- The Drop
- Posts
- Pixel Penguins Rug - When is enough, enough?
Breaking NFT News, Project Breakdowns, & Artist Spotlights. We do all the heavy lifting for you! Follow our Twitter / Join our Discord to win raffles and allow list spots!
gm,
Here is the breakdown of today's newsletter:
😔 Another scam - Pixel Penguins Rug
📈 Blend Lending is taking over
Japan’s largest airline, All Nippon Airways (ANA), launched an aeronautical-themed NFT marketplace with its subsidiary, ANA Neo. (CT)
Infamous Bitcoin bear Peter Schiff launching an NFT collection with bitcoin ordinals. (CN)
Soccer superstar Christiano Ronaldo is teaming up with Binance to launch his NFT collection. (NE)
Mercedes-Benz Tweeted about their three upcoming NFT drops. (@MercedeBenzNXT)
Most Metaverse-centered projects have suffered huge losses since 2022 highs. (Y!)
Magic Eden has implemented $SOL rewards into their trading platform. (@MagicEden)
Pixel Penguins floor soared before the news broke of the rug
When is Enough, Enough?
Pixel Penguins Rug 🪦
You know the saying. No good dead goes unpunished.
The other day the NFT space was ravaged *once again* by a heart-throbbing malicious scam.
😔 Here’s what happened:
A Twitter user by the name of @Hopeexist1 (who certainly does not exist anymore) conned many large NFT influencers, notably Andrew Wang
Wang believed that the Twitter user who went by “Sarah” was battling cancer after months of back-and-forth DMs
Wang spotlighted Sarah’s new project “Pixel Penguins” in several posts in which the project was meant to raise funds for “her” cancer medical bills. Well as it turns out Sarah doesn’t exist in the first place.
After Wang’s numerous posts about the project other influencers jumped on board and the project soared to #1 on OpenSea trending
In all the project wallet stole $117k in funds and the scam artist promptly deleted the @hopeexist twitter
💡 What can we learn?
No matter who it is, or what it is for - you have to do your own due diligence when it comes to investing in this space. Unfortunately, cutthroat scammers will stake out months in advance to take advantage of big names in the space with stories that tug at everyone’s heartstrings.
Of course, after the dust started to fall the community turned their anger towards the NFT influencers and content creators who didn’t do their due diligence and were duped by the same.
⚠️ Two things can be true:
1) At the end of the day it’s your money, your responsibility, and you have to do your own due diligence. No influencer should be liable for your poor investment decisions.
2) Influencers in the space continuously find themselves as repeat offenders of inadvertently shilling projects that turn out to be rugged. Many people were, in particular, mad at Andrew Wang since this isn’t his first time in the spotlight.
In all, move slowly in this space. Be smart and don’t react with your emotions. You can’t trust anyone over the internet for the most part.
BLEND Taking The NFT Lending Market 📈
Blend an NFT lending protocol from Blur, one of the biggest NFT marketplace aggregators, is dominating the entire lending ecosystem.
💡 What is happening?
Since its launch (22 days ago), Blend has dramatically transformed the NFT lending market, capturing a whopping $308 million (169,900 ETH) in loan volume.
This rapid rise, driven by high-net-worth individuals known as "Whales" unlocking the liquidity of their NFTs, has allowed Blend to claim 82% market share and with this dominance Blur has shifted its focus from trading to lending, influencing the broader NFT ecosystem.
Azuki has proven to be one of the key collections for Blend which has contributed $127 million (70,031 ETH) in loan volume alone.
As of today, Blend's Total Value Locked (TVL) has concurrently surged almost fivefold, further solidifying its market position.
Why?
Because @blur_io's airdrop incentives have triggered an NFT "Dumping" trend, leading to volatile market conditions and potentially inflated trade volumes, concerns about the stability of the NFT market have been raised.
We all remember when @machibigbrother sold 1,010 NFTs in 48 hrs?
That said...
Despite the challenges, Blend's success illustrates the power of strategic innovation and customer understanding. It also emphasizes @blur_io's influence on the NFT market and the transformative potential of DeFi services.
Blend and @blur_io's impact are redefining the NFT space by increasing market access and liquidity. Yet, while this presents exciting opportunities, it also underscores the need for vigilance against risks such as smart contract vulnerabilities and regulatory concerns.
The Drop 💡
Overall, Blend's meteoric rise in the NFT lending market demonstrates the profound influence of strategic innovation on an evolving ecosystem like NFTs.
NFT-Finance will increase exposure and create new opportunities, so stay informed and stay one step ahead.
Sponsored Content: There is no sponsored content in this newsletter.
If you would like to advertise your brand to 24,000+ readers or get your project featured fill out the form below:
That's all for today's issue! Thanks for reading this far and also make sure to give our Twitter a follow daily for breaking NFT/web3 news! (@TheDropNFT)
What did you think of today's Drop?(don't be afraid to respond to our email for in depth analysis) |
Follow the team:
Disclaimer: The Drop DOES NOT provide financial advice. All content is for informational purposes only. The Drop is not a registered investment, legal, or tax advisor or a broker/dealer. Trading any crypto-related asset is extremely risky and could result in significant capital losses.