To be here in the NFT space or web3, now as you are, is to be technologically advanced as a person.

Traditionally, we think of technology as a device or invention that facilitates a desired process or processes. However, technology is and has always been a means for us to capture our imagination and have something to show for it. Technology is half about practicality…

…and half about impractically, all at once. 😎

Technology is…
Half about what’s possible and half about what’s impossible (being made possible),
Half about being realistic and half about being unrealistic,
Half about this reality and half about alternate & other realities.

What can you imagine?

That’s what technology is about. It’s a pull away and forward, and it’s danger and delicacy dancing together; how can we progress as wildly but effectively forward as possible, and not waste our materials, not wreck our environment, and not break safety for mankind?

Things work as they are, and because people live in general acceptance of how things work, deviations from the norm generally feel disruptive: whether due to inconvenience, disbelief, or otherwise. Technology tends to face resistance because technology is about breaking how things work… forward. It’s uncomfortable, unsettling, and uncertain…

and we find that all extremely exciting ;].

If you’re now here in web3, that’s the adventurous part of you. If you ever hesitated about crypto, NFTs, or anything else web3, that’s the realistic part of you. We have both parts, too, so we understand. However, to move the world forward in the presence of both confidence & doubt, creators, innovators, and investors have to choose to believe when it may be difficult and have to choose adventure despite the risks.

At PxN, we embrace the adventure that technology and its pursuit entails, and we find both comfort & thrill in being future-forward and convention-breaking.

We of the Phantom Network are the visionaries, architects, and mechanics of the future: phantoms of society and ghosts of our former unaware selves.

Changing the world isn’t easy, and changing our own lives & the lives of those around us is just as hard, but as the Ghost saying goes: we “choose to be Ghosts,” and we choose to work towards building technology that will capture the values of web3: choice, identity, privacy, ownership, and beyond, and, in doing so, hope to also change the world.

To hold a PxN Ghost is to make the declaration that you believe in web3, that you believe in a web3 future-a future where your contributions as a consumer, investor, and/or builder all matter, and whose value is captured and realized in the form of tokenized proof, ownership, and financial share of success.

To hold a Ghost is to say, “I see all of this when others may not” and to show support for and take part in a true web3 movement & network working to design that technology.

It was an eventful past week for the community. Baerinz and Jane were on their weekly streams handing out whitelists to lucky participants in the games, and Fuyu did a Valorant game stream for whitelist opportunity in the Voice Channel. Jane also did an overview of the PxN papers, sharing what she found interesting.

As usual, Rodney and Wonderhands hosted a Mental Health session, which was much welcomed with the volatility we saw in the markets.

Gainz was also back with his insightful take on the market, helping the community make sense of what was happening with the global economy.

We also unleashed the creative side of the Ghost recruits with a mission for them to doodle their Ghost for a chance to win a coveted whitelist. Many picasso-like entries were received, making it hard to select the best ones.

We look forward to further bond with the community with various exciting events to come!

Hello again, my favorite degens. It’s been a month since I started this journey with you. As we usher in August, I’d like to recap what happened during the crazy last week of July. Which direction are we heading, and where is the economy taking us? Find out more in this week’s Market Matters with DaddyGainz.

The markets seem to be heading up slowly, but can they sustain the momentum? The biggest concern with many investors is that the data signals a recession. In July, we saw many corporations’ earnings reports, data for CPI, PCE, GDP, and labor statistics. Below is a brief explanation of the technical financial terms:

• CPI is the Consumer Price Index which is a helpful set of data encompassing consumer goods and services consumed by households.
• PCE is the Personal Consumption Expenditures which is a measure that focuses more on consumer spending of goods and services.
• CPI and PCE are similar types of data sets measuring consumer spending behaviors.
• The PCE price index is a more comprehensive analysis of consumer spending for tracking inflation because it excludes the highly volatile swings of food and energy.
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the monetary value of all final goods and services produced. In the US we saw back-to-back quarters of GDP decline, which typically signals trouble, and an economic recession, although not an official recession until acknowledged by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
• The Labor Statistics supplies us with data on employment, including personal income, wages, inflation, productivity, and other factors.

We saw a decrease in unemployment and some increase in compensation, but when considering the high inflation rates, that data points to a decline in consumers' disposable income.

So what does this even mean Gainz? Well, this means that consumers are spending less and adjusting to a more frugal approach to their spending. We see increases in inflation with less consumer spending as a result, with numbers signaling a recession and a continuation of slowed economic growth but with stronger labor statistics and lower unemployment levels.

By design, the FED is attempting to slow down the economy with their contracting and increased interest rates. The numbers support that it might be working, although a too aggressive policy intervention can be bad.

Too much of an economic decline can lead to increased unemployment levels, thus reducing consumer spending, causing businesses to cut costs and lay off employees to survive financial hardships. With more budget-conscious consumers, retailers will make slimmer profits from smaller margins, especially with pullbacks on consumers’ discretionary spending (a look back into the dynamics of supply and demand).

Looking into August, we can expect many more earnings reports from big retailers. Some economists expect a decline due to the challenging retail environment with consumers cutting back on spending. It can be tough to determine the actual cause of this decline, though, since we must consider that the economy is coming out of a period of excess funds fueled by stimulus checks and a period of lockdowns where consumers had money to treat themselves to non-essentials.

We also saw many retailers, during the period of excess consumer spending, having supply chain issues and moving through products at a quicker rate than usual. This has now translated into having a higher stock of somewhat unsellable goods and having to mark down prices of non-essential merchandise, squeezing into their profit margins. Though price cuts may be bad for retailers, the decrease in their pricing power may benefit the overall economy as it could help with inflation numbers and create more spending.

There is still much economic uncertainty as the world waits for more data to help guide us through this transition back to normalcy. We still have emerging concerns of geopolitical economic risks with both Russia’s war on Ukraine and China’s Covid lockdowns, which may prolong some supply chain issues around the world that will likely continue to affect inflation rates. In the coming weeks, we will have more data to work with, including other retailers' earnings reports, how job openings are looking, and the important non-farm payroll data, which is the number of US employment excluding farm workers.

Daddy's Two Cents:

Though the economy may be in a rough place currently, administrations like the FED are attempting to combat inflation. They plan to adapt their future policy options and adjust rates depending on how the data and trends continue. Consider the possibility that many markets may have already partly priced in a recession through speculative investors who don't wait for official economists to report. The bottom may not yet be at its fullest extent, but it sure seems like we are not far off from it, and it's my opinion that the best long-term investment strategy includes investing in the downturns of bear markets.

As always, DYOR and NFA. I’ll be seeing you again soon, till then, stay safe, and may the gainz be ever in your favor.

Welcome to the Pineapple Lounge! This week, we’ll dive into the origins of our favorite dawdler, Plortis! He has been with PxN since the early days of pre-mint and gave out dawdles to anyone that asked. It takes him about 30 seconds to draw one. These dawdles eventually became placeholders for some of PxN’s revamped art.

A talented member of the Resistance that offered his services to those in the Outer district, he was promoted to the role of “Propagandist.” His first ever dawdle was given to “Randy of the Resistance,” who eventually became an Enforcer and Phantom No.28. The Resistance decided that his talents were invaluable and recruited him to be a part of the communications team.