⚡ TFC Newsletter: 02/27/2023
Starbucks Announces 1st NFT Sale Drop, Blur Removes Flags from OpenSea, AI Powered Trading Tool, New DeFi Dashboard, L2 Analytics, and more!
💡 Intro
🥳 Happy Monday! This week should be another big week for Web3, as the ETHDenver conference is happening from Feb 24th → March 5th. A lot of big projects/builders are presenting there and as updates come in, we’ll cover them here!
As Starbucks’ first entrance into Web3: Odyssey has been very successful so far with over 170k in volume while still in very limited Beta + users are enjoying the in-app experience.
Today: Starbucks notified users that there will dropping their 1st sale drop of limited edition stamp NFTs which also give bonus points to the purchasers.
Why This Matters:
Before this: stamp NFTs could only be earned and collected by using the app (similar to normal loyalty rewards programs).
Now: Starbucks will be doing their first ever NFT sale which is a sign they must be seeing positive effects internally from the program and want to expand it into more Web3 native utility.
If you haven’t already joined the waitlist: sign up here on Starbucks’ website. It takes less than a minute total and if Starbucks keeps keeps putting more resources into it: early adopters could be rewarded.
The NFT Marketplace wars never stop!
On Friday: Blur announced they would be removing 3rd party flags from their UI.
Previously: items that OpenSea directly flagged were shunned by NFT traders, as OpenSea refusing to sell them meant you couldn’t effectively trade them.
Now: Blur removing those flags means those items will be traded on Blur and LooksRare while traders ignore listing those on OpenSea (removing power + liquidity from OpenSea).
NeoSwap AI has announced its 2 million Pre-Seed funding round at a valuation of $15 million to build an AI-powered tool that helps people trade digital assets including NFTs - Tweet
Lifeform closes Series A with $5M in funding to redefine digital citizen identity through Web3 - Tweet
Token Offering of Asset Management Platform Factor Raises Roughly $7.6M - CoinDesk
Republic Cancels $75 Million Metaverse Fund Following Crypto Collapse and SEC Guidance - Yahoo Finance
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NeoSwap
"AI-Powered Trading Platform for Web3 Projects”
Type of Product: Trading
Purpose of Tool: NeoSwap is an AI-powered tool that helps people trade digital assets (such as NFTs) without knowing ahead of time what trade they are looking for and needing very little liquidity. It uses a combination of bidding information and AI-powered predictions to find multi-way trades that are beneficial for everyone involved. Currently, NeoSwap supports Stacks, Solana, and Polygon and plans to support many more technologies in the near future.
Silent Smart Auctions & Yard Sales: Single-seller events which maximize purchasing power for artists, creatives, and collection founders.
AI-Powered Predictions: Leveraging AI, users can find beneficial trades for their digital assets.
Audited Smart Contracts: Their Solana and Polygon contracts are currently being audited by Quantstamp.
Parties: Facilitated by chat and voice chat, parties are fun and social events that bring communities together and enable people to trade unwanted assets for coveted assets.
Team / Funding / Backers / Other Info: NeoSwap recently raised $2M in their pre-seed round. It was founded by Dr. John Ennis, a Ph.D. mathematician, and Kuba Kwiecien, Head of AI and Director of Technology. The round was led by DACM.io and Gossamer Capital, and NeoSwap is now planning to open their seed round later this year.
Link to product | Link to TFC listing
Argent
"Buy, earn, stake and trade on Ethereum Layer 2 with low fees & bulletproof security."
Type of Product: Wallet
Purpose of Tool: Argent is a secure and simple smart wallet for all things DeFi and Web3. It provides users with access to the best of Ethereum at a fraction of the cost, with features such as low fees, high speeds, and strong security. Argent is available to download on iOS and Android devices, as well as Chrome and Firefox browsers.
Low Fees: Argent offers users up to 100x cheaper fees than Ethereum, thanks to its zkSync-based account on Layer 2.
DeFi: Users can take advantage of DeFi services such as earning interest, investing, and staking ETH with Lido.
Security: Argent offers users peace of mind with strong security and no seed phrase, as well as Argent Vault for users protecting more than $50k on Layer 1.
Buy Crypto: Users can buy crypto with a bank transfer and debit card.
Team / Funding / Backers / Other Info: Argent, a fintech company founded in 2017, had a successful completion of its Series B funding round, raising $40 million. Fabric Ventures and Metaplanet led the round, while existing investors Paradigm, Index Ventures and Creandum, and strategic investors Starkware, Jump and Animoca, also participated. The company has over 500,000 users and is continuing to grow.
Link to product | Link to TFC listing
Rome Terminal
“View your favorite dApps and networks on one page."
Type of Product: DeFi Dashboard
Purpose of Tool: Rome Terminal is a multi-blockchain network trading interface that provides business grade trading information at the touch of a button. It amalgamates real-time blockchain and transaction data across DeFi’s most popular networks, giving users full control of their DeFi dashboard for the most efficient personal trading, investment and analysis.
Rome Terminal’s Widget Builder is a feature of the platform that allows users to create, track, and exchange NFTs all from their custom dashboard. It allows users to take all forms of data into, or distribute from, a native widget.
Rome Terminal offers a variety of features to help users manage and develop their DeFi portfolio. These features include: real time pricing analysis, integrated application management, and the ability to view up to fifteen token pairs on charts, tables, and dApps.
Team / Funding / Backers / Other Info: Rome Blockchain Lab secured a $500,000 seed investment from Blizzard Fund. The lab is focused on creating and supporting development for external partners, while promoting abundance and wellness across the blockchain ecosystem. They also research and publish findings pertaining to the blockchain space.
Link to product | Link to TFC listing
L2BEAT
“The state of the layer two ecosystem"
Type of Product: Analytics
Purpose of Tool: L2BEAT is an analytics and research website focused on Ethereum layer two (L2) scaling. It provides a comprehensive comparison of the various Ethereum L2 systems available, making it easier for users to make decisions about the best Ethereum scaling solution for their needs.
L2BEAT’s Scaling page provides a range of features to help users including:
Total Value Locked – A sum of all funds locked on Ethereum converted to USD.
Risk Analysis – An analysis of the risk involved in using the Ethereum L2 system. This includes factors such as State Validation, Data Availability, Upgradeability, Sequencer Failure and Validator Failure.
Activity – A measure of the transactions per second of the Ethereum L2 system.
Team / Funding / Backers Info / Transaction Amount: L2BEAT is well-funded with generous support from the Ethereum Foundation, private donors, and investors. The project is founded by experienced tech veterans, including Bartek Kiepuszewski, Krzysztof Kaczor, Jacek Czarnecki, and Piotr Szlachciak. On December 15, 2021, the project participated in Gitcoin Grant’s GR12 and received an estimated lifetime funding of $152,000.
Link to product | Link to TFC listing
NFT Scoring | Builder Community | Link to product
ThirdWeb | Events Tools | Link to product
BlockWallet | Dev Tool | Link to product
Across | NFT Tool | Link to product
Cookbook | DEX | Link to product
Bitgo | Director of Design | Link to position
Binance | Blockchain Engineer | Link to position
Phantom Wallet | Software Engineer - Mobile | Link to position
Alchemy | Recruiter | Link to position
Lido | Marketing Research Lead | Link to position
Glassnode | Product Manager | Link to position
Opensea | Communications Lead | Link to position
Solana Mobile | Growth Lead | Link to position
Stacks Foundation | Core Blockchain Engineer | Link to position
Magic Eden | Senior Full Stack Engineer | Link to position
Den | Software Engineer | Link to position
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Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind. Always DYOR!