What's Next For Top Shot? 🔮
The First Mint
Featuring Market Movers, A Top Shot Soapbox, Rick Barry Rips Packs, Challenge Corner & More
gm, NFT Squad! Hope you all had an excellent weekend!
I attended a wedding on Saturday, and not a single person mentioned NFTs! We’re early (or as Top Shot likes to say, in the first inning, the dugout, the team bus, etc.).
Another milestone similar to a wedding (for us Bulls fans) this weekend — the return of Alex Caruso! Respect the headband as we gear up for the stretch run before the playoffs!
Let’s get into all the action from the last few days:
Market Movers 📊
How are people feeling about Top Shot? It’s a question that’s not 100% black and white — while the vocal Twitter and Discord communities tend to react to the extreme, there are tens of thousands of users who we don’t actively hear from.
The market and engagement numbers, however, seem to reinforce the bearish sentiment we see across the main channels:
Your weekly NBA Top Shot market update (a little late):
🏀 Second week of minimal new user growth
🏀 Set prices mainly continue losses, though not as steep
🏀 Engagement falls again
Data via @EvaluateMarket & @cryptoslamio https://t.co/Fb4lVqMK66
And even more concerning is the number of visible collectors that have been hanging it up of late. This post from Dr. Jeremy of NFTeach really resonated with me, both as a scorned Bulls collector and as an overall gut-check for the platform:
I think my NBA Top Shot journey has ended.
🧵
Allow me to step on my soap box:
I was reminiscing this weekend about the early January/February 2021 days of Top Shot, and the network effects that came from power users endorsing the platform. I can count 10-15 of my IRL friends that I onboarded myself, because I wanted them to get in on something that I felt was really revolutionary and fun.
But I can’t in good conscious recommend the product in today’s age — and haven’t onboarded anyone in nearly a year. Which is probably a small encapsulation of what we see on a larger scale with slowing sign ups and user engagement.
Growing pains are expected in any game-changing product (and Dapper has always preached the longterm view) — and I don’t have the answers for how things change in the near-term. But without fundamental changes to the ecosystem, the platform risks losing its core users that helped spread Top Shot to its heights over the last year.
A Very Barry Pack Opening 🤩
And now, for some positivity!
NFT All-Star Game organizer @packdrip is at it again with some good content for the community, ripping a pack with NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry:
🧟♂️ 🔥 Giveaway 🔥 🧟♂️
Like, Follow and RT to be entered
NBA Hall Of Famer Rick Barry ripping an @nbatopshot Archive Pack and you’ll get one of his Moments!
#134 Stephon Marbury - Assist
#NBATopShotThis #NBA75 https://t.co/YlH590zpFz
This was awesome to see, and something I really feel like Top Shot should be leveraging with the NBA to get more viral content from Hall of Famers and stars. Simply hearing his commentary and personal experiences with the players in his pack was very entertaining.
It’s also good to see Barry embracing the new technology, considering his recent takes on today’s NBA recently:
Ahmed🇸🇴/Tana Talk 4 is a classic
They chose the wrong day to talk to Rick Barry about the new NBA era, he's pissed. https://t.co/qWTgcB1vDM
I’m sure Rick Barry’s first moment on the platform will have excellent fundamentals, with none of these newfangled carries and travels we see in today’s NBA!
Challenge Corner ⚡️
We got a new Flash Challenge from THE WHEEL on Monday, with a tasty LeBron James MSFE as the reward. Full details here.
There are also several other challenges wrapping up tomorrow, so make sure to get those submissions in (or check to see if you have moments that have pumped):
Reward: Stephen Curry ASG
Deadline: Tuesday, March 15 @ 11 AM PST
Reward: Anthony Davis Holo Icon
Deadline: Tuesday, March 15 @ 10 AM PST
Reward: CJ McCollum Fresh Threads
Deadline: Tuesday, March 15 @ 12 PM PST
Speaking of moments pumping during challenges — we saw a fun one over the weekend, with a Hasaan Whiteside S1 MGLE soaring from $200 to over $1300 after being needed for the Scottie Barnes MSFE reward:
Which brings up what would be a great community tool:
The next thing we need is a bot for our @nbatopshot accounts that alerts us when a moment in our collection is pumping 👀
@LiveTokenBot
@MomentRanks
@OwnTheMomentNFT
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Around The First Mint 🗣
Prior to heading out for vacation, LG recorded a two-part podcast special: “NFTs In 36 Months”. Part 2 dives into PEOPLE, and how collector habits will evolve in the next three years. There’s a spicy take here about the birth (and possible death) of PFPs, so tune in!
🎧 We Are All Explorers (Feat. Jasmine Maietta)
Thanks for reading! — Zach @ The First Mint
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