The bear market isn’t stopping web3 adoption

Welcome back to Decentra Daily, bringing you the most important news from web3, with an entertaining spin.

Estimated read time: 3 minutes 20 seconds

Today's stories:

• The bear market isn’t stopping web3 adoption

• A cool thread on dNFTs – but do we need them?

The bear market isn’t stopping web3 adoption

While assets are tanking and NFT marketplaces are freezing over, the bear market doesn’t seem to be having much impact on web3 adoption. 

Last month, we wrote about BlackRock’s planned partnership with Coinbase, allowing their institutional clients to easily invest in crypto.

And over the past weeks, we’ve seen big names like Starbucks and the NFL reveal their adoption plans.

Yesterday, Citadel, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and a bunch of other major firms announced joint plans to launch a new cryptocurrency exchange, EDX Markets.

In fact throughout this entire period, companies are sticking around, VCs are still interested, and funding is buoyant. In the last week alone, Blockworks reported $500 million in funds for crypto, metaverse, and web3 gaming startups. 

Research from KPMG shows that VCs invested more than $14 billion in crypto projects over the first half of 2022 – less than the same period in 2021, for sure, but still way up from previous years.

All of this is happening during a downturn that looks every bit as bad as past crypto winters:

So why are big companies still so bullish?

Probably because these organizations aren’t speculating or looking for a quick buck. Instead, they believe in web3 technology.

They’re betting that going on-chain (or supporting public/user adoption) is the best way to ensure they’ll still be around in tomorrow’s web3 world.

Investment firms are recognizing their clients’ interest in crypto, while brands suspect that future consumers will expect more back in return for their loyalty.

And, bear market conditions can be more appetizing for web2 veterans looking to enter the space.

A tougher financial landscape is forcing many web3 startups to reassess their day-to-day activities, from reducing their employee numbers to finding better short-term ROI.

When it comes to driving usage and connecting with the traditional economy, those who built the last generation of web products may have lots of practical knowledge to offer today’s web3 pioneers.

As Cobo COO Lily King wrote earlier this year:

“The web3 movement is now forced into a sobering reset moment – which actually is a good time for web2 entrepreneurs to enter the playing field and leverage their know-how to help accelerate Web3 applications toward mass adoption and real-world economic activities.”

A cool thread on dNFTs – but do we need them?

Michael Robinson, a Chainlink dev, put together this cool thread on Dynamic NFTs (dNFTs), which are NFTs with smart contracts that allow metadata updates. When relevant conditions are met, the NFT can change or update itself in predefined ways.

Why would you want an NFT that changes over time? Well, here are some of Michael’s ideas:

The concept is to use dNFTs to record your home renovations or a car’s tire change. In theory, this could make it easier for potential buyers to evaluate items and trust the info they’re being given. Asset condition and history could be viewed simply by searching its ID.

Dealers and marketplaces could also benefit from storing their goods on a decentralized, accessible blockchain.

But do we need the blockchain for this?

Seeing the entire history of a car or home preserved in the blockchain would help people feel reassured that nobody’s been tampering with the data. 

But, if dNFTs contain are going to contain lots of details beyond simple transaction records and owner info, who’s compiling and authenticating that data?

Presumably, the same people who already keep asset databases – organizations like Carfax, RE/MAX, and trusted licensing or testing bodies.

Which means that the information dNFTs are being fed isn’t less centralized or more trustworthy than current practices. So are they necessary?

Are there better uses for dNFTs than those in Michael’s thread? Send us an example!

Headlines of the day

• Someone Just Minted an NFT of Ethereum's Last Proof-of-Work Block

• Fortnite Developer Epic Games’ Marketplace Lists First NFT Game

• NFT Transaction Fees ‘Don’t Matter’: NFT Book Author

Disclaimer: Nothing in this article/newsletter should be considered financial advice. The purpose is to inform readers of the current trends and news in the web3 space. We encourage every reader to do their own research and not act upon information put forth by Decentra Daily.