📝#97: Product-Market-Fit
Ripple launches stablecoin. MoonPay brings crypto to 60M Venmo users. 3D ads are hitting 300M Roblox users. Karate Combat's L2. World’s first network state raised $525M. Blockstream raised $210M.
Hey, it’s Marc ✌️
First, our must read this week: State of Crypto Report 2024 from a16z. Three take-aways: 1) Stablecoins have hit product-market-fit 2) infrastructure is now truly scalable 3) and crypto activity is at all-time highs. On NFTs, they note:
“NFT activity appears to have shifted from high-volume secondary markets to low-cost social collecting experiences.”
Then: 51 Insights is evolving. Moving forward, you’ll receive our free weekly field notes every Friday—packed with insightful, opinionated highlights on Web3 for consumer brands and enterprises, including:
On top of that, our research team is working on new, deeper, more actionable formats, tools and frameworks for Web3 business leaders leaders. Stay tuned!
Let’s dive in 🦈
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📚 What we’re reading (and writing)
- State of Crypto Report 2024. a16z. Link
- Possible futures of the Ethereum protocol, part 1: The Merge. Vitalik. Link
- OpenAI Is About To Make The AI Bubble A You Problem [PAID]. Will Lockett. Link
- AI Chatbots Spill the Beans on Company Trade Secrets. Pymnts. Link
- How AI Will Revolutionize Fashion Retail And Virtual Try-On. Forbes. Link
3D Ads Are Hitting 300M Roblox Users
WPP, the global advertising and communication company, has announced a global partnership with Roblox.
The goal? To scale expertise in immersive media for brands and agencies.
Why it matters: Roblox is combining gaming and advertising to deepen brand engagement. The WPP partnership supports this strategy by scaling in-game ads that enhance brand visibility without disrupting the user experience.
What you should know: WPP and its media investment company GroupM are joining Roblox’s Partner Program to build a long-term advisory relationship, setting new standards for 3D media and experiences.
- Roblox Certification Program: First-of-its-kind training for marketers to master Roblox’s platform, with WPP teams being the first to get certified.
- Joint Advisory Council: Partnership includes setting measurement standards for 3D in-game ads and shaping the future of brand engagement on Roblox.
- Roblox Sprint Days: WPP and Roblox will host rapid-activation sprint days for clients, bringing together developers, creators, and strategists.
Stepping back: In May 2024, Roblox launched video ads for all advertisers, allowing brands to easily reach their Gen Z user base without custom 3D content.
🍏Today’s Top PRO Bite:
Marc Baumann
Sangam Bharti
The Stablecoin Race🏎
Ripple has entered the stablecoin race with RLUSD, looking to disrupt a market in which the top two incumbents account for nearly 90% of the value.
Why it matters: Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin launch directly addresses regulatory challenges linked to XRP.
Zooming in: RLUSD is fully collateralized by US dollar deposits, US government bonds, and high-grade commercial paper. Its key features are:
- Ripple USD (RLUSD) is a USD-denominated stablecoin for enterprises.
- Regulatory Compliance: It is issued under a New York Trust Company Charter.
- Enterprise-Grade: Made for payments, tokenization of real-world assets, and decentralized finance.
- Blockchain: It is launched on XRP Ledger and Ethereum.
- Exchanges & Platforms: It is now available through Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, MoonPay, Independent Reserve, CoinMENA, and Bullish.
- Transparency: Ripple will provide monthly third-party audited attestations of RLUSD reserves.
Use Cases of RLUSD: Cross-border payments, on/off-ramps for crypto exchanges, and tokenization of real-world assets.
Meanwhile: Paxos has launched a stablecoin payments platform that facilitates instant conversion between PYUSD, USDP, USDC, and USD, powering Stripe’s Pay with crypto products for merchants.
The big picture: Stablecoin is gaining traction for cross-border payments and faster and cheaper transactions. Recently, Robinhood, Revolut, Anzens, SG Forge, PayPal, and BlackRock have entered the stablecoin race, tapping into the $170B stablecoin market.
🚨 Highlights You Can’t Miss
- Venmo and MoonPay bring crypto to 60M users with new integration. Link
- Karate Combat introduces UP, its Layer 2 blockchain platform on Hedera. Link
- Stripe has reintroduced crypto payments in the US, allowing customers to pay merchants in USDC or USDP on Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon. Link
- Monochrome Asset Management launches Australia’s first spot Ethereum ETF, IETH, on the Cboe Australia. Link
- Lacoste is launching its first Bitmoji fashion store on Snapchat. Link
- OpenAI is projected to reach profitability by 2029, with revenue hitting $100B. Link
🏦Regulatory Snapshot
- AED Stablecoin LLC has received approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to launch AE Coin, the country's first fiat-backed stablecoin tied to the AED Dirham. Link
💰 Money Moves
Funding Rounds:
- Praxis: World’s first network state raised $525M for utopic crypto. Link
- Blockstream: Bitcoin infrastructure company raised $210M. Link
- Azra Games: Web3 gaming company raised $42.7M led by Pantera Capital. Link
- Bitnomial: Crypto derivatives exchange raised $25M led by Ripple. Link
- Ithaca: Paradigm invested $20M to build Odyssey, a layer-2 network. Link
- Opacity Network: Data verification platform raised $12M led by Archetype & Breyer Capital. Link
- Solv Protocol: Bitcoin staking platform raised $11M. Link
- Delta: DeFi protocol raised $11M led by Figment Capital. Link
That’s all for now, folks.
Talk soon,
– Marc & Team
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