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<p>Blockchain technology is transformative. Beyonds its infrastructure, it’s a&nbsp;cultural shift. It’s changing the way we interact with one another. <a href="https://bit.ly/3bwlYt6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Blockstars</a> find that blockchain technology is the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.blockstars.gg/why-blockchain-is-the-perfect-fit-for-a-management-simulation-game-4d6c0275d1c8">perfect fit</a> for their music-themed management simulation game with a deep and complex game economy.&nbsp;</p><p>The core team,&nbsp;<a href="https://whitepaper.blockstars.gg/team/who-we-are">Niko, Cory and Sherrie</a> are gaming veterans with decades of experience. Fascinated by&nbsp;how consumers engage with new and innovative technologies and platforms, they’ve built at every juncture of the technological platform evolution.&nbsp;The core team first met in 2009, in the early days of Zynga, a game development company. Together, they built Mafia Wars on MySpace and Farmville on Facebook when they opened up their APIs to developers. After Zynga, they were part of another transformative technology: mobile gaming. When the mobile app stores launched, they were ready for F2P mobile gaming and launched Rocket Games, which they sold in 2016. In 2018, they developed games for interactive voice interfaces, utilizing the latest in speech recognition technology with Drive.fm. They’ve also faced bearish times — the last crypto winter, the Great Recession and the dotcom bust — and emerged stronger&nbsp;because&nbsp;of it.&nbsp;</p><p>Having been part of the various evolutions of the internet, from Web2 (social media) to Web2.5 (mobile),&nbsp;web3 presents a special and unique opportunity.&nbsp;<strong>“Blockchain technologies are at the cusp of going mainstream, and we believe that gaming is going to be a major driving force.”&nbsp;</strong></p><p>The social aspect of games is critical to mass adoption of new technologies. It attracts a strong community, and strong communities formed around NFT collections are strengthened because of the very social aspects of gameplay. And, <a href="http://blockstars.gg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Blockstars</a> is designed to be inherently social.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5CH3v5cKDgI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Want a rare Blockstar? Trade with another player. Want to sign new bands to your record label? Convince and recruit new players’ bands. “We believe that this can form the foundation of an incredibly strong digital global community, not easily replicable in real life.” In order to bring this to life, they needed something that could transcend cultural boundaries which is distinct to each of us:&nbsp;music. Although it may come in different languages and forms, the rhythmic melodies of music are easily understood. In the game, players will find talented Blockstars to combine them into bands depending on their different skills, leveling up their skills along the way, and creating music to compete in the charts. “Combine music with a really social game design, and you create the connective tissue that allows digital friendships to form, and strong bonds to be created between players with a shared love of music all over the world”</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/nikothefinn" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Niko</a> of Blockstars shares&nbsp;<strong>how web3 differs from the various technological evolutions</strong> and&nbsp;<strong>how web3 gaming can lead to NFT mass adoption</strong>:&nbsp;</p><h4><strong>ME: You’ve said that “</strong><a href="https://blog.blockstars.gg/why-blockchain-is-the-perfect-fit-for-a-management-simulation-game-4d6c0275d1c8"><strong>new technology platforms always unlock a wave of gaming innovation</strong></a><strong>” which leads to driving mass adoption of the platform itself. How do you think web3 differs from the technological evolutions before it?&nbsp;</strong></h4><p><strong>B: </strong>What’s unique in web3 and the reason why we choose the management simulation genre specifically is that <strong>web3 games can have&nbsp;truly open and interoperable game economies with real onramps and offramps </strong>(as opposed to web2, where each game's economy is a “walled garden”. It’s closed off). Open, tokenized economies combined with true digital ownership of assets (NFTs) create the conditions that allow game developers to make some really interesting and unique game design choices that simply aren't possible in web2 games. Just like with prior technology cycles (mobile/social/PC/console/etc), we don't believe that blockchain gaming will replace any other platforms, but will instead be additive to what already exists, and will offer gamers new and unique ways to play, moving gaming as an industry forward.&nbsp;</p><h4>ME: In your opinion, how will mass adoption of NFTs be achieved?&nbsp;</h4><p>B: We see mass adoption as not just possible, but inevitable!&nbsp;</p><p>We're still very, very early, but there are a lot of signs that point to the fact that blockchain technology is about to transition from the Innovator/Early Adopter phase to the Early Majority phase in terms of consumer adoption*. We still need to cross The Chasm* of this technology cycle to really accelerate adoption, and we are very close to doing so. This'll happen when the underlying blockchain technology becomes "invisible" to the end user. In other words, it "just works" without having to download a wallet, convert fiat into SOL on a CEX, transfer it to a wallet, go to a 3rd-party marketplace to buy NFTs, convert in-game currency from SOL on a DEX and only then be able to even start playing a game. That's a lot of friction, and it is this friction that needs to be removed, one hurdle at a time, for mass market adoption to kick into gear. This is happening rapidly. There are simply too many brilliant founders, builders &amp; operators working in our ecosystem for this to <i>not</i>&nbsp;happen.&nbsp;</p><p><i>(*editor’s note: Everett Rogers ‘</i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations"><i>diffusion of innovations</i></a><i>’ theory explains “how, why and at what rate new ideas and technologies spread”.&nbsp;A key factor that influences the spread of a new idea are the adopters. He identifies five categories of adopters: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Haggards. In ‘Crossing the Chasm’ by Geoffrey Moore, he examines what it takes&nbsp;to bridge The Chasm from Early Adopters to Early Majority.)</i></p><h4><strong>ME: What’s most important to the success of blockchain games and great game design?&nbsp;</strong></h4><p>B: At their core, games need to be fun!&nbsp;</p><p>Games are played for entertainment. And that is no difference between web2 and web3. We don't see ourselves as Play-TO-Earn or even Play-AND-Earn. We believe in playing for the sake of having a good time!&nbsp;</p><p>The need for great game design, engaging core loops and an aspiration to make continual progress over weeks, months and years is going to be no different between a great web2 game and a great web3 game. So our experience making games across many technology platforms is going to be the key to ensuring that we get the game design basics right. We believe that you can't simply take an existing game and top-down insert NFTs and a token to make it "better." We believe that you need to build the game from the ground-up to incorporate what makes blockchain uniquely interesting for gameplay and the in-game economy in a seamless, native manner.&nbsp;</p><p>Great game design is always about ‘remixing’ different elements from existing games, familiar to gamers, into something new, fresh &amp; unique.” My personal favorite game of all-time is Football Manager. I started playing in 1992, when the game was first released, and continue to log hundreds of hours every single year. That's 30 years of engagement with no end in sight, which is something we aspire to with Blockstars as well! Blockstars has been inspired by a lot of the ‘under the hood’ economy design of a rich, deep &amp; complex management sim like Football Manager, combined with the accessibility and interactivity of the 3D world in a more casual life sim like The Sims. But there are naturally many other pieces from many other games in many other genres that inspire individual features of Blockstars.&nbsp;</p><hr><h4>🚀 <a href="https://bit.ly/3A2wJ07" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Wen Game</strong></a><strong> episode with Niko from Blockstars&nbsp;</strong></h4><div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uXekRwTQrKo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

Niko of Blockstars shares how web3 differs from previous technological evolutions and on web3 gaming leading to NFT mass adoption.

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gm gm with @Blockstarsgame

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<p style="margin-left:0px;">Each month, we’ll share features rolled out by Magic Eden’s innovative and hardworking dev team. A big shoutout to our community — we implemented these features thanks to your <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden"><u>@MagicEden</u></a>(s) and feedback — so, keep them coming! We appreciate you.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Here’s a round-up of features:</p><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>31 March: Metaplex Certified Collection&nbsp;</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">We integrated the Metaplex Certified Collection Standard on our marketplace. NFTs from Metaplex Certified Collections will be instantly tradable on Magic Eden via a special link, without the need for any review by our team.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey builders, can't wait to trade your NFTs? 👀<br><br>Magic Eden will be supporting the <a href="https://twitter.com/metaplex?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@metaplex</a> Certified Collection (MCC) Standard on our marketplace starting today.<br><br>Here’s a little thread to explain what’s going on 🧵👇</p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1509636802163920902?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>30 March:</strong> <strong>Collection Upvoting</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">On <a href="https://magiceden.io/drops"><u>Upcoming Drops</u></a>, users can now view community sentiment by voting on the latest NFT drops. Popular drops will appear on a “trending” tab.&nbsp;In three days, we received a total of 700+ upvotes.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The people have spoken!! 🗣️ Collection voting is now rolled out.<br><br>- Simply connect your wallet to vote<br>- Drops with &gt;100 votes will also appear on a separate “Trending” tab<br><br>p.s. in order to vote, your wallet needs to have a cumulative transaction volume of 1 SOL on Magic Eden 💜 <a href="https://t.co/J8QpZGETWu">https://t.co/J8QpZGETWu</a> <a href="https://t.co/fgKuFmfgOE">pic.twitter.com/fgKuFmfgOE</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1509234543462522880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>28 March:</strong> <strong>Collection Watchlist</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">Gone are the days of typing in collection names into the search bar. Now you can bookmark your favorite collections and they’ll appear in a custom carousel on your Magic Eden homepage.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Did somebody say... Watchlist?? 🤩<br><br>👀 Add your favorite NFT collections into your Watchlist with a simple click of a button! <br><br>Access &amp; track these collections right from your homepage and profile 😉 <a href="https://t.co/j6r0QFnK55">pic.twitter.com/j6r0QFnK55</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1508550407542517760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>24 March: In-app Notifications</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">Ding, ding. Get notified as you're scrolling through Magic Eden whenever your NFT sells, someone bids on your items and accepts your bids!&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">You asked 🤝 we delivered <br><br>In-app notifications are here. <a href="https://t.co/rk8Ch603Bp">pic.twitter.com/rk8Ch603Bp</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1507052640869310482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>19 March: Drop Calendar&nbsp;</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">We’ve built THE page to go to for your minting needs. Check out the latest NFT collections on Solana <a href="https://magiceden.io/drops"><u>here</u></a>. Since going live, the drop calendar reached an all-time high of 17,000+ impressions on 31 March. Total page impressions are 160,000+.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Behold… OUR Drop Calendar! 👀⬇️<a href="https://t.co/xNsURkhPx0">https://t.co/xNsURkhPx0</a><br><br>You’ll now be able to view upcoming NFT drops on Solana. 🤝<br><br>wen upvoting? 😆 <a href="https://twitter.com/sidazhang?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sidazhang</a> <a href="https://t.co/TOkUqD11py">pic.twitter.com/TOkUqD11py</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1505364531798761474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>18 March: SOL NFT Marketplaces Rankings&nbsp;</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">We now have rankings of NFT Marketplaces on Solana based on marketplace volume, transactions and active wallets.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1/ We’ve got new stats!! 👇<br><br>Head over to <a href="https://t.co/RHtvd1LA7p">https://t.co/RHtvd1LA7p</a> to check out rankings of SOL NFT marketplaces based on these following filters:<br><br>- Marketplace Volume<br>- Transactions<br>- Active Wallets</p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1504977440954847239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>18 March: Solscan/Solana Explorer</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">Under details on an NFT, you now have the power to redirect from an NFT to Solscan or Solana Explorer.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The power to redirect from an NFT to <a href="https://twitter.com/solscanofficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@solscanofficial</a> or Solana Explorer with a simple click of a button? <br><br>Now yours. 😉 <a href="https://t.co/qRZgwsCVIs">pic.twitter.com/qRZgwsCVIs</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1504646630859026434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>14 March: About Us Page</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">It was about time! Get to know us <a href="https://magiceden.io/about"><u>here</u></a>.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Along with the close of our Series A, check out our new About Us page! 🪄<br><br>Link: <a href="https://t.co/tn1mbeMh53">https://t.co/tn1mbeMh53</a> <a href="https://t.co/JfIBWe12QU">pic.twitter.com/JfIBWe12QU</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1503422884248797185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>14 March: Eden Games&nbsp;</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">You know we’re bullish on blockchain gaming. We partnered with leading games on Solana to launch <a href="https://magiceden.io/games"><u>Eden Games</u></a>. We help games launch collections, build custom pages, connect to players, showcase gameplay and build in-game marketplaces. 10% of views on the Eden Games page has drove traffic to a game collection page.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Welcome to the future of gaming 👾💜<a href="https://t.co/H7gftH5STl">https://t.co/H7gftH5STl</a> <a href="https://t.co/l56c9s4AQQ">pic.twitter.com/l56c9s4AQQ</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1503522573241524226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>12 March: Email Notifications</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">Opt in to receive email notifications when someone buys your NFT, bids on your NFT or when your bid has been accepted. 290,000+ emails have been sent and out of those, 64% have been opened. A total of 85,000+ users have received an email.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1/ 📣 Notifications are OUT!<br><br>Users that connect their email address on their Magic Eden profile will now receive email notifications.</p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1502804528617431041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>10 March: Rarity Ranking</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">We’ve integrated How Rare and Moonrank to display NFT rarity ranks on listings. Filter and sort through collections based on their rarity rankings.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1/ Rollout in progress... Rarity rankings! ✨<br><br>We've started integrating our marketplace with <a href="https://twitter.com/howrareis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@howrareis</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/MoonRankNFT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MoonRankNFT</a>. This gives us the ability to display NFT rarity ranks on our marketplace listings, and on the "Details" section of any specific NFT. 😎 <a href="https://t.co/d7BtKeUf3Z">pic.twitter.com/d7BtKeUf3Z</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1502001609999532032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>1 March: Over 100K Mobile-App Downloads</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">Thank you for over 100,000 downloads across our iOS and Android mobile apps!</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Over 100K app downloads across iOS &amp; Android. Thank you 🙏🏼<br><br>How can we make the apps better? Tell us in comments. Our dev <a href="https://twitter.com/safaiyeh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@safaiyeh</a> will be on the lookout for suggestions 👇🏼 <a href="https://t.co/s51WbvhWTh">pic.twitter.com/s51WbvhWTh</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1498695386948640773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p style="margin-left:0px;"><br>&nbsp;</p>

