Staying The Path
Life is about choices. Every decision we make puts us on a certain path with certain opportunities at the cost of other paths and opportunities we could have chosen. None of us will ever truly know if these paths are the ones we should take. All we can do is analyze, make informed decisions, and pour our efforts into whatever we decide to pursue.
We may not be able to control the outcomes, but we can impact the likelihood of success as we confidently embrace our decisions. This is not to say to keep going with a poor decision, but to give our pursuits everything we’ve got.
The curse of having options tricks us into thinking we can stumble upon quick riches or easy success if we keep looking. Every single option tries to tell us it’s the one we’ve been looking for. However, most of the time, we succeed by dedicating our time to building what we want rather than getting distracted by other shiny opportunities.
The closest of families, the best of businesses, and anything that's worth achieving is the result of doing, not finding. A starting point can be found, but great outcomes are worked for.
Want a strong community? Build a caring community among your fellow supporters. Want a high-value NFT? Create utilities that are highly valued. Want the project you’re a part of to be successful? Do everything you can to show your support and share it.
As we pass the halfway mark of December and head toward the release of GM.co in early 2023, we will need our community to build alongside us, provide us with constructive feedback & ideas, and help get the word out on the crypto-based physical goods e-commerce platform that we are building. We will achieve great things, together.
Market Matters
It was a relatively slow week for the financial markets, however, we did receive PPI data and the Consumer Sentiment report as we wait for the more important inflation data and interest rate hike from the FOMC meeting. We also saw many ups and downs on various crypto coins.
The Producer Price Index (PPI), which reflects the prices that companies receive for their goods before they reach the consumer, rose 0.3% in the past month, which was higher than experts forecasted. This latest PPI data shows the need for a continuation of monetary policy tightening, although at a slower pace, which we will dive into shortly.
Peeking at the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index, it exceeded expectations, indicating a 59.1 reading compared to the predicted 56.9 and the previous month's 56.8 reading.
Although the PPI was the main focus of the data, the Consumer Sentiment survey provided some positive insights regarding inflation after the poor PPI reading. Moving into an action-packed week, investors of all kinds prepared for CPI inflation data, the FOMC federal funds interest rate hike, a statement from the FED chair Powell, and some retail sales data.
The CPI Inflation data came in at 7.1%, 0.2% lower than expected, which was a very positive sign for the markets, as the previous reading was 7.7%. Although the inflation numbers are still too high compared to a year ago, this CPI decrease is a reminder to the FED and market investors that things are continuing in the right direction.
The day following the CPI report, the FED met for the FOMC meeting to determine their next interest rate hike. The likelihood of seeing a decrease in the pace of rate hikes from 75bps down to a 50bps hike was very high, and that's exactly what their decision was.
Their decision to raise interest rates by only 50bps came along with a continued hawkish tone as Powell gave his statement regarding the decision, which caused concern among investors as prices of many coins and other equities began to drop after climbing a substantial amount over the days leading up to the meeting.
Powell indicated that the FED expects to maintain its restrictive stance on monetary policy for some time moving forward, citing the need to be cautious about prematurely loosening the policy, which was a primary concern to many investors. Many expected the slower rate hike, but also knew the stance the FED has moving forward is more impactful to the markets than the actual rate hike.
The key takeaway from Powell’s press conference was the FED's projection for terminal rates in 2023 to be higher than the current level projecting rates to reach up to 5.1% or higher next year, up from the 4.6% levels previously set earlier this year. The more the FED continues to increase the total interest rates, indicates their fear of prematurely loosening policy, so they will continue down the restrictive path until they feel the job is done.
The Retail Sales data was released following the CPI report and the FOMC interest rate hike. Retail Sales data showcased a decline by 0.6% in November, below expectations, as consumers continue to be affected by rising prices and reduce their spending.
In other crypto-related news, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of FTX, was arrested in the Bahamas following the filing of criminal charges by the United States, which could place him in prison for over 100 years, and was denied bail as the court case continues to play out.
Gainz's Two Cents
Overall, the crypto market has faced a number of challenges in 2022, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, bear market conditions from the state of the economy, and the collapse of many big players in the industry, including FTX which has contributed to the overall negative sentiments.
Some suggest that the events of this year have set the industry back many years, others believe it’s just another speed bump. As always, it's important to remember that the crypto market has always had a history of experiencing ups and downs with its cyclical nature.
Despite all the setbacks, the industry is resilient and full of innovation. As these innovators drive the industry toward mass adoption, it’s important to remain optimistic about the future if you are a true believer! As the economy continues to settle back down, which could also take years to resolve, we believe crypto will heal and continue to grow. As usual, NFA, DYOR, stay safe, love y’all, and see you next time!
Wild Web3
The Union of Paypal and Metamask
PayPal and MetaMask are partnering to allow users to use PayPal as a payment method when purchasing Ethereum within MetaMask's software wallet.
The offering will make it easy to buy and send Ethereum through PayPal to MetaMask. A small number of PayPal's US clients will initially have access to the service, with the company planning to roll it out to all US users in the coming weeks.
