Greetings, Ghosts

Christmas is almost upon us, indeed, at the time of this article’s publication, it will have been and gone. It’s a hectic time for many people - presents to buy, family to see, and too much food to eat.

December goes by in a mad rush, and you wonder where the time has gone - before you know it, you’re taking down the tree, eating leftovers for like, the 5th day, and online shopping for the presents you really wanted, but no one thought or cared enough to buy you, trying to get in early for the Boxing Day sales, cos’ it’s still 7 days before the New Year sales start.

All in a state of hungoverness, if that’s your thing. Would we have it any other way?

Whatever your beliefs, and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, we at the PxN Papers would like to send everyone our best wishes, good health, and we hope you get some time to relax, unwind, and do something you really enjoy.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

Success Takes Time

The first ever item listed on eBay.com was a broken laser pointer, bought by a buyer who purchased more than 2,000 other items over the next 20 years. Mark Frazer bought the broken laser pointer in 1995, figuring he could fix a broken one as new laser pointers ran over $100, making $14.83, a good deal. “People will buy anything.”

Interestingly, Amazon.com was founded by Jeff Bezos over a year prior, on July 5, 1994. However, it wasn’t until July 16, 1995, that the platform launched, three hundred and seventy-six days later, with just one product category: books.

It wasn’t until two months after launch that Amazon began to take flight: bringing in up to $20,000 in weekly sales. By the third month, Bezos took the company public to get further investment. In 1999, Time magazine named Jeff Bezos Person of the Year.

In short time frames, little happens. eBay.com facilitated the successful sales of knick-knacks after going at it for a while and as the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure (imagine the value of that broken laser pointer today; he still owns it). Amazon was in development for a year before it launched and only did so with one type of item: books; look where it is now.

With longer time frames, consistent development, and marketing, small progress adds up to a lot. Success comes to those who keep going at it and pivot as necessary. PxN is building one step at a time and is always looking ahead to achieve the vision of revolutionizing e-commerce.

Why GM.co

PxN has been building the Grey Market (Gm.co) for over half a year since mint. The number one question on everyone’s mind is, why use GM.co over sites like Amazon or eBay?

Cryptocurrency has seen widespread adoption, especially when the bull market and NFT craze hit. From January 2022 to date, almost 100 million more Ethereum wallets have been created, and there are 300 million global crypto users as of 2021. This number will exponentially increase as cryptocurrency becomes the norm.

Most people use crypto as an investment vehicle, while some may even receive it as part of, or their entire salary. With all the ways to earn it, the missing piece of the puzzle is a way for people to spend their crypto without the need to convert it to fiat.

With simpler ways being released to convert fiat to crypto, some e-commerce stores have started accepting crypto as a form of payment. As a consumer, these stores are often difficult to find. A simple google search will not get you very far. Most of the time, you see the same few companies that provide B2B services such as Microsoft, fast food stores, and somewhat necessary, but less than exciting service providers like VPNs. With limited search results, consumers are unable to find enticing avenues to spend their crypto.

Shopping should be an experience, and GM.co is here to provide one that is seamless and enjoyable. GM.co will be delivering an e-commerce playground, one that is immersive, transparent, and fun, built for people earning and spending crypto; the next generation of shoppers.

Here are some aspects that make GM.co unique

• GM.co is built by web3 natives, for web3 natives. Set to launch in January 2023, over 40 merchants have been onboarded, with more to come.
• Most web2 marketplaces are not built for the modern web3 shopper. They have outdated UI/UX and non-immersive buying experiences. This is where GM.co excels.
• Merchants onboarded onto GM.co know that PxN is one of the best marketers in the space, with a deep understanding of the psyche, nuances, and culture of web3 communities.
• Integrated chat, digital identity modules, events, communities, and lore allows GM.co to gamify the shopping experience to provide immersion, entertainment, and a sense of belonging for the consumers. Think of GM.co as an MMORPG of the e-commerce industry.
• Gone are the days for fake reviews, as all transactions are done on-chain, and only real buyers and sellers can leave real feedback.
• The 5% flat fee structure for merchants on four main categories of luxury items, sneakers, electronics, and collectibles makes GM.co one of the most competitive e-commerce platforms for sellers.
• Having an optional on-chain escrow system means buyers and sellers have peace of mind when transacting with each other. Currently, escrow is payable by the buyer for an affordable price of 2.9% of the total sale.

GM.co will revolutionize the way people shop online. As we continue to grow and expand, more functions will be added based on the feedback from buyers, sellers, and web3 communities, ensuring a platform that is successful, relevant, and fit for purpose.

Market Matters

Greetings valued readers, as the year comes to a close, this will be the final edition of Market Matters for 2022.

Let’s review the key events and developments over the last week, starting from where we left off after the retail sales data.