A round-up of features, updates and what we built on Magic Eden in the past month.

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We Always Ship: March

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<p style="margin-left:0px;">Auctions for one-of-one art pieces are gaining popularity on Solana. NFT collectors flock to attention grabbing <a href="https://magiceden.io/auctions"><u>auctions</u></a> shared on Twitter and in Discord servers. They're much more exhilarating than your regular ol' auction house (sorry not sorry Christie's). Behind it all, the Solana blockchain is facilitating a golden age of opportunity for all artists, especially small and newer artists. Through auctions, NFT collectors are supporting NFT creators in a massive way. Understanding how auctions work on Solana can help new artists price their pieces correctly and get rewarded fairly for their work.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on Solana are <a href="https://blog.magiceden.io/p/2021-solana-nft-recap"><u>relatively new</u></a>, and generative profile pictures remain dominant. The one-of-one space is just starting to get the attention it deserves, which is rewarding for everyone involved. The audience on Solana is eager to spend on quality art from up and coming artists. It’s exciting for auction bidders to find value in great contemporary art from under-appreciated artists on Solana.</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6a1a8d35-0665-463c-8d54-e2dd59932565_1600x847.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6a1a8d35-0665-463c-8d54-e2dd59932565_1600x847.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6a1a8d35-0665-463c-8d54-e2dd59932565_1600x847.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6a1a8d35-0665-463c-8d54-e2dd59932565_1600x847.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6a1a8d35-0665-463c-8d54-e2dd59932565_1600x847.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1456"><figcaption>Creators and artists can host both English and Dutch Auctions on <a href="https://magiceden.io/auctions"><u>Magic Eden</u></a></figcaption></figure><h3 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>1/1 via Auction vs. Buy Now</strong></h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">Both seasoned and first time NFT artists can use auctions. Unlike Ethereum where there’s a high minting cost in ETH gas fees, Solana’s transaction fees are close to none. There are reasons to sell one-of-one art through instant buy but in the vast majority of cases, an auction is the best idea for NFT artists and collectors.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The main reason why: <strong>pricing</strong>. It’s insanely difficult to gauge the proper value for your digital&nbsp;art. Furthermore, a fixed price drop can carry with it the cadence of lower quality and value for both the artist’s work and the collector’s investment. Through auctions, bidders naturally come to an agreed upon value for the piece. They can bid their perceived value for your digital work of art and win if it is the largest value.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Auctions also develop an interest on their own that an instant buy doesn’t generate. By seeing what others are bidding on, potential buyers can see <strong>genuine interest</strong> in an artwork backed by real monetary value (in cryptocurrency). Each bidder helps the creator build an audience, contributing to the attention placed on the auction. NFT creators and collectors have unusually aligned incentives dealing with one-of-one art on Solana.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">How do auctions work?</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">There are two types of auctions for NFTs on <a href="https://magiceden.io/auctions"><u>Magic Eden</u></a>: Dutch and English.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">For one-of-one art, English Auctions are used in almost all cases. Dutch Auctions are used for many of the largest NFT sales.</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">Pricing</h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">Pricing is the most important information about any auction. All pricing information should be available to buyers before placing bids in order to make an informed decision. Here are some key terminology to know:</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Starting Price</strong> is the price that the auction starts at.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Tick Price</strong> is the minimum increment by which the bids must change by, either increasing for English Auctions or decreasing in Dutch Auctions.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Royalties</strong> are the percentage that the artist will receive from any secondary sale. On Solana, this is built into the metadata of the NFT itself.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">Dutch Auction</h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">A Dutch Auction starts with a high asking price, and is lowered by the tick price at predetermined intervals until the participant accepts or the reserve price is met. More simply, the price decreases until someone buys. Tick size is crucial here; smaller ticks help the seller find the most value for their art. As the number of participants increases, so does the chance of a bidder accepting the asking price and FOMO results in quicker and higher value sales.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Pros:</strong> Controlled speed, Revenue increases with # of participants</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Cons:</strong> Loss of return with time, Technically capped</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">English Auction</h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">English Auctions have a low starting or reserve price. Bids are ascending in order, the tick size higher than the last bid placed until the standing bid is not challenged. If the reserve price is not met, the piece is either unsold or the reserve is lowered, or a lower bid may be allowed depending on the auction’s rules. Because all bidders can see the bids of others, they are incentivized to bid up to their true perceived value without regard to other’s decisions.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Pros: Transparency for all buyers to bid true value, good for buyers and sellers</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Cons: Bidder could overpay “winner’s curse”, pricing could hurt returns for seller</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">How can NFT artists foster genuine relationships with collectors?&nbsp;</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">To attract collectors, attention is key: more awareness of an auction leads to more bidders collectively agreeing on fair value for the auction. On Solana, there are many ways to meaningfully engage with collectors. Even if a bidder doesn’t win that auction, you can give them a participatory NFT commemorating the experience. Holding a participatory NFT may grant collectors special access to a Discord server for your art, or it could just be proof of support.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">A lot of the lessons from our article <a href="https://blog.magiceden.io/p/nft-marketing-101-magic-eden"><u>NFT Marketing 101</u></a> apply here. Starting a Discord server alongside a Twitter account is highly recommended: Twitter has great reach, and Discord has great depth of connection. One important question to answer is, how will your collection be organized? Collections following a certain theme are typically named and numbered, and generally one big collection will gain more notoriety than many smaller distinct collections. One-off collab NFTs can be part of the same big collection, and follow a separate naming and numbering system! In most cases it will be best for the artist to keep their entire collection together. A great move is making honorary 1/1 art for a popular collection, as <a href="https://twitter.com/zen0m"><u>Zen0</u></a> did for <a href="https://twitter.com/TheChimpions"><u>The Chimpions</u></a> on <a href="https://magiceden.io/auction/zen0_chimpions"><u>Magic Eden</u></a>!</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">While it’s a fast growing and exciting time for Solana NFTs, it’s still important to set realistic expectations with modest pricing to start. Having your first mint start at 10 SOL is not quite setting yourself up for success. Instead, start with an initial price under 1 SOL, with smaller tick prices. Many more bids will come in, each a public appreciation of your work. Enjoy the journey, because this is just the start of artists being recognized and rewarded for their work.&nbsp;</p>

Understand how artists and creators can use NFT auctions to amplify their art.

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Intro to Digital Art NFT Auctions on Solana

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<p style="margin-left:0px;">Successful, sold-out NFT mints can come in many ways. For first time NFT collections and creators, it’s important to carefully consider what is best for your NFT project and feasible to execute, to ensure your project gets off to a strong start. Without a smooth mint, negative sentiment and FUD will almost certainly creep up if NFT collectors have concerns around mint fairness or execution. With more first time NFT users coming to Solana, the minting experience should be user-friendly to get them on NFTs (we're all for onboarding!)</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Whether you're minting through an NFT platform, like Magic Eden, or on your own, here are some of the most common NFT minting approaches and their advantages to NFT collections:</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Stealth Mints</strong></h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">Generally, a stealth mint approach releases the minting smart contract at the time of or shortly before the NFT mint goes “live” to the public. Some projects may claim to be “stealth” while using it as a marketing tactic to lead to the launch itself. Marketing a stealth mint is counter-intuitive as a stealth launch should fly under the radar all the way up to the public release for open-minting.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Stealth mints are utilized to prevent bots from having access to the smart contract and mint link ahead of the drop time to make tampering more difficult. It also promotes fairness and ensures equal opportunity for all those in the community interested in minting as a project is less susceptible to individuals deploying bots to “mass-mint” rather than allowing a fair launch!&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Most of the time, stealth mints are discovered by individual, DAOs or groups of NFT collectors on Twitter. Usually, stealth mints will target the attention of well-known players with the hopes of getting their attention and thinking that they may pass it along to their followers.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>To share a stealth mint:</strong> Reach out to key players on social media through DMs and give a quick rocket pitch. Once discovered on Twitter, the focus shifts to Discord where word of mouth discussions and mass invites occur in large quantities in the 24 hours leading up to mint. Friends in other Discord servers will often share the stealth mint’s Discord with one another which quickly attracts many new eyes in a short period of time. Therefore, your project’s Discord should have more detailed information.&nbsp;</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Standard Mint</strong></h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">A standard mint is a pre-announced mint, whereby the mint address and information are made public ahead of the mint time. These were common in the early days of Solana but with Solana’s increased popularity and entry of nefarious players, standard mints are less common.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Standard mint advantages:</strong> It allows people to “audit” or look at the smart contract before your NFT mint to verify the legitimacy of the team and collection. It may be easier to build trust. It also allows your project to effectively market your NFT collection and ensure that you have your desired target audience and community size before going through with the launch. A stealth mint, in comparison, can be a bit more risky with these elements.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Free Mints</strong></h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">The only cost to free mints on Solana are the transaction fees. Initially popularized on the Ethereum blockchain due to high gas fees (ETH gas fees easily surpasses the value of minting NFTs), free mints were an inexpensive way for creators to get their project into the hands of NFT collectors. This proved to be a great way to create awareness, launch a derivative project or capture secondary market fees, because everyone loves free stuff!</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Free mints are somewhat less common in today’s Solana environment for a variety of reasons. Primarily due to inexpensive transaction fees, the primary obstacle they were looking to evade is moot. Not to mention, creators invest big into their NFT projects and would want to at least cover costs.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Is a free mint for you?</strong> Consider it if you're a first time NFT creator or you don’t have a strong social media following and want to entice individuals to explore your NFT collection. You could also use a tiered pricing model. For example, the first 100 mints are free and then there’s a mint price for the rest. Although you may be the real deal and not a scam, a golden rule is to use a burner wallet when it comes to minting NFTs, so advise your community accordingly.</p>

Successful, sold-out mints can come in many ways. We explore some of the most popular minting approaches and their advantages. 

