GM to the 70 new readers who joined today, its a special edition this week! 😎

Let’s get into it!

SCOOPS OF THE WEEK 

⛓️ NFT’s

• Elementals Azuki’s New Collection

• Hermes Injunction

• NFT Project Postpones Launch Following Plagiarism Accusations

👨‍💻 WEB3

• NEAR Protocol Partners With Alibaba

• Web3 Firms Receive Tax Break In Japan

• Vaynersports: “Don’t Over-Web3 your Content’

🪙 CRYPTO

• Is it time for Bitcoin’s watershed moment?

• Can a Bitcoin-only ‘Buy & Hold’ strategy beat Altcoins?

• Ripple $XRP is close to getting a license in Singapore

🔦 PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Utility Wen

Utility Whaa?

Thats right. Utility Wen.

The latest project from our good friends at The Plague. If you haven’t come across The Plague already, they are a rampant bunch of frogs plaguing Web3 & Twitter, led by their valiant leader Pons.

These guys have regularly featured in our newsletter as a project to watch, as a weekly winner & as one of the strongest communities within Web3.

But what is Utility Wen?

The collection is currently under top secret with exciting developments to come, and they are coming very soon.

Tough market conditions have never stopped Pons, or The Plague community, As a matter of fact, they have thrived in it. Therefore it is no surprise that Utility Wen managed to mint out with relative ease. Currently, there is only 4% listed on Opensea, very impressive.

The collection mint price was a fair 0.05ETH and now currently sits at around 0.12 ETH and is unrevealed until Thursday this week, where quite literally all will be revealed.

What is interesting about Utility Wen is that from the outset the collection looks very different from the Original Plague. The style, color scheme & feel is completely new, and rather than Frogs, we have Pixelated Owls. Gotta love a Pixel theme…

So the Owls are meant to be delivering something… but what?!?

What we can tell you is that the reveal is going to be a fun one that will also utilize a burn dynamic, whereby you are able to upgrade your NFT by burning.

But Pon’s isn’t one to leave people behind. If you can only afford 1 ‘Utility Wen’, then they have assured us there will be other ways to upgrade your NFT.

We also know that at present, the rarity of the Owls apparently doesn't matter, but the color does have relevance, hmmm

It’s not long to wait and soon all will be clear, but one thing is for sure. We are excited. So excited, that to celebrate the launch of Utility Wen we are giving 1 x Utility Wen NFT to one lucky person.

Did we hear people like the black ones?

So go blow the Tweet below up, like share & tag your friends for your chance to Win a ‘Utility Wen’ worth currently $300!

⛓️ NFT’s

• NFT Total Market Cap $6.54B - 24/hour change -0.59%

• Volume Traded 24/hours - $26.4M +50.51%

• Following the Yuga Fud on the Twitter timelines, BAYC managed to slip as low as 34 ETH Floor over the weekend but rebounded back up to 37ETH.

• It will be interesting to see how Bored Apes hold up. Is 34ETH the bottom?

• Azuki finally pulled back following the Vegas event, now sitting just below 14 ETH floor. As the saying goes, buy the rumor sell the news. But despite a pull back holders were pleasantly surprised with the announcement of a new airdrop coming their way.

• But lots of exciting stuff still to come this week!

Significant Upcoming events in NFT land

• ‘Ether’ Trailer coming in today at 5pm PST - 1AM UK time.

• Something big coming for ‘Utility Wen’ project from ‘The Plague’ on Thursday this week.

• DeGods Season 3 & Y00ts Season 2

• The Memeland Captainz reveal

Whales Are Scooping up:

• Beanz Official

• Azuki

• Otherdeed expanded

• INS1D3RS

• Utility Wen

Azuki’s New Collection

At a glance 🔎 

• The Blue-Chip project has revealed its next 20,000-item collection Elementals.

• The collection is based on the 4 Azuki elements: earth, lightning, fire, and water.

• The sale will begin as a Dutch Auction beginning at 2 ETH and launches on the 27th of June.

• 🕵️ Scoops take:

Blue-Chip projects doing Blue-Chip things. Azuki is again diversifying its project with the launch of Elementals. It’s a sure-fire way to fuel more excitement around the collection and can act as a way to attract new collectors and broaden their community. But it’s always worth keeping in mind that as we have seen with Yuga as of late, too much diversification can be perceived as fragmented & complex, lets's hope Azuki has learned from Yuga and improved the relationship between their individual collections.

