Cutbacks at Yuga Labs

Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs has announced a restructuring that has seen several roles “eliminated across the company.”

The exact number of layoffs hasn't been specified, however, in an Oct. 6 blog post shared via X ( formerly Twitter), Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre suggested the firm had taken on too many projects that were ultimately distracting it from its “core priorities.”

“I realized very quickly that there were a number of projects that, while well-intentioned, either spread the team too thin or required execution expertise beyond our core competencies,” he said, adding that:

“To create truly amazing experiences that matter to our communities and our business, we need to place our bets on fewer key initiatives and team up with complementary external partners to make these experiences happen.”

Moving forward, Alegre outlined that the firm will ramp up its focus on community building, “going all-in” on its Otherside metaverse project and securing brand partnerships.

Nike’s new Web3 sneaker

Nike’s Web3 unit .SWOOSH has unveiled its first physical sneaker line called the Air Force 1 Low TINAJ.

The sneakers contain a mixture of white and black panels and features blue .SWOOSH logos.

As per an Oct. 5 announcement on X, the sneakers will only be available to .SWOOSH members who purchase and open at least one OF1 Box NFT before the Oct. 16 deadline.

TheOF1 Boxes cost $120 a pop and are available on the .SWOOSH website.

The catch, however, is that not everyone who opens the boxes can get their hands on these shoes. The .SWOOSH team noted on X that there is only a limited supply and did not specify the exact numbers available.

Those who open OF1 Boxes that don’t offer access to the TINAJ shoes are likely to receive other benefits and access to other drops down the line.

Mythos Chain surges past Polygon and Solana

Surging NFT trading volume on the gaming-focused Mythos Chain has seen the network surpass Polygon and Solana to become the second largest blockchain in terms of NFT sales volume over the past 30 days.

According to data from CryptoSlam, Mythos Chain has seen $33.5 million worth of NFT sales volume over the past 30 days, marking a 20.31% increase over that time frame.

In comparison, Polygon and Solana saw $30.9 million and $27.9 million each, marking declines of 45.50% and 16.77% respectively.

Top 10 blockchains by NFT sales volume. Source: CryptoSlam

Nearly all of the trading volume from Mythos Chain is coming from DMarket, an NFT marketplace that hosts NFTs from a list of games affiliated with Mythical Games, the firm behind the Mythos Chain.

One game that may be behind the surge in NFT sales is Nitro Nation World Tour, a Web3 mobile street racing game that officially launched in October. The game is backed by popular DJ Deadmau5.

Starbucks tokenizes Pumpkin Spiced Lattes. But why?

Starbucks has released an open-edition set of Pumpkin Spiced Latte NFTs on the Nifty Gateway marketplace.

The NFTs cost $20 apiece and went up for sale on Oct. 5, and will be available until Oct. 9.

At the time of writing, 1213 NFTs have been minted, suggesting Starbucks has pulled in just under $25,000 from the collection so far.

Pumpkin Spiced Latte drop. Source: Nifty Gateway

The NFTs are part of the coffee chain’s Web3 loyalty rewards program called Starbucks Odyssey. The program features NFT stamps, such as the Pumpkin Spice Latte, which can be collected to earn points and specific rewards.

Other Nifty News

Hong Kong-based crypto-focused venture capital firm CMCC Global raised $100 million to support Asian blockchain startups. Dubbed the Titan Fund, it will concentrate on investments in key areas: blockchain infrastructure, consumer applications like gaming and NFTs, and financial services, including exchanges, wallets and platforms for lending and borrowing.

Related: Blockchain finance to grow into $79.3B market by 2032

PayPal made major progress toward creating its own blockchain ecosystem by filing a patent application for a NFT purchase and transfer system. The application, filed in March and published Sept. 21, describes a means of carrying out transactions with NFTs, both on- and off-chain.