this is why we have no NFT trading apps...

OpenRarity's new way to measure rarity scores, the App Store policy, & Zilliqa's gaming console

Author

Lili (QueenBao)
September 26, 2022

GM Baos. 

It's a beautiful start to the day. ETH is down, volume is down, but vibes... they're up 😉 It’s last Monday of Q3, so let’s end the year with a bang!

Today we cover:

  • NFT rarity rankings with OpenRarity

  • Apple’s 30% cut on NFT sales 🥴

  • the latest web3 game console on the block

OpenSea launches OpenRarity

Web3 businesses are steady shipping through the bear market 🚢 One of the latest features added to OpenSea is a tool called OpenRarity. Projects like Cool Cats, Pudgy Penguins and Moonbirds were among the first to opt-in.

Rarity rankings varying across platforms can get extremely confusing for both buyers and sellers. And usually the method of determining the rarity of an NFT is done by closed-source code.

This is why OpenRarity was created! They provide a transparent, 100% open sourced and reproducible rarity calculation.

A protocol built by the NFT community for the NFT community 🫡

OpenSea creators now have the choice to opt-in to show OpenRarity rankings for their collection.

When a collection is opted-in, each NFT will have a number representing their rarity ranking. On OpenSea’s FAQ page, they say “the rarity rankings directly reflect the creator published attribute data, and can change over time if the creator makes changes to item metadata”.

I’ve been looking at all my favorite NFT projects to see who opted in so far.. What collections are you hoping to see OpenRarity rankings from?

Apple App Store’s policy

Coinbase taking the #1 spot on Apple’s App Store last year was pretty iconic. But I wouldn’t expect to see NFT apps topping the charts any time soon 🥴 Right now it looks like Apple wants nothing to do with NFTs..

This report by The Information says Apple will take up to a 30% commission on all in-app NFT purchases. Something that will 💯 discourage startups from developing on Apple’s store.

Figuring out payment is where it gets even messier. Apple doesn’t support cryptocurrency payments, so all in-app transactions have to be made using dollars.

This makes it really hard to price the NFTs since the price of ETH changes all the time..

It would be nearly impossible for any web3 startup to profit selling through the App Store. If they do have an app on the App Store, it’s only to showcase NFTs.

Interestingly, this provides a case for crypto native devices like Solana’s upcoming mobile phone 👀

Putting everything into perspective, Magic Eden takes 2% and OpenSea takes a 2.5%. Apple taking 30% of the sale is mind blowing. That kind of fee would only fly in web2 🤣

What are your thoughts Baos?

Zilliqa’s gaming console

Zilliqa announced they’re building a gaming console! It will have all the same characteristics of the consoles we love like Xbox and Playstation, but with a web3 twist 😜 They say this is a necessary step to easily onboard gamers into the space.

In case you didn’t know, Zilliqa is a Layer 1 created to solve the scalability limitations of other blockchains. It was first created in 2017, so they’ve been through the bear before 👀

Here’s what we know so far

  • The console is rumored to be available for pre order in Q1 2023

  • It will have mining capabilities and a crypto wallet

  • Players will be able to mine ZIL tokens just from playing games

  • The amount of ZIL you earn is based on how good you are! (skill-to-earn)

  • More miners globally will lead to further decentralization of the Zilliqa blockchain

They’ve also been working on developing several games. Their most anticipated game is a first-person shooter (FPS) game called WEB3WAR.

Which makes a lot of sense because FPS games are super popular and fit with the win-to earn (W2E) model.

They’re not wasting any time either. WEB3WAR is supposed to be in open beta next month 😳

Some people say they think Zilliqa’s projects will flop, but I dunno guys. Zilliqa’s partnership with esports giants Ninjas in Pyjamas, MAD Lions and RRQ make me think they know what they're doing.

I’m excited to see everything they come out with. How are we only three months away from 2023?!

Bao-Sized News

Made us Kek

Have a beautiful week, Baos. Chase your dreams 💙

–Lili