Here’s your weekly NFT and metaverse news
NFT trading collapsed on Saturday after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. Photo illustration of Fortune; Original image by Getty Images
Welcome to this week in the metaverse, where Fortune gathers the most interesting news in the world of NFTs, culture and the metaverse. Email [email protected] with tips.
Yuga Labs continues to build on the release of NFT powered gaming Dookey Dash earlier this year. The NFT power plant invited holders of its “sewer passes”, which were minted in January, to burn their passes to mint a new collection called HV-MTL, or heavy metal, which is partly derived from users’ Dookey Dash score.
The new collection of 30,000 “mechs” (boxy robot-looking things) already has a price floor of nearly $4,000, as the company has indicated that the NFTs will give users access to future mini-games and other perks.
In an interesting twist at the intersection of Web2 and Web3, fans of the educational program Sesame street complains about a series of NFTs launched by Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind the show. The organization said it would issue 5,555 non-fungible tokens for Cake Monster at a price of $60, with more planned later this year, Variety reported.
Not everyone was amused by Sesame Street dipping its toe into the metaverse. Some online complained that the release of NFTs deviates from the show’s original values.
Remember how Sesame Street was supposed to be about free basic education without profit?
Why are they, of ALL people, trolling NFTs? https://t.co/tcKrIcdiYX
— KinnikuShroom @ puts the zoomers in a figure 4 (@ShroomMeister) March 13, 2023
Still, others on Twitter pointed out that the NFTs could be a good way for Sesame Street to engage its fans.
Sharing ownership of their characters using NFTs is awesome and a great way to engage with fans. NFTs that are unbranded are dodgy, Branded NFTs are gold.
— Niddle⭕️ (@NickCaffey1) March 15, 2023
The Silicon Valley Bank Effect
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week had a marked effect on the NFT market. According to a report by DappRadar, the day after Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by government regulators, the number of registered active NFT traders (11,440) fell to the lowest since November 2021.
The floor price of blue chip NFTs was not affected much, the report said, showing the resilience of collectives such as CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club. Meanwhile, the floor price of Moonbirds fell 18%.
In other news
As of March 20 Celebrity cruise, which last year created a metaverse version of its newest ship, is giving away seven seven-day cruises in one week. Each day, consumers will have the opportunity to find a hidden clue, or “Easter Egg,” on Celebrity’s Instagram for a chance to win the prize.
Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises
To celebrate St. Patrick’s DayThe world’s first metaverse Irish pub, the Irish Shebeenopens the doors in The sandbox. For 12 days, visitors will complete quests, discover local artists and earn unique collectibles in the pub experience. Players also have the chance to take home a bottle of Irish whiskey from Kinahan’s home.
Courtesy of The Sandbox
NFT marketplace Zora released a new feed it describes as akin to “Tumblr for Ethereum,” which includes aggregated NFTs. The new feed aggregates NFTs from Zora, Manifoldand Foundationand includes both video, gifs and images sorted by mint volume and popularity to display content.
