21/03/2023 This week in the metaverse: Yuga Labs adds to NFT game, The Sandbox opens a virtual Irish pub, and Silicon Valley Bank spooks Web3 traders

Welcome to This Week in the Metaverse, where Fortune rounds up the most interesting news in the world of NFTs, culture, and the metaverse. Email[email protected]with tips.

Yuga Labs is continuing to build on the release of NFT-powered gameDookey Dashearlier this year. The NFT powerhouse invited holders of its “sewer passes,” which were minted in January, to burn their pass to mint a new collection calledHV-MTL, or heavy metal, that is in part derived from users’Dookey Dashscores.

The new collection of 30,000 “mechs” (robot-looking boxy things) already sports a price floor of nearly $4,000 as the company has indicated that the NFTs will give users access to future minigames and other perks.

In an interesting twist at the intersection of Web2 and Web3, fans of the educational programSesame Streetare complaining about a series of NFTs launched by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the show. The organization said it would release 5,555 cookie monster non-fungible tokens priced at $60, with more planned for later this year,Varietyreported.

Not everyone was amused by Sesame Street dipping its toe into the metaverse. Some online complained that releasing NFTs was straying from the show’s original values.

Still, others on Twitter pointed out that the NFTs could be a good way for Sesame Street to engage fans.

The Silicon Valley Bank effect

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week had a marked effect on the NFT market. According to areport by DappRadar, the day after Silicon Valley Bank was closed by state regulators, the number of active NFT traders recorded (11,440) dropped to the lowest since November 2021.

The floor price for blue chip NFTs was not affected much, the report said, which showed the resilience of collections like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club. Meanwhile, the floor price of Moonbirds dropped 18%.

Arts

https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/03/17/this-week-in-the-metaverse-yuga-labs-the-sandbox-irish-pub-silicon-valley-bank-nft-trading-drops/

Interesting NFTs
Hell Riders
A still image NFT. Exclusive to makersplace. February 2020.
Discord Assembly
Discord logo factory. 3D animation, 10-second loop, 30 fps. Created using Cinema4D, X-Particles, Octane, and After Effects. Originally posted on TikTok (@jigpx) on 2/20/21. 47.5m+ views, 3.2m+ likes (as of 4/22/21).
Coffin Dance (Dancing Pallbearers)
The most famous global meme of 2020, which has become a true symbol of the COVID-19 pandemic era. The token is issued with the support of the Ukrainian PR community, by Benjamin Aidoo team in collaboration with Matthew “DigiNeko” Ordrick, who in late March 2020 uploaded the video to YouTube which started a trend on the Internet. The owner of this token is going to get good luck for eternity. Format: 690  x  388 GIF
Auto-Erotic Sphinx with Toys
In this image, a giant sphinx spoons itself in erotic play within an aquatic styled environment littered by various denizens. These creatures include symbols and archetypes both current and nostalgic–each inhabiting a rootedness within mass cultural adolescence. Among the roster are Servbots, video game inspired mushrooms, a Pacman-like creature, a distant sea faring rubber duck, creatures sporting the symbols reminiscent of popular anime, and a Pokemon-like rabbit (a novel incarnation of Ganesha indicated by the Shiva trident on its nose). In addition, a few sea creatures partly inspired by sea monsters of western antiquity conglomerate along the mid left side of the composition. The Sphinx itself is an amalgam of aquatic, fetishist, ancient Egyptian, and 80’s style adornments, both living, as in a clown fish, or material, such as a cassette tape. Nautically colored antennae receive somatic signals from the atmosphere, perhaps from the 8 Ball moon or giant ringed planet beyond.
Waifu Elk
Ugh! I'm Waifu Elk. I'm a professional Culinary Sanitation Specialist and I love apple pie. I was voted biggest teacher's pet in college. Purrhaps this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.