Pixelmon Flop
Earlier this month, Pixelmon released a collection of 7,750 NFTs via a Dutch auction. Their mint started on a positive note: they sold most tokens at the 3 ETH (~$9,500 at the time) starting price, earning over $70 million. But when holders saw the official images for the first time on Friday, they were disappointed to say the least. Widespread criticism of the 3D models’ low quality led Pixelmon to issue an apology and promise new designs.
Jordan 6 UNC
The Jordan brand is back to represent the University of North Carolina in a stunning retro look. Featuring a transparent tongue and high-contrast color blocking, this University Blue shoe is creating tons of hype. On Monday, Nike released an early batch via a SNKRS shock drop. Don’t worry if you missed the early release–the official release is set for March 5th on the SNKRS app, as well as other Tier 0 retailers. The retail price is $210, and the aftermarket price is hovering at $300+ for some sizes.
Russia Blocks Twitter
Amid increasing war conflict with Ukraine last week, Russia blocked its citizens’ access to Twitter. The effects began on Saturday morning when major Russian telecom services began blocking access to the Twitter website and mobile app. Now, the only way for Russian users to access Twitter is via a VPN service. . Experts believe the Russian government is blocking Twitter to curate the internal narrative regarding the Ukrainian conflict.
Elon SEC Investigation
Once again, Musk is on the SEC’s radar as they investigate a potential violation of insider trading rules. Kimbal, Musk’s brother, sold $108 million shares of Tesla stock a day before Elon posted a Twitter poll asking his followers if he should sell 10% of his Tesla shares. The share price fell ~12% following the Tweet, and Elon ended up selling ~$16 billion in stock as a result of the poll. Stay tuned as the outcome of the investigation unfolds.
Spotify “Car Thing” Launch
On Tuesday Spotify released its first-ever physical consumer product in the United States. Dubbed “Car Thing”, the hardware device features a small touch-screen, voice commands, and a physical knob to control audio streaming on the road. Priced at $89.99, “Car Thing” also requires a Spotify premium subscription and connection to a cellular-enabled device.
Broncos DAO
The Denver Broncos NFL team is up for sale, and a collective of crypto enthusiasts, BuyTheBroncos DAO, plans to raise $4 billion to buy the team. If successful, each DAO member will be a partial owner of the team with fractional control to manage the team. If fundraising falls short, the DAO may purchase partial ownership (say 25%) of the team, with the rest funded by third-party investors.
Fun fact: Rhydon was the first Pokemon ever designed, according to the primary game designer Ken Sugimori.
