Are you having fun, anon?

what happens when people actually start using crypto apps and playing crypto games? chaos!

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Forefront
February 05, 2024

Happy Monday!

Welcome to the 178th edition of the Forefront Newsletter, now more dynamic than ever. If you’re new here, we give you a weekly roundup of the best news and insights at the intersection of crypto, culture, and community.

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This week we’re covering:

Let’s get into it…

Unlonely presents: Love on Leverage

Register here to watch Unlonely’s hit reality dating show “Love on Leverage”, back for a brand new season this Valentine’s Week.

Unlonely is a crypto-native livestreaming platform that has pioneered onchain features with high quality entertainment. From Feb 12-16, they’re premiering one new date every day where viewers can kick off and reward contestants by interacting with the $VIBES token. Watch the trailer to learn more about this mechanism, RSVP here to add streams to your calendar, and we’ll see you in the stream chat very soon 🫡

Week’s Highlight

What would happened if you brought the classic show Survivor to the blockchain? That’s Crypto: The Game, an all new crypto-enabled game created by Dylan Abruscato, former head of partnerships of the breakout mobile game show HQ Trivia.

Dylan says he leveraged what he learned from the daily trivia show to create Crypto: The Game, and the learnings are obvious. The buy-in was 0.1 ETH, which some said was too pricey. However, high stakes meant more pressure and commitment from the players. The game is intense, with local and global alliances with the potential for betrayals. The competition is both fun and ruthless.

Each day, there’s a challenge that dictates who will be safe from getting voted out and who’s on the chopping block. Day 2, for example, had people running through Brooklyn to find clues. Another challenge included cryptography and deep-cut Survivor lore.

Many folks – myself included – felt a deep sense of relief after getting eliminated early. The stress was high, and it was clear that some folks were just more committed to win by any means necessary.

However, it’s obvious that CTG is one of the most exciting developments in crypto today – and maybe ever – and has created an incredible experience for crypto-natives and interested folks alike.

CTG wasn’t the only fun from the last week, though. Love on Leverage, a dating series from Unlonely, also announced a new run starting next week. In the Solana ecosystem, it’s the Solana Hunger Games.

Between live, blockchain-enabled experiences, web3 social, and markets looking up, it’s clear that this time is different for the industry.

What’s Poppin’

This much anticipated piece by Jacob from Zora discusses the intersection of AI and crypto from a creator and IP perspective. The essay highlights how AI-generated artworks and models are being minted as NFTs on Zora, and how these works point to a new value system for art on the internet. Jacob highlights significance of training data, models, tools, output, and prompts in this context, exploring how these elements work together to create art and value. Most importantly, Jacob explores the future of IP rights, and how he believes crypto is the IP system for AI. Fascinating piece for those interested in how these two paradigm shifting technologies will play together long-term.

Vitalik is not only an incredible technologist, but also a great writer. In this essay, he reflects on his personal and professional growth, particularly in relation to his last decade in crypto. He recounts his experiences in various hackathons and hacker houses, noting how younger generations are now leading significant projects and how he’s no longer considered the young wonderkid. Buterin discusses his shifting role in the industry as he ages and acknowledges the finite nature of life's elements, even in the context of his advocacy for life extension. He also delves into the evolution of his thoughts and identity, especially in relation to mathematics and economics within the crypto space. The article touches on broader themes of responsibility, societal impact, and the changing dynamics of technology and culture. Great read.

Lots has been happening with FWB, and much has changed (both in and out of the org) since its inception. This piece criticizes the current focus on speculation and financialization in web3, advocating for a deeper, more culturally integrated approach. Greg emphasizes the need for web3 technologies to transcend mere innovations and become entwined with cultural development. It proposes a vision for web3 that is technologically advanced, culturally meaningful, and ethical, focusing on personal empowerment and collective identity. The article calls for web3 to become a cultural necessity, reshaping interactions and transactions in the digital realm, and places FWB at the center of that conversation.

Friday, January 26th, now affectionately known as Frame Friday, took Farcaster by storm with the launch of a new social primitive: Frames. Since then, Farcaster DAUs have skyrocketed, hackathons around the world are being hosted, Girl Scout Cookies have been sold, and experimentation is at an all-time high. Over the last year and a half, Syndicate has been building for a future of abstracted wallets and app-generated transactions, where onchain actions are executed at scale and users are able to reap the interoperability benefits of a blockchain without dealing with lots of clicks, signatures, and security risks. Farcaster Frames have clearly accelerated the path to this future. Once users have experienced the magic of one-click instant mints and socially embedded onchain experiences, there is no going back.

From the review: "Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet" by Chris Dixon presents a sophisticated argument for blockchain as the future of the internet. The book critiques the monopolization of the internet by big tech firms, proposing blockchain as a solution for a more open and user-empowered web. It envisions a decentralized internet where users have control over their data and are rewarded fairly for their contributions, using tokens. While the book effectively explains blockchain's potential and Silicon Valley economics, it falls short in addressing criticisms of the crypto industry, including the failure of high-profile blockchain projects and issues surrounding venture capital firms in the crypto world. Despite these shortcomings, the book is a well-articulated history of computing and the internet, offering insightful perspectives on blockchain's place in the digital landscape.

Multichain Pill

  • The Wall Street Bull had a hat this weekend, and “DogWifHat” holders went crazy. The token pumped on the news.

  • JUP’s airdrop has lots of support, but some are concerned about the elements of fundraising that the drop included.

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Fun with Fundraising

  • Squid – the cross-chain token swapper – raises $4m led by Polychain.

  • Pixelmon – the web3 game company – raises $8m featuring prominent backers in the crypto world, such as Animoca Brands and Delphi Digital.