🍳 Chat, are we cooked?

Hey there! We’re already moving toward the weekend. How exciting is that?

For the gamers among us, today is a big day because the Nintendo Switch 2 is launching.

Meanwhile, we’ve got two more examples of how crypto giveaways are still trending as a marketing strategy. Airdrops have certainly staggered onward, as have token launches. I wonder when, or if, this meta will ever subside.

Everyone loves a free stimmy, I guess.

— Kate Irwin

‘House of Streams’ livestreaming show to give away 1 BTC

No, it’s not a Twitter giveaway scam — a reality show about livestreaming influencers who compete to win one whole bitcoin is coming to Netflix in the UK and Ireland June 18.

The House of Streams show will feature eight Twitch streamers who live in a villa in Malta for two weeks over the course of the competition. 

EA FIFA streaming host Nicole Holliday is hosting the show. It was created by Mark Holland, CEO of Stream House Media Productions. The show was made with support from the Malta Film Commission.

Holland told news outlet Times of Malta that the bitcoin grand prize — as opposed to fiat currency — helps the show feel different.

“Everything about House of Streams is different, so the final reward couldn’t have been a simple cash prize or a trip to the Maldives,” Holland said.

The show’s eight streamers are from different countries including the US, UK, and Australia, to name a few.

And just in case you’re unaware of degen internet culture and how Twitch streaming works, Twitch streamers interact with their “chat,” or live audience that types in chat messages, during their broadcasts. Those chat members can influence streamer behavior, and can send streamers money or other types of gifts.

While it’s not a crypto-focused reality show, House of Streams using BTC as a prize does normalize crypto in a way, especially for younger audiences interested in Twitch and livestreaming culture.

We’ve seen some startup attempts at reality shows in the past that are entirely crypto-focused, like Killer Whales. That show, which was very Shark Tank-like, has just a 2.9 out of 10 rating on IMDB.

House of Streams apparently started shooting when bitcoin was near its recent low of just around $18,000, which happened most recently in late 2022 and early 2023. 

A lot has changed since then, though — so will the show still feel relevant in 2025?

1 BTC is now more than $104,000. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap hit a new all-time high of over $111,000 just two weeks ago. 

“I think it will lead the way for shows that have real-time audience participation and will reshape the ‘real’ in reality TV,” Holland said.

Permissionless IV is putting real conversations on stage:

🧠 The proliferation of stablecoin models
🧠 Clearing skies: Crypto company building in the US
🧠 Crypto’s UX problem & how to fix it

Shipping code, writing specs, or architecting the next primitive? You’ll want to be in Brooklyn.

📅 June 24–26 | Brooklyn

Crypto-powered wellness startup Cudis has launched its CUDIS token on Solana and has started its airdrop today. 

They’re airdropping 50 million CUDIS ($4.9 million at current prices) to over 60,000 active wallets. Those who use their smart ring, referred friends, recorded steps or sleep data, or did a range of other things are among those eligible for the airdrop.

Cudis has built a smart ring that tracks your steps and sleep alongside the Cudis app. It’s encouraging developers to build wellness- and health-related mini apps within its app.

20% of the token’s supply is going to the Cudis team and advisors, 17% is going to Cudis investors, and the rest is spread across its community, ecosystem, treasury, and other areas.

As of 11 a.m. ET this morning, the token had a market cap of $24 million and a price of approximately $0.09.

Cudis says it'll offer a range of different use cases for its token, including “access to elite longevity clinics, expert consultations, and cutting-edge treatments.”

An airdrop was previously expected in the third quarter of last year.

Last year, Blockworks’ Jack Kubinec over at Lightspeed reviewed the first iteration of the Cudis ring. He found that the app’s AI coach was tracking data it may have not been supposed to, like blood pressure and blood oxygen. The software was also lumping in being awake at night with REM sleep, to name some of the oddities encountered. 

Notably, Kubinec told me his first-edition ring rusted over time. He said his second-edition Cudis ring hasn’t rusted yet — though he hasn’t worn it much.

• The upcoming crypto game Sparkball, a 4v4 brawler, is using the EVM L1 blockchain Somnia. I’m looking forward to trying this one out. The game previously raised $2 million last year, and will be available in beta to play via Steam starting tomorrow. 

  • The game itself doesn’t have crypto transactions, but there’s a crypto layer being built around it.

• Play Network is now touting its “decisive triple victory” in the Gibraltar court system after it previously announced its PLAY tokens would be unfrozen. The court is now calling the allegations against Play “unsupported” and the previously-ordered token freeze back in February “wrongly granted.” 

• Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is criticizing Apple yet again — this time over the App Store placing an ad for Kraken at the top when users search for “Fortnite” on iOS. 

  • It’s a bit ironic he’d point this out as a problem, given the fact that Epic allows blockchain games on its launcher, which kids can access. Maybe Epic isn’t nearly as pro-crypto as some might assume.