SEC - Page 341

After whitelist giveaway campaigns in June and July, ZKSpace, the leading zk-Rollup-based Ethereum layer-2 (L2) protocol, is set to roll out the public sale of the James Rodríguez “Zurda” nonfungible token (NFT) collection on Aug. 15, 2022. Zurda — meaning “left foot” in Spanish — is an official collection of commemorative NFTs created in collaboration with football superstar James Rodríguez to be issued on ZKSea, the NFT minting and trading platform of the ZKSpace ecosystem.

The “Zurda” NFT series is the first digital asset collection that assembles all key highlights from James Rodríguez’s illustrious football career spanning three continents. 

This limited-edition NFT collection contains 1,500 pieces in four rarity levels: one Platinum, 10 Gold, 400 Silver and 1,089 Bronze. With exquisite artwork digitally hand-painted by professional artists, these digital collectibles give fans a chance to relive iconic moments and build connections with the sports influencer’s global fan community of 70 million.

James Rodríguez is one of the greatest Colombian attacking midfielders of all time. Having a magical left foot and being able to play anywhere behind the front line, he is regarded as one of the most creative players in the game. He previously played for Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Everton FC, winning a list of honors, including two Champions Leagues, two FIFA Club World Cups and a World Cup Golden Boot. 

In launching his commemorative collection, James Rodríguez has joined the likes of athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo — who previously announced his partnership with Binance — in exploring the possibilities of promoting the sport and engaging fans via the influential blockchain innovation of NFTs.

Online assets combined with physical gifts has proven to be a modern and fashionable way to bring fans closer to teams and players. The convergence of the sports industry and the exciting blockchain sub-sector NFT has also seen great success, one example being NBA Top Shot, the marketplace selling basketball video clips, generating over $230 million in sales within a year of its launch. 

The different rarity tiers in the “Zurda” NFT collection attach a higher value to the rare collectibles. By selling NFTs of different undisclosed moments through mystery boxes, it also makes the buying process fun and exciting, as no one knows when or what they will own, including the tier of rarity, until a box is opened.

NFTs with digital and real-world benefits

During the public sale, the Platinum and Gold NFTs, which are based on some of the most memorable moments of Rodríguez’s career, will be offered through an auction while the Silver and Bronze NFTs will be sold through mystery boxes two days after the auction closes.

The sole Platinum and 10 Gold NFTs were inspired by a total of 11 memorable moments, including Rodríguez’s 2014 Puskas Award-winning goal. The auction will begin on Aug. 15, 2022, at 7 am UTC, on ZKSea. 

The mystery box sale will go live on Aug. 17, 2022, 7 am UTC. The price of the mystery boxes is 0.15 Ether (ETH), and they contain “Zurda” NFTs in Silver and Bronze grades. Whitelisted participants will be able to purchase the mystery boxes for just 0.12 ETH. 

“Zurda” NFT holders can win signed jerseys and photos that ZKSpace has disclosed on Twitter, a video call or video recorded by James Rodríguez and access to multiple events on ZKSpace, including stake-to-earn events, future NFT giveaways and the ZKSpace Football Metaverse — all in celebration of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Why issue on ZKSpace?

ZKSpace — formerly ZKSwap — is a full-featured L2 protocol leveraging zk-Rollups technology to provide users with an ultra-fast, cheap and secure way to transact cryptocurrencies. ZKSwap’s version 1.0 mainnet launched in February 2021 as the first Ethereum L2 zk-Rollup-based decentralized exchange. It implements all the functions of Uniswap on L2 and solves the problems of slow transaction speeds and high gas fees on the Ethereum mainnet. So far, ZKSwap has gone through three major version iterations — ZKSwap rebranded and upgraded to ZKSpace at the end of 2021 — and has carried out hundreds of function iterations and optimizations without any security incidents. 

