🏀👟 Steph Curry's New NFT Sneaker
Happy Wednesday Everyone (or should I say happy Hump Day?)!
As the name would suggest, starting today and into 2022, we will be publishing our weekly newsletter every Wednesday to get you over the hump! To be honest, initially we pushed it to Sunday because Wednesday was getting a bit overwhelming work-wise, but we have shifted priorities for ‘22 and should be able to reach you mid-week!
Earlier last week, Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, a recent crypto convert, broke the NBA’s all time 3-point scoring record and what better way to commemorate his accomplishment by releasing a collection of 2,974 NFT shoes for buyers to wear in the Metaverse.
Steph Curry’s exact Under Armour shoes NFT that he was wearing while he broke the record were priced at $333 and sold out instantly with proceeds going to children’s sports charities.
This comes as a Metaverse arms race seems to be developing among big brands trying to become early adopters of the digital world and lay down roots before the general public enters. Under Armour’s two biggest competitors, Nike and Adidas, have already made their first steps towards Metaverse products. Earlier this year, Adidas partnered with Bored Ape Yacht Club (an Ethereum-based popular NFT project) on a Metaverse sneaker project and Nike recently acquired virtual sneaker company RTFKT.
Sounds crazy now but major corporations are making investments into digital goods. I personally have been buying NFTs on the Solana Marketplace for the past two months, and am having a blast in the “Web3” space. So I guess I’ll see you in the Metaverse!
Enjoy this week’s Hump Days
-Humphrey & Rickie
In the Markets
Weekly News Roundup
U.S. Population Grows at Lowest Rate on Record During Pandemic (BBG)
Slowing migration, an aging population and low birth rates were exacerbated by the Covid pandemic resulting in the U.S. population growing at the slowest rate recorded.
RH: Declining population growth was already a trend but Covid played a major role in this year’s merely 0.1% expansion.
HY: Interesting because I would think the baby-boom during COVID was a bigger factor - but the data says not!
Steph Curry Sells $333 NFT Sneakers You Can "Wear” in Different Metaverses (BBG)
Steph Curry released a collection of 2,974 NFTs of the shoes he wore when he broke the 3-point scoring record earlier this month. Buyers are able to bring the shoes into three Ethereum-based metaverse platforms: Gala Games, The Sandbox and Decentraland.
HY: Expect more NFT projects partnering with brands + athletes in the coming year. Most of these projects fail, by the way.
U.S. Officials Recommend Shorter Covid Isolation, Quarantine (CNBC)
U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch Covid from 10 days down to 5 days. Early research suggests omicron may cause milder illnesses than earlier versions.
RH: Hopefully milder illnesses brings us to an endemic stage of Covid and we can learn to live with Covid just like we did the flu.
HY: Agreed with Rickie, seems like we may come to a point in time where COVID just “exists”, but we can still mitigate against it. Here’s an article that points to the data behind the “milder” effects of omicron: data here.