Welcome to The Metadata, the only NFT newsletter that you’ll ever need.

This weekend, we catch you up with the most important NFT trends to watch for.

Today we cover:

• Is the next NFT bull run starting?

• What would you do if you were Yuga Labs?

• The art collection that might just be the "next Fidenza"

Market Update

Daily NFT trading volume has been creeping up over the past week, hitting ~$13 million in daily traded volume (7,200+ ETH). If volumes are able to sustain and continue their uptrend, we could see the beginnings of an NFT market recovery.

To put things into perspective, the daily volume was ~$150 million - $200 million during the peak of the NFT bull market. We are still a long way to go from there.

The number of daily trades is also climbing, recently reaching peaks of 20,000+ on certain days. Both volume and trade numbers are crucial indicators, and their concurrent uptick is a positive omen.

While Blur leads in terms of trading volume, OpenSea continues to reign supreme when it comes to the sheer number of trades. This level of competition is a win for consumers, promoting lower fees and better service.

Over the past week, there has been a modest 10 - 20% rise in NFT floor prices all across the board, with 14 collections doing >$1M in trading volume. It’s been a while since we’ve seen such a flurry of activity. Is liquidity back again?

NFT markets have been hit pretty hard this year. According to NFTvaluations, the total market cap for NFTs has fallen from $16B at the start of this year to $9B today. This starkly contrasts with the bullish trends seen in the rest of the crypto markets (BTC, ETH).

So, what’s the game plan? If you’ve been touching grass these last few months, it’s finally time to pay attention to NFTs again. Opportunities will be abound; the trick is finding your sweet spot.

• If you like art, selective generative art collections will probably do well

• If you’re into PFPs, find undervalued projects that are building into the bear and/or ride the wave of momentum plays

• If you’re into gaming, it’s worth positioning yourself to capitalize on a potential gaming bull market. Gaming assets (Parallel, Sugartown, Pirate Nation, Pixelmon etc) have been garnering increased attention

h/t to @hildobby

Weekend Highlight #1: IF YUGA WERE MINE

In his Substack post last week, David Horvath says that “If Yuga were mine”, he would:

1. Hold a massive tradeshow, with Yuga Labs as the curator and invite all NFT projects to participate

2. Build free-standing YUGA stores across the country that sell NFT merchandise

3. Create brilliant and fun games. Creating benefits for NFT holders and rewarding them can wait.

Interesting take from a thought leader who has built a successful character business IP (Ugly Dolls). Do you agree or disagree?

Weekend Highlight #2: Winds of Yawanawa

It's not every day that a generative art collection truly grabs our attention, but Winds of Yawanawa has accomplished just that.

This series by Refik Anadol is visually enthralling and accompanied by a captivating narrative. DappPunk excellently recounts the story in his tweet thread above. It’s a beautiful story of love, and appreciation combined with technology.

Winds of Yawanawa is a rare example of Refik’s dynamic video art that’s available for collectors, in the same vein as his recently immortalized work (Unsupervised) that is now in the MoMA permanent collection.

While labeling the Winds as the "next Fidenza" might be jumping the gun, we’re still going to say it anyway. Watch for it. It’s currently at a floor price of 7 ETH.

Our Favourite Tweets

🐥 XCOPY teases a new collection: ALGO BRO

🐥 We still want physical prints, NFTs tie the digital to the physical world

🐥 Love a CEO who gives transparent updates. Otherside is going to be Yuga Lab’s core focus

🐥 Why Web 3 gaming is the future.

🐥 Hytopia is building the Web3 Minecraft

🐥 All you need to know about the Parallel Planetfall sale starting 25 Oct (Wed). Collector packs have the highest chance to pull a prime for a pack drop so far

🐥 What are the advantages of on-chain games? by Apix

🐥 Quick summary of Web3 gaming by Jonah

🐥 RTFKT finally releases its Nike Dunk Genesis physical shoes. Some of the rare ones look really dope.

🐥 Degentraland says that ApeCoin DAO is a failure

That's it for today folks. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@the_metadata). If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe with just one-click:

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. Minting and buying NFTs is risky. Please do your own research.