29/11/2022 Candy Digital Cuts Over a Third of Workforce Amid Tech Tumult

Candy Digital Layoffs Fanatics NFTs
Layoffs have swept the tech industry, particularly in the NFT and cryptocurrency corners, over the past few months.Illustration by Lorenzo Gordon, Artwork via Candy Digitalnone

Candy Digital, the NFT platformbackedbyFanatics, Gary Vaynerchuk and Michael Novogratz, is laying off a large chunk of its workforce, according to multiple people familiar with the decision.

The company informed employees of the cuts Monday morning, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the details are private. The cuts encompass more than one third of the companyā€™s roughly 100 employees.

A representative for Candy Digital didnā€™t respond to a request for comment. A representative for Fanatics declined to comment.

The downsizing comes amid a ā€œlayoff surgeā€ sweeping tech. Earlier this month Twitter laid of roughly half of its workforce in the wake of Elon Muskā€™s takeover. Lyft and Stripe recently laid off more than 10% of their respective staffs. Even Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) and Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN), two of the largest public companies in America, have instituted hiring freezes.

The cuts have been especially deep inNFTsand cryptocurrency, a corner of tech that was already in steep decline before the FTX collapse threw the industry into atailspin. Earlier this month Dapper Labs, the NFT platform behind NBA Top Shot and NFL All Day, announced a 22% staff cut. Top Shot did just $1.5 million in sales in October 2022,down 99.3%from $224.1 million in February 2021.

Candy Digital launched in June 2021, back when sports NFTs were still white hot. Fanatics is the majority shareholder, with Novogratzā€™s Galaxy Digital and Vaynerchuk as equity partners. A few months after the launch, the firm raised $100 million at a$1.5 billionvaluation. That round included investment from SoftBank, Insight Partners, Will Ventures, Peyton Manning and a number of other current/retired athletes, whose names werenā€™t released.

Candy Digitalā€™s day-to-day operations are run separately from Fanaticsā€™. Rubinā€™s e-commerce giant has an NFT vertical within Topps, the trading card brand that it acquired in January. Fanatics is investing in that business and is currently hiring in its collectibles division, which includes those NFTs.

Candy Digitalā€™s partners include Major League Baseball, WWE and Netflix.

(This article was updated in the penultimate paragraph to include information about Fanatics digital collectibles.)

Arts

https://www.sportico.com/business/tech/2022/candy-digital-layoffs-nfts-1234696807/

Interesting NFTs
Pump
Shalom! Pump here. I'm here to enjoy being a nevernude and watching Stranger Things. Some people say I'm the Ross Geller of the group. In time you'll learn how purrfect I am.
DĪžSTINATION HĪžXAGONIA BY DON DIABLO
Welcome to DĪžSTINATION HĪžXAGONIA. This NFT comes with a full length audio visual experience of one hour which we have carefully created over the course of the last twelve months. You will receive a unique hand-crafted box, which includes a harddrive that contains the only copy of the high-quality file of the film, making it a truly unique art piece. Welcome to the FUTURĪž.
T(r)opical
Inspired by and for the 2018 North American Bitcoin conference in Miami, Florida. The palm tree that has a cracked open Bitcoin coconut suggests that by traveling you can enjoy this tropical digital fruit. The peacock nesting in the tree has spread its wings to flaunt other integrated crypto logos as well. The famous Miami skyline at the bottom incorporates the coins, as well as the code that is transforming the banking buildings that made it. The origin of that skyline is in the 80's cocaine craze, so it is all incorporated into the story of foundational transformation, linked to a global movement. The file size is suitable for an 8K TV. Mr. Moe Levin, the founder of the conference is a collector a physical print of the work. Explainer video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J0ZfPCJdxY&feature=emb_title Upload resolution 8000x4000 PX at 300DPI
#87445
By OthersideDeployer
David vs the Virus
"An ode to the year everything changed" - Frank Wilder The story of the underdog is a reoccurring theme throughout history, and perhaps the most famous example is that of David vs Goliath. A tale about perseverance, in which David takes on and defeats the giant warrior using only his smarts and a stone. Famously depicted by Michelangelo's David statue. Fast forward to the present day in 2020 and we as humanity are faced with our own Goliath. An uncontrollable pandemic spread around the globe. Now with the entire planet being affected by this we understand the gravity of the situation at hand, whether it be a virus weā€™re fighting or other forces at play, there is indeed an energy out to shift the balance of the Universeā€¦ Regardless of our differences, in this moment must unite as one. With diligence, trust and belief we as a whole can come together to triumph against "the enemy". Stay vigilant my friends. Original score created by the one and only Phoenix Wilder.