#68 | California Migrating All Car Titles To NFTs???

Estimated Read Time: 8 minutes

Hey friends,

Great to have you join us today! We have some exciting developments on crypto in our Blockchain Brew Up, followed by some Steaming Headlines from Amazon and the Californian DMV, as well as a juicy What's the NFTea? segment at the end. Let's jump right into it!

The Blockchain Brew Up 🫖

It's been a good week for crypto, with the total market cap of cryptocurrencies rising back above $1 trillion, a key milestone during our crypto winter that had us tumbling down the mountain from heights of $3 trillion. Although you can never be sure of what's going on with these markets, there are a few facts worth noting in this brew-up.

First off, Bitcoin has held steady over $23,000 with a recent rally pulling substantial double-digit increases, and it seems that institutions have been playing a key role. Crypto investment firm Matrixport noted in their Daily Insights report that from the 40% rally Bitcoin has experienced so far in 2023, 35% out of that 40% occurred during U.S. trading hours. “That's an 85% contribution of the rally associated with US-based investors… Hence, we interpret this as a clear signal that US institutions are buyers of Bitcoin right now”.

Next up is the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). In last week's brew up, we covered the global developments of a cross-border network for CBDCs as governments look to create their own cryptocurrencies. Hence, it is worth mentioning recent moves from Australia and Saudi Arabia. The National Australia Bank (NAB) has issued a stablecoin AUDN, which although not yet available, shows the real-world promise of regulated digital currencies.

Saudi Arabia has followed a similar suit, with the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA) continuing its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) experiments with a new wholesale CBDC used for payments between financial institutions including banks and fintech. While the current experiments are domestic, back in 2019 there was a novel trial (Project Aber) that explored cross-border payments with the UAE through the central banks sharing a common CBDC.

It very much seems like the blockchain is leading a new financial future for those early adopters willing to progress it, whether it be the short-term uptake of Bitcoin from institutions or the experimentation from Countries' central banks, we should be in for another exciting year.

Steaming Headlines ♨️

Amazon Launches NFT Initiative

Amazon is yet the next household name to double down on NFTs. Just a week after our coverage of Amazon Web Services' pioneering partnership with the Avalanche blockchain, it's been unveiled that they also have plans for an upcoming NFT initiative.

It's a big deal when the world's largest retailer is planning to launch a “digital assets enterprise” focused on NFTs, and the exclusive report from Blockworks had some pretty exciting takes. Amazon sources say that them “coming into the space” is “a big one [for crypto] for many different reasons… We knew it was possible, but now it seems like it’s really happening. That’s going to affect the existing players in the space — if they execute and do this right and are smart about it.”

The current Amazon Web3 blueprint has an official announcement expected in April, including the e-commerce giant partnering with an artist for an NFT drop, and the report adding “One example in the works, per one source: getting Amazon customers to play crypto games and claim free NFTs in the process”. Although the full extent of Amazon’s Web3 ambitions isn't clear in this initiative, details about the platform, which would include certain NFT gaming initiatives, are still unfolding and have been said to run out of Amazon proper, rather than, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Credible sources pointing to the trillion-dollar company getting further involved in Web3 is a bullish indicator for the space, with the source stating “With the [number] of customers Amazon has, they could make a huge splash in the NFT marketplace”. It's not surprising to see this unfold, seeing that Amazon hired a “Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead” back in 2021 and has acquired a dozen Web3 partners including layer-1 blockchains, blockchain-based gaming startups, developers, and digital asset exchanges since.

In April last year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC that he is optimistic about the future of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. “You know, I expect that NFTs will continue to grow very significantly,” adding that he could envision a future where the e-commerce giant sells NFTs. Well, that future looks like it's approaching very quickly.

Car Titles To Be Issued As NFTs in California

One of the most exciting things about NFTs is the almost infinite use cases that “digital authentication” can have. The latest item to be crossed off our (imaginary) bingo card? The future of car titles coming to NFTs. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), a state agency that registers motor vehicles and responsible for issuing driving licenses, will test the Tezos network for the digitization and transfer of car titles in the state through NFTs. Announced this week, the new venture comes from a collaboration between the DMV, Tezos, and crypto software development company Oxhead Alpha.

In the continued digitalization of our physical world, these paper documents moving to a verifiable online system through NFTs seems like a natural progression; but in addition to digitizing car titles, there is a goal of making the process of title transfers between owners much easier. President of Oxhead Alpha Andrew Smith related the current system to using 18th-century paper-based technology to solve 21st-century transaction fraud, which is impossible. And so, the DMV will leverage Oxhead Alpha and Tezos blockchain functionalities to create a private chain application that will feature more security than a public blockchain. Chief Digital Officer of the California DMV Ajay Gupta said the agency hoped to finalize its “shadow ledger”, fully replicating the state’s title database within the next three months, with consumer-facing applications following with the inclusion of digital wallets.

In a media cycle that seems to prefer flashy monetary gains as headlines, this innovation from the DMV exemplifies how NFTs and Web3 are just a technology creating the infrastructure for our new digital world, and it's hard to argue the benefits of an NFT-based digitally verifiable and easily transferable item over its paper alternative.

Big thanks for joining us on this round-up today. We hope you have a great couple of days and we will be right back with the latest in NFT news. Take care!

What's the NFTea? 🍵

We covered the release of Bored Ape Yacht Club's Dookey Dash in Newsletter Issue #65, and it's been fun to see the development of the discourse around this activation over the past weeks, especially in terms of "web3 gaming".

Apart from Bored Ape holders establishing a "gamer-for-hire" economy in order to set record scores for their Sewer Passes, it has unwittingly onboarded a small contingent of pro gamers to compete in this exclusive mini-game.

The current top spot on the leaderboard belongs to a pro gamer called Mongraal. Who is Mongraal, you ask? Just a FaZe clan gamer with 5M YouTube subscribers.

Even though Sewer Pass isn't technically a free-to-play (F2P) game (since it requires a Sewer Pass which required holding Yuga assets or secondary purchase beforehand), it is innovating on the F2P market in terms of user acquisition and reward. Perhaps in the place of a large, open tournament with no entry bar, one with a limited participant pool and a higher entry can pioneer a new, more rewarding model.

While the current state of "web3 gaming" comes with connotations and ties to "play-to-earn" Ponzinomics, perhaps the future is right under our noses.

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DISCLAIMER:

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.