What we can say is that everything about Elementals looks top notch and you cannot doubt the work and craftmanship that has gone into creating the Azuki universe. The launch of the new collection was revealed at the Azuki party in Las Vegas, which we have to say looked pretty lit. Check it out below.

We aren’t going to stick our neck on the line but we imagine this collection will find its way to the weekly winner section.

Hermes Injunction

At a glance 🔎

• The Court awarded $133,000 to Hermes from Mason Rothschild in February based on improper use of a Trademark.

• In March, Hermes told the Court that Rothschild continued to market the NFTs

• The Judge has now ordered a permanent injunction on all “MetaBirkin” sales.

  🕵️ Scoops take:

  If there was any way to describe Rothschild it would be to go down fighting hard.

  It was always going to be a messy affair with IRL Trademarks up against the First Amendment rights but as soon as the decision was made back in February, it was fairly obvious how this one would turn out.

  After churning out over $1m worth of sales, we just hope that Rothschild has kept enough profit to pay the awarded sum.

  This story will be of huge significance in the space moving forward especially as we welcome so many large Web2 brands who have Trademarks in abundance which will now be protected following this precedent ruling.

NFT Project Postpones Launch Following Plagiarism Accusations

At a glance 🔎 

• Artist, Elena, who was set to drop her 250-item collection, Atmoic Ordinals had to postpone it right before launch.

• She was accused of plagiarising items in the collection.

• The mint price was set at 0.05 BTC ($1500)

• Elena has since said the mint price will be free and will announce a new date soon.

  🕵️ Scoops take:

If there was ever one group of people to become prime detectives it is the NFT community. It puts the team behind Don’t F**K With Cats to shame.

As soon as the space caught wind of a potential copying of work, that was the game over, the eagle-eyed masses swooped in and unveiled every single last detail.

The issue Elena now faces is that despite her best efforts to explain the whole situation in detail, the space is pretty unforgiving.

You can check out the thread here where she explains all.

THREAD OF THE WEEK

ETHER - The most anticipated NFT Mint of the year?

Hunter Solaire may have the answer. This thread is everything you need to know about the next Luxury NFT brand.

🌐 WEB3

NEAR Protocol Partners With Alibaba

At a glance 🔎

• • The NEAR Foundation has partnered with Alibaba Cloud, aiming to accelerate the growth of the web3 ecosystem in Asia.

  • Alibaba Cloud will offer infrastructure and technical support to NEAR’s community of developers to create and deploy web3 applications.

  • The partnership is part of NEAR's vision to make web3 accessible to all, underlining the importance of Asia as a key player in the global web3 development scene.

🕵️ Scoops take:

The marriage of NEAR Foundation and Alibaba Cloud is a huge leap forward for Web3's presence in Asia, a testament to the fusion of ingenuity and infrastructure. As the Cloud provides the technical might, NEAR cultivates the blossoming field of creators, shaping an Asia-centred Web3 powerhouse. Expect a wave of innovation, as this partnership brings web3's decentralised vision into tangible reality, democratising the digital landscape for all.

Web3 Firms Receive Tax Break In Japan

At a glance 🔎

• Japan's tax agency, the National Tax Agency (NTA), has announced a relaxation in crypto taxation rules for Web3 firms, reducing the burden on these companies and attracting more startups to the region.

• The new regulation excludes the necessity of paying taxes on unrealised gains from cryptocurrency holdings, a major shift that could promote the growth and profitability of businesses operating within the crypto and Web3 sectors.

• This step is part of Japan's strategy to position itself as a favorable destination for the burgeoning Web3 space, following similar moves by other countries aiming to create more welcoming regulatory environments for cryptocurrency and blockchain firms.

🕵️ Scoops take:

Japan's National Tax Agency is cutting through old-world bureaucracy and setting a welcoming tone for Web3 innovators. Their latest move, easing the tax burden on unrealised crypto gains, is not just a nod to the growing significance of blockchain technology, but a well-timed play in the hieghtening competitive space. As countries jostle to attract the brightest minds in the field, Japan's strategic positioning sets an example that could ripple across the globe.

