? Keep the main thing the main thing, and go back to the basics of investment: fundamentals and patience. Understand how the business works. In less tumultuous markets, many business plans for profit look sound. However, it is important to consider unexpected scenarios, and understand the true risk of your investment. It is worth taking the time to research before investing in hopes for a quick buck.
🍨 Sweet Scoop: Why do people talk about DCA (Dollar Cost Averaging)?
During the bear market, some financial terms are mentioned more often than others when people discuss different ways they are approaching investments. One of those terms is DCA, or Dollar Cost Averaging. DCA is investing the same amount of money on an incremental basis to a stock, regardless of share price. This is meant to reduce the impact of market fluctuations on investment.
It is often introduced in web3 education and strategy sessions when learning about different ways to invest, as the crypto market is notoriously unpredictable. DCA allows you to consistently invest in a financial entity you believe in, without having to monitor the minute-to-minute fluctuations of price to take advantage of highs and lows. It avoids the human emotion attached to wanting to invest only when an entity is at the lowest of lows and only selling when it is at the highest of highs. It also allows people to slowly build up their investment in stocks or coins that may seem inaccessible if you cannot invest thousands of dollars in one moment to buy one coin. With DCA, you will build up an investment over time.
Keep in mind this is only ONE of many approaches to investment that can be used during different market climates.
📲1Wallet Updates
Calling all Gen Z Wallet users: The 1Wallet team is looking to interview some GenZ “crypto curious” friends to get some insights on your experience and interests in Web3/crypto. If you have the time, please schedule here. We’d love to give a small token of our appreciation for your participation!
Heading to NFT NYC? Watch out for the Harmony team at the NFT NYC Web3 Lounge. In addition, on 6/24, Leo Chen is speaking at NFT NYC. Check the website for more details.
Stay up to date with the latest with us on Twitter and – as always – drop feedback in Discord.
See you soon,
1Walletees
