Prix de TonUPUP

RT @Slappjakke: GS longs up 42% even though its red across the board today The beauty of Perpetual Options is the convex payoff curve wher…

RT @zarathustra5150: Remember that Seinfeld where George, in a fit of delusional grandeur, rage-quits his job; only to wake up the next mor…

Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano posted an ape improvement proposal (AIP) calling for the closure of the ApeCoin DAO and the launch of ApeCo, a new operating model for ApeCoin. Solano said it was time for a leaner, faster “org” to take the reins. Solano stated that the ApeCoin DAO was born in a different era and may have just run its course. He added that the DAO started with promise but quickly spiraled into gridlock, governance theater, vanity proposals, and low-impact noise. Too many resources went to vanity proposals and low-impact initiatives. According to Yuga Labs boss, the DAO had become misaligned with the future his company aimed to build, although it was instrumental in bootstrapping ApeCoin’s early momentum. He claimed that the next chapter demanded sharper focus, faster execution, and an operating model that backed only the highest-caliber projects. Solano claimed that the proposal cleared the cruft and installed a professional operation to direct capital with conviction and strategic intent. Yuga Labs’ co-founder Wylie Aronow said he had no words for how annoyed he was with his partner Greg for making him google the word ‘cruft’ on a Sunday but added that he supported the “f**k out of this idea.” Solano explained that the AIP authorized the orderly transition of assets and responsibilities to the new ApeCo entity established by Yuga Labs. ApeCo’s mission was to supercharge the APE ecosystem by supporting high-quality builders and reinforcing three core pillars: ApeChain, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Otherside. According to the Yuga Labs CEO, the redeeming aspect of the DAO was that it funded builders. He pointed out that Yuga still believed in that mission, but the bar on what was worth funding was going way up. The new model must focus on quality, impact, and alignment with the core of what ApeCoin was meant to power. “The DAO served its purpose, but the game has changed…We’re no longer in the experimental phase. We’re building the best chain in crypto and expanding the most iconic brand in NFTs. ApeCoin should be the economic engine for that future.” – Greg Solano , CEO at Yuga Labs Yuga Labs’s Solano also said everything he had worked on since returning as CEO aimed at one thing: getting back to the spirit and velocity of year one when he and Aronow were building Yuga from scratch. He added that the duo had made huge progress, but the biggest unlock would be getting ApeCoin rowing in the right direction. Mak Makash, the founder of the Raccoon Gin Ape project and the main initiator of AiP 495, said he had been building with ApeCoin and ApeChain from the trenches–from IRL integrations to premium products that bridged Web2 and Web3. He added that sunsetting the DAO in favor of ApeCo was not the end but the maturation of what the Ape community dreamed ApeCoin could become. Makash believes this AIP was the long-overdue evolution the ecosystem needed, adding that it brought clarity, speed, and quality over chaos. He also said the ApeChain, BAYC, and Otherside Trinity deserved complete focus since builders would finally have a structure that supported innovation at pace, with accountability and purpose. Makash claimed that he fully supported this shift and was ready to start building under ApeCo. Solano stressed that the transition would unleash faster product development and capital deployment, eliminate governance gridlock that held real builders back, and reignite belief in the long-term utility and cultural significance of ApeCoin. He also said it would make ApeChain the most culturally relevant chain in crypto. The Yuga Labs CEO disclosed that killing the ApeCoin DAO enabled experimentation at the cost of quality and encouraged governance participation but became easy to game. He also said it funded some good builders but many bad ones, and it was never optimized for long-term product development or market agility. KEY Difference Wire helps crypto brands break through and dominate headlines fast