ZKSea is the world’s first zk-Rollups-based platform supporting layer-1-to-L2 NFT mutual transferring and is the designated NFT-launch, -mint and -trade marketplace of the ZKSpace ecosystem. It is the blockchain technology partner of some prestige brands, including Coach New York, GQ Magazine, Shu Uemura, Atta and more. Moving forward, ZKSea will feature some exclusive NFT drops aside from the James Rodríguez commemorative-edition NFT collection, proving a popular alternative to L1 marketplaces and allowing more people to get involved in NFTs.

For new users looking to be a part of the NFT movement, ZKSpace also features a user-friendly fiat on-ramp, boosting usability and democratizing access to the exciting future of NFTs for anyone worldwide.

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Valuable physical collectibles — from precious stones to baseball cards — have always been highly sought after. While the digital age has reduced some transactional friction in collectibles marketplaces, the resulting gains for collectors have been heavily diluted by the high fees of e-commerce behemoths. Combined with shipping risks and potential for fraud, these barriers have held the collectibles market back from truly explosive growth.

Now, a new Solana-based project called Collector is stepping in to innovate, with a plan to save collectors billions of dollars by transforming the way they engage with their prized collections and each other.

Collector’s digital marketplace leverages blockchain technologies to weave a flexible, global network of vaulting and grading partners. Collector’s beta program rolls out to eager users this month ahead of its official launch for graded trading cards in 2022’s fourth quarter. Learn more about this opportunity here, along with information about exclusive ambassadorships for avid card collectors.

For collectors paying 10-to-15% fees to bite their nails during the tense shipping process, this new platform is a cause for celebration; Collector promises to reduce trading risks significantly and cut fees by as much as 95%. And for investors more familiar with the digital world of stocks and cryptocurrencies, this new way of trading collectibles makes for a more enticing investment than ever before.

So, just how big is the online collectibles market?

The card dealers

The market for collectibles is contested by the largest marketplaces on the web. Ebay, a top site for collectibles traders, reported 20 million new listings for trading cards in 2021’s first quarter, contributing around $1 billion in merchandising volume in that period.

PWCC, another major player, offers vaulting and marketplace services, especially for graded cards. It currently holds over 500,000 items in its vault.

Alt is a newer entrant to the vaulting scene, raising $75 million in funds late last year. Like PWCC, Alt offers storage and marketplace services to users in addition to loans collateralized by vaulted assets.

But there are some fundamental problems in the current system. For example, individual sellers on eBay can pay as much as 13.4% on their sales — not including other fixed listing fees. And even with such high fees, users still must navigate fake listings and fraudsters. Both PWCC and Alt provide a safer experience for collectors than eBay but still lack truly global reach. eBay has also opened its own vault to compete with plans to hold $3 billion in assets in a few years. 

The solution to a $50 billion problem

Collector is thinking one step ahead by developing a Solana-based system that integrates physical vaults from around the world into a decentralized, token-enhanced marketplace offering near-instant transaction settlement on a global scale. 

The blockchain primitives that Collector is developing include a physical-to-digital bridge, decentralized marketplace and collateralized lending protocols. Derived from now-ubiquitous nonfungible tokens (NFTs), Collector has dubbed the digital tokens powering its platform “pNFTs” to represent their physical-to-digital nature, as each token is inextricably linked to the physical item it represents.

Collector is also launching a native digital asset named COLL, which unlocks features like animated pNFT galleries and fee discounts. With COLL, users can pay fees as low as 0.5% — a 95% reduction compared to eBay. For investors seeking exposure to collectibles, liquid pNFT marketplaces create a unique opportunity to safely accumulate these assets.

Orion Depp, managing partner at Master Ventures Investment Management, shares this view: “Very few NFT projects have figured out how to accrue value for their tokens. Move-to-earn-industry leader Stepn (GMT) is one example of a successful project deriving value from real-world activity. Collector could be a similar, highly asymmetric opportunity, as it capitalizes on the massive $700 billion collectibles sub-sector while offering a marketplace experience similar to OpenSea or Solana’s Magic Eden.”

