The first week of October has passed already, and what else to do on windy autumn evenings than cuddle in and browse the news of Web3 because this is where the news happens. So join us exploring recent updates of Web3 and NFTs around the world without having to leave your cozy home… Except those of you who live in sunny parts of the world, of course. Go outside and have some fresh air. We will cover everything important for you here, on Web3 Weekly #8!

Market Updates and Conditions

Bitcoin (BTC) was worth 19,980.01 USD on Friday, October 7th, and as the chart shows, it has reached the 20,000.00 price during the week, so things look bright and stable. On September 30, the price of BTC was 19.564,38 USD. 

Ethereum (ETH) was 1,356.66 USD which is pretty much the same as 7 days ago when it’s price was 1.341,7 USD. So it keeps a very similar price for several weeks. 

Price of Arweave (AR) this Friday morning was 9.2018 USD, but as we see all previous weeks, it’s common to rise during the week and be lower on Friday mornings – right when we write this article. Anyway, a week ago it’s price was 9.1578 USD, so we can say it’s staying quite the same. 

What’s Happening In Web3

RSS3 Reaches 200 Million Requests

RSS3.io, the feed of Web3, is proudly celebrating the mentioned milestone of having received 200 million requests to their service. And we celebrate it as well, as it shows how much interest people have in Web3! 

Let’s go 🔥🚀

— Oliwia🔫 (@aivilous) October 5, 2022

Google Cloud Partners With Near To Provide Web3 Infrastructure 

Last week we covered how Google promises to be the future backbone of Web3. And here are some affirming news from October 5, when Google Cloud announced a partnership with NEAR Foundation, the company behind blockchain and dApp platform NEAR Protocol. Within this partnership, Google Cloud will support Near developers in building and scaling their Web3 projects and DApps in Near’s Web3 startup platform, Pagoda. 

As described in NFTgators:

This partnership allows developers to deploy code quickly, securely, and seamlessly.

Blockchain Academics Calls For Expanding Web3 Education Due To Lack Of Qualified People

Blockchain Academy International is the first blockchain education facility to be approved in Australia for government-issued student loans and its academics have called to rapidly expand blockchain education in schools in order to prepare for a shift in the world economy, as Blockchain academics are sure – world will be dominated by blockchain technology. As said to Cointelegraph, there are very few qualified people in the blockchain industry, but there is big demand for qualified people, noting that worldwide, there are at least 60 different industries using blockchain tech. 

Is Gala Becoming The Web3 Powerhouse Already? 

NFTnow published a long article on Gala – one of Web3 biggest platforms that functions as both a publisher and developer in the space. Already known for its Gala Games and Gala Music platforms, in August it revealed their plans for Gala Film. In February, Gala announced a new $5 billion allocation to expand its Web3 aims in movies, music, gaming, and even theme park NFTs and seems determined to reach their goals. 

dWallet Illuminates The Issues of Web3 Access, But Will It Solve Them? 

Another article that provides some food for thought on Web3 complexity, is published on BeinCrypto, speaking about the decentralised access control with crypto wallets that defines Web3. As it is said in the article: 

In Web3, Public Key Cryptography (PKC) is used in order to make sure that only the holder of a private key has full control over their assets.

But there are several issues connected to PKC that, according to Omer Sadika, the Co-Founder of Odsy Network and the author of the article, can be improved drastically in terms of:

• Programmability: What logic we can bind wallets to (e.g. policies like spending limits). 
• Security: How they keep our assets safe without the need to trust another party.
• Compatibility: How we can use them in different ecosystems to ensure cross-chain interoperability.
• Transferability: How we can treat wallets as assets themselves, including the ability to transfer ownership.

He claims that dWallets would be a noteworthy solution, as they can count on wallet contracts, a special kind of smart contract that allows developers to create access control policies and make them fully programmable. Read more here. 

How Web3 Is Helpful Fighting With Censorship? 

Not to get stuck on Web3 problems, let’s focus on issues that Web3 is able to help. VentureBeat has done a full case study on how Web3 is functioning as a priceless tool against internet censorship around the world, e.g., in China, but not only, as any global social media network removes certain types of content because of governmental restrictions. As article claims:

Net neutrality is being threatened by internet service providers (ISPs), governments are cracking down on online content, and social media platforms are censoring users more than ever before.

