#114 | United Kingdom Doesn't View Crypto as Gambling

Estimated Read Time: 8 minutes

Hey friends,

Wonderful to have you back with us today! In this edition, we have some great stories from UK’s progressive stance on crypto, some innovative NFT sneakers from PUMA, and Christie’s pioneering the digital art conversation. Let’s just jump in!

Ever since XRP broke new ground with official SEC rulings marking the token as not a security for retail investors we have seen some pretty great results from the crypto market, where both Bitcoin and Ethereum are holding important lines at $30K and $1.9k respectively. Although the latest updates have the SEC backtracking on the XRP case, it seems like we had some solid momentum that isn’t slowing down and we can only wait to see how it plays out until the next brew up.

UK Treasury rejects parliament’s suggestion to regulate crypto as gambling

It’s one thing for everyday people to have a misconception about crypto, but it raises worries when people within governments also share the same ideas. In May, the UK’s cross-party parliamentary Treasury Committee suggested that the government should regulate cryptocurrencies as gambling.

Labeling crypto as gambling is the last thing Web3 enthusiasts want to hear since that notion undermines the extensive amount of benefits the blockchain has given us. However, the Economic Secretary to HM Treasury, Andrew Griffith rejected the proposal unequivocally saying it contradicts the approach of other international bodies such as IOSCO and the Financial Stability Board that instead prefer to apply the “same risks, same rules” approach to crypto-asset regulation. Not only this, but Griffith reiterated the government’s intention to make the UK “a leading jurisdiction for crypto asset technology and investment, underpinned by clear and robust regulation” which exemplifies the positive future of crypto if its potential is properly recognized.

PUMA’s Revolutionary New Sneakers

The NFT space for traditional brands is no doubt being dominated by Nike ever since they steamed ahead in 2022 with over $185 million in NFT revenue, so it can make sense why other apparel brands are attempting to play catch up. However, the world's third largest-selling sports brand PUMA is truly doing something special through a new collaboration with esteemed entertainment company Roc Nation to bring ‘Evolution of the Mixtape’ physical NFT-connected sneakers to global apparel super chain Footlocker.

This new age of phygital NFT sneakers is something we’re all pretty used to now, but teaming up with Roc Nation is opening some pretty cool utility we haven’t seen in the space before that makes you question if shoes really are only for covering feet. If you're not familiar with Roc Nation, founded in 2008 by Jay-Z they have become an entertainment goliath with over 300 music artists including Rihanna and DJ Khaled as well as A-list athletes like Kevin Durant, all while having multiple branches in fashion lines, record labels, and publishing companies to name a few.

This limited-run Mixtape Sneaker Collection will feature in Footlocker stores for a very affordable $130 USD and will feature three different sneaker styles: cassette tape, disc, and playlist. Each pair of sneakers features a unique blockchain-powered LGT Tag hidden under the tongue of the left shoe. These tags can be scanned with a smartphone to link with the NFT that unlocks previously unreleased songs by some of Roc Nations’ artists, bonus artist content, behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive images, and weekly mixtape drops that are all sure to be a hit with Roc Nation sneaker enthusiasts.

In our modern world footwear has evolved far past just protecting our feet, they have become a fundamental way for people to not only express themselves but connect with others through the brand community and loyalty. The revolutionary part here is before NFTs, these expressions of identity were limited to the physical realm. Opening up the digital world like PUMA and Roc Nation are doing is a huge consumer shift because now it’s allowing consumers to derive more value from their purchases and brand loyalty with barely any overhead, what an amazing time to witness these new consumer patterns take place in real-time.

Christie’s Pioneering The Digital NFT Art Future

Christie’s has become a familiar face in our Morning NFTea editions, and it’s easy to see why considering the prestigious traditional auction house founded back in 1766 truly holds the power to make or break this brand new realm of not only digital art but of NFTs mainstream perception. A few days ago in New York Christies held their seventh annual highly influential Art + Tech summit with this time having an emphasis on Web3 & blockchain, as well as AI and Luxury Fashion Tech. These topics were explored in detail through a series of lectures, talks, panel discussions, and networking opportunities that if you would like to know more about we can highly recommend taking a look at Christie’s.

On the topic of respected art houses raising positive awareness for NFTs and Web3, associate for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Madeleine Pierpont, stated in a panel how "Digital art is one of the most accessible art forms of any art form that exists because it can live in so many places in our lives." emphasizing that digital art is expanding the reach of art institutions to audiences it didn't have access to before. This ties to an important point for our new age that Lukas Amacher Managing Director of digital-art-focused collector's club 1OF1 best summarised, saying the spirit of this future is "art in the digital age, rather than digital art".

This “digital art” printed on canvas bares arguably no difference to traditional art, when we talk about NFTs enabling digital art it is an emphasis on the new opportunities that the technology creates, like MoMA’s aforementioned accessibility or the idea of perpetual royalties. The more help we get in highlighting these opportunities to the mainstream rather than just the goofy digital monkey’s side of “digital art” that people tend to focus on, the closer we get to controlling our narrative and ushing in a new age of Web3 acceptance.

The Christie's Art + Tech Summit is always a thought-provoking event that explores the ways in which technology is changing the art world. The summit provided a platform for leading thinkers and innovators to share their ideas and insights, and it helped to foster a dialogue about the future of art and its reliance on Web3 infrastructure. The main takeaway here is how the summit helped to raise awareness of the ways in which technology is changing the art world in positive ways that tend to be overlooked, it is progressive events like this that pave the way for further innovation in the years to come and man we just couldn’t be more excited.

It’s been a big week for IP — well-known projects 0N1 Force, Pudgy Penguins and Cool Cats were all spotted at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Bored Ape Yacht Club has officially launched Made by Apes — its on-chain license system to verify projects & products that utilize the Bored Ape IP.

These projects will be featured in a directory called the Bodega.

In other news, Beeple is looking at a CryptoPunk PFP… while he’s not making X-inspired artwork that received a reply from Elon Musk himself.

Thanks for joining us today, we hope you enjoyed this edition and hope you have a great couple of days while we curate the next Morning NFTea, take care!

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None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.De