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Which Type of NFT Mint Should Creators Use?

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<p style="margin-left:0px;">So, you’ve heard of NFTs. Perhaps, you’re wondering why NFTs are such a big deal… here’s the lowdown:</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>What is an NFT?</strong></h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">An NFT is a digital asset stored on the blockchain. The term itself, NFT, stands for non-fungible token. To be non-fungible means that an asset is unique and non-interchangeable. This means that every NFT is a 1/1, a uniquely identifiable asset with a visible history of ownership. If I purchase an <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/og_flowers"><u>OG Flowers</u></a> NFT, for example, that digital image is added to my <a href="https://blog.magiceden.io/p/how-to-choose-a-solana-wallet"><u>Solana wallet</u></a> and I have verifiable ownership of it. Someone could right click and save it but no-one owns the rights to the original, a unique instance on the blockchain, besides me.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">You’ve probably seen some popular collections of NFTs, most of which look like a jpeg. Not all NFTs are images though! The NFT itself is a customizable unit - NFTs can contain any digital file format including photos, videos, <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/cyberkeys"><u>gifs</u></a>, <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/cassets_audio"><u>audio</u></a>, and even documents.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">How are NFTs Stored?</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">Data storage on the blockchain is quite expensive, so the files for most NFTs are actually stored off-chain through a system called IPFS. IPFS (interplanetary file system) is a peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol that stores files in a secured and distributed manner. When an NFT is minted, the ID that points to this file on IPFS will be stored on-chain.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">When an NFT is listed on <a href="https://magiceden.io/"><u>Magic Eden</u></a>, a user transfers their NFT to Magic Eden’s smart contract which then handles the buying and bidding functionality.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Where do NFTs derive their ‘value’ from?</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">On a fundamental level, NFTs are valuable because they are non-interchangeable. When it comes to pricing, it all comes down to the perceived value given to an item by prospective collectors. For example, certain NFTs are more rare than others, which can lead them to trade at higher prices than other items in the collection. Some NFTs grant access to unique opportunities that make them more valuable.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">To the creator, NFTs are valuable because they allow them to create and share their work in a way that gives them both credit and rightful commission for their sales. An item’s royalty percentage can be built into its smart contract, which guarantees that the creator will automatically and perpetually receive a royalty every time that NFT is traded in its original marketplace. On Magic Eden, this royalty amount is set by the creator and can vary by item.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">But — wait a minute, you’re a collector! What is the value to you?</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">Collectors have all sorts of different motivations for purchasing an NFT. Here are a few reasons:</p><ol><li><strong>Digital Ownership</strong>: at its most basic, motivation to buy an NFT is motivation to claim ownership over a piece that no-one else can. If you really enjoy the work of a collection, it is an easy way to own a piece that speaks to you.</li><li><strong>Creator Support</strong>: if you are a fan of a creator, purchasing an NFT from their collection is a great way to show support for their work.</li><li><strong>Token-Gated Access</strong>: some creators offer unique experiences or opportunities to owners of their NFTs. Ownership may provide VIP access to unreleased works, or allow you to attend members-only IRL events. For example, artist and producer Chief Keef released an <a href="https://4nem.com/"><u>access card NFT</u></a> for his new album ‘4NEM’. Owners of these NFT cards will get exclusive access to unreleased works, merch, content, and events.</li><li><strong>Project Participation</strong>: owning an NFT from an interactive project can allow you to have a say in the project roadmap or play a certain role in a game. For example, the <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/neonexus_commercial"><u>NEONEXUS Commercial</u></a> collection includes properties that you can purchase to take part in a soon-to-be-released cyberpunk city game.</li><li><strong>Trading and Speculating</strong>: some people collect NFTs that they think will appreciate in value over time. Typically seeking to make a profit, they may be buyers who hold for long periods of time or traders who elect to swap frequently in order to acquire more valuable pieces.</li><li><strong>Community Membership</strong>: joining a project ecosystem can allow you to connect with like-minded collectors, make new friends, and signal your affiliation with a larger community. You can participate in the project discord, set your NFT as your Twitter profile picture, and/or get involved in conversations about the project both online and IRL.</li></ol><p style="margin-left:0px;">Now, go on and <a href="https://magiceden.io/collections"><u>browse</u></a> Magic Eden. Find an NFT project that excites you!</p>

Here's the lowdown on the what, the how and the why of NFTs. 

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Introduction to NFTs

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<p style="margin-left:0px;">We are proud to announce a multifaceted partnership today with Faraway as part of our broader commitment to games on Solana. This blog post will share our perspective on how marketplaces can partner closely with games to help them achieve their growth objectives.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">For starters, <a href="http://faraway.gg/"><u>Faraway</u></a> is the creator behind <a href="https://twitter.com/mininations"><u>Mini Royale: Nations</u></a>, the first live multiplayer game using the Solana blockchain. Mini Nations is a first-person shooter game that prides itself on being a fun game first and foremost, prioritizing ease of play above having high fidelity graphics. To date, <a href="https://dappradar.com/blog/solanas-mini-royale-nations-hits-2-million-players"><u>they have over 600,000 monthly active users</u></a> around the world. These users engage in 92,000 battles daily.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The first time we met with Faraway was in early November during Solana Breakpoint in Lisbon. We still remember when cofounder Alex Paley sat across a table from us and asked, “Who the fuck are you guys?” when we told him Magic Eden was less than 2 months old. We laughed and started spitballing ideas in a corner amidst a busy cafe.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Since then, our team has been so proud of how iterative and organic our partnership has been, including several drops, <a href="https://twitter.com/rea_loretta/status/1466536890090336256?s=20"><u>an event promoting web3 gaming in Miami</u></a> during Art Basel, powering their in-game marketplace, and <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/mrn_s1_loot"><u>embedding Mini Nations gameplay directly onto Magic Eden</u></a>.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fddde5421-9b04-4b47-ab32-ca3fc4b22b8a_600x337.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fddde5421-9b04-4b47-ab32-ca3fc4b22b8a_600x337.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fddde5421-9b04-4b47-ab32-ca3fc4b22b8a_600x337.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fddde5421-9b04-4b47-ab32-ca3fc4b22b8a_600x337.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fddde5421-9b04-4b47-ab32-ca3fc4b22b8a_600x337.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="600"></figure><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Our partnership with Mini Nations has encompassed:</strong></h4><ol><li><strong>Collaborating on collection drops using Magic Eden Launchpad</strong><br>In early December, we hosted a Launchpad for <a href="http://twitter.com/mininations"><u>Mini Royale: Nations</u></a> for their <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/mrn_s1_vikings_premium_drop"><u>“Vikings of the MiniVerse” Genesis drop.</u></a> We helped them mint 2,500 items which sold out in 30 seconds (even with the use of captcha technology, which we deployed for the first time at Faraway’s request). Faraway was then able to leverage the hype and excitement from this drop to host the sale of the remaining 7,500 items a week later.&nbsp;<br>Beyond the Genesis drop, we’re also excited to support listing of the <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/mrn_s1_loot"><u>Mini Nations Loot Collections</u></a> and to utilize <a href="http://magiceden.io/launchpad"><u>Launchpad</u></a> for future premium drops (e.g., weapons, buildings, land).</li></ol><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4342fdcd-6ba9-4ceb-b7ba-b18896c05a48_1600x1600.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4342fdcd-6ba9-4ceb-b7ba-b18896c05a48_1600x1600.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4342fdcd-6ba9-4ceb-b7ba-b18896c05a48_1600x1600.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4342fdcd-6ba9-4ceb-b7ba-b18896c05a48_1600x1600.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4342fdcd-6ba9-4ceb-b7ba-b18896c05a48_1600x1600.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="284"></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbcea4119-636b-4bcd-a871-f13eae3cb2db_1600x1600.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbcea4119-636b-4bcd-a871-f13eae3cb2db_1600x1600.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbcea4119-636b-4bcd-a871-f13eae3cb2db_1600x1600.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbcea4119-636b-4bcd-a871-f13eae3cb2db_1600x1600.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbcea4119-636b-4bcd-a871-f13eae3cb2db_1600x1600.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="286"><figcaption><i>Mini Royale: Nations “Vikings of the MiniVerse” Genesis drop</i></figcaption></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63fe5bc9-6543-411b-8363-0512da65c0ef_640x640.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63fe5bc9-6543-411b-8363-0512da65c0ef_640x640.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63fe5bc9-6543-411b-8363-0512da65c0ef_640x640.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63fe5bc9-6543-411b-8363-0512da65c0ef_640x640.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63fe5bc9-6543-411b-8363-0512da65c0ef_640x640.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="284"></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F80ebb83c-d78f-49f9-9f61-e454b16e6798_640x640.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F80ebb83c-d78f-49f9-9f61-e454b16e6798_640x640.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F80ebb83c-d78f-49f9-9f61-e454b16e6798_640x640.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F80ebb83c-d78f-49f9-9f61-e454b16e6798_640x640.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F80ebb83c-d78f-49f9-9f61-e454b16e6798_640x640.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="296"><figcaption>Mini Royale: Nations “Season 1 Loot Collection”</figcaption></figure><ol><li><strong>Powering Mini Nations’ in-game marketplace</strong><br>We’re thrilled to be powering the in-game marketplace experience for Mini Nations, allowing players to directly exchange items without disrupting their gaming experience. This marketplace will run on the same tech that’s behind the <a href="https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/solana/category/marketplaces"><u>largest marketplace on Solana</u></a>.<br><br><strong>Later this month, we will be releasing an SDK product that will allow any developer to integrate trading experiences powered by us in their own environments. All of the functionality available via the Magic Eden app today will be exposed via our APIs (eg. mint, list, buy now, bid etc).</strong>&nbsp;<br><br>In the words of cofounder Alex Paley, "We’re really excited to partner with Magic Eden on our in-game marketplace. Our focus at Faraway is building the best possible games and social experiences for our players. Not needing to worry about building our own marketplace tech allows us to focus on what we do best: making games."</li><li><strong>Embedding Mini Nations directly within the Magic Eden marketplace</strong><br><a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden_NFT/status/1477142460853850113?s=20"><u>We were the first NFT marketplace on Solana</u></a> to let users immerse themselves by playing <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/mrn_s1_loot"><u>Mini Nations directly on our platform </u></a>(under the Play Now tab). NFTs, and especially gaming NFTs, should inherently be immersive and we want our users to feel what is possible when they land on Magic Eden. Similarly, we think games will benefit enormously from the distribution + end users that are visiting Magic Eden daily.<br>&nbsp;</li></ol><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab486a43-48f8-4ca6-83bd-e24f37c73eda_1600x1528.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab486a43-48f8-4ca6-83bd-e24f37c73eda_1600x1528.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab486a43-48f8-4ca6-83bd-e24f37c73eda_1600x1528.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab486a43-48f8-4ca6-83bd-e24f37c73eda_1600x1528.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab486a43-48f8-4ca6-83bd-e24f37c73eda_1600x1528.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"><figcaption>Now, anyone can directly play Mini Royale: Nations directly on Magic Eden</figcaption></figure><ol><li><strong>Building community IRL at Art Basel Miami</strong><br>We decided very serendipitously to go to Art Basel Miami, <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden_NFT/status/1468377132858499074?s=20"><u>where we hosted an event on web3 gaming with 120+ people.</u></a> We hosted a panel discussion where we talked about our partnership and the opportunities for marketplaces to help games build open economies. Magic Eden <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden_NFT/status/1466944932439076864?s=20"><u>also hosted a supper club</u></a> the following night with around 40 attendees. We broke bread with both Faraway and Genopets at the same table, talking about the future for both of their games…and may or may not have gone to a Diplo concert together afterwards.</li></ol><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1ba1ba-edaa-41a1-afa5-054c08e68e2b_1600x1200.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1ba1ba-edaa-41a1-afa5-054c08e68e2b_1600x1200.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1ba1ba-edaa-41a1-afa5-054c08e68e2b_1600x1200.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1ba1ba-edaa-41a1-afa5-054c08e68e2b_1600x1200.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c1ba1ba-edaa-41a1-afa5-054c08e68e2b_1600x1200.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"><figcaption>Our web3 gaming panel during Art Basel Miami</figcaption></figure><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Our partnership with Faraway is evidence of how we want to partner with games period.</strong></h4><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Games can:&nbsp;</strong></p><ol><li>Use Magic Eden Launchpad to drop their in-game items. Launchpad is by far the most robust and sophisticated minting platform on Solana and the best way for games to debut their collections to the widest set of users</li><li>Utilize infrastructure already built by Magic Eden to power the slickest in-game marketplace experiences. We offer this so games can focus on the gameplay</li><li>Leverage the reach and distribution of the largest marketplace on Solana to acquire and engage new users</li></ol><p style="margin-left:0px;">We aim to grow with gaming partners looking for a long term home and a true partner. If you’re building a game and want to collaborate, reach out to our BD team.</p>

