Like last week, this week the hottest topic remains Ukraine and the ongoing conflict with Russia it neither deserves nor wants. Amidst this, projects have been spun up to provide financial aid, someone donated a CryptoPunk to the cause, Russia has blocked Facebook and threatened those who don’t subscribe to the official (and spurious) state narrative of events, and the world has continued to be blessed with an assortment of videos, TikToks, Tweets and other content showing the indomitable spirit of Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, in NFT land, we’ve had to contend with the comparatively frivolous rise of Kevin.

Right, let’s get straight into it!

DYOR 🧐

Pixelmon was meant to be a standout drop in the increasingly crowded world of NFT projects. It promised a play-to-earn gaming experience unlike any seen before, jaw-dropping artwork, and a potential road to riches for early backers, the earliest of whom had to fork out a not-insignificant 3 ETH to play as that was the starting price of the Dutch auction-style drop which eventually raised an impressive $70 million.

Suffice to say, expectations did not match reality. In fact, they came nowhere near the hype or the slick and impressive teaser videos from the Pixelmon team. Instead, what buyers wound up with was a selection of low-poly, budget Minecraft-style horrors for which they’d paid thousands of dollars. To say there was rage from the Pixelmon community doesn’t begin to cover it, but worse perhaps than the (totally reasonable) rage was the disappointment.

It wasn’t just that buyers were financially invested, it was that many were emotionally invested in the project. Having their hopes dashed was one thing, but being made to look like fools and having a project become not only fodder for NFT skeptics and critics, but instant meme fare only rubbed salt in an already deep wound.

One of the only highlights of the debacle is “Kevin,” the cross-eyed, three-toothed, Shrek-meets-Hodor character who became an instant favorite in the community and went on to serve as the inspiration for countless tribute, homage, parody, and opportunistic NFTs in the hours and days following the reveal.

The Pixelmon creators say they’re spending $2 million redoing the art, the game will still go ahead, and they’ll make amends. The market is unconvinced — the floor is currently sitting at ~0.34 ETH ($892), or nearly 1/10th of the top end of the launch price. Then there’s the question of what the remaining $68 million raised is going to be spent on. It’s no wonder many are branding Pixelmon a rug-pull in a poor, pixelated disguise.

Whether or not the team is able to turn the project around, it’s going to go down in NFT lore as a reminder to temper expectations, be suspicious of excessive starting prices, and — above all — to always do your own research and give projects that insist you don’t a wide berth.

Further reading:

• “Pixelmon Wanted to Be the Pokemon of NFT Games. Now It's a Laughing Stock” from CNET.

Definitely something 🎉

As part of our sponsorship of Boston’s first NFT exhibition at the Pellas Gallery, we secured the option to purchase one of each of the 10 works on show, and give that option to members of our community. Entrants had to follow us on Twitter and join our Discord.

If you did that, please head to the Metaversal Discord channel and see if you’re one of the winners so we can help get you one of the incredible pieces.

We also hosted a Twitter Spaces this week with some of the artists and the show’s producer and curator. You can listen to it here for another 28 days or so:

🧑‍🏫 Grammar check ✅

Probably nothing 🤔

Shl0ms says lambo go boom 💥

Conceptual artist Shl0ms blew up a Lamborgini Huracan — both a meme and totem of the nouveau riche class created by the crypto and NFT booms of recent years — created a token ($CAR) meant to represent the fragments, and put 888 of the 999 tokens up for auction.

Is selling NFTs to the highest bidder really the most appropriate means of making a statement about the cash-grab nature of many NFT projects and their supporters? Well, as with most art, that’s in the eye of the beholder.

AAA gaming incoming 🕹

This week saw Avalanche — the smart contracts protocol that’s been advertising on New York subways with phrases like “It’s never too late to be early” — announce a partnership with a game called Shrapnel.

Now look, Avalanche’s statements are bold enough, but classifying an unreleased game as a AAA title ahead of launch is a new level of boldness. Nonetheless, we admire the chutzpah, and reserve judgment until the finished product arrives. It certainly looks like a lot has been spent on the marketing… but as we’ve learned from Kevin, you can’t rely on sexy visuals and sweeping claims alone.

