Hey Humans,

It’s a new week and a new opportunity to explore the depths of the new horizons inside the metaverse. Major shifts of focus going on in here, and we’re seeing the usual ups and downs of an emerging market in real-time.

Get your VR Goggles ready, because this is about to be a trip! 👇

📈📉Weekly Metaverse Moves

Metaverse Markets:

ApeCoin has taken a hit after Yuga Labs recently announced a major restructuring with undisclosed layoffs. This is part of their effort to refocus on their gamified metaverse, "Otherside."

🌑Full Moons - Ups & Downs In The Metaverse Markets…

The Sandbox 🤝 Agora: How Social Interactions Are Being Changed In The Metaverse

The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming world, partners with Agora to turbocharge real-time communication in the metaverse.

This collaboration promises players in The Sandbox a richer social experience with enhanced voice, video, and chat interactions.

• By choosing Agora's robust tools, The Sandbox aims to strengthen social bonds among gamers and distinguish itself from competitors.

• This emphasizes its commitment to fostering a vibrant and interactive metaverse where users can design personalized experiences with iconic characters and realms.

Are we witnessing the new wave of metaverse communications? Is AR going to add to this experience? We’ll know soon enough!

Mark?…..MARK?????

Despite CEO Mark Zuckerberg's impressive demo of lifelike metaverse avatars, a peek behind the scenes reveals trouble at Meta, as the company lays off employees in its Reality Labs division, specifically the Facebook Agile Silicon Team (FAST), responsible for developing custom silicon.

• The move raises concerns about Meta's ability to compete in the metaverse, a venture that has already cost the company billions.

• Struggling with VR headset sales, deserted spaces, and chip development challenges, Meta faces an uphill battle.

While the Quest 3 release is on the horizon, it remains to be seen if it can offset the company's financial bleeding.

How Upland Seamlessly Merges Sports NFTs & The Metaverse

Upland, the web3 metaverse SuperApp, teams up with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) for its third year, introducing officially licensed NFL player collections in collaboration with OneTeam Partners.

• The blockchain-based game allows virtual property trading and unveils new NFLPA Bundles, including Mixed Essentials and Team Essentials.

• The 2023-2024 Upland experience includes gamified digital collectibles, community activities to boost fan scores, and season-specific collections, enhancing the web3 metaverse with engaging elements.

Upland CEO Idan Zuckerman highlights the success of NFLPA Legits in Upland, providing fans with exciting digital experiences, while the partnership taps into the global passion for sports in the metaverse.

🔭The Scope

The upsides -turbocharged leaps and bounds in Metaverse communications, the downsides - Meta layoffs ahead of Meta Quest 3 launch. The real question - Who will win the Metaverse wars?

🌓Half Moons

- Influential DJ Carl Cox is set to launch a metaverse rave in a lava-filled venue, featuring AI-generated dancers and a VR experience, aiming to revolutionize the music scene, but attendees are left questioning if it can truly replicate the social essence of live events.

- ThorChain, a decentralized liquidity protocol, experiences a whopping $1 billion transaction surge in just five days, raising eyebrows in the crypto community amid concerns of increased hacker activities, with over 50% of ETH to BTC conversions having ties to stolen funds, emphasizing the delicate balance platforms like ThorChain must strike between innovation and security in the evolving realm of decentralized finance.

🔭The Scope

In the upcoming bull run, will underdogs like ThorChain and similar blockchains lead the charge? If so, the best direction to look at innovations and investments is everywhere besides Ethereum/Bitcoin. Again…not financial advice.

Anyway, see you at the Metaverse rave?

⚪Total Eclipse

💫Shooting Star

This week’s shooting star is Alison Yang

Alison Yang, founder of Hong Kong-based game studio Sometimes Monastery, has an art-centred VR game “Forgetter” which pushes the boundaries of how art can be discovered and experienced today. Players of the game enter the virtual minds of two fictional deceased artists: Wielding a vacuum cleaner and an axe, you smash up objects associated with past trauma, modelling them into pain-free renditions so they can be reused by the next generation.

🌚Dark Side of the Meme