The Sandbox goes into the desert

Are we going to see more camels in the metaverse? Perhaps.

Author

The Metadata
February 10, 2023

GM. Happy Friday to you! We hope it's been a great week and you're getting ready to wind down for the weekend. But first...

๐Ÿšจ Giveaway Alert!

We thought there'll be no better way to end the week than with a giveaway โ€” not one, but three Doodles 2 Beta passes! See below for how to participate. Winners will be picked on February 14.

But back to regular programming. Today we cover:

  • Market Update: Bitcoin NFT Frenzy

  • The Sandbox Goes Into The Desert

  • Today's Coolest Tweets

  • New Projects Corner

Market Update: Bitcoin NFT Frenzy

Most NFT collections on Ethereum have been bleeding downwards as everyone's attention has been shifted to Bitcoin NFTs. Ordinals are going parabolic, with the number of mints hitting over 40,000 already (h/t @maloikka)

We suspect people are selling some of their favourite NFTs in order to ape into Bitcoin NFTs instead. New Ethereum NFT collections are being launched with a promise that holders can burn their NFT to receive a Bitcoin Ordinal. Be careful, because there is a large amount of trust involved and rugs/scams are aplenty.

The Sandbox Goes Into The Desert

๐Ÿ’ฒ What to know: The Sandbox signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Saudi Arabia Digital Government Authority this week.

The Sandbox is a Roblox-like metaverse that allows creators to build game and entertainment experiences for its users. The Sandbox is owned by Animoca Brands and its token, SAND, has a market cap of $1.3 Billion today.

โ˜˜๏ธ In the weeds: No specific details have been released about what The Sandbox and Saudi Arabia will be collaborating on. Yet, the token price for SAND rose by 25% on the news.

The Middle East has been warming up (pun unintended) to crypto lately. Some say that it is where crypto use is growing faster than anywhere else in the world. Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Bahrain have been crypto hubs and creating regulatory frameworks that are supportive of crypto companies.

In Saudi Arabia, the government is getting cozier with blockchain technology after initially shunning it. This MOU is a clear signal of its intensions.

๐Ÿค‘ Why it matters: Are we going to see many more camels in The Sandbox? Unlikely so soon.

A MOU doesn't necessarily lead to a direct partnership. Rather, it is an early signal that these two parties see collaboration potential and want to work together to explore opportunities. It remains to be seen if anything substantial arises from this โ€” if it does it could be huge. We'll keep you posted the moment we spot any activity on this front.

Today's Coolest Tweets

๐Ÿฅ How to trade narratives by Ansem

๐Ÿฅ Professional gamer wins the Dookey Dash game

๐Ÿฅ How Yuga could prevent hacking of its Dookey Dash game

๐Ÿฅ Bitcoin NFT grails

๐Ÿฅ A primer on A Kid Called Beast

๐Ÿฅ Fungify, a new NFT lending protocol design

New Projects Corner

๐Ÿฟ Interactive Smolverse launches

๐Ÿฟ Timshel's experimental art project on BTC

๐Ÿฟ You may qualify for wave 2 of Rug Radio's PFP mint

๐Ÿฟ Zenacademy's free Soulbound token

That's it for today folks, see you tomorrow. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@the_metadata). And if you aren't already a subscriber, join us now to get all the daily alpha you need.

We're looking to improve the newsletter and make it as relevant as possible for you. If you have any feedback to share โ€” please just reply to this email and let us know. Or even to just say 'Hi'.

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.