Bag boosters 💰

The week that was (Feb 26 - March 4, 2022) 🗓

The last seven days saw Invisible Friends dominate the seven-day charts despite taking a significant knock on its pre-reveal vs. post-reveal floor price. At the same time, Bored Ape Yacht Club was overtaken by archrival Crytopunks, and last week’s pack leader, 3Landers, is down to seventh spot.

🙄 Watch out for *language* 🙊

NGMI ☄️

Metamask vs. ‘Murica 🦊

It’s one thing claiming web3 is a model of decentralism, protected from the whims of autocrats, nation-states, and other parochial and outdated nationalistic constructs. It’s another, entirely, ensuring that’s truly the case. Metamask (and some of its fans) found this out the hard way this week when it accidentally cut off some of its users in Venezuela, following an over-zealous move by sibling firm Infura (both Infura and Metamask are owned by Consensys), which updated its exceptions list to include countries which the U.S. has added to its list of sanctioned entities.

To the moon 🌜

It was a big week for World of Women, which not only recorded a £567,000 (~ $750,000) sale at Christie’s but which also has a new and unexpected collector… the Canadian outpost of accounting firm Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, better known (thank heavens) by the acronym KPMG.

The firm paid around 25 ETH (~70,000) for its WoW, and spent a little more to secure an ENS domain name (kpmgca.eth) in the process. While the move isn’t going to win WoW any cool points, it’s nonetheless a nod of approval from the establishment.

On a far cooler front, and in a move that’s got to be a first, musician Dillion Francis took payment for a residency in the form of Bored Ape #378 and the chance to record a track with BAYC-fronted electronic duo ESCAPΞPLAN.

Meanwhile, LooksRare added rarity rankings by integrating with Rarity Sniper. Insurance and wealth-management giant IMA Financial Group is opening an R&D facility in Decentraland called “Web3Labs.”

🪡 Thread of the week 🧵

Goats only 🐐

Whether you’re reeling from the Pixelmon fiasco or you think it sounds like an 8-bit Jamaican video game, you should be watching or listening to Goats and the Metaverse.

In each episode, collectibles OG and entrepreneur Stan “The Goat” Meytin and Metaversal co-founder and CEO Yossi Hasson talk about digital and IRL collectibles, NFTs, and the week’s news worth knowing. This week they’ve talked a handful of underrated NFT projects, and considered Kevingate. Check out the latest episode here:

Aside from providing invaluable insights into digital art and collectibles, Stan and Yossi are also putting together a collection of NFTs dubbed “The Goat Vault.” When the show hits 5,000 subscribers on YouTube, one of those lucky subscribers will win the contents of the vault which, at last count, was valued at over $68,844.

Prefer listening? Check out Goats and the Metaverse on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, or wherever you get your podcasts.

LFG 🎉

Awesome in Boston 🫖

We’ve been talking up Boston’s first NFT exhibition called “New Horizons” at the Pellas Gallery on Newbury Street for a few weeks now. Well, it’s now underway, and we were there to witness opening night, which included a line around the block (despite frigid weather). This video from Austin Nader should go a long way to explaining why we’re so bullish on the event.

If you’re in Boston (or going to be) between now and April 23, be sure to stop by. Tell them we sent you, and be sure to scan the QR code in the gallery to claim your New Horizons POAP.

Money <> mouth 💸

Each week we’ll offer you a look at an NFT project we’ve invested in and the motivation behind it. This week we’re looking at John Karel’s “Random Common Skeles.”

Currently numbering more than 38,700, John Karel’s whimsical skeletons can be acquired for as little as 6ꜩ (~$19). That makes them an extremely accessible entry point not just to PFPs, but to the Tezos ecosystem. It helps that they’re kooky, fun, and available in so many variations you’re sure to find one that appeals to you, regardless of your proclivities.

IYKYK 😉

Too many speakers, not enough listeners 🎤

Until next time, see you in the Metaverse.