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Magic Eden x Faraway: How Marketplaces & Blockchain Games Can Grow Together

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<p style="margin-left:0px;">To celebrate the launch of<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.magiceden.io/"><strong><u>Magic Eden</u></strong></a>, and to thank our community for their support, we are hosting our very first lottery where the<strong> 9 people </strong>will have the chance to win a minimum prize pool of<strong> 30 SOL!</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Lottery Period:</strong> Sept. 21st 2021 06:00 PM — Sept. 24th 2021 06:00 PM (PST)</p><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>How To Participate</strong></h2><p style="margin-left:0px;">Anyone who <strong>lists</strong>, <strong>buys</strong>, or <strong>sells</strong> an item from either one of these 3 projects: <a href="https://twitter.com/CyberSamuraiNFT"><strong><u>The Cyber Samurai</u></strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/FastFoodSMB"><strong><u>Fast Food SMB</u></strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/DegenLizzy_NFT"><strong><u>Degen Lizzy</u></strong></a>, and follows <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden_NFT"><strong><u>Magic Eden</u></strong></a> on Twitter/Discord, will be eligible to enter the lottery to win Magic Eden platform fees from the lottery period as specified above. A minimum prize pool of <strong>30 SOL</strong> will be guaranteed.</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>How It Will Work</strong></h4><ul><li>On Sept. 24th 2021 06:00 PM (PST) we will release the list of transactions that happened over the lottery period related to Cyber Samurai, Fast Food SMB or Degen Lizzy on the Magic Eden Twitter and Discord accounts. These transactions will be eligible to enter the lottery</li><li>To enter the lottery, the eligible user (refer to eligibility requirements above) will be asked to submit a form with socials details, and wallet address for Magic Eden to pay out the prize money correctly</li><li>Winners will be announced on the <strong>Magic Eden </strong><a href="https://t.co/7lrgQ9Z1BM?amp=1"><u>Discord</u></a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden_NFT"><u>Twitter</u></a> accounts.</li></ul><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Price Details</strong></h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">Eligible participants (see eligibility requirements above) will be split into 3 prize pools according to the NFTs they listed/traded.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The NFTs eligible for the lottery are <strong>Cyber Samurai</strong>, <strong>Fast Food SMB</strong> and <strong>Degen Lizzy</strong>. There will be a draw in each of the 3 pots where:</p><ul><li><strong>3 randomly drawn</strong> people who listed/traded Cyber Samurai <strong>equally split 1/3 of ALL fees Magic Eden</strong> generated during the competition</li><li><strong>3 randomly drawn</strong> people who listed/traded Fast Food SMB <strong>equally split 1/3 of ALL fees Magic</strong> Eden generated during the competition</li><li><strong>3 randomly drawn</strong> people who listed/traded Degen Lizzy <strong>equally split 1/3 of ALL fees Magic Eden</strong> generated during the competition</li></ul><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Additional Lottery Details</strong></h4><ul><li>Anyone who lists their item from above participating collections gets 5 tickets</li><li>If sold, both the buyer and seller get 1 ticket for 0.1 SOL of sale price</li></ul><blockquote><p style="margin-left:1em;"><i>For example, an item sells for 3.1 SOL, buyer gets 31 tickets and seller gets 31 tickets</i></p></blockquote><ul><li>Users can enter a referee into the draw on the last day of the lottery period. Both the referrer AND the referee get 25 tickets</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Note:</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The Lottery will be held off-chain by the standards off the <strong>Fair Lottery Protocol</strong>.</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>MAGIC EDEN — The Next-Gen NFT Marketplace</strong></h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">Our vision is to democratize access to NFTs for artists and collectors by building an <strong>immersive cross-chain NFT marketplace,</strong> leveraging the power of Solana &amp; Serum. We want to be the biggest and most liquid NFT marketplace globally and home to the next generation of digital creators.</p>

To celebrate the launch of Magic Eden, and to thank our community for their support, we are hosting our very first lottery!

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Magic Eden Lottery X Cyber Samurai, Fast Food SMB & Degen Lizzy

