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Issue #1 - Sports Meet Web3 🤝

Nike hops into the metaverse, “Microsoft for Crypto” & WAGMI United

Author

Noah Edelman
December 23, 2021

gm shifters,

Whether you’re a crypto nomad or just set foot inside the web3 rabbit hole (YGMI), Shift is your new home for web3 news stories, opportunities, and education. Most crypto newsletters and tools are messy, complicated, and inaccessible. Shift is here to explain and curate the most notable crypto content in plain language so that even your grandparents vibe with us.

For anyone looking to learn a bit more about web3, NFTs, & the metaverse without having to suffer through impossible lingo & get-rich-quick schemes, Shift is the place for you. Join us 💌

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Nike just ditched the boring adult table and hopped (literally, almost) to the cool kids' table. On Monday the apparel and shoe titan acquired virtual shoes & metaverse company RTFKT Studios, a creator of virtual sneakers and digital collectibles that can be bought and sold as NFTs.

💰 RTFKT was early on the NFT train, helping teenage artist FEWOCiOUS sell 600 virtual sneakers for over $3.1 million this spring

🚀 the a16z-backed startup recently created the Clone X NFT, a collection of digital avatars and collectible traits, in collab with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami

🦊 Their website is linked with popular crypto wallet MetaMask, allowing customers to track and store their purchases online

⚔️ This deal creates an endless slew of opportunities for Nike to leverage their brand and legendary swoosh into the future of digital experiences

“the latest in-game engines, NFTs, blockchain authentication and augmented reality to create one of a kind virtual products and experiences.”

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Thirdweb, a no-code software platform for launching crypto projects, just closed a $5 million round from high profile business moguls and VCs, including the likes of Gary Vaynerchuk and Mark Cuban. Created by Furqan Rydhan, co-founder of Bebo and Applovin, along with Social Chair founder Steven Bartlett, Thirdweb allows corporations, startups, and creators to build blockchain projects like NFT collections, DAOs, and social tokens without writing a line of code.

📈 While a mere three months old, Thirdweb has already crossed over 500 unique projects build on its platform

🤝 The startup generates revenue by taking 5% of the royalties of secondary sales of NFTs, aligning its own incentives with the success of their customers

🦬 The co-founders are anticipating a massive institutional and consumer shift into web3, noting that companies like Nike, Disney, Bumble, and Meta are toying with web3 products already

“Look at what happened from 1995 to 2000 on the ‘internet’ and use that history lesson to deploy how much will be ‘fixed’ in web3 over the next half-decade. I’m excited to see Thirdweb accelerate this shift. Fifteen years ago, no one believed that the world would be full of social media creators and artists. Web3 is now giving them the opportunity to own their creations and get a fair share of the profits, and I think that’s something you don’t want to miss.” — Gary Vaynerchuk

A group of American investors are planning to purchase an English soccer team in the English Football League and leverage data analytics and NFTs to supercharge the first crypto & community-owned sports team. The group intends to offer fans ownership of the team through NFTs & ultimately outspend their way to enter the English Premier League.

🚨 the group includes 76ers team president Daryl Morey, Gary Vaynerchuk, & TikTok obsession, Bryce Hall

🏀 this is yet another move bridging sports & web3, following an announcement earlier this year that the arena shared by the Clippers and Lakers would be renamed to Crypto.com Arena.

⚽️ the group calls themselves WAGMI United, also known as “We’re All Going To Make It”

“Johnson and Smith believe that model could help a team to become “Crypto’s Club,” with a unique community of online investors and fans. While some sports teams have sold NFTs, WAGMI United envisions a larger offering — not a one-off cash-grab but a collection that builds a digital universe, a real-world community and a sustainable business.”

web3 content we’re munching on 🍿

Jobs & Bounties 🤓

- Sincerely, Noah from Shift.