Blue-chips Are NFT's Schelling Point

GM. We're into the 2nd last week of the year. Let's get right into it.

Today we cover:

• Blue-chips are NFT's Schelling Point

• Starbucks and it's new loyalty program

• Elon stepping down as head of Twitter?

Blue-chips Are NFT's Schelling Point

"Blue-chip" NFTs account for 16.8% of the NFT trading volume on OpenSea, even though less than 0.3% of OpenSea users trade blue-chips. That’s a pretty shocking statistic, but it also shows how these “blue chips” have become the Schelling points for the NFT sector. ((h/t @sealaunch)

So, monkey JPEGs are the drivers of volume and attention in the space, so even if you don’t like them, you gotta keep an eye on them as the pulse of the market.

Right now, most blue-chip collections are in the midst of a slow bleed. "Apathy" is probably an apt word to describe the recent price action.

“Blue-chips” = Punks, BAYC, Otherdeed, MAYC, Meebits, Moonbirds, Clone X, Doodles

Ma, We're Going On An Odyssey

💲 What to know: Starbucks is the largest coffee chain worldwide, with >27M loyalty program members in the US alone. Typically, you earn free drinks from... drinking more Starbucks coffee.

In the enhanced loyalty program, called "Starbucks Odyssey", members can earn points by completing "fun" activities like quizzes and trying out new drinks. Points can be exchanged for Journey Stamps (NFTs).

☘️ In the weeds: Journey Stamps allow members to access exclusive real-world experiences, such as special events at Starbucks Reserve outlets or a trip to visit their coffee farms in Costa Rica. These NFTs have different rarities, can be traded on a marketplace and are redesigned with inspiration from Starbucks’ history.

BTW the word “NFT” will not be used anywhere in the rewards system, which we think is a very good thing. Well done, Starbucks.

🤑 Why it matters: Starbucks is paving the way to bring loyalty points and rewards on-chain, where they can be traded or exchanged for monetary value. NFTs enable gamified experiences and token-gated benefits.

Expect others to follow its playbook in the coming months. Starbucks Odyssey will onboard many new coffee-addicted users into Web3.

Notably, this will happen on Polygon, which has been showing off its business development muscle with a string of high-profile partnerships, including Instagram and Reddit (Reddit's avatars led to >3M wallets created already). Is Polygon going to be the chain for "normies"?

Top Tweets

✅ Elon Musk to step down as Head of Twitter?

✅ Yuga Labs announces new CEO, Daniel Alegre (currently Activision-Blizzard's COO)

That's it for today folks, see you tomorrow. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@the_metadata)

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational purposes only. None of this is financial or investment advice. It is not a solicitation to buy or sell any assets. Please do your own research