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<p style="margin-left:0px;">Hey guys,</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Hope you enjoyed our surprise airdrop yesterday! We’re so excited to share more about Magic Ticket and MagicDAO with you. Over the last few months, we’ve been wanting to find a way to work together with our community. We also wanted to find a meaningful way to fund projects that serve the ecosystem. Finally, we wanted to show some love to people who actively trade on Magic Eden.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>A note on scams -</strong> there are fake airdrops happening right now. Unless your NFT is a Magic Ticket, it is a scam. Please be weary and only visit <a href="http://magiceden.io/"><u>magiceden.io</u></a>. Check your URLs. Do NOT give your private keys or password to anyone. Make sure that you are only receiving emails from <a href="mailto:noreply@magiceden.io"><u>noreply@magiceden.io</u></a>. Double, triple check all of the above. If you’re not sure if you’re about to get scammed, DM us.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>About Our Airdrop:</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Our team designed 3 levels of Magic Tickets based on the 1st date of transaction with ME and having also been active in the past month:</p><ul><li>OGs - people who first transacted on ME from Sep 17 - Oct 17</li><li>Degens - people who first transacted on ME between Oct 18 - Dec 18</li><li>Normies - people who first transacted on ME Dec 19 onwards</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;">Timeline:</p><ul><li>Yesterday (Monday, Feb 21), we airdropped around 4K NFTs to active wallets (meaning they have conducted a trade on Magic Eden in the last month) that connected their discord IDs + emails.</li><li>Today (Tuesday, Feb 22): we will continue airdropping active wallets.</li><li>Tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb 23), we will airdrop active wallets from last month who connect email / discord by end of day Tuesday, Feb 22.</li><li>This will conclude our first drop. By the nature of what we’ve described, we do not have a final # for a set quantity.</li><li>We will compile a master list of all wallets that should have received a Magic Ticket and we will work on reconciling cases where people were on the list but did not receive a ticket. Our ops team is working hard to keep up with all the requests in the meantime.</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Why Didn’t I Get An Airdrop?</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Please keep in mind the airdrops are not completed yet. We’ve found that most folks who DM us have been able to get their questions sorted through <a href="https://intercom.help/magiceden/en/articles/6000915-magic-ticket-airdrop"><u>this help center article.</u></a> We are still seeing additional questions and trying to diagnose remaining issues with discord / email connection.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Why Connect Discord / Email?</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;">We saw that there were some people who asked us why we requested an email / discord connection. The main reason is that we wanted to make sure people receiving the airdrop were actual people.&nbsp;In the spirit of transparency, here’s how we will use your data:</p><ul><li>Discord:<ul><li>We use your Discord to confirm you’re a holder because we built our own verification bot. That’s it.</li></ul></li><li>Email:<ul><li>We will add you to our newsletter subscription list to send you a weekly newsletter, which we prefaced under your email opt-in in your profile, so there should be no surprises there. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time.</li><li>We will email you in the future (date TBD) to ask if you’d like to receive email notifications covering key platform activities like bids, offers, subscribing to listing and launch. Many community members have asked us for email notifications. However, you can directly opt out of the email from there if you don’t want notifications. Additionally, you will have the option to change your notification preferences on our platform soon.&nbsp;</li><li>Please note all emails will come from <a href="mailto:noreply@magiceden.io"><u>noreply@magiceden.io</u></a>. Our weekly newsletter currently comes from <a href="mailto:magiceden+me-weekly@substack.com"><u>magiceden+me-weekly@substack.com.</u></a> Please disregard all other emails and beware of scams.</li></ul></li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;">These are the only use cases we have planned, and anything on top of that will be communicated explicitly for you to decide whether you want to partake or not.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">We’re building a way for you to easily disconnect your email at anytime. For now, if you’ve already verified your email, you can simply replace the email to a fake email (e.g., asd;fljas;dklfja;dslkjf;adlsjf@cdeeznuts.com) if you don’t want to have your email connected. We do not store your information once it’s disconnected.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>About Our Levels: Normie, Degen, OG</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The reason we created 3 sections of our DAO was to create different experiences that will be most helpful for different groups in our community. There are many different types of people in our ecosystem. Different people, depending on how long they’ve been in the Solana NFT ecosystem, look for different things. OGs are people who have been in the ecosystem for a long time and are considered veterans in the NFT space. Degens are people who have been in the ecosystem for a few months and have immersed themselves in the world of NFTs. Normies are people who are dipping their toes into the NFT scene on Solana but want to learn more.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">We think each level includes people with shared objectives. Many of these goals will overlap with other groups and we will look to accommodate that:</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Examples of objectives for OGs:</strong></p><ul><li>Champion stronger projects</li><li>Build better tools for NFT marketplaces (analytics, safety tools, trading tools)</li><li>Brainstorm ideas to strengthen the ecosystem in general</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Examples of objectives for Degens:</strong></p><ul><li>Learn how to become better traders</li><li>Get connected to other project founders / devs / marketers</li><li>Help identify scams / rugs</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Examples of objectives for Normies:</strong></p><ul><li>Make friends + help the ecosystem feel more inclusive</li><li>Learn how to gauge the quality of projects</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;">These goals will change over time as our DAO, our community and the Solana NFT ecosystem evolves, so we must all acknowledge a level of adaptivity and experimentation here.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>About MagicDAO</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The primary markers of a DAO are as follows:</p><ul><li>A mission and set of rules to which will operate</li><li>Funding and treasury that can be used to fund and reward certain activities&nbsp;</li><li>Voting rights to establish operation rules and make key decisions</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;">To that point, here is our approach to managing the DAO:</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>MagicDAO Mission:</strong> MagicDAO’s purpose is<strong> </strong><i><strong>to work together with our community to create a stronger Solana NFT ecosystem.</strong></i><strong> </strong>Of course, we have a vested interest in the health of Magic Eden as a platform. However, we think that as a platform, we have the opportunity to make the ecosystem better. There will be situations where both goals are possible. There may be other situations where some tensions may exist. However, our creation of MagicDAO is a commitment to identify and work through these tensions with the community openly and transparently in order to support the people who use ME.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Funding:</strong>&nbsp; We have put in 1,000 SOL from our fees to kickstart the DAO. From there on out, 5% of creator royalties on secondary sales and 2% of trading fees from Magic Ticket will be used to also fund MagicDAO as a dedicated budget. We may run future campaigns to generate more DAO funding. While we are <i><strong>not </strong></i>launching a token-based DAO, we are creating an NFT-gated access to MagicDAO via Magic Ticket and consider this an experiment to grow closer to our community. We expect our DAO’s purpose and decisions to evolve over time, and we want to co-create the experience with the community. All funds will be used for initiatives that serve the community.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Governance:</strong> Each person in MagicDAO will be given voting privileges on various initiatives. We will also have a governance model for each level to ensure decentralized ownership of each level.&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Core teams: </strong>MagicDAO will identify <strong>core teams of 5-10 people </strong>for each level who can refine the objectives and curate projects at that level (time commitment 5-10 hours per week). Core teams should be extremely passionate about the objectives for their level.</li><li><strong>Advisors:</strong> We will also identify <strong>4-5 advisors per level </strong>to provide guidance several times per month (time commitment 5-10 hours per month).&nbsp;</li><li>These advisors and working teams will be placed in groups together with members of the Magic Eden team, who will serve as support on the projects at each level (but ultimately led by core teams). Advisors are welcome (but not obligated) to share that they are <a href="http://twitter.com/themagicdao"><u>@TheMagicDAO</u></a> advisors in their Twitter bios.&nbsp;</li><li>Core teams and advisors may receive additional voting privileges on key initiatives (e.g., their votes might count as double). We want these people to reflect who the community wants to see.&nbsp;</li><li>Magic Eden has identified advisors, but we will ask for the community to elect the core teams for each level. Expect elections in the upcoming month.</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;">All of the above is subject to change based on community input. We will refine governance over time with the community’s input. In the beginning, Magic Eden’s team will be more heavily involved in decision-making since we want to start slowly and make sure MagicDAO is successful. Over time, we hope the community will play a larger role. Tangibly, what this means is that budget allocation and advisor selection across levels may first be a Magic Eden decision, but eventually we hope to work out a system where DAO members can have more ownership for who’s leading the levels and how projects can pitch for or receive funding.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>The Map of Eden:</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;">We have put together a roadmap for your review and expect it to evolve and grow over time.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Soon (in the next 2 weeks):</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Dedicated treasury wallet to fund initiatives: </strong>As mentioned, 5% creator royalties and 2% transaction fees from Magic Ticket will fund the DAO. We also added 1,000 SOL from our side to help kickstart the DAO.</li><li><strong>Homepage curation:</strong> Members will be able to vote on MagicDAO featured collections on our homepage. To reduce conflict of interest, only select Magic Eden employees will see these collections before they are featured on our homepage, and they will be barred from aping into these collections in advance</li><li><strong>Hacker challenge: </strong>Given that we <a href="https://api.magiceden.dev/"><u>recently published our API</u></a>, we will lead a hacker challenge to co-develop challenges and bounties for winners</li><li><strong>Merch: </strong>We have already developed merch designs and will sell these to our MagicDAO holders for free (we’ll waive the price but you will likely have to cover shipping, still working out details)</li><li><strong>Whitelists for Launchpad: </strong>Moving forward, we expect to secure whitelists for Magic Ticket holders. We know the whitelist game gets painful. Given how hot certain mints are, we want to reserve some supply for Magic Eden users. However, we know that for creators, whitelists are challenging because the redemption rates are variable. For that reason, we expect to develop a way to reward people who redeem and potentially disallow further whitelists from users who repeatedly abuse receiving and not redeeming whitelists. These tactics will be worked out with the community.</li><li><strong>Dedicated feedback sessions for ME in general: </strong>We always want to learn how to make our platform better and want to listen to active users who care about Magic Eden. We’ll hold a regular forum where people can share their concerns. At least 1 co-founder will be present during these sessions. TBD if they will be voice or general chat.</li><li><strong>AMAs: </strong>We will host regular AMAs with the DAOs of blue chip collections. Our first AMAs will include ThugDAO, LotusDAO and NootDAO.</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Medium term (in the next 1-2 months):</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Magic Ticket event at NFT LA: </strong>We’re still planning, but we expect to have either an exclusive event for Magic Ticket holders only <i>or </i>a public event that gives special perks to Magic Ticket holders</li><li><strong>Elections for OG, Degen, Normie core teams: </strong>We will create an election campaign where people can vote on who they want to lead the charge per level. These people will be in charge of managing initiatives.</li><li><strong>Games &amp; challenges:</strong> We intend on developing community challenges that can build tribalism and camaraderie within the levels, teach people about NFT trading, and raise funds for the DAO.</li><li><strong>Ecosystem / collection perks: </strong>More to come, but at at a high level, we want to offer brands, collections, or ecosystem partners to give perks to our Magic Ticket holders based on their desire to receive such perks. Our desire for holders is to feel like holding a Magic Ticket is a ticket to the Solana Metaverse, where they can get some fun freebies, access to certain spaces, discounts, etc if they so wish.</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Next steps:</strong></p><ul><li>Today (Tuesday US time), we will share this document publicly. Throughout the day, we will collect feedback to this document in our Discord DAO general chat.&nbsp;</li><li>On Tuesday evening US time 10 pm ET, we’ll hold our first DAO meeting to welcome everyone, say hi, and collect more feedback.</li><li>Afterwards, we will ask the DAO members to help us refine the objectives for each level. We will focus on setting up advisors and elections for teams for each level.&nbsp;</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;">Thank you all for reading and looking forward to your feedback!</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Cheers,</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">ME Team</p>

Learn about our plans to work together with the community...

About Magic Ticket Airdrop & MagicDAO Roadmap

<p style="margin-left:0px;">Each month, we’ll share features rolled out by Magic Eden’s innovative and hardworking dev team.&nbsp;A big shoutout to the community — we implemented these features thanks to your feedback — so, keep them coming! We appreciate you.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Here’s a round-up of features:</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">Jan 3: Auctions are LIVE!</h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">Both Dutch and English auctions are available on Magic Eden. We hosted our first English auction for 24 hours with Gooney Toons. The winning bid closed at 125 SOL!</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" hide_thread="true" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">To show our commitment to artists and celebrate them for pushing the Solana ecosystem, we are proud to announce that our 1ST EVER LAUNCHPAD AUCTION goes live in 8h 🤩🤩🤩<br><br>English auction GOONEY TOONS NIGHT OUT by <a href="https://twitter.com/GooneyToonsNFT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GooneyToonsNFT</a> site is now up👇🏼!!<a href="https://t.co/F5xFGbKixd">https://t.co/F5xFGbKixd</a> <a href="https://t.co/rkSX5kvij0">pic.twitter.com/rkSX5kvij0</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1478003429738000388?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">Jan 1: “Fat Finger Check”</h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">Remember that time you accidentally listed an NFT below its floor price? Yeah… that’s not going to happen, again. If a user types in a listing price that’s lower than the collection floor price, a warning will pop up. We got you!</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" hide_thread="true" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">By popular demand: fat finger check (for lack of a better term)! Now, if you accidentally offer to list your NFTs below floor price, we will warn you in advance 🤝 <a href="https://t.co/HOo6x6XqNu">pic.twitter.com/HOo6x6XqNu</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1477020810715959300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">Jan 1: Play on Magic Eden!</h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">Buy your blockchain gaming NFT on Magic Eden and within the same collection page, you can play that game! To start, we’ve embedded <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/mrn_s1_vikings_premium_drop"><u>Mini Nations</u></a> on Magic Eden. Fun fact: Our dev team delivered this feature in less than a day.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" hide_thread="true" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wyd for NYE? We're playing <a href="https://twitter.com/MiniNations?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mininations</a> 😉<br>Now offering users the chance to play games directly on Magic Eden!<br>Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/farawaygg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@farawaygg</a> on your 2nd drop 🎉<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gg?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gg</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EdenGames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EdenGames</a><a href="https://t.co/4l8zFEalxG">https://t.co/4l8zFEalxG</a> <a href="https://t.co/6Op47kqO9q">pic.twitter.com/6Op47kqO9q</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1477142460853850113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">Dec 29: Collection Search by Volume</h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">When you use our search bar, collections are ranked by volume instead of by alphabet.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" hide_thread="true" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">By popular demand: now, searches are prioritised by volume vs alphabet. Gotta hand it to <a href="https://twitter.com/thugbirdz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thugbirdz</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/BoryokuDragonz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BoryokuDragonz</a> for being most vocal about this. Hope this helps 🤙🏼 <a href="https://t.co/4MtYUGHqVV">pic.twitter.com/4MtYUGHqVV</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1476076960031789057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Dec 23: Community-led Flagging&nbsp;</strong></h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">Following our move to an <a href="https://blog.magiceden.io/p/magic-eden-open-listing-nft-marketplace"><u>open-listing model</u></a>, collection flagging was a top of mind feature. We appreciate how active the community has been in reporting problematic collections to us on an ongoing basis. Community-led flagging allows the community to play an active role on Magic Eden.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" hide_thread="true" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Now live: ability to flag problematic collections. Please remember w/ great power comes great responsibility. Let's use this flag fairly so the entire community benefits. For now, our team will monitor on the backend to remove / keep flags or escalate for delisting if needed. <a href="https://t.co/FNHwk8CWRN">pic.twitter.com/FNHwk8CWRN</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1473860740775919617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">Dec 23: Special Mint Button</h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">This is a white-label minting feature we rolled out for Launchpad. It enables creators to host the mint on their website with tools and support from Magic Eden.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" hide_thread="true" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As an early Christmas gift, we specially prepared Raydium's very own mint button! 💝 <br><br>Heads up <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24RAY&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$RAY</a> stakers, the <a href="https://twitter.com/RaydiumProtocol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RaydiumProtocol</a> x Magic Eden Holiday NFT Mint is happening at 12PM UTC!<br><br>Mint 1 and enjoy a 2% fee rebate whenever you purchase an NFT from <a href="https://t.co/4cJFyexmLL">https://t.co/4cJFyexmLL</a>. <a href="https://t.co/augLaS8lEh">pic.twitter.com/augLaS8lEh</a></p>— Magic Eden 🪄 Solana's Leading NFT Marketplace (@MagicEden) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden/status/1473976934417711108?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Dec 22: Wallet Auto-Connect</strong></h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">A simple but necessary feature for a seamless experience on Magic Eden. If you’re already connected on <a href="https://magiceden.io/"><u>magiceden.io</u></a>, you won’t get disconnected if you refresh the page. You’ll automatically be connected. If you’re not connected, a pop-up will show once and won’t appear once connected.</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Dec 21: GLB Support&nbsp;</strong></h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">We’ve implemented GLB support, a 3D file format which allows NFTs that uses virtual reality and augmented reality (among others) to take flight.</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Dec 20: Data Source Change for Popular Collections</strong></h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">Popular collections are directly computed from our in-house database. We are currently using the last 24 hour volume and displaying the top 8 NFT collections on Magic Eden.</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Dec 17: New Launchpad Feature - Whitelisted Wallets</strong></h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">Whitelisted wallets can get an exclusive countdown while everyone else sees a different “presale” label on the button. This enables <a href="https://magiceden.io/launchpad"><u>Launchpad</u></a> projects to further customize their mint by having a mixture of a pre-sale and public launch or a completely private launch. It also works for a 100% stealth launch.</p><hr><p style="margin-left:0px;">🛠 So much more to come. Tweet your suggestions to us <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicEden_NFT"><u>@MagicEden_NFT</u></a>. Let’s build together!</p>

A round-up of Magic Eden's Dec-Jan latest features and updates!