Unlike competitors, Collector is building a decentralized marketplace right from the start, with an ambitious roadmap to build a global network of trusted vault and grading partners. Collector’s token-incentivized ecosystem puts the community first and gives them control over the platform’s future.

About Collector

Collector is transforming the collectibles market by integrating physical ownership with Web3-powered digital marketplaces built on Solana. This means significantly less time, fraud, risk and fees than what millions of collectors currently experience while transacting trillions of dollars annually worldwide.

Collector’s native token COLL  is distributed as a reward and unlocks the platform’s full potential. This includes discounts, premium features and governance rights.

To learn more about Collector, visit collectorcrypt.com. To become a beta tester and future ambassador, jump directly to collectorcrypt.com/betapr.

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Great news for Zoomex in terms of new partnerships. Recently, Zoomex has teamed with Villarreal CF, where they have achieved a deal for the cryptocurrency trading platform to become the Official Crypto Exchange Partner for the Yellow Submarine for the rest of the season. In other words, the Zoomex logo will be prominently displayed throughout the 2022-2023 season, including on the back of the men’s first team’s uniforms. 

What did Zoomex plan for its community 

Because Zoomex has teamed with Villarreal CF, the company is giving away over 200 more tickets to fans so they may see Villarreal CF play live in Spain. A teaser campaign has recently been introduced, and people may participate by making guesses to win tickets. 

Later this week, the winners will be announced on the company’s Twitter page. The most recent promotion is the International Beer Festival Campaign, and consumers may submit a claim for their weekly allotment of USD 8 in beer cash. In addition, a significant marketing initiative titled “Sharing USD 100,000 Cash” will be rolled out to celebrate the collaboration. Simply sign in to your Zoomex account and keep up with the most recent happenings!

What is Zoomex?  

The Zoomex exchange is a cryptocurrency trading platform that uses cutting-edge blockchain technology. 

Zoomex wants to set itself apart from the competition by being known as a company that prioritizes its consumers and offers the highest possible level of protection for their possessions. Zoomex was established in 2021 and has since catered to more than a million crypto customers. The company has had great development over the course of the last year and is now ranked among the top derivatives exchanges on the CoinMarketCap. 

“As a young and fast-growing company, we are more than thrilled to partner with Villarreal CF in this special season to celebrate the club’s centenary. Zoomex and Villarreal CF share the same passion for being a benchmark in the industry. This deal brings us an opportunity to narrate the future of the crypto ecosystem to world football fans who never settle for the status quo and believe in faith,” said Amos.Z, founder of Zoomex. 

The Zoomex advantages

Zoomex ensures that its clients’ assets will remain secure by developing a trading environment with a one-of-a-kind security mechanism. The confidence of the platform’s users is put first, and the platform itself assures that the exchange will always operate honestly and openly. In addition, it protects the clients’ funds by using the most advanced multi-signature security system and cold and hot wallet systems. 

Even when the market shifts, Zoomex maintains its position as the industry leader in the financial sector. Trading in perpetual contracts for USDT as well as perpetual inverse contracts is supported. Customers have access to a wide range of trading settings thanks to the company’s support for over 50 different trading pairs for alternative cryptocurrencies, among which are trading pairs for USDT and BTC. 

Depositing and withdrawing funds is possible around the clock on the Zoomex platform, contributing to the trading environment’s user-friendliness. Trading conditions are improved as a result of the fact that they are able to deposit and withdraw their assets at any time they want. 

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Aug. 12, 2022 — Kine Protocol has announced a zero-fee trading promotion for all users after its recent user experience upgrade completion. Meanwhile, the Cointelegraph-and-Kine Ask-Me-Anything event was held as scheduled, where Lei, CEO of Kine, explained the motivation of this decision and the vision of future decentralized finance (DeFi) standards. 

What is Kine and why is it special compared to other DEXs? 

Kine Protocol introduces the best trading experience in all aspects, including liquidity, capital efficiency, costs and speed to all derivative traders benefiting from its peer-to-pool liquidity model and hybrid infrastructure design. 

