Blurring boundaries: crypto assets and NFTs

Plus: the machine economy, crypto regulation in Africa, BTC selling and more

“Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.” – Paul Saffo ||

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IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

• Blurring boundaries: crypto assets and NFTs

• The machine economy

• Macro-Crypto Bits: Japan’s vote, persistent optimism, BTC sellers

• Also: crypto regulation, a coming fintech stablecoin announcement, Stripe’s raise and more

WHAT I’M WATCHING:

Blurring boundaries: crypto assets and NFTs

OpenSea – one of the crypto market’s earliest and largest NFT marketplaces – has quietly been adding token trading to its platform. So far this month, tokens have accounted for 90% of total volume, while NFTs pick up the remaining 10%.

Some have painted this as OpenSea throwing in the towel on the NFT market, confirming the category’s demise.

But data doesn’t back that up. According to CryptoSlam, monthly sales are over $500 million, well below the $3-5 billion seen in the 2021-22 heyday, but not nothing.

(chart via The Block Data)

What’s more, there are still active participants in the ecosystem, and NFT use cases are still being explored. The NFT market is down but not out.

Rather, OpenSea’s expansion feels like a move towards broadening “markets”.