Vaynersports: “Don’t Over-Web3 your Content’

At a glance 🔎

• VaynerSports Gaming Vice President, Darren Glover, advises content creators not to abandon Web2 completely as they shift towards Web3, emphasising the continued relevance of traditional platforms.

• Glover highlights the importance of understanding one's audience and the need to reach them across all mediums, encouraging a balanced approach between Web2 and Web3.

• He also urges creators to understand and experiment with NFTs and crypto, without feeling pressured to fully transition immediately. Patience and learning are key in this rapidly evolving space.

🕵️ Scoops take:

Sound counsel from Darren Glover here in our opinion. His mantra - balance, understanding, and patience - is a reminder that innovation need not mean immediate abandonment of the familiar. While Web3 undeniably presents fresh opportunities in the realm of NFTs and crypto, the value of established Web2 platforms still shines brightly. Let's not forget our roots. We're still playing to human audiences, who straddle old and new platforms alike. No need for a full-on digital exodus - a gentle transition into new territory is likely the smartest strategy.

🪙 CRYPTO CRUNCH

• Crypto Total Market Cap $1.19T - 24/hour change +0.16%

• Volume Traded 24/hours - $37.09B +9.43%

• Well, the Crypto Markets are back sending, but what is next?

• $BTC is pushing upward towards $31K and dominance is still up above 50. The king is still in charge. For now..

• As the month comes to a close it is imperative that Bitcoin holds above the $30K level. If it manages to do so, this looks to give a bullish engulfing on the monthly time frame and we can expect a fruitful start to July.

• The next major Key level is $32K, should we pass that, then you can expect onwards to $35K.

• Bitcoin controls the majority of moves in the markets, when Bitcoin dominance is strong, it tends to be better holding Bitcoin than Alts.

• But don’t be fooled Alts won’t go unseen. Once Bitcoin has finished doing its business Alts will rise.

• On the flip side, it is important to note if Bitcoin fails to hold $29,600-$30,000 by the monthly close we then face slipping to the downside.

• What is clear from now, with the Bitcoin halving approaching, plus the influx of institutional interest, when you zoom out, we are confident we are in for a prosperous 18-24 months ahead.

  Crypto narratives to focus on this summer

• - AI Tokens

• - Decentralised Exchange Tokens

• - Liquid Staking derivatives projects

• - Metaverse & gaming tokens

• - RWA - Real-world Asset tokens

• - Cross Chain Projects

• - ‘Real Yield’ Bearing tokens/projects

  Top stories

• HSBC Hong Kong launches support for BTC & Ethereum ETFs

• FTX has covered $7BN in assets, but there is still $2BN to go

• A 27 Trillion floodgate could open to crypto

😡 THE REKT SECTION 😡

CHIBI FINANCE

Another disgraceful rug-pull has seen $1m vanish into the pockets of the creators.

Chibi Finance was a DeFi project on the Ethereum Layer 2 network, Arbitrum that was recently launched.

Analysis has been carried out which has shown 555 ETH has been drained from the platform’s liquidity pool.

In typical fashion, the team behind the project has deleted all of their accounts/websites and disappeared into the night.

The team behind the project has executed a plan in draining the pool by converting the funnelled money into ETH via Tornado Cash which will make transaction trails hard to follow.

The price of the issued tokens which was trading at around $1 has now nosedived to $0.017

Popular DeFi insider Defi_Mochi shilled the project and is now rightly receiving a tonne of backlash.

Remember everyone, DYOR.

🏆 WEEKLY WINNER 🏆

Japanese National Tax Agency

It is extremely rare that we are giving any sort of Tax branch of the Government this sort of accolade but sometimes the decisions make it easy.

It is a huge win for the Token issuers as the Country has announced that Token Issuers no longer have to pay any taxes on unrealized crypto gains.

This follows from Japan approving a proposal eliminating the requirement for crypto firms to pay taxes on gains made on tokens issued and held.

The main hope from all of this is that other Countries adopt the same approach given how popular this decision will go down with the masses.

If you want to be a popular crypto-nation, make the laws attractive.

And that's a wrap for today gang!

Love and sprinkles as always, catch you back here soon for the latest

~ Scoop~

*Disclaimer*

The Triple Scoop newsletter & podcast is not financial advice, it is provided for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only.