Kine is about trading derivatives in a simple and secure way — a derivative decentralized exchange (DEX) with the highest leverage and the lowest cost. 

Kine is a leading DEX delivering a fast, transparent and effortless way to trade derivatives on the Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon and Avalanche chains. Kine’s protocol adapts a peer-to-pool liquidity model that ensures unlimited liquidity and low slippage. The liquidity pool allows traders to open and close derivatives positions according to trusted price feeds, avoiding the need for active market-making. The hybrid infrastructure design ensures even superior efficiency over most centralized exchanges. 

Main features: 

• Kine is the first DEX to support 100-fold leverage.
• Kine is currently ranked the third DEX on CoinMarketCap.
• A more flexible position management feature allows users to hold multiple positions on the same asset and manage them separately. 
• Kine’s copy-trading feature is an educational tool for new traders to observe, follow and learn from professional trading strategies. 

What is the meaning behind the zero-fee promotion? 

The competition between DeFi and centralized finance lies in the aspects of cost, efficiency, user experience, security and transparency. 

“I believe users do not choose between concepts but simply go for the best product that does better in all [the] above aspects. DeFi has natural advantages in security and transparency but normally doesn’t do well in the rest,” Lei said. 

With the recent completion of the users’ experience upgrade, Kine has made significant improvements in efficiency and user experience. “The increased number of active users and their feedback has given us confidence that we are on the road to victory. Now, we are ready to tick the last box cost and bring the competition to a new level. This is the main drive for the zero-fee promotion,” Lei said. 

Where does Kine’s roadmap lead to in the Web3 journey? 

Although the project is still in the early stages of development, Kine has completed several milestones with the app for user experience in-line with a brand concept of guiding more people to learn and benefit from the DeFi world more flexibly. 

The development of Web3 is changing rapidly. As one of the DEXs in the space, KINE pursues a high degree of decentralized product and innovation insight to speed up the process of the journey. From Kine’s Kickstarter project, a launchpad, to a nonfungible token marketplace, every detail consistently expresses the core of DeFi to include more who believe in Web3 and let everyone redefine and enjoy DeFi in their own way. 

Learn more about Kine: 

Official website | Twitter | Telegram | Discord 

For business cooperation, please contact prm@kine.io or marketing@kine.io.

After whitelist giveaway campaigns in June and July, ZKSpace, the leading zk-Rollup-based Ethereum layer-2 (L2) protocol, is set to roll out the public sale of the James Rodríguez “Zurda” nonfungible token (NFT) collection on Aug. 15, 2022. Zurda — meaning “left foot” in Spanish — is an official collection of commemorative NFTs created in collaboration with football superstar James Rodríguez to be issued on ZKSea, the NFT minting and trading platform of the ZKSpace ecosystem.

The “Zurda” NFT series is the first digital asset collection that assembles all key highlights from James Rodríguez’s illustrious football career spanning three continents. 

This limited-edition NFT collection contains 1,500 pieces in four rarity levels: one Platinum, 10 Gold, 400 Silver and 1,089 Bronze. With exquisite artwork digitally hand-painted by professional artists, these digital collectibles give fans a chance to relive iconic moments and build connections with the sports influencer’s global fan community of 70 million.

James Rodríguez is one of the greatest Colombian attacking midfielders of all time. Having a magical left foot and being able to play anywhere behind the front line, he is regarded as one of the most creative players in the game. He previously played for Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Everton FC, winning a list of honors, including two Champions Leagues, two FIFA Club World Cups and a World Cup Golden Boot. 

In launching his commemorative collection, James Rodríguez has joined the likes of athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo — who previously announced his partnership with Binance — in exploring the possibilities of promoting the sport and engaging fans via the influential blockchain innovation of NFTs.

Online assets combined with physical gifts has proven to be a modern and fashionable way to bring fans closer to teams and players. The convergence of the sports industry and the exciting blockchain sub-sector NFT has also seen great success, one example being NBA Top Shot, the marketplace selling basketball video clips, generating over $230 million in sales within a year of its launch. 

