April is a busy month for the crypto market. The Metaverse and NFT sectors are going through a roller-coaster of happenings. Celebrities are coming together to invest in crypto startups. Meanwhile, major brands like Disney, Millennium Hotels and Resorts announce plans to launch operations in the metaverse.
The hype around NFT continues to grow. Even the British government has announced plans to launch its own NFT as part of an effort to become a “global hub” for the crypto industry.
From CEO To Block Head
Former CEO now “Block Head,” Jack Dorsey’s first tweet turned into an NFT, was sold for $2.9 million last year. It was auctioned by the current owner Sina Estavi and only received seven offers between $6 to $280. Estavi, though, expected to gain $48 million. Twitter Co-Founder also spoke out about the acquisition of his social media by Elon Musk. He stated that the billionaire “is the only solution I trust.”
Moonpay Reaches The Stardom
What do celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Gwyneth Paltrow, Drake, Paris Hilton, Maria Sharapova, Snoop Dogg, Bruce Willis, among others have in common? They are part of a group of at least 60 celebrity investors who brought $86.7 million on cryptocurrency payments startup MoonPay. This latest funding was part of an extension round after the $555 million Series A led by Tiger Global Management and Coatue last November. The company is currently valued at $3.4 billion.
Pimp My Snoopverse
Rapper Snoop Dogg is taking over the metaverse on several platforms. Mobland, the first mob-themed metaverse game, partnered up with Snoop Dogg to launch marijuana farms on its platform. The partnership includes the release of NFTs from Snoop Dogg-branded cannabis farms. It also includes an exclusive content by Champ Medici, the rapper’s son. The artist also released a new music video for the title House I Built, which takes place in the metaverse platform The Sandbox.
This Crazy Roller-Coaster Called Crypto Market
Bitcoin went down below $40,000 for a good part of April. After hitting an all-time high of $68,000 in November last year, in 2022, Bitcoin is struggling to remain between $35,000 and $40,000. Finder recently released a survey, in which market specialists told they expect Bitcoin to reach $65,000 by end of the year. In February the same group made an estimation much higher expecting Bitcoin to end the year at $76.3 thousand.
The Glamorous Life At Metaverse
Singapore’s Millennium Hotels and Resorts are inviting online avatars to the first-ever hotel in the metaverse. A $3.4 million Beverly Hills home comes with the option to also buy its metaverse version for $100,000. Bored Ape’s metaverse “Otherside” is scheduled to be launched on April 30th. Disney is working on a metaverse game plan on what they’re calling “next-generation storytelling.” Nissan and Toyota are also launching operations in Metaverse. Animoca Brands is partnering with Planet Hollywood to spin out Meta Hollywood, a movie-themed metaverse. Are there already ticket planes to the metaverse?
In Zuck Bucks We Trust
Meta is working on an in-app token for Metaverse, kindly called by his team “Zuck Bucks”. Basically, the idea is to attract new users and more sources of revenue. Meanwhile, Meta’s main products are losing popularity. The company’s idea is also the creation of reward tokens for users. The company announced it gained 1.96 billion daily users in the first quarter. It is a strong recovery after the previous quarter’s announcements. In May they are expecting the opening of the first physical retail Meta Store, to sell VR accessories for the metaverse.
The UK Is Heading Somewhere, Just Didn’t Get There Yet
The British government announced plans to launch its own NFT as part of an effort to become a “global hub” for the crypto industry. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak asked the Royal Mint to create and issue the NFT “by the summer”. City minister John Glen has announced a series of measures to bring digital assets under regulatory scrutiny, among them the implementation of stablecoins within existing UK regulations on electronic payments and to explore the application of blockchain technology in the issuance of debt instruments.
April’s NFT Bandwagon
NFT hasn’t left the hype yet. Nike has just released a collection of 20,000 NFT sneakers with models for up to $449 thousand or 150 ETH. Bored Ape NFTs were hacked on April 25, the attack went through their social media accounts and the criminals gained access to $3 million in NFTs. Even Starbucks announced the release of NFTs by the end of the year. While London is the home of its first permanent NFT art gallery, the Quantus Gallery, New York is home to the first NFT ATM vending machine, so you can enjoy NFTs on-site or on the go, the choice is yours.
Beware Of The Floki Inu
Guess who is back all over London’s public transport? Floki Inu ignores UK regulators and brings back its advertising campaigns. The memecoin announced on its Twitter account an “aggressive” campaign starting on April 25 to be featured on 100 buses across the streets and 203 strategic placements across London Underground. On the signs, they inform them they do not do politics, but ecosystems.
Ethereum Clock Is Ticking
After promising a major upgrade in June, to offer a faster, cheaper and less power-hungry blockchain, Ethereum’s highly anticipated upgrade to a proof-of-stake system has been delayed. The merge of Ethereum’s ETH1 chain to create ETH2 from the proof-of-work method to proof-of-stake for a cleaner crypto future might still happen sometime this year, with no new date set.
MIA — CDG Crypto Airbridge
Bitcoin Conference 2022, the largest bitcoin event in the world, took place in Miami, Florida. The meeting brought together more than 30 thousand people of all ages and from different parts of the world around a single theme: bitcoin. Pro-bitcoin politicians, futuristic bull, regions of the world adhering to the currency, bitcoin as a freedom mechanism, and 90% of the population adhering to bitcoin by 2029 were a few of the subjects at the event. Miami Mayor, Francis Suarez, wants to turn the city into a crypto hub.
On the other side of the Atlantic pond, the Paris Blockchain Week was attended by leading figures in the crypto market, such as CZ, Brad Garlinghouse, Paolo Ardoino, and over 3,000 cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Recently re-elected president of France, Emmanuel Macron, just stated that he wants Europe to be a central player in metaverse and Web 3.0 development.
Conclusion
April showed how quickly crypto narratives can flip. Markets stayed volatile, yet consumer attention kept flowing into NFTs and metaverse experiments, with brands and celebrities treating Web3 as a marketing channel and a business line. Governments also moved closer to execution, using NFTs, stablecoins, and payments rules as a way to signal strategic intent.
The month’s takeaway is that headlines now come from price action, product launches, and policy decisions in the same week, so teams need tighter monitoring and faster communications hygiene.
Stay tuned for our monthly news summaries and if you are hungry for more (just like we are) — follow us on Linkedin for market tendencies, hot news, and PR tools.