We Always Ship: January

<p style="margin-left:0px;">If you are new to NFTs, setting up your Solana wallet is an important place to start. Your wallet will be your access point to all things NFT: it is where you exchange tokens, purchase NFTs, and store these assets.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Your wallet contains two key components:</p><ol><li>Your unique Solana address (public key) which you can share with others to receive funds and digital assets</li><li>Your private key, which makes sure you are the <strong>only one who can access</strong> and transact with those funds and assets. Think of this as your password.</li></ol><h3 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Software vs. Hardware</strong></h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">A wallet can be either hardware or software. Among Magic Eden users, a software wallet is a popular choice - it is an easy and free way to transfer and store your funds and assets. These wallets are typically available as a browser extension and/or phone app, which you can easily connect to Magic Eden.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">For those interested in an increased level of security, a hardware wallet is a great option. Your private keys will be stored in a physical device and you will need an additional password to access the funds and assets stored there.</p><h2 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Choosing your Wallet</strong>&nbsp;</h2><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f96f406-b866-44af-a9b0-ddde94ffa1e3_2396x1202.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f96f406-b866-44af-a9b0-ddde94ffa1e3_2396x1202.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f96f406-b866-44af-a9b0-ddde94ffa1e3_2396x1202.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f96f406-b866-44af-a9b0-ddde94ffa1e3_2396x1202.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8f96f406-b866-44af-a9b0-ddde94ffa1e3_2396x1202.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">When connecting to a wallet for the first time, you will notice that Magic Eden connects to several different Solana wallets -&nbsp;Phantom, Slope, Sollet, Solflare, Clover, Ledger, Solong, and MathWallet.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Let’s explore which of these wallets is right for you:&nbsp;</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Phantom</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://phantom.app/"><u>Phantom</u></a> is an easy-to-add browser extension with an intuitive user interface. It’s currently supported by all major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Brave). Phantom is currently only available as a browser extension, with the mobile app still in development.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Phantom is a non-custodial wallet, meaning your private keys are stored on your device so that only you have access to the wallet’s contents. It supports linking to a hardware wallet, for those interested in having both.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Phantom is one of the most popular wallets available in the Solana ecosystem right now, with a wide range of functionalities and users at every expertise level. It connects to nearly every Solana dApp and is a great option for those new to MagicEden!</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59ad175c-3519-4818-9c5f-8a43715a785b_1280x800.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59ad175c-3519-4818-9c5f-8a43715a785b_1280x800.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59ad175c-3519-4818-9c5f-8a43715a785b_1280x800.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59ad175c-3519-4818-9c5f-8a43715a785b_1280x800.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59ad175c-3519-4818-9c5f-8a43715a785b_1280x800.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="500"><figcaption>Source: Chrome Web Store</figcaption></figure><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Slope</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://slope.finance/"><u>Slope</u></a> is a cross-platform non-custodial mobile Solana wallet. Slope, unlike Phantom, offers both a mobile application and a browser extension. Slope also uniquely supports both Solana and Ethereum assets, and allows users to import existing Ethereum addresses directly into Slope wallet.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Slope is a great option for those who prefer a mobile experience. Magic Eden is on Solana but if you also interact with Ethereum-based applications and exchanges, Slope is a great all-in-one option!</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fda3c9caa-c24f-47cc-a132-fb0482390a5f_640x400.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fda3c9caa-c24f-47cc-a132-fb0482390a5f_640x400.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fda3c9caa-c24f-47cc-a132-fb0482390a5f_640x400.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fda3c9caa-c24f-47cc-a132-fb0482390a5f_640x400.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fda3c9caa-c24f-47cc-a132-fb0482390a5f_640x400.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="518"><figcaption>Source: Chrome Web Store</figcaption></figure><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Sollet</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://www.sollet.io/"><u>Sollet</u></a>, unlike the other wallets on this list, is a totally open-sourced wallet. It is designed for advanced Solana users and developers, and provides some useful developer functionalities. However, it offers less support and a less optimized user interface. In fact, when navigating to Sollet’s website, you will see a pop-up directing you to Phantom or Solflare for better user support and functionality. Sollet offers both a web app and browser extension.</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe90d515d-6060-4f2d-9c14-5ae73c4a5407_640x400.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe90d515d-6060-4f2d-9c14-5ae73c4a5407_640x400.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe90d515d-6060-4f2d-9c14-5ae73c4a5407_640x400.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe90d515d-6060-4f2d-9c14-5ae73c4a5407_640x400.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe90d515d-6060-4f2d-9c14-5ae73c4a5407_640x400.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="512"><figcaption>Source: Chrome Web Store</figcaption></figure><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Solflare</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://solflare.com/"><u>Solflare</u></a> is a cross-platform non-custodial wallet for Solana users - it is available in mobile and&nbsp; browser. It’s a popular alternative to Phantom with similar functionalities such as staking and hardware wallet support. It’s a good option for those interested in hardware integration and mobile functionality.</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F11b520df-b716-4ee4-9d93-43395c83fe47_640x400.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F11b520df-b716-4ee4-9d93-43395c83fe47_640x400.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F11b520df-b716-4ee4-9d93-43395c83fe47_640x400.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F11b520df-b716-4ee4-9d93-43395c83fe47_640x400.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F11b520df-b716-4ee4-9d93-43395c83fe47_640x400.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="522"><figcaption>Source: Chrome Web Store</figcaption></figure><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Clover</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://clover.finance/"><u>Clover</u></a> is a DeFi-focused cross-platform wallet, with support for Solana along with 8+ additional chains. Clover includes NFT support, gas-saving transfer functionalities for EVM based assets, and a DeFi app store. This wallet is a great option for the crypto-savvy, multi-chain user with an interest in DeFi applications as well as NFTs. Clover is available as a browser extension, mobile app, and web app.</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71e731ac-7e3d-4766-b106-4bc413d31c5b_640x400.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71e731ac-7e3d-4766-b106-4bc413d31c5b_640x400.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71e731ac-7e3d-4766-b106-4bc413d31c5b_640x400.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71e731ac-7e3d-4766-b106-4bc413d31c5b_640x400.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71e731ac-7e3d-4766-b106-4bc413d31c5b_640x400.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="524"><figcaption>Source: Chrome Web Store</figcaption></figure><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Ledger</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://www.ledger.com/"><u>Ledger</u></a> is a hardware wallet for crypto asset storage and exchange. It comes in two different models, the Nano S and the Nano X, costing $60 and $120 respectively. It integrates easily with software wallets such as Phantom and Solflare. It provides storage for a variety of assets (SOL, ETH, BTC, etc.) and is a great option for those interested in a more secure wallet option.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Hardware wallets can be confusing for beginners, so you may wish to opt for a software wallet instead. For those actively trading with a substantial number of assets, however, this hardware wallet is a great option for increased asset security.</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa18f9a0c-672a-47f5-959d-0a90fc4566e7_1421x844.jpeg" alt="Ledger Live - Securely Supporting ERC-20 Tokens | Ledger" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa18f9a0c-672a-47f5-959d-0a90fc4566e7_1421x844.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa18f9a0c-672a-47f5-959d-0a90fc4566e7_1421x844.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa18f9a0c-672a-47f5-959d-0a90fc4566e7_1421x844.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa18f9a0c-672a-47f5-959d-0a90fc4566e7_1421x844.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="506"><figcaption>Source: Ledger</figcaption></figure><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Solong</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/solong/memijejgibaodndkimcclfapfladdchj?hl=en-US"><u>Solong</u></a> is currently offered only as a browser extension. Solong offers a clean interface for users to interact with Solana dApps and assets. Solong also includes the in-app ability to mint new SPL tokens.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Solong is not nearly as popular as wallets such as Phantom and Solflare, and isn’t updated quite as often.</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3f105152-23be-4da0-b696-278a6ef2e1eb_640x400.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3f105152-23be-4da0-b696-278a6ef2e1eb_640x400.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3f105152-23be-4da0-b696-278a6ef2e1eb_640x400.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3f105152-23be-4da0-b696-278a6ef2e1eb_640x400.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3f105152-23be-4da0-b696-278a6ef2e1eb_640x400.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="512"><figcaption>Source: Chrome Web Store</figcaption></figure><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">MathWallet</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://mathwallet.org/en-us/"><u>MathWallet</u></a> is a multi-platform wallet offering both mobile and browser. It also supports connection to hardware wallets. It is a versatile wallet offering support for over 86 public chains. MathWallet has their own dApp store, native token, and staking and swapping capabilities.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">MathWallet is not as well known as some of the others on the list, but can be a great option for those involved in a variety of crypto projects due to its multi-chain support.</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a47a43d-1eea-4d38-b387-359cef414da8_542x939.png" alt="Solana Wallet operation guide — MathWallet - MathWallet Official - Medium" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a47a43d-1eea-4d38-b387-359cef414da8_542x939.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a47a43d-1eea-4d38-b387-359cef414da8_542x939.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a47a43d-1eea-4d38-b387-359cef414da8_542x939.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a47a43d-1eea-4d38-b387-359cef414da8_542x939.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="194"><figcaption>Source: MathWallet Official</figcaption></figure>

Before you dive into NFTs and Web3, you'd need a wallet to explore the Solana ecosystem. 

