1.OpenSea will now automatically find stolen NFTs and block scam links.

2.Dapper Labs optimizes staff. The immediate goal is to cut more than 20% of the staff.

3.Due to a misconfigured bridge in the pNetwork project, hackers exploited a vulnerability and released $1 billion worth of $pGala tokens, which led to the fall of the main $Gala token. All $Gala tokens on the ethereum blockchain are safe. Only the pool of $pGala tokens on pancakeswap was affected. Read more in thread from pnetwork.

4. Swiss bank launches NFT custody service

SEBA became the first financial institution in the world to offer the storage of tokens from expensive collections. The bank included Bored Apes Yacht Club, Clone X and CryptoPunks.

NFTs are held in the client's account just like other digital assets. Only professional investors can use the service.
SEBA is a crypto bank registered in Switzerland. He specializes in custody and lending using bitcoin.
“NFT custody is our response to requests from institutional investors. Many of them are eyeing the NFT industry. Such market participants need a regulated custodian that ensures the safety and integrity of NFT assets,” a bank representative said.

This is the world's first service of its kind from a regulated bank. There is already an NFT-backed lending platform, and companies approve loans secured by Cryptopunks.

5. The collectibles market will grow to $1 trillion by 2032.

The market research firm Market Decipher released a report yesterday, which expects the market to grow by 19.2% annually. According to analysts, NFTs will become the main growth catalyst.

In 2021, the market size was $402 billion. The calculation took into account the volume of sales of all collectibles and art. The art market is currently valued at $65 billion, with the NFT accounting for $2.6 billion. By 2032, the share of digital art is expected to grow to 80%.

Most collectors live in the US, UK and China. North America will remain the main region, the report notes a correlation with the growth of crypto literacy among residents of the US and Canada.
Sotheby's and Christie's have generated the most revenue among auction houses in 2021. Sotheby's total sales peaked at $7,3 billion and Christie's $7,1 billion.
The second region in terms of percentage of the world volume is Asia. Asian shoppers accounted for 31% of Christie's sales in 2021. China is the first among the countries of the continent, followed by India.

The main factor in the growth of digital collecting in the study is the increase in the purchasing power of the generation of millennials, who are easily versed in Web3 technologies.

6. The Islamic State started issuing NFTs

US intelligence has identified cases of terrorist financing through NFTs praising Islamic State militants for attacking Taliban positions in Afghanistan. About it пишет The Wall Street Journal, citing high-ranking ex-employees of the US law enforcement agencies.

With the help of the NFT, attackers are trying to circumvent the efforts of the West to impose sanctions on their activities. Tokens have already been identified on the Rarible marketplace. Despite the fact that the site has blocked NFT, intelligence officials fear that it is impossible to actually seize such an asset, since it is protected from censorship through the blockchain. On OpenSea, the token was also removed, and the author's account was also closed, citing a "zero tolerance policy for ads that incite hatred and violence."
However, as experts note, NFTs are still available on IPFS hosting, which extracts data from an array of Internet nodes.

7. What are the benefits of a bear market for Web3 projects?

For many Web3 companies, the market downturn is great news. Why should developers, marketers, and community managers rejoice?

Advertising is getting a lot cheaper. Small projects can get more attention for less money. Sites increase prices for placement by 5-10 times during the growth of the market. In a bull market, many crypto companies are more comfortable with money, so prices rise sharply. Demand creates supply.

It is easier to develop a community. According to a study The interest of blockchain developers was at its highest in December 2021 (the peak of the market). Now there are fewer people left in Web3 who came here just for the money.
The audience of projects has become much cleaner and more united, values ​​have begun to play a more important role. With sincerely interested people it is easier to develop business. During a bull cycle, a community can gain thousands of followers a week, but during a bear market, that number can slow down to hundreds. While organic growth slows down, the opportunity to focus and improve quality increases.
The community is a critical asset that needs to be protected, regardless of the business cycle.

The slowdown in economic growth creates problems for the growth of even the strongest Web3 companies. Nobody is immune from traps. Take Coinbase, for example, which announced a hiring freeze and layoffs. There are hundreds of such examples.
How should you behave in times of crisis?
Retool your goals and metrics to prioritize retention over growth. Double your efforts on the true believers in your project, meet their needs and focus on development. Don't chase quantity.
Rework your marketing budget. Switch your focus to a high-quality audience that will stick around no matter the token price. In a bear market, people want more substance. Reach your audience organically with quieter, more targeted marketing

Focus on team morale. Psychologically, a bear market can be difficult, especially for teams that have been operating during the bull market.
Refocus your leadership efforts on supporting the team. Exchange views with her and involve them in developing a new strategy. Work smarter, not harder.
Projects that continue to focus on values ​​and smart marketing efforts will come out of the downturn stronger and more resilient.

8.Can I pay for travel with only cryptocurrency? Now yes!

The founder of the Binance exchange, Changpeng Zhao, announced the imminent introduction of the "travel" section. It will be possible to pay for hotels, excursions, SIM cards, tickets and car rentals with cryptocurrencies. More than 1000 airlines and 9000 destinations will be added to the service.
The system will be based on Binance Pay, an internal payment system using a special number.

Similar initiatives are a great step for the mass adoption of crypto, but still far from the reality and principles of Web3. To register on any exchange, you need to leave a lot of data and documents. Keeping money on crypto exchanges is similar to keeping money in banks. Site owners can block an account for a variety of reasons.

It seems to me that real decentralization will come when it will be possible to pay for any services directly from wallets like Metamask. Interoperability and decentralization primarily bring with them the ability to use assets without barriers and unnecessary intermediaries. In the case of travel, this easily matches with privacy and security, since when buying tickets, you still need to leave your data.

In order for the system to start working, the initiative to pay with crypto must come from business owners. So, for example, in Dubai it is already possible pay air tickets with bitcoin. The fewer intermediaries, the more freedom!