Quitting The Queue 🙌

Featuring KD Drama, BTS Basketball, RSVP Packs, Whale Watching & More

Good Morning, B&B Squad! Happy Wednesday — hope your week is off to a rockin’ start!

We had more KD drama this week, with NBA insider Marc Stein somewhat reporting that a source had said that Durant would rather retire than play again for the Nets.

KD… Didn’t like that. Get your popcorn out!

Kevin Durant @KDTrey5

I know most people will believe unnamed sources over me but if it’s anyone out there that’ll listen, I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon. Shit is comical at this point.

Also — I wrote in a previous newsletter (around the Magic Johnson drop) about how I enjoyed the ‘Winning Time’ series on HBO that aired earlier this year. One of my favorite aspects of the show was how they handled the actual gameplay scenes — which felt very authentic.

This clip was making the rounds on Twitter yesterday, and is a pretty awesome behind-the-scenes look at how they filmed it:

Joe Pompliano @JoePompliano

This is insanely impressive 🤯 (🎥: John Lyke)

Let’s get into all the action from the last few days:

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Quitting the Queue 🙌

OK, maybe not quitting, but… We got an absolutely awesome feature update on Tuesday from the Top Shot Blog, which introduced ‘RSVP Pack Drops’ into the ecosystem!

This new format will allow you to ‘just say yes’ to confirming you want to buy a pack — no waiting room, no queue line!

TheFirstMint @TheFirstMint

🏀TOP SHOT | RSVP🏀 Today, @nbatopshot introduced their RSVP Pack Drops to maximize ease & convenience for pack drops 📦Click 'Join Draw' to enter the drop 📦Draws close on Drop Day 📦Randomized Drop 📦No Queues/Waiting Room How we liking the new feature?

The first test for the RSVP pack system is live now, with a WNBA stress test of 1,000 base packs available to ‘opt in’ until 11 AM PST today.

We’ve previously seen reservation-type packs in Series 2, but those allowed anyone who wanted a pack to get one (or a Dwyane Wade Fandom… *Ducks*). These RSVP packs will still have an element of queue luck — you just won’t have to physically wait in line for it!

Honestly, this is a huge development — while the queue speed has gotten better from the early days, it’s still a pain point and frustrating experience for many drops.

Additionally, the implications for those who might be busy at a drop time (or live in a different time zone) are massive. For collectors who want to buy a pack, the process should be frictionless — and this concept in theory removes a massive barrier.

It’s also another innovation on Dapper’s drop resume:

TSF.eth | Space Cowboy @topshotfund

Top Shot has done a ton of pioneering work on the drop process (queue randomizer, anti-bot, RSVP etc.) eventually they can open source this tooling for all FLOW projects to use critical infrastructure for creators resulting from Dapper’s scaled approach not possible on ETH

While I don’t think we’ll see this for every drop, it’s a tremendous step in the right direction. W’s all around!

Since I may no longer have ammunition to complain about long wait times, let me get out one of my favorite queue GIFs one last time:

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Whale Watching 🐳

We’ve continued to see a rise in the Top Shot market cap over the past month — a slow but steady climb despite the outside chaos in macro and crypto/NFT markets.

Zooming in, there have been several collectors making some serious splashes on the marketplace:

TheFirstMint @TheFirstMint

Looks like @eddiedunks is not showing on the buyer's table🤔 He's spent over $54,000 the past 3 days with some INSANE buys 💥Curry /50 - $34,999 💥Doncic /50 - $19,441 @cryptoslamio GIVE THIS MAN THE CROWN👑

TheFirstMint @TheFirstMint

🏀TOP SHOT | BIG BUYERS🏀 Leading @nbatopshot buyers have spent over $70,000 the past 3 days💰 ✨RyanSterling - $21,092 ✨JBone293 - $15,507 ✨talkinb0utpractic3 - $14,383 ✨westandrew - $11,496 ✨BrooksWasHere - $8,182.00 They've purchased 814 moments! data - @cryptoslamio https://t.co/mZ9J6DbWYU

Seeing some big sales roll in on a more consistent basis is always a positive — a great sign of conviction that wasn’t always there during Top Shot lows. Plus, big sales also make headlines (like this!).

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Flowty x TFM 🤝

The First Mint is excited to partner with Flowty, a peer-to-peer NFT loan and rental platform on the Flow Blockchain founded by Michael Levy (fondly known as MBL throughout the Top Shot community).

flowty @flowty_io

Would you buy a S1 LBJ Finals Rare for $799? If yes, read on… Here’s how a flowty loan works: 1️⃣ Lender transfers $799 today 2️⃣ 👇 💰 If borrower repays in 120 days or less, lender receives $856 (22% APR) ⛹️‍♂️ If borrower does not repay, lender receives S1 LBJ Finals Rare 🤝

You might have seen a tweet like this floating around the Top Shot Twittersphere. Did you know that you can take out a personal loan using your Top Shot moment as collateral? Or that you can fund a peer's loan to generate passive income? 

Flowty’s rental and loan marketplace allows renters, owners, borrowers and lenders to transact in a safe and easy way.

Want to learn more? Join the Flowty Discord and follow along on Twitter at @flowty_io.

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Around The First Mint 🗣

🎧 The ETH Merge Explained (Feat. 0xQuit)

Its coming. The much talk about ETH merge is just a month away, and the price action is heating up. But WHAT exactly is the merge, and how will it affect our NFTs? And more recently...what is this talk of forking? We bring on a legend, 0xQuit, to talk us through one of the most hyped events in crypto history.

🎧 The Fate of FLOW

🎧 What Makes an NFT Bull Run? (Feat. Mack Flavelle)

🎧 Crypto Portfolio 101 (Feat. Scott Melker)

Thanks for reading! — Zach @ The First Mint

Follow Zach on Twitter at @GhostOfGregOden.

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**This is not financial advice. Nothing in this newsletter, podcast, or publication should be considered financial or trading advice of any kind. Please do your own thorough research and make your own trading decisions. This is not advice.”

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About The First Mint

The First Mint is a web3 media company. We make. We write. We talk. We listen.