Welcome back, Pilgrim! Here’s what’s happened in town since you’ve been away…
Crypto Goes to War
Coindesk reports that the Ukrainian government has received somewhere around $100 million in direct crypto donations as of March 9. These funds are trackable on chain and the government has publicly pledged to purchase non-lethal supplies including medical equipment and body armor. Events like these open many questions about the future of government action, the power of non-state actors to influence global events, and the growing real world utility of cryptocurrencies. Like traditional finance, there are no easy answers here, but it is plain to see that web3 tech continues to grow in real-world influence and impact.
Big Players Play Big
Yuga Labs, the company behind industry-leading NFT projects such as Bored Ape Yacht Club, has acquired the intellectual property associated with CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs, another major industry player. If you’re new to the space, this sentence might have been total word salad, but the breakdown is that consolidation might be the new wave coming in the NFT space. With the $APE token breaking news as of this writing and metaverse gaming also in the works, Yuga is showing a path forward for certain “blue-chip” NFT projects to become more like multimedia entertainment studios. We may see more complicated IP houses emerging over time to manage the valuable brands that develop.
Regulation is Coming
A recent Presidential Executive Order called for regulatory research on crypto, with the goal of providing fair regulation and clear guidelines so that innovation in the U.S. would not be stifled. Crypto’s relationship to government oversight and regulation has been fraught from the beginning, with some feeling that any government regulation at all will prevent the truly decentralized vision from being realized, while others insist that the only path to mainstream adoption runs through Washington. At this point, it seems likely that at least some type of formalized regulation is not only inevitable, but probably beneficial in allowing the space to solidify and grow.
Around Web3
Brave Browser: If you’re not already using it you should be. Privacy-centric, crypto-forward and earn BAT while you browse. 🔍
Laura Shin: A great Twitter follow, podcast and newsletter. Her recent book on the early history of Ethereum is now on the top of our to-reads. 📗
Semper Reformanda Twitter List: A hand-curated list of believers in web3. If you discover anybody we don’t know of, let us know! 📜
Project Spotlight | The Meh-taverse
Here at Reformers one of our central goals is to act as a hub for believers in Jesus who are pioneering into the web3 future. You will see us continue to highlight and provide a “map” for both the space as a whole and specifically the Christians who are scattered throughout. And if that map was in front of us, Patrick Bezalel’s Meh-taverse NFT would be one of the largest, oldest landmarks on it. Patrick is an experienced and multitalented artist from Singapore whose genesis NFT collection of 2222 sheep in mech suits combines a little bit of everything there is to love in the space.
Vibrant and unique art that is more than just a clone of successful projects? ✅
A meaningful story behind the art, reminding us of our weakness but also God’s provision and love for us? ✅
A busy community filled with believers encouraging each other and giving guidance for navigating crypto? ✅
Experimenting with even more utility, like discounts on physical artwork and AR capabilities? ✅
The thing that honestly is most impressive to us about this project, and Patrick’s hyperrealism artwork as well, is the quality of his output. Unfortunately we’ve all seen Christian art that focused much more on incorporating biblical content without artistic beauty or mastery. But Patrick has a clear artistic vision and all the talent needed to fulfill it and then some. If this is one of the foundational projects by believers in the space, then the future is certainly looking bright. 😎
Reformers is very excited to hold our own Meh NFT and we can’t wait to see where the Lord takes this project.
Great job team! Love what you all are doing. Keep being a positive influence in this space.