The different rarity tiers in the “Zurda” NFT collection attach a higher value to the rare collectibles. By selling NFTs of different undisclosed moments through mystery boxes, it also makes the buying process fun and exciting, as no one knows when or what they will own, including the tier of rarity, until a box is opened.

NFTs with digital and real-world benefits

During the public sale, the Platinum and Gold NFTs, which are based on some of the most memorable moments of Rodríguez’s career, will be offered through an auction while the Silver and Bronze NFTs will be sold through mystery boxes two days after the auction closes.

The sole Platinum and 10 Gold NFTs were inspired by a total of 11 memorable moments, including Rodríguez’s 2014 Puskas Award-winning goal. The auction will begin on Aug. 15, 2022, at 7 am UTC, on ZKSea. 

The mystery box sale will go live on Aug. 17, 2022, 7 am UTC. The price of the mystery boxes is 0.15 Ether (ETH), and they contain “Zurda” NFTs in Silver and Bronze grades. Whitelisted participants will be able to purchase the mystery boxes for just 0.12 ETH. 

“Zurda” NFT holders can win signed jerseys and photos that ZKSpace has disclosed on Twitter, a video call or video recorded by James Rodríguez and access to multiple events on ZKSpace, including stake-to-earn events, future NFT giveaways and the ZKSpace Football Metaverse — all in celebration of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Why issue on ZKSpace?

ZKSpace — formerly ZKSwap — is a full-featured L2 protocol leveraging zk-Rollups technology to provide users with an ultra-fast, cheap and secure way to transact cryptocurrencies. ZKSwap’s version 1.0 mainnet launched in February 2021 as the first Ethereum L2 zk-Rollup-based decentralized exchange.

It implements all the functions of Uniswap on L2 and solves the problems of slow transaction speeds and high gas fees on the Ethereum mainnet. So far, ZKSwap has gone through three major version iterations — ZKSwap rebranded and upgraded to ZKSpace at the end of 2021 — and has carried out hundreds of function iterations and optimizations without any security incidents. 

ZKSea is the world’s first zk-Rollups-based platform supporting layer-1-to-L2 NFT mutual transferring and is the designated NFT-launch, -mint and -trade marketplace of the ZKSpace ecosystem. It is the blockchain technology partner of some prestige brands, including Coach New York, GQ Magazine, Shu Uemura, Atta and more. Moving forward, ZKSea will feature some exclusive NFT drops aside from the James Rodríguez commemorative-edition NFT collection, proving a popular alternative to L1 marketplaces and allowing more people to get involved in NFTs.

For new users looking to be a part of the NFT movement, ZKSpace also features a user-friendly fiat on-ramp, boosting usability and democratizing access to the exciting future of NFTs for anyone worldwide.

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Billionaire bitcoin bull Mike Novogratz believes the forced deleveraging of the cryptocurrency market is over and that investors can expect new narratives to shape the space following a brutal quarter for digital assets. 

His optimism comes after a rocky year for crypto investors, following the crash of the Terra stablecoin and the related Luna token, which set off a domino effect of losses and bankruptcies across the sector. Crypto has enjoyed a few rallies since then, but the bitcoin and ethereum are still down around 60% from their November highs.

“We had a forced deleveraging that happened because of a lot of imprudent credit policies at lots of places, that I think exacerbated how bad the move would be,” Novogratz said in an interview with CNBC.

But Novogratz thinks that the cycle is ending, with the potential for more positive change in the crypto market to come this quarter.

“The worst is over,” he said of last quarter’s big sell-off. “There is no more forced deleveraging that’s going to happen. And so now, the market hits an equilibrium, and it waits for new narratives.”

Developments like ethereum’s upcoming merge could be a big narrative shift for the market, one that generates renewed enthusiasm among investors, Novogratz said. The merge is one out of five planned updates to the ethereum blockchain, CoinDesk reported, and will switch the blockchain over from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake system to increase efficiency.

