Startup Stash - Forcefields, Farings, Garms & Gears 🥾

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Finding Money on the Run

For 7,400 Binance stablecoins, you can buy a pair of Asics NFT sneakers (image below) in the Metaverse. That’s about $7,400 in fiat, making these Asics some extremely expensive shoes, even for the most dedicated sneaker-heads. But that’s actually a steal compared to the NFT Nikes someone bought in April 2021 for $134,000.

This mindless exorbitant spending on decorating Metaverse avatars comes from an old gaming plus exercise concept called “Move-to-earn”. 

The concept is simple: 

Users connect their step-trackers or watches to Metaverse fitness cum gaming apps. When they exercise IRL, they generate in-game currency that can be used to upgrade their in-game avatars or equipment, and in some cases, convert that currency into real cash. 

According to Asics founders, users are making anywhere between the equivalent of $200 and $4,000 a day just by turning on the app and moving around.

So what's the catch? 

The value of the in-game currency is based on cryptocurrencies, meaning it fluctuates drastically. So a 10K run today might be worth the same amount as a stroll to the grocery store tomorrow. 

The concept isn’t new. 

Nintendo’s Wii Fit, launched in the U.S. in 2008, was based on gamercise, though without any monetary reward. And in 2012, an app called GymPact allowed users to earn rewards for meeting their weekly gym visit goals, paid for by users who missed theirs.

So clearly, there’s a market to financialize the simple act of moving around. And Metaverse startups are hoping to capitalize on that market. 

OliveX, a Hong Kong-based startups, introduced a jogging app called Dustland Runner where users follow an audio storyline about a dystopian world infested with pirates. Runners complete missions by running, and earn DOSE tokens (short for “dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins”) for their efforts.

But some critics, and even some fans, are calling it a Ponzi scheme.

Since this is a nascent stream, it’s possible your hard-earned jogging money could disappear just like that. On May 26, StepN (Asics parent company) users in mainland China found out they’d soon lose access to the platform, as the company announced it would cut off GPS to its users in China. Following this announcement, StepN tokens quickly dropped in price and worldwide users who'd earned thousands of dollars in rewards on the app saw their asset value come crashing down.



Loan Money, Sell Money

Leave it to the worst inflation-hit country to come up with an innovative way to make money during these times. 

In Turkey, where consumer price index (CPI) hit 79% yesterday (the highest rise in 25 years), people have found a novel way to guard their savings from inflation. 

Instead of saving in banks where money is losing value fast, Turks are buying used cars and gadgets as a hedge against inflation. A used car bought for 765,000 lira (~ $45500) will rise in value by almost 20% within just 2-3 hours. 

Wondering where they’re getting the money to buy stuff from? 

Turkey’s central bank has set its interest rate at 14% which is much lower than the CPI. So Turks are taking out long term loans to buy things rather than keeping the money in the bank.

This isn’t just a Turkish thing...

Resale companies are betting more people will use their services as inflation rises.

In fact, startups have already started pivoting into the resale market and framing inflation into their marketing. Denim brand Wrangler and mall retailer PacSun both launched their own lines of secondhand apparel. Target, meanwhile, is revisiting the resale format with a new pilot program with resale vendor ThredUp. Since then, ThredUp reported a 35% jump in year-over-year sales for its fiscal fourth quarter. 

There have been a lot of predictions in the past about the resale industry overtaking the retail industry in the coming years. But most of those predictions sighted sustainability and climate change as the reason. But for inflation to lead the way into a resale boom was little expected. 



Feeling Meta in the Air

A recent study from National Research Group, detailing consumer views of the Metaverse found that the majority are excited about the Metaverse. However, 78% of them say "when interacting with people virtually, I miss the ability to physically touch and interact with them.” 

If only there was a way to make the virtual world more sensory than it already is. Hmmm…. 

Well, this VR device lets you do just that. It lets you feel the Metaverse with your bare hands. Emerge’s Wave-1 is part of a new VR space called haptics, which is all about adding touch to the virtual reality experience. Haptics hopes to build on the Metaverse by delivering more engaging and emotional ways to connect with others.

Emerge Wave-1 VR device

How it works: 

  • You place the device flat on the table and it sends an ultrasonic forcefield up into the air, creating a sensation of physical touch on your skin. 
  • It lets you play and interact without gloves or controllers and feel effects such as high-fives and fist-bumps. 
  • You can feel the mid-air force-field up to three feet above the device and 120 degrees around it. 

Emerge will initially support the Meta Quest 2 platform.

Around the world, the use of VR is increasing. Sweden is using VR to train postal workers - simulating everything from sorting packages to checking and operating vehicles. 



Shorts ⏳
Racist Roads No More - The US is launching a $1 billion pilot program to build roads reconnecting neighborhoods that have been racially segregated by roadways.

Reeves Changing Teams - Keanu Reeves, former critic of NFTs, has now joined a metaverse-centric foundation as an acting advisor.
 
How to Escape This World - A nuclear-powered flying hotel promises to stay in the air for seven years

Algorithms vs. Abortion - Meta was restricting search results for the terms “abortion” and the drug “mifepristone,”  and suppressing posts from abortion activists before the SC verdict.

Meanwhile on Google - Google will start auto-deleting abortion clinic visits from user location history

Remoting  - A new survey from McKinsey found that 35% American workers have the option to work remotely full time.


Stash Recommends: Tools to Explore
👾 LocalXposeLocalXpose is a reverse proxy that enables developers or anyone behind a firewall to share their localhost with the internet.

📜 SolidityA high-degree, mostly item-oriented language that can be used for enforcing smart contracts.

🤓 NFT NerdsNFT Nerds was founded by mathematicians and coders with the goal of creating one of the greatest tool in the NFT area.

👑 The Odin Project: An LMS designed specifically for people who desire to work as web developers and designers.


 
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