Concerns of a recession still loom for those keeping a close eye on the economy after the press conference from Powell, which held a hawkish tone. Those fears grew stronger as we ended the week on Friday the 16th with Flash Services and Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Indexes (PMI).

The Services Index, which is a key indicator highlighting the health of the services industry sector, fell short of the expected level, suggesting yet another month of contraction within the private sector. The same held true for the Manufacturing Index, also showcasing a drop. On the bright side, there is a silver lining with these PMI decreases, as weaker demand relieves some of the pressures on supply chains and excess consumer spending.

The key data from last week included the Consumer Confidence report, the Final GDP reading, the Unemployment Claims, and the Core PCE Price Index.

Starting off with The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence report, the results came in higher than expected, showing a substantial improvement in future economic conditions from consumers, with regards to business conditions and job availability.

Pushing into Thursday, we received the year’s Final GDP reading and the Unemployment Claims. The Final GDP of the year is one of the most comprehensive measures of total economic activity, indicating the overall health of the economy, which was reported stronger than expected.

Despite the continued challenges the economy faces from the FED’s rising interest rates and the high rate of inflation, this increase in the Final GDP demonstrates that consumer spending and overall business demand remained robust for the most part. This is likely due to the over-employed workforce having a surplus of disposable funds and increased spending around the holiday season.

With regards to the jobs market, the Unemployment Claims report, which fluctuates week to week, increased less than expected. It still remains tight and below levels that would signal a warning for the labor market.

Lastly, the Core PCE Price Index was not released at the time of writing this article, but it is watched closely by the FED as a key indicator of many inflationary pressures within the economy. The PCE measures many goods and services, including entertainment, housing and healthcare, to name a few, but excludes the impact of food and energy prices.

Seeing a decline in the PCE inflation data aligns with the FED's preferred metrics, which would help contribute to continuing the narrative of the need for lesser high rate hikes moving into 2023.

Specific to the Crypto markets, things remain relatively calm and sideways for the most part, with the majority of recent higher volatility coming in the middle of December, around the last CPI reading and FOMC rate hike.

As things progressed in the FTX court case, the new management team discovered $1 billion in assets spread across numerous accounts. SBF landed in the USA this week from the Bahamas through extradition to face numerous criminal charges.

SBF’s significant other and former CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison, as well as the co-founder of FTX Gary Wang, both pleaded guilty to fraud charges in court, to receive reduced sentences. At the same time, they cooperated in the ongoing investigation and provided “substantial assistance” to law enforcement.

Wild Web3

Web3 Is Hiring

The crypto market has experienced significant job losses in the past few months due to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and FTX. However, the overall employment in the crypto industry has continued to grow, with the number of jobs reaching 82,200 in 2022, an increase of 351% from 18,200 in 2019. 

The largest proportion of these jobs is in trade and brokerage, accounting for 50% or 41,136 jobs. The number of jobs related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has also increased, with the sector accounting for 8% at 6,738 jobs. 

The number of NFT-related positions available has increased by 127% from 172 in December 2021 to 390 in March 2022. Major employers in the crypto industry include bitcoin exchanges, with Binance leading the way with 7,300 workers and 5,000 at Coinbase.

Opportunities await those who dare to venture forth into the everchanging web3 job landscape. 

Touch Some Grass To Get Rewards

Trace Metaverse is a new mobile game being developed by the company Trace. It combines physical travel and augmented reality, allowing players to earn tokens as they visit certain locations and engage with brands. 

The game is inspired by the popular mobile game Pokémon Go, and aims to encourage players to be more sociable and environmentally friendly by promoting the use of electric cars. Brands can purchase plots of land within the game to offer discounts and rewards to players, and players can earn tokens and rewards from both the game and participating brands.

Trace Metaverse will launch in select countries with a strong focus on mobile gaming and a growing interest in cryptocurrency. The game is expected to attract a large number of users and will be launched on the Polygon blockchain. 

Now there is a reason to go out and touch some grass!

Pussying Around In The Metaverse

The Puss in Boots Sandbox Experience is a new game in which players can explore Little Big Island and complete quests to win an exclusive non-fungible token (NFT). Players can gather materials and work through challenges to help Puss in Boots find his hat. 

The game is set on a beautiful island with various activities, such as mining and logging, and features sandcastles and campfires. The Puss in Boots Sandbox Experience is available until January 11th 2023.  It's time to go metaverse island exploring!

Community Spotlight

This holiday season, the Resistance has recognized Tweezy for bringing some Christmas magic to the terminal with his stellar animations. As a result of his hard work and dedication, Tweezy is awarded the title "The Ghost of Christmas Presents".

Below are some of his creative Christmas-inspired renditions. Great job Tweezy, Ghost HQ is very proud of you.