Bitcoin may also be on a new path, with Coinbase’s recent partnership with BlackRock: “That’s like a monumental announcement,” Novogratz said.

Bitcoin’s steady adoption in mainstream finance is keeping Novogratz bullish on the largest crypto by market cap. He added he was particularly optimistic about the outlook for the coin in the current economic climate.

“I think bitcoin remains a really good macro asset for an environment where the macro is pretty uncertain,” Novogratz said.

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Ripple Labs Inc, which is embroiled in a high-profile battle with the U.S. securities regulator, is interested in potentially purchasing assets of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network, according to a company spokesperson.

“We are interested in learning about Celsius and its assets, and whether any could be relevant to our business,” the spokesperson said, declining to say if Ripple was interested in acquiring Celsius outright.

Ripple has continued to grow through the crypto market turmoil and “is actively looking for M&A opportunities to strategically scale the company,” the spokesperson said.

New Jersey-based Celsius froze withdrawals in June citing “extreme” market conditions and filed for bankruptcy in New York last month, listing a $1.19 billion deficit on its balance sheet.

Last week, lawyers for Ripple submitted filings to the bankruptcy court seeking to be represented in the proceedings. The court approved the filing earlier this week. Ripple is not among Celsius’ major creditors, Celsius’ bankruptcy filings show. Ripple provided the comment in response to Reuters’ queries regarding the court filings.

A lawyer approved to represent Ripple declined to comment. Celsius did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cryptocurrencies have had a rocky year, with the world’s largest, bitcoin, down nearly 70% from its all-time high of $69,000 in November. Markets were shaken by the collapse of the popular terraUSD and luna tokens in May, which caused widespread losses for several major industry players.

According to bankruptcy filings, Celsius’ assets include digital assets held in custody accounts, loans, a bitcoin mining business, the company’s own CEL token and bank cash and cryptocurrencies that Celsius has on hand.

Privately owned Ripple has not previously done any major deals. It was valued at around $15 billion following a private stock buyback in January, the company said, although industry valuations have fallen significantly during a cryptocurrency price crash over the past few months that helped topple Celsius and other cryptocurrency firms.

Ripple’s total sales of its cryptocurrency XRP, net of purchases, were $408.9 million in the second quarter, compared with $273.27 million in the first quarter, according to a report the company put out in July.

The company was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2020 over XRP. The agency alleges that Ripple and its current and former chief executives have been conducting a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering by selling XRP, which Ripple’s founders created in 2012.

Ripple and the executives have denied the allegations, and the company has argued that XRP has traded and been used as a digital currency.

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Hundreds of Blockchain specialists are heading to Santa Clara in California on Oct. 5 and 6, 2022 to share their insights about the most recent developments within the blockchain ecosystem. This year’s edition will include high-level speakers representing some of the most exciting brands in the industry, including Pfizer, Oracle, PayPal, Johnson and Johnson and many more. 

The event serves as the perfect opportunity to network with the sector’s leaders, learn more about the newest developments and join thought-provoking discussions about blockchain. Visitors will benefit from two days of interactive panel discussions and inspiring presentations delivered by leading industry experts.

The Blockchain Expo is part of six co-located events, all taking place at the same time. This includes IoT Tech Expo, AI and Big Data, blockchain, cyber security and cloud congress, Digital Transformation Week and the Edge Computing Expo.

This year’s edition is bringing some of the biggest blockchain specialists. During the event, the attendees will have a chance to listen to talks from:

• Chris Johnson — director, head of international data governance at Walmart
• Flora Nanda — blockchain technology lead at Pfizer
• Anita Rao — director at PayPal
• Mark Christianson — digital experience delivery senior lead at Mars
• Medha Parlikar — chief technical officer and co-founder of CasperLabs

Not to mention representatives from Oracle, Wells Fargo, Johnson and Johnson, LinkedIn and many more.

Lia Richards, head of conference at Blockchain Expo, said, “It’s great to be back in North America with such an exciting lineup. We are expecting 5,000 attendees, with over 250 speakers spread across six co-located events — for everyone involved in digital technologies, this expo is a must-attend.”

