Closing the gap ↔️ between NFTs & mainstream institutions

Welcome back to Decentra Daily, where we're hoping to get seed round investment from Beanie...the dark lord is back.

Today we've got 2 stories about the closing gap between web3 and mainstream institutions.

First, Mastercard and Visa are moving fast to process crypto. Second, CryptoPunk NFTs start work on preparing their project for the art history books.

Oh... and it looks like Wiggles snuck his degen roundup into the newsletter again. Gotta work out how that guy's bypassing our editors.

Benefits of having access to our security camera feeds, I guess.

Estimated read time: 4 minutes

Today's stories:

• Bank cards and crypto

• Words from Wiggles

• CryptoPunk.App restoration

💳 Bank cards & crypto 💵

The number of services and products that accept crypto payments is slowly increasing.

Huge brands like Home Depot, Microsoft, Starbucks, Nordstrom, and Whole Foods have accepted crypto payments in some form or another for years.

(even if they’re just doing it for the likes.)

Now, payment processing companies are rushing to provide institutions and consumers with the infrastructure needed to make cryptocurrency a daily spending tool.

They’re banking on customers preferring to stick with familiar names and trusted brands as they enter the daunting world of digital cash.

Mastercard…

is the most bullish of the major payment processing companies right now. They’ve announced a five-part plan to help transition crypto from a niche interest into a mainstream financial tool.

Raj Dhamodharan, a Mastercard executive vice president, has described the company’s aims as “making using crypto as seamless as using a contactless card payment.” 👀

Mastercard’s crypto roadmap looks like this:

1. 💳 Crypto cards

These are payment cards that bridge crypto and fiat in different ways. Mastercard has already revealed the Gemini crypto rewards card in the US and prepaid Binance cards in Argentina – and Visa has a bunch of crypto debit cards (scroll down).

2. 👩‍🔧 Crypto services

Next, services for institutions will enable companies to roll out crypto tools for their customers.

• On Monday, Mastercard introduced Crypto Source, a new app for banks. Crypto Source helps institutions offer crypto trading using the trading platform Paxos.

• They’ve also made Crypto Secure, a tool that uses CipherTrace data to give card issuers risk assessment profiles of crypto exchanges.

3. 🏧 Crypto payments

Third is developing ways for people to instantly convert crypto to fiat – essential when using crypto for shopping and daily spending.

4. 🔀 Mastercard networks

Mastercard has plans in the works to bring certain cryptocurrencies directly onto their networks (could be huge!)

5. 🌎 Metaverse and NFTs

Finally, Mastercard is looking to replicate its current services in the metaverse.

You can already pay for NFTs with Mastercard on most big marketplaces, and it seems like you’ll be able to whip out your virtual bank card in the metaverse mall, too.

And in case you think we’re sponsored by Mastercard (we wish), here’s what Visa’s doing on the crypto front

They’ve teamed up with a bunch of the biggest exchanges to offer debit cards with different perks and staking options.

😌 Simple = Coinbase card

“The easiest, quickest way to spend your crypto worldwide.”

⭐️ Popular = FTX card

$2.5 billion in payments were made using this card in Q1 2022.

🎁 Rewards = Crypto.com Visa card

Premium airport lounge access, Spotify & Netflix refunds, depending on how much crypto.com coin ($CRO) you stake.

Question – is daily spending the best way to use cryptocurrencies?..

The Milk Road on crypto debit cards:

Forget inflation, what about crypto volatility?

If that $4 worth of BTC you dropped on coffee is worth $6 the next day, would you regret spending it? What about the $40K you spent on a new car?..

Words from Wiggles

Here's some shit that went down today:

1. Beanie is back, wtf... This morning he was on the NFT Morning show. He was also on another Twitter Spaces last night. If you tuned in, you probably lost a few brain cells. Anyways, it looks like Beanie is back, whether you hate him or love him ...IDGAF really. He announced he was a seed investor in Blur, so it will either moon or rug...no in-between.

2. Speaking of Blur, they launched a new marketplace! Sick, just claimed my $BLUR airdrop based on how much I traded over the last 6 months ...you can find out about it here. Time to recoup all the money I lost. People like Zeneca are involved, who is well respected in the space, in spite of his weird Aussie accent. I'm here for free money. NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE DYOR YOLO.

K get lost, I'm going to punch some darts and have a Redbull + coffee mixer.

CryptoPunks.App prepares for the history books

Work has begun on updating and restoring the cryptopunks.app website to keep up with the crazy pace of change in the online world.

The app is a hub for the Punks ecosystem. It contains explainers, a marketplace, and details about the collection & its owners.

Yuga Labs, who took ownership of the iconic pfp project in the Spring, is working closely with Punk holders to:

• "future-proof" the app "as blockchain technology evolves."

• "improve the UI/UX" and add other basic features

Treating iconic NFTs like any other famous artwork

CryptoPunks are the OG generative pfp NFTs (think: the first project to combine art & collectible assets with the blockchain).

They're also one of the first collections minted on the Ethereum blockchain.

As a result, they deserve a place in any book, documentary, or museum exhibit on 21st-century art history.

That's why Yuga and the Punks community are interested in preserving all elements of the project – just like art historians work to maintain artifacts connected to famous artists and movements.

Yuga compares the task to conservationists looking after a Rothko painting in an art gallery:

Leading the project is @NonFungibleNoah. Noah used to be the head of NFTs at Christie’s, so he's no fool when it comes to building stable platforms and protecting digital art:

Yuga Labs joined Instagram, too!

Headlines of the day

• What Crypto Super Bowl Ads Can We Expect in 2023?

• Princess Charlene of Monaco: 'Web3 Allows Us to Create Assets Worth Collecting'

• US Accounts For 37% of All DeFi Volume—More Than Any Other Region

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.