#184 - Beeple, Pudgy Penguins, and gaming NFTs on Amazon's new blockchain

GM and welcome to Decentra Daily.

We're the web3 newsletter that comes back each week feelin' harder, better, faster, stronger.

Today,

1. Big names sign to Amazon's blockchain

2. Jack Butcher is building an AI?

3. Fortnite 2.0

Plus, all the web3 headlines, memes, and Tweets of the day.

D-Daily takeaway 🥡Thanks to airdrop farming, CryptoPunks are rocking the boat!

What's this? 🤔Our floor price index tracks the biggest, most influential pfp projects, art collections, and gaming assets.

What NFTs will launch with the Amazon Marketplace?

I feel like people are still sleeping on the news that Amazon is launching an NFT marketplace.

After all, they're not only one of the most trusted names in eCommerce – they pretty much invented it. 😂

So, when it comes to optimizing and popularizing online markets, there are few better companies to have on your team than Bezos' behemoth.

Recently, more leaked info suggests Amazon's NFT store will launch with content from some established names

Talking to Blockworks, "seven people familiar with the platform’s formation" have claimed that Amazon has signed deals with big web3 names to bring their talents to its gasless, private blockchain.

Those names are...

• Beeple

Arguably the NFT artist with the biggest mainstream reputation.

• Pudgy Penguins

From the Blockworks article, it's unclear if this refers to Luca Netz and the currently-booming NFT collection – or something new from Penguins' ousted original founders.

• The Fabricant

The digital wearables platform that has previously collabed with World of Women. 

• Artifact Labs

An NFT infrastructure company focused on "historical" NFTs and documenting the rise of web3.

• Proof Collective.

Kevin Rose's NFT media ecosystem, which includes the Moonbirds pfp collection. 

Not a bad starting lineup!

The anonymous sources say that Amazon plans to promote its NFT project through its gamer streaming site, Twitch.

With this in mind, Amazon has also signed up several crypto-gaming companies, who will offer gaming NFTs on the marketplace. 👀

Other big players who've launched NFT platforms have indeed struggled to win over their userbases

Coinbase's NFT marketplace flopped so hard that the crypto exchange didn't even bother releasing its latest NFT on its own platform.

And right now, Instagram is in the process of removing its short-lived support for non-fungibles.

Will Amazon's entry into NFTs go the same way?

Maybe. But of all the big tech giants, Amazon is amongst the most careful. Once it decides to pull the trigger on a project, it tends to stick with it.

Amazon has reportedly chosen Prime Day (July 22) as the date it will begin promoting the NFT platform to US Prime customers.

Notable Tweets ✅

On the web3 wire 

Twitter posts its tweet recommendation algorithm on GitHub 🐥 According to the code (which is continually updated), liked tweets receive a 30x boost, while posts with poor spelling or content that's not focused on your niche will get demoted.

A startup wants to make a user-friendly front end for every ETH contract 😌Universal Frontend is a procedurally generated interface that makes it easier to understand and interact with the code inside smart contracts.

Have we just entered "bull season"? 🐂The first month of the second quarter of the year is traditionally bullish for crypto, as well as the stock market.

Jack Butcher's Opepen AI

What's this, you say? Jack Butcher (of ever-artwork-changing Checks fame) is building an AI?

Kind of!

For the past few weeks, Butcher has been live-tweeting the development of his Opepen NFTs, which are set to become the pfp collection of his Checks ecosystem.

Recently, his artistic process drifted into AI-image generation (how could it not right now), which seems to have got Jack thinking about how he can build an AI tool for his community. 

What you need to know:

• Check's technical lead, @jalil_eth, posted a thread on the new Opepen feature

• Based on the thread, it sounds like the feature will be an AI-powered artwork generator

• The generator will use the Opepen shape and custom prompts to create (and mint?) unique art

• Which might remind you of Tyler Hobbs' QQL generator from last year.

For more, listen to this Space on Opepens by Jack.

Fortnite harnesses Unreal Editor to give players more creative power

Here's something worth keeping an 👀 on – Fortnite's new level editor.

Epic Games has launched Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), a PC app where creators can design, develop, and publish games and experiences directly into Fortnite.

If you're not familiar with your son's/brother's/grandkid's favorite pastime, the online shooter game already had features to let players design their own Fortnite maps and minigames

But with the power of Unreal Engine 5, this editor (still in Beta) should help unleash the creative potential of Fortnite's +200 million monthly players.

The update promises the ability to make bigger, more detailed, and imaginative worlds in live collaboration with others.

Sure, Fortnite's not a web3 game.

But we're here for any company that's encouraging decentralization through community-led development.

Decentra Daily is brought to you by Kraken

What if I told you... about an NFT marketplace & crypto exchange that gives you multi-chain access.

...Where you can buy NFTs with fiat or 200 different cryptocurrencies, often for zero fees.

...And where every NFT comes with a built-in rarity ranking?

...Dude.

Kraken is a crypto exchange and NFT marketplace built from the floor up. It's designed to provide traders and collectors with a secure, dynamic, and seamless trading experience.

And now introducing: Kraken Pro

Build your own, fully custom, real-time advanced crypto trading dashboards with Kraken Pro.

Access spot trading, margin, and staking – all via one powerful and very sexy interface.

Meme of the day

 Degens tonight:

C U Tmrw! 👋

What we're reading this week