How to Choose a Solana Wallet

<p style="margin-left:0px;">From classic animal pfps to utility-based NFTs, to metaverse homes and gaming NFTs, we’ve seen all sorts of use cases for NFTs. As the year comes to a close, we wanted to highlight two NFT projects that are bringing something different to Solana:</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Photography: Street Dreams Cafe</strong></h4><p style="margin-left:0px;">As a creative collective, Street Dreams has been building community over the last 10 years. With their web3 extension, Street Dreams Cafe, they launched ‘<a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/sd_cafe_celebrating_the_wins"><u>Celebrating the Wins</u></a>’, the first randomized pack collection on Solana. The collection features 15,000 digital trading cards from 35 different artists. Packs come in different sizes and there are two editions with <a href="https://streetdreamscafe.medium.com/rarity-combos-ca0420396141"><u>differing rarities “Premium” and “Signature”</u></a>. In line with their vision, the collection focuses on community, inclusivity and discoverability. For some members of their community, this was their first time buying a SOL NFT.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First Solana NFTs thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/EchoicProponent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EchoicProponent</a>!<br><br>Two of my favorites from the beautiful collection by <a href="https://twitter.com/sdcafe_nyc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sdcafe_nyc</a>. <a href="https://t.co/zY8g4V93wZ">pic.twitter.com/zY8g4V93wZ</a></p>— Joan (@joanofdao) <a href="https://twitter.com/joanofdao/status/1476044692848402432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p style="margin-left:0px;">Their venture into the world of NFTs first came when they partnered with photographer Pedro Vazquez (aka <a href="https://www.instagram.com/Aim.os/"><u>Aimos</u></a>) for a 24-hour auction of the legendary <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi-hISIghYe/"><u>portrait of the late rapper XXXtencacion</u></a>, the last portrait of him posted on his page before his murder. In an effort to “get artists their proper credit and for him [Aimos] to share the mental impact from his harrowing experience with this image”, they launched the #NowCrediting movement with Aimos. The 1 of 1 sold for a record price for photography NFTs — $125,000 — and a portion of proceeds were channelled to the <a href="https://www.thehotline.org/"><u>National Domestic Violence Hotline</u></a> and <a href="https://halfthestoryproject.com/"><u>Half The Story</u></a>, an organization promoting digital wellbeing.&nbsp;</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Fashion: Space Runners</strong></h4><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb373b44-be40-4d17-8bd3-9e24b13465ba_600x600.gif" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb373b44-be40-4d17-8bd3-9e24b13465ba_600x600.gif 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb373b44-be40-4d17-8bd3-9e24b13465ba_600x600.gif 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb373b44-be40-4d17-8bd3-9e24b13465ba_600x600.gif 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_lossy/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdb373b44-be40-4d17-8bd3-9e24b13465ba_600x600.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="424"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">Sneakerheads and NFT degens go together like peanut butter and jelly. There’s just something about the promise of hype and clout. <a href="https://magiceden.io/marketplace/space_runners"><u>Space Runners</u></a> is the first digital sneaker brand and their first drop brings fashion and the NBA to the metaverse. Their NBA Champions Sneaker collection with <a href="https://twitter.com/kylekuzma"><u>Kyle Kuzma</u></a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/NickSwagyPYoung"><u>Nick Young</u></a> sold out in under 10 minutes!&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">These NFTs are wearable through augmented reality. But, that’s not all. Space Runner holders are also members of the RUNNERS club which gives them access to IRL perks — tickets to NBA basketball games, signed merch, celebrity meets after games or concerts, and priority access to whitelist and pre-sales. A Space Runners NFT gives you sweet metaverse kicks but there’s also utility in the real world.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Space Runners also does good — they donated a customized, 1 of 1 NFT to <a href="https://twitter.com/Boxingbullies"><u>Boxing Bullies</u></a> for their live English auction on the 19th of December. The Boxing Bullies x Space Runners NFT raised $20,000 for anti-bullying initiatives.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SpaceRunners x <a href="https://twitter.com/Boxingbullies?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Boxingbullies</a> sneaker NFT has closed as the highest bidded NFT on <a href="https://twitter.com/jakepaul?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jakepaul</a>’s auction with $20,000 🔥🥊<br><br>All proceeds goes to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/charity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#charity</a> to fight against bullying - we’re extremely happy to support! Using “<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFTs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFTs</a> for good” will always be a top priority🎗🙏<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/metaverse?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#metaverse</a> <a href="https://t.co/cDlQfjqyhI">pic.twitter.com/cDlQfjqyhI</a></p>— Space Runners | Fashion Metaverse (@SpaceRunnersNFT) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceRunnersNFT/status/1472822654419755010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><hr><p style="margin-left:0px;">🪄 <strong>Congrats, This Week's Top Performing Collections on ME! (12/22-28)</strong></p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1034f213-bf36-4524-bc9f-4e5f28663d25_2000x2000.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1034f213-bf36-4524-bc9f-4e5f28663d25_2000x2000.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1034f213-bf36-4524-bc9f-4e5f28663d25_2000x2000.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1034f213-bf36-4524-bc9f-4e5f28663d25_2000x2000.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1034f213-bf36-4524-bc9f-4e5f28663d25_2000x2000.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"></figure><hr><p style="margin-left:0px;">🚀 <strong>Launchpad Releases</strong></p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://blog.magiceden.io/p/magic-eden-launchpad"><i><u>Launchpad</u></i></a><i> is Magic Eden’s white-glove full-minting support service with cutting edge capabilities, outbound marketing support and automatic listing. We provide the widest reach, exposure and tools for creators to launch their collections on Solana.</i></p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Sigh Ducks&nbsp;</strong></h4><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F638967a0-99ac-4f00-ba12-f573b94a20fd_1359x1479.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F638967a0-99ac-4f00-ba12-f573b94a20fd_1359x1479.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F638967a0-99ac-4f00-ba12-f573b94a20fd_1359x1479.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F638967a0-99ac-4f00-ba12-f573b94a20fd_1359x1479.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F638967a0-99ac-4f00-ba12-f573b94a20fd_1359x1479.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="342"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">On Nov. 12th, <a href="https://twitter.com/sighducks"><u>Sigh Ducks</u></a> launched their PX777 NFT mint pass and sold out. They’ll be minting Gen 0 soon and you can stake both NFTs on their portal to generate their native token $DOOK daily. Certain traits may generate additional $DOOK. With their token, you can also participate in The Grand Dook Casino, Gen 1 minting and purchase merch both IRL and in the metaverse.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Launchpad Mint: </strong>30 Dec 3 pm EST, 2,554 Sigh Ducks</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><i>Note: Total NFT supply is 4,554 Sigh Ducks.</i></p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>MonkeyBall</strong></h4><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c9d5cf7-2991-471c-95a9-3ea53a77b07c_1280x1280.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c9d5cf7-2991-471c-95a9-3ea53a77b07c_1280x1280.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c9d5cf7-2991-471c-95a9-3ea53a77b07c_1280x1280.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c9d5cf7-2991-471c-95a9-3ea53a77b07c_1280x1280.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c9d5cf7-2991-471c-95a9-3ea53a77b07c_1280x1280.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="402"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">An experienced team and game studio brings to you <a href="https://twitter.com/monkeyballgame"><u>MonkeyBall</u></a>, a 4v4, play-to-earn soccer game that’s fun to play but will also serve a challenge. Matches are played between two teams each with four monkeys playing different positions. Their initial game mode will be released by the end of Q1 2022. Check out a sneak peek of the game <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzMKSi0dX18"><u>here</u></a>!&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Launchpad Mint: </strong>4 Jan, 1,000 Monkeys</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><i>Note: The main public sale of 5,000 Monkeys will take place on Jan 6th on </i><a href="https://www.monkeyball.com/"><i><u>MonkeyBall.com</u></i></a><i>.&nbsp;</i></p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Proof of Consciousness</strong></h4><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F292b6f04-4603-4aa8-8a6e-beac40043300_1000x1000.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F292b6f04-4603-4aa8-8a6e-beac40043300_1000x1000.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F292b6f04-4603-4aa8-8a6e-beac40043300_1000x1000.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F292b6f04-4603-4aa8-8a6e-beac40043300_1000x1000.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F292b6f04-4603-4aa8-8a6e-beac40043300_1000x1000.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="386"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">The <a href="https://twitter.com/Conscious_NFT"><u>Proof of Consciousness</u></a> collective has a mission to “elevate and unite human consciousness”. They host regular meditations online and their NFT serves as a membership token. They’ll also be donating to MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies).&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Launchpad Mint: </strong>5 Jan, 4,444 Orbs of Consciousness</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><i>Note (updated 30 Dec): Proof of Consciousness has changed their mint to a later date.</i></p><hr><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>📢 Our Merch Store is LIVE!</strong></p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6276c954-186d-48ae-afae-ffd7b0d15f4e_400x400.gif" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6276c954-186d-48ae-afae-ffd7b0d15f4e_400x400.gif 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6276c954-186d-48ae-afae-ffd7b0d15f4e_400x400.gif 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6276c954-186d-48ae-afae-ffd7b0d15f4e_400x400.gif 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6276c954-186d-48ae-afae-ffd7b0d15f4e_400x400.gif 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="400"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">We have 5 caps for you to choose from! Including a <a href="https://shop.magiceden.io/products/thugbirdz-x-magic-eden-caw-caw-hat"><u>ThugBirdz</u></a> collab. We hope you enjoy these hats which we’re selling at cost!</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://shop.magiceden.io/"><u>https://shop.magiceden.io/</u></a></p><hr><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>❗️Following our move to an open-listing model: We have a </strong><a href="https://blog.magiceden.io/p/magic-eden-open-listing-nft-marketplace"><strong><u>flagging mechanism</u></strong></a><strong> to keep users safe.</strong></p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Here’s how to flag collections:&nbsp;</strong></p><ol><li>Click on the flag icon.</li><li>Select a reason for reporting from the dropdown menu. If your reason for reporting is not listed, choose ‘others’ and elaborate on your concern.</li><li>Once you’ve selected your reason, click ‘report’.</li></ol><p style="margin-left:0px;">We’d still love to hear your feedback to ensure that Magic Eden is the NFT Marketplace that Solana deserves. Join our Discord channel <a href="https://discord.com/invite/magiceden"><u>here</u></a>.</p>

We're excited to see the NFT space on Solana grow and expand!