Tickets for the expo floor are available free of charge, while one-day passes for conference tracks start from $399. However, TechEx is offering complimentary two-day passes for industry leaders and senior executives. The number of complimentary passes is limited and can be requested.

Registration for free expo passes is open.

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Trippin’ Ape Tribe, a community-first profile picture nonfungible token (NFT) project recently launched on Solana, is already shattering records. With hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter before its mint event even began, this community-backed project broke Solana’s record for 24-hour sales volume on its first day in the market. At OpenSea and Magic Eden, it topped the charts for 24-hour sales volume and seven-day sales volume, beating blue-chip Ethereum projects by a large margin.

These overwhelming sales numbers also supplemented Solana’s run to surpass Ethereum’s daily NFT sales volume for the first time. With $14.5 million in sales, Trippin’ Ape contributed more revenue to this total volume than any other NFT collection.

Trippin’ Ape Tribe breaks records at Solana

As 10,000 Trippin’ Apes ascend into the NFT realm, this list of broken records doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. The collection also broke the record for the highest opening price on the secondary market, trading several times the mint price.

One of the critical factors of the collection’s success and continuous growth is its engaged community. Community members and believers take to social media, especially Twitter and Discord, to show their support and raise awareness for the project, often by using the artwork as a profile picture. 

Talking about the overwhelming response the collection has received, Fenrus, the marketing lead behind Trippin’ Ape Tribe, said, “It’s been exciting to see our project break all sorts of records for hype and sales volume right out of the gate. It shows how much the community has connected with the art, storytelling and mystique — really, the brand — we’ve been building. At the same time, it’s humbling to recognize we’re standing on the shoulders of giants. Solana is going through a massive influx right now, and it feels good to be a part of it.”

Building exciting new partnerships

To continue with an approach of building relentlessly, the Trippin’ Apes team is creating exciting new partnerships with the best projects in the industry. This includes Magic Eden, a key NFT marketplace on Solana; NFT Technologies, a leading investor and incubator; IBC Group, an industry-leading incubator and accelerator in the blockchain space; and numerous collaborations with Solana NFT projects and known personalities in the space. These partnerships will help Trippin’ Ape Tribe catalyze its operations, community and marketing growth.

Moreover, Lysergic, the co-founder of the collection, owns and operates various music festivals and live events in the United States, boasting a decade of experience. Backed by Lysergic’s expertise, the team also partnered with some of the biggest names in the Solana ecosystem to organize a major event at NFT NYC 2022 last month.

About Trippin’ Apes

Aside from its central focus on community development, what sets Trippin’ Ape Tribe apart from other Solana NFT projects is its strong and ownable branding, cheeky storytelling and innovative long-term utility. The project is built around the story of 10,000 apes who have fallen under the trance of a mysterious, charismatic leader, Chorles, who promises salvation to his followers but insists he is building a tribe, not a cult.

Operating under a parent company, Valhalla Labs, the founding team has ambitious plans to leverage its diverse experience in software development, branding and event production to add tangible value to Trippin’ Ape holders and the ecosystem as a whole. Most recently, Valhalla Labs has added its new creative director Tim Deasy, former design director for luxury fashion brand Off-White. Deasy will draw from nearly 13 years of experience to create a standalone apparel brand that appeals not only to the Web3 community but also to the global mainstream. 

Trippin’ Ape holders have already received a free, mysterious airdrop that has led to speculation and fan theories around its role in the project’s lore and a gamified quest to ascension. Bucking the trend of a traditional roadmap, the team has maintained an air of mystery surrounding the next steps for the project in the spirit of storytelling and rewarding holders with the strongest conviction.

The project will continue to focus on developing rich lore and engaging on-chain utility that moves the entire space forward. In addition, Valhalla Labs intends to onboard new community members into Web3 by launching and establishing connections to physical brands and live events and eventually fueling the community’s growth and sustainability.

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