You can now swipe your Apes 🦧

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Here’s what we’ve got for you:

• Market pulse

• NFT-fied Credit Cards

• Today’s headlines

• Meme of the day

Market pulse 📈

The market is gloomy like Goa during monsoons ☁️

After flashing green briefly on 27 September, the crypto market ended the day in a bearish session yesterday. Ripple (XRP) led the way down, sliding by 4.68% for a second session after having an upward price trajectory in the last seven days. Solana (SOL) followed with a 3.54% loss. Bitcoin (BTC) revisited the $20,000 level for the first time in nine sessions before ending the day in the red with a 0.72% loss.

Investors losing hope for a favourable outcome in the SEC v Ripple case seem to reflect on the bearish session. US economic figures added to the afternoon sell-off.

🦧Plastic apes on plastic cards💳

Imagine you are standing at Starbucks. Expensive? Who said anything about actually buying? Just imagine, bruh!

They announced your name for a Chai Tea Latte, and it's your time to pay. You pull out a fancy card with your favorite NFT printed on its face and all, and you pay for the order with crypto. Sounds cool, no? 😎

Well, this could become a reality soon. How? 🤨

Get this. 

A crypto-fiat platform named ‘hi’ partnered with Mastercard to launch the world’s first NFT customizable credit card. Matlab, you can literally get your favorite NFT (limited to CryptoPunks, Moonbirds, Goblins, Bored Apes, and Azuki's collection) printed on the face of your credit card.  And they also allow you to pay in crypto, stablecoins or fiat, whatever. 

But why are hi and Mastercard doing this?

Great news for crypto and NFTs, no? We think it’s bigger news for Mastercard.

Here’s why?

• Visa launched a crypto-linked credit card in 2021 and reported that its card usage hit $2.5 billion in its first quarter alone. Turns out $2.5 billion was 70% of their total crypto volume for the year. Clearly, the adoption of crypto-linked credit cards is growing. 

• The average price of a crypto punks NFT is 84ETH (~₹94 lakhs), and a bored ape yacht club is 89 ETH (~₹1 crore). Despite the bear market, people are still MAD about NFTs. 

Clearly, the market is ripe for crypto credit cards, and adding an NFT option gives Mastercard an edge over all other crypto-linked credit cards. Just like how the ’90s kids chose Cheetos over buying Lay’s because Cheetos came with a free pokemon card! 

So, that’s a win-win situation for Mastercard and the NFT community. What say?

What’s making the headlines? 📰

🛒Walmart sets up shop in the Metaverse

Joining the ranks of early adopters of Web3, retail giant Walmart announced its partnership with online gaming platform Roblox. Walmart’s first metaverse venture brings in two new immersive experiences, Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play. Read more. 

⛅WEF coalition launched to encourage Web3 climate action

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is in the news with the launch of a new alliance on Web3. The Crypto Sustainability Coalition was launched, on 21 September, by WEF to understand how Web 3.0 and blockchain tools can be leveraged to achieve positive climate action. Read more. 

🇧🇷Massive jump in Nubank’s Brazilian crypto users

Nubank, the largest Brazilian digital bank by market value, has registered an all-time high crypto user count on its app recently. The financial institution has logged over 1.8 million Brazilian users to its crypto platform. Read more.

⛏️VCs back solar-powered BTC mining firm

Amid the ongoing sustainability-related conversations around the Merge, a new solar-powered Bitcoin mining firm raised $8 million in a Series A funding round. Read more.

Meme of the day…

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