And the only corners of the internet that are relatively free from all this, are decentralized web platforms, or Web3, because:

The use of blockchain technology, distributed ledger systems, and cryptographic techniques would make it much more difficult for censors to tamper with or delete content. In addition, the use of these technologies would make it more difficult for censors to block access to specific pieces of content.

Web3 Could Solve Uber’s Problem With Hackers

One more problem that decentralisation of data on Web3 can help to eliminate, according to CoinTelegraph, is a major vulnerability for companies like Uber. So called gig economies as Uber which has equivalents all around the globe has a very fragile security against hackers, as several massive data-leaks have proved it. In the mentioned article, Max Thake has designed a solution exactly how Web3 would solve this problem for Uber-like platforms, still retaining the same on the surface. 

NFT news 

NFT Market’s Ups And Downs 

News continues to report on crypto winter, as NFT trading volumes collapse 97% from January peak (source here) and NFT sales fell for the fifth straight month in September to just over $500 million in sales, its lowest level since July 2021, as told on Forkast. They also report that the top five selling collections for the September remain the same: Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), CryptoPunks, and fantasy football series Sorare and the bear market hasn’t affected this top five much. CryptoPunks especially are still doing just great, as CP Ethereum NFT was just bought for 4,5 million USD, which is the fourth-highest CryptoPunks sale when measured in ETH, Decrypt informs.

These optimistic purchases, together with NFT industry experts’ opinions on the future of NFT market, encourage hope that it is not the end for the NFT market, although we can’t predict when will next bull-run take place. 

SeaDrop Open-sourced For Flexible and Secure Minting 

As announced on Twitter, the SeaDrop project has been open-sourced. 

Project, as described on Github, creates smart contracts for primary drops on EVM chains, and as promised on Twitter, offers an open, permissionless registry that powers OpenSea’s partnered drops on EVM blockchains. SeaDrop handles the technical aspects like payment, allow-listing, and token-gating for drops, which means that the mint-process can be standardized and streamlined to a single interface – with no connecting your wallet to a new website for every drop.

Today, we’ve open-sourced SeaDrop: the open, permissionless registry that powers @OpenSea’s partnered drops on EVM blockchains:https://t.co/tp35byuAz1

— emo.eth (@emo_eth) October 3, 2022

Meta Goes On With NFTs on Facebook And Instagram 

Meta opened NFT sharing on Instagram and Facebook for all U.S. users with crypto wallets, CoinDesk informed on September 30. NFT functionality on Instagram has been in testing since May, but on Thursday, September 29, it became available to every user in the U.S. Users can connect wallets from Coinbase, Dapper Labs, MetaMask, Rainbow and Trust to Instagram and cross-post their NFTs to Facebook, as well. Meta currently supports NFTs on three blockchains: Ethereum, Flow, and Polygon and it also plans to add support for the Solana blockchain. 

It is planned that additionally, all users in the 100 countries where Instagram supports NFTs will gain access to the feature. 

NFT As A Way To Preserve Cultural Heritage 

As Cointelegraph reports, NFTs are now a tool of preserving cultural heritages around the world. This is an eye-catching event for people like me, the author of this rubric, as I have education and interest in humanities, and this is very exciting news for those interested in digital technologies and cultural heritage at the same time. How does that work? With a help of Web3 tools as The Monuverse. 

The Monuverse is taking some of the world’s most precious monuments and preserving them forever as NFTs in the digital universe. (..) Through a combination of blockchain technology, 3D imaging, generative art and local collaboration, the Monuverse is using NFTs to take important global monuments into digital reality where they will be preserved infinitely, says the author Savannah Fortis.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that someone can buy and own an Eiffel tower, or in this particular case, the Arc of Peace in Milan, or whatever, that’s against any ethics and policies of how cultural heritage functions. As written on Cointelegraph:

The initial digital rendering of the monument will not be available for individual ownership under the precipice of intellectual property law and authorization of the Italian Ministry of Culture: Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscapes, Milan Authority. However, a subsequent drop of 7,777 randomized NFTs gives individuals a piece of the virtual counterpart of the monument and access to related events. These NFTs also open up a new means by which owners can patronize cultural heritage.

Punk Rock Meets Hyperfemininity In PussyDAO NFTs 

Speaking of cultural heritage, the quote in the headline goes to Decrypt article on PussyDAO, a new Web3 startup that plans to sell Solana-based NFTs that can be redeemed for physical panties and other goods. This is another, a bit provocative example, how NFTs could shake up retail and apparel, not digital-only items only. 

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