"This integration with PayPal will allow our U.S. users to not just buy crypto seamlessly through MetaMask, but also to easily explore the web3 ecosystem," said ConsenSys product manager Lorenzo Santos in a press release.
PayPal previously enabled the transfer of cryptocurrencies between its platform and exchanges in June, and launched its own cryptocurrency buy, sell, and hold service in October 2020.
Rival payment processor Stripe, recently launched a platform aimed at assisting web3 businesses by allowing clients to buy cryptocurrency with fiat currencies. With two giants in web2 financial services getting into web3, mass market is sure to follow as onboarding consumers get simpler.
Donald Played His Trump-Card
Donald Trump recently launched a collection of 45,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Polygon blockchain, called "Donald Trump Digital Trading Cards," which sold out in about 12 hours and raised around $4.45 million.
Owning a Trump NFT enters you into a raffle to win a number of prizes, including a one-on-one meeting with Trump, and those who purchased at least 45 of the cards will be able to attend Trump's gala dinner in Florida.
NFT INT, the company behind the collection, stated that the money raised would not be used for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, and that Trump was not actually involved in the project, but had merely licensed his name, image, and likeness for the project. However, the money Trump makes through licensing his name and likeness could potentially be used for his campaign.
Cringe-worthy as it may seem, with the sell-out, it shows the power of hype and speculation in the NFT space.
A Melting Pot of Metaverses
Futureverse, a company based in Auckland, New Zealand, has announced the merger of eight web3 companies to create an open metaverse ecosystem. The goal of the merger is to create a single collaborative metaverse ecosystem with the aim of improving the web3 and open metaverse experience.
The company is now made up of over 300 full-time people across 16 countries and has generated significant revenue. The Futureverse infrastructure includes four core tools (identity, artificial intelligence, communications and payments) all integrated via The Root Network, a decentralized blockchain network optimized for user experience.
The roll-up includes companies focused on AI, avatar and asset creation, decentralized communications, digital asset payments, and user-generated content. Metaverses have a long way to go, but with companies innovating and finding the right use cases, it may be the new digital world we all will live in.
Happenings in the Community:
- Active Duty - A special rank for our Ghosts on the frontline, who are fighting hard for the PxN culture. The Resistance needs you, Ghost. Will you join us?
- This week, our Active Duty ghosts had the chance to win an iPad by guessing JJ’s foot size.
- The Ghosts have been spreading the word on GM.co across the Twittersphere. We have also released a demo video on how GM.co functions.
- With Christmas around the corner, we are celebrating 12 days of Christmas! Look out for some fun missions with mystery prizes to be won.
- More exciting prizes were given to our Ghost fam in last week’s Whiteboxes. We had hardware wallets, wireless earbuds, and a Saint Laurent cardholder. It seems Christmas comes early for the Ghosts.
- We had lots of fun streams, from the anime Chainsaw Man to Erin's Christmas cookie baking stream on Twitch. The Ghosts also got in on the World Cup fever with a live stream of the weekend matches.
- Our weekly Mental Health Mondays (MHM), hosted by Wonderhands and Rodney, provided a space for our community to reflect on their week and share their thoughts and feelings.
Community Spotlight
This week, we have Terry ( @Terry_Flaps21 ) to share with the Ghost Fam his exercise routine. Being an avid gym Ghost, following his tips will get you that nice, buff, and toned body. Thank you for sharing Terry!
A Bridge For Web2
We’ve heard the term “bridging web2 to web3”, but what does it mean? Is it owning an NFT to get access to physical items? Or providing web 2 utilities to web 3 users, like store discounts? In this article, we’ll be discussing some possibilities of integrating web2 and web3.
Starbucks, a large coffee giant has begun utilizing web3 technology to power a new experience known as the Starbucks Odyssey. It offers Starbucks Rewards members and employees in the United States the opportunity to earn and purchase digital collectibles, that will unlock new benefits and immersive coffee experiences.
Activities integrated into the experiences come with a reward in the form of a “journey stamp,” which is an NFT built on the polygon chain. Die-hard members could also purchase ‘limited-edition stamps’ through the built-in marketplace within the web application. These stamps can be bought or sold among members within the marketplace, which is powered by blockchain technology. This makes proving ownership over these stamps a breeze. Starbucks refrained from using complicated terms such as “NFTs” or “blockchain” to reduce the friction of onboarding the public.
Just like Starbucks, PxN is innovating the way users shop online with a web3 solution. GM.co is a decentralized physical goods marketplace where every transaction is public on the blockchain giving users the peace of mind while shopping. A majority of e-commerce platforms have tons of fake reviews that could influence a buyer’s decision. With GM.co, reviews are tagged to an Ethereum wallet address and can only be done when somebody actually purchases the item. With the integration of an escrow system, purchasing items would be even safer. This puts the buyer in a better position should a dispute need to be raised.
Bridging web2 and web3 has always been at the core of PxN as a tech start-up, and we will continue to innovate and build solutions that will change how people experience online commerce.