Creative NFT Expression: Photography & Fashion

<p style="margin-left:0px;">For the last 3 months, we’ve loved every moment of growing Magic Eden from scratch. Everything we do is in service of growing a long-term Solana ecosystem and offering a platform to the next generation of creators. As the largest NFT marketplace on Solana, we have a responsibility but also a significant opportunity. To see all the success so far feels like magic because it really is. When we started working on Magic Eden, we never imagined becoming the leading marketplace on Solana in such a short amount of time. Our success is only possible thanks to creators and collectors on Solana.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The last month has been filled with a lot of learning for our team. Given the state of the ecosystem, it’s critical that we balance trust, fairness, and transparency to offer creators the best home for their hard work and collectors the best place to discover NFTs. While our team has worked steadfastly to vet and list collections, doing so quickly, carefully, and consistently is challenging considering the rapid growth of NFTs on Solana. This is a good problem to have.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Our direction moving forward is to gradually migrate to an open listing model in a way that delivers a great user experience and community-driven marketplace experience that feels fair, autonomous, and efficient for everyone.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Below, we present our current thinking around how we intend to migrate to an open listings model. We are putting this out there in the interests of transparency and giving the community a chance to provide input and feedback.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>We have two goals:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Deliver helpful information and trust &amp; safety tools to help collectors trade safely</strong></li><li><strong>Accelerate speed to list the work of our creators</strong></li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>Based on these two goals, we are rolling out 2 phases of updates over the rest of December and into 2022 :</strong></p><ol><li><strong>Community-led flagging mechanism and escalation paths</strong></li><li><strong>Badging system for listings to help users make more informed choices&nbsp; + Open Listing model</strong></li></ol><p style="margin-left:0px;">We will be rolling these changes in a phased approach with some of these changes in December but we expect more of these changes to roll out in 2022. This is a big change and we want to do this carefully to ensure that we deliver a safe and clean user-experience whilst moving towards an open-listing model.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">PHASE 1: COMMUNITY-DRIVEN COLLECTION FLAGGING MECHANISM</h3><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3d4396bf-3eb6-44d6-8a23-fcbf1e9a5a47_1600x889.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3d4396bf-3eb6-44d6-8a23-fcbf1e9a5a47_1600x889.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3d4396bf-3eb6-44d6-8a23-fcbf1e9a5a47_1600x889.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3d4396bf-3eb6-44d6-8a23-fcbf1e9a5a47_1600x889.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3d4396bf-3eb6-44d6-8a23-fcbf1e9a5a47_1600x889.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"><figcaption>Note: this mock (and the ones below) are illustrative and subject to change</figcaption></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">We appreciate how active the community has been in reporting problematic collections to us on an ongoing basis. As much as we try to vet collections carefully, we know that the community can oftentimes provide immense support here. We are offering our users a way to flag any collection that raises concerns.&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1b70601-332b-44eb-8aac-54f5498c588d_1600x868.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1b70601-332b-44eb-8aac-54f5498c588d_1600x868.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1b70601-332b-44eb-8aac-54f5498c588d_1600x868.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1b70601-332b-44eb-8aac-54f5498c588d_1600x868.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1b70601-332b-44eb-8aac-54f5498c588d_1600x868.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F90d47eee-015d-400c-a7a8-45ea8b67d398_1600x520.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F90d47eee-015d-400c-a7a8-45ea8b67d398_1600x520.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F90d47eee-015d-400c-a7a8-45ea8b67d398_1600x520.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F90d47eee-015d-400c-a7a8-45ea8b67d398_1600x520.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F90d47eee-015d-400c-a7a8-45ea8b67d398_1600x520.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">Starting this week and to the end of December, Magic Eden users with engaged wallets (meaning they have transacted on ME recently) will be able to flag a collection via 2 categories:</p><ul><li>Rugs</li><li>Inappropriate or offensive content that<ul><li>incites hate, racism or violence</li><li>shows sexually explicit content</li><li>degrades or doxxes another individual</li><li>promotes suicide or self-harm</li></ul></li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;">There may be other categories that are defined over time – and we welcome input from the community.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">For flagged collections, the entire page will be blurred out and a pop-up banner will emerge to indicate the collection has been flagged. The banner will encourage users to do their own research before proceeding onto the page.</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F59e37222-655e-4522-833c-72086f47621e_1600x887.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">If users proceed onto the page, they’ll see a yellow ‘flagged’ icon on the right of the page that indicates the collection is flagged. In addition, if a user hovers over the ‘flagged’ icon under the PFP, they will see a disclaimer.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">&nbsp;</p><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8a02c0ba-6a73-47b1-a7c7-993d3a6303e9_1600x873.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8a02c0ba-6a73-47b1-a7c7-993d3a6303e9_1600x873.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8a02c0ba-6a73-47b1-a7c7-993d3a6303e9_1600x873.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8a02c0ba-6a73-47b1-a7c7-993d3a6303e9_1600x873.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8a02c0ba-6a73-47b1-a7c7-993d3a6303e9_1600x873.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">Once flagged, our team will manually review the collection and choose to either de-escalate to remove the flag, keep the flag in place, or escalate. Escalation may result in the collection potentially also being delisted.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>A special note on rugs: </strong>Based on this system for flagging, <strong>reported rugs will remain online but will include a special pop-up warning that all users will see upon reaching the collection site. </strong>This pop-up banner will be a specific warning that states that the collection has been reported as a rug. By leaving collections up, we leave it in the community’s hands to determine what to do. They can rally together to de-rug the project or walk away with knowledge of the warning.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">PHASE 2: OPEN LISTING MODEL + COLLECTION BADGES</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">Currently, all collections on Magic Eden have the same badge of verification. Our community has shown a desire to know how to distinguish quality across collections. We don’t believe in a binary trust signal (i.e., checkmark vs no checkmark). Instead, we believe quality constitutes many signals and we want to surface the right information for users to make informed choices for themselves.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">In Phase 2 which will happen gradually in 2022, we will create different levels of listings that allow creators to list quickly while providing a set of badges for collectors to consider during the browsing experience.&nbsp;</p><h4 style="margin-left:0px;"><strong>DEFAULT COLLECTION SETTING: OPEN LISTING</strong></h4><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F705a2b59-0204-4718-8462-6a1793fc7ddd_1592x1337.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F705a2b59-0204-4718-8462-6a1793fc7ddd_1592x1337.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F705a2b59-0204-4718-8462-6a1793fc7ddd_1592x1337.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F705a2b59-0204-4718-8462-6a1793fc7ddd_1592x1337.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F705a2b59-0204-4718-8462-6a1793fc7ddd_1592x1337.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"></figure><ul><li><strong>Efficient speed to list: </strong>By default, any collection will be able to list their collection automatically so long as it does not fall under one of the inappropriate or offensive categories listed above. Creators will be able to create a page and self-serve to build a storefront for their collection.</li><li><strong>Not featured: </strong>Their collection will <strong>not</strong> be <i>featured</i> (meaning their collection will not be featured on our homepage in sections including the carousel bar, popular collections, or popular items), we will also look to monitor and <i><strong>limit the searchability</strong></i> of open listings to protect users from duplicated or otherwise scammy collections</li><li><strong>User protection warning:</strong> When any user visits the collection page, the page will include a warning&nbsp; under the PFP to show that the collection has not had its provenance checked and that the user needs to do their own research before transacting</li><li><strong>Upvote or follower count: </strong>Another feature we’re exploring is the&nbsp; ability for users to upvote or follow collections. All collections will display an upvote or follower count on their storefront. We will be allowing users with engaged wallets to upvote or follow a collection. Once a user with an engaged wallet to upvote or follow a collection, they will remain as an upvote or follower unless they proactively unfollow a collection.</li></ul><h4 style="margin-left:0px;">EARNABLE BADGES FOR COLLECTIONS</h4><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:728px;"><img src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3a5198b5-f314-4d83-98c7-25fa216d3e41_1589x885.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3a5198b5-f314-4d83-98c7-25fa216d3e41_1589x885.jpeg 424w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3a5198b5-f314-4d83-98c7-25fa216d3e41_1589x885.jpeg 848w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3a5198b5-f314-4d83-98c7-25fa216d3e41_1589x885.jpeg 1272w, https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3a5198b5-f314-4d83-98c7-25fa216d3e41_1589x885.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" width="1100"><figcaption>Again, all mockups are drafts only and do not represent final UI</figcaption></figure><p style="margin-left:0px;">We’re working on three badges to give collectors additional signals of trust.&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Provenance badge:</strong> this badge indicates that a collection’s candy machine ID or hash list has been verified to belong to the respective project team (as opposed a duplicate collection that has copy and pasted the original team’s artwork and is trying to pass off the NFT as the original). No other benefits are unlocked by the collection having this badge, but we believe this is an important signal to NFT collectors.</li><li><strong>Doxxed badge: our stance is that</strong> <strong>doxxing is completely optional. </strong>However, we wish to provide a badge of distinction for the creators who want to dox as we recognize some collectors value this signal. We are partnering with Civic (a KYC company) and other ecosystem partners to allow project leads to present themselves for identity verification. <a href="https://www.civic.com/solutions/verified-by-civic-pass/"><u>Civic’s standards are listed here</u></a>. Again, having this badge does not unlock any other benefits, but we have heard that it helps help some users feel more secure transacting.</li><li><strong>Volume Badge: </strong>Based on collections passing a threshold of volume, they will also receive a volume badge. We will continue to define, monitor and iterate what the threshold should be, because we don’t want bad actors to exploit this system.</li></ul><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Conclusion</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">These updates seek to balance protecting users and giving them the right information to make informed choices while striving towards an open and community-driven listing model. Note that our <a href="https://magiceden.io/terms-of-service.pdf"><u>terms of service</u></a><i> </i>will apply to users who use our platform and these features as we roll these out.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Once again, many of these ideas are still in development, and we pride ourselves on listening to our community and we will certainly continue to refine, iterate and add to these changes going forward as we learn more about the issues that the community faces. We look forward to your feedback <a href="https://discord.com/invite/magiceden"><u>on our Discord channel</u></a> to help us refine these ideas further in the upcoming days before launch.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">—</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><i>Ask us anything at Magic Eden’s Townhall on Twitter, 20 Dec at 6.15PM EST/ 11.15PM UTC.</i></p>

Sharing our early thoughts on what an open listing model can look like.

Magic Eden's Approach To An Open Listing Model

<p style="margin-left:0px;">As community manager of <a href="https://twitter.com/peskypenguins"><u>Pesky Penguins</u></a>, I get asked questions about community-building on a daily basis. While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to growing or engaging your community, I thought it might be helpful for new and upcoming projects to jot down my take. Bear in mind that market conditions may have an impact on the speed with which you grow, but it shouldn’t change the fundamentals.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">🔑 Build first, mint later</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">This flies directly in the face of all the sold-out “stealth” launch projects we’ve been seeing lately, but: do not mint without establishing yourself in the ecosystem.</p><blockquote><p style="margin-left:1em;">The surest way to develop trust between you and your community is proof of work.&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p style="margin-left:0px;">If your community is able to see the contributions you’re making to the space and within your project, they’re going to be much more comfortable sticking around long-term. And that’s really what you want the core of your community to be -- long-term holders who are happy to grow with you.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">If you’re worried about losing hype or momentum by not launching immediately, don’t be. Hype can sell out a project and even carry it a week or two, but it’s not sustainable and can bankrupt a community of its dedicated members.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Slow and steady wins the race.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">🔑 No viral marketing</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">This should be intuitive, but it bears repeating. Viral marketing has never been successful at building a community -- ever.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Sure, it may have helped sell out a project. But the type of person who will buy into a project because they’ve been DM-ed a project’s Discord by a stranger is probably not the type of person you want to help build your community long-term.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">To this end, you might want to forgo hiring a marketing service to market for you. I’ve spoken with teams who hired social media management firms with the best of intentions, only to later find out that their project information was getting mass spammed to 500,000 people in Discord.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The best kind of marketing manager will be in house; someone who works with you, not for you.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">🔑 Stay Active</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">Social media activity should not be conflated with viral marketing; the latter is unsolicited and obtrusive, the former can be inviting. For better or for worse, Twitter serves as the gateway into the NFT metaverse.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Maintaining an active social media presence is the surest way to get new eyes on your project. Tweeting several times a day will be very helpful to this end. This does <i>not</i> mean you should shill your project in the comments of every post you see.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Instead, try to engage thoughtfully with the community around you. What exactly this means is up to you, but make sure you keep the self-promotion confined to your own page, and not in random comments.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Your tweets don’t all need to be progress updates; there are plenty of ways to engage Crypto Twitter and get them interested in joining your community without having something new to show off.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Remember, a little “gm” can go a long way!</p><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">🔑 Be kind</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">Finally: be kind. That’s it, that’s the tweet.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">But really, kindness is fully necessary to grow the ecosystem going forward. As we move further along the adoption curve and more people enter the space, it’s important to make everyone feel as welcome as possible.&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p style="margin-left:1em;">For all that we like to joke about being massive degens, the metaverse is growing daily.</p><p style="margin-left:1em;">We are onboarding to Solana increasingly diverse users of all backgrounds. It might be tempting to leverage for cachet the edgy subculture early NFTers have cultivated, but this is shortsighted and exclusionary.&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p style="margin-left:0px;">As crypto becomes increasingly mainstream, so too will its users. The more welcome you can make everyone in your community feel, the better. Increasingly we are seeing NFTs gifted to friends, spouses, parents, and children; be the type of community they will be proud to represent.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">In the end, as with most things in life, there are no shortcuts. Building and maintaining a strong community will be an ongoing effort for the lifespan of your project. There is no magic button to press and receive organic growth. You have to build that trust one day at a time.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">It might seem painfully slow in an extremely fast-paced world, but in the end, your community’s conviction will carry your project.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">—</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><i>Big ups and a massive thank you to </i><a href="https://twitter.com/kylienft"><i><u>Kylie</u></i></a><i> of Pesky Penguins!</i></p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><i>NOOT NOOT &amp; Get a Pengu </i><a href="https://www.magiceden.io/marketplace/pesky_penguins"><i><u>here</u></i></a><i>.</i></p>

The fundamentals to building lasting NFT communities

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