so I'm casually working on a piece to share my personal thoughts on the current NFT PFP market + a beginner’s guide to enjoying the "nft community)" although it's been repeatedly delayed due to extreme workload at work (lol) but here's the rough outline should this interest anyone (plz plz): tl;dr: - The NFT PFP market is almost equal to the luxury watch market (h/t @MINHxDYNASTY for the fundamental idea as usual) - Should there ever be an alt szn, demand for PFPs naturally will rise and high chance through the previous ath (I mean btc is ath right - although no one believed) - They also function as a form of leveraged investment on L1 tokens like $ETH, $SOL, and $HYPE (while it WILL go the other way around too lol) - So if you believe in the alt season, it's certainly worth looking into the old and the new Web3 IP's and how the leading mindshares are flowing around onchain (prob @KaitoAI will be also important in this cycle) - 1. Recent Trends - It seems like even crypto newcomers are willing to spend up to around 1 ETH now. - For example, @GoodVibesssClub is apparently leading this trend (will it ever "flip @doodles" now? ;)) - Of course on the lower end, there are second-tier brands of major IPs like @Azuki Elementals around 0.2 ETH. These certainly become good entry points for the newcomers in particular. - But my humble thought is that the cheaper the PFP, the less emotional attachment people tend to have to it… 😅 (again, like how you feel about your favorite watch or your luxury bags) 2. The Next Step Up - Once you're in, your standards tend to rise quickly to something like Azuki (~2 ETH) or even @HypioHL from @HyperliquidX. - I guess once your crypto portfolio passes the $10k range, you start rationalizing some of these purchases as a kind of staking - “just locking it in.” - And once you're this, you can never go back (the addiction starts lol) - For instance the @Solana lovers might pick up something like @MadLads just as a flex after making a big bag in the bull run - Especially if you’re attending a Solana event, you will see so many fire @Backpack merch too - naturally you may find yourself on @MagicEden back at home 3. At the Top - There’s @BoredApeYC, often brushed off easily, but it still has a floor price of 13 ETH (never fade the best club) - As mid-range PFPs gain popularity, the "OGs" who forgot they had these and may start looking for new ways to differentiate themselves. - But again, when you’re not interested, you’re never interested.. again just like the luxury market. (didn't mention @cryptopunksnfts because it's in the realm of the fine art history.. 👑 if you're rich enough) 4. At This Point in the Cycle... - When the market gets to this level, we’ll see a flood of knockoffs and derivatives of popular PFPs (the "weak tech" that @cdixon would say imho 😁) - You will see the cool collab managers getting extremely busy and they will probably stop replying to your dm's - This will probably be above the "shoulder" in the good ol' Tulip cycle (if it ever comes.. lol) - now for an anti-thesis: Cases where people can differentiate themselves without NFT PFPs: 1. The top KOL's and well-known figures already have instantly recognizable @x pfp's like @blknoiz06 @0xWenMoon @simonkim_nft (they don't need the NFT PFPs to boost their reputation): → Plus it's easy to make the actual custom high quality PFPs with the smart autonomous bots now 2. Info-fi projects like @KaitoAI and @cookiedotfun are already very widespread (just being ranked in one of these is enough to show off social status): → We’re already in a perfect competition era of Status-as-a-Service. 3. Even low-floor, meme coin-based communities may rise without needing expensive PFPs. - When $HYPE first surged + naturally there are symbols created for their religious activities - Also (not a long time ago but..), new meme coin ATHs like @zerebro or @itsafwog gave people effectively more fun and status boost with their new PFPs minted versus the already popular ones - Wrapping up with some other minor thoughts: - The actual image of a PFP actually matters: See Yapybara by @KaitoAI. nuff said - But of course you need some fundamental values like their actual product + robust and sustainable internal/external marketing fees based airdrop scheme - Then over the long run, at the end of the day, it really comes down to...: the people behind the PFPs. ending with a not very much verifiable and accurate point but it's really the people behind the PFP's that either make the people buy or not buy the expensive jpegs → If the leading figures in either Web3 or Web2 industries are not liking/leveraging the NFT PFPs, who will? → And if there is no demand to the NFT PFPs' 1. status-as-a-servce 2. monetary leverage points, what's the existential meanining of them? (versus just creating dope shit fine arts offline or making cool 1/1 digital arts) In other words..: - Will wee see robust & scalable tech + community + business + art (?) integration like @pudgypenguins ? - Or will more look like @KaitoAI 's dashboard-first growth playbook (and make people buy more Yapybara? lol jk) - Also, as more Web2 companies explore crypto, will they prefer to collaborate with existing Web3 IPs, or will they simply create/use their own brand IPs? - Or, even maybe moves like the @moonbirds IP sale, will we see more robust M&A etc in the seemingly "good" Web3 IP's? (would love to know what's criminally underrated if this would be the case... asking for a fren) Anyway, it become very clear again... that we're still so early. so much room for growth in the market in the industry, and... I just hope I'll be at least a foot into one when the world wants our jpegs again see you on the other side! ;)

We are seeing high minting traffic, and there's a long queue Minting may take up to 30 minutes We're scaling up the minting throughput to speed things up End of thread.