Here’s what Web3’s biggest builders say the future will bring
Last week in downtown Miami, nft now and Mana Commons The Gateway: A Web3 Metropolis brought together the crypto and NFT community during Art Basel. Over the course of five days, attendees saw phenomenal displays and exhibitions from their favorite artists, got a sneak peek at what big brands like Porsche and Instagram are up to with their Web3 plans, and witnessed some excellent musical performances.
nft also now hosted a series of panel discussions, where a wide range of NFT community figures and leaders offered in-depth views on the state of Web3. It was a busy week full of too many panels for everyone to attend, so we rounded up some of the best moments to play the hits.
Gary Vee, entrepreneur and founder of VeeFriends
During The Gateway’s opening day of talks, NFT superstar Gary Vee (formally Vaynerchuck) took the stage with Alejandro Navia, co-founder and president of nft now, to discuss the state of the Web3 landscape. Vaynerchuck’s commentary has always been honest and touched on everything from the need for Web3 projects to focus on longevity over short-term gains to how and why the concept of legacy is important to him. The lecture was a much-needed boost of energy for a community still reeling from the FTX fall. Here are some moments from that conversation:
“We are in an economic correction. We will come out of it the same way the internet came out of it. From 2001 to 2004, many sites like Friendster became previews of Reddits and Instagrams [of today]. In the next 36 months, people are going to build meaningful things instead of quick things for quick money.”
“I am proud that I am a real businessman. Real shit takes time to build. It’s supposed to be hard if you’re trying to live a life of one percent of one percent. Everyone talks about being about ‘that life’ until that life punches you in the mouth.”
“Business success doesn’t mean shit. If I die tomorrow, I will trend on Twitter for 24 hours and the next day everyone will live out their lives. I just don’t think that being good at making money or being a good entrepreneur makes one think they are better than other people. I don’t have my validation in my business success. I have a lot more validation in what people who actually know me feel about me.”
“I’m really not worried about [crypto] winter. I think when all the dust settles in 22 years, you’re going to forget a lot of names that we’re fucking with today, and I’m going to dominate. But if I don’t, I’m going to be pumped for World of Women or Bored Apes.”
Keith Grossman, President of TIME
The outgoing president of the legacy media institution graced the stage at the Dupont Building in Miami last week to talk about media evolution in the context of Web3. Grossman, who recently announced he wanted to leave Time to join MoonPay as the company’s President of Enterprise in 2023, told the story of how he helped create TIMEPieces, an NFT-focused initiative that earned the company more than $10 million in revenue in 2021 alone. He also touched on the importance of core values in Web3 communities.
“It’s easy today to be up here talking about the success that TIME has had over the last two years in Web3,” Grossman said of the publication’s impact in the space. “It’s very important to remember that in March 2021 when we said we were going to go into Web3 properly, we were ridiculed. But what’s really important is what’s driving this. Not the market, right? What is it really who runs Web3? What I saw were people’s digital identities. [Before] 2020, when we were all isolated, our digital personas were nice additions to our physical bodies. In 2020, we realized that our digital personas are equal to our physical lives.”
“[I told people,] Do you understand why a cat with a body of pop tea that farts a rainbow only went for $500,000? Everyone just looked at me like I was crazy.”
“You can either be a greed-based community, or you can be a value-based community,” Grossman emphasized. “In bull markets, greed-based societies arise; in bear markets, value-based tend to be the ones that survive.”
Farokh, founder of Rug Radio
Well-known and respected NFT thought leader Farokh made a big announcement at The Gateway on the opening day of panel discussions last week. The founder of Rug Radio, the digitally native Web3 medium, Farokh revealed that the project and community would be getting its own PFP collection called “Faces of Web3” featuring artwork designed by multidisciplinary artist Cory Van Lew. Here’s what Farokh had to say about the project:
“In this market, people still want a PFP that represents something as part of their digital identity.”
“One thing that a lot of people get wrong, in my opinion, is [the idea] that decentralization is anarchy. It is not. To get really where we want, it will take a few years.”
“We collaborate all the time and work hard to come up with new shows. The NFT space kind of demands it. It’s very topical … every day is like a week.”
Cory Van Lew, interdisciplinary artist
Renowned artist Cory Van Lew, who designed the artwork for the Rug Radio PFP collection, appeared on stage with Farokh, offering his thoughts on the purpose and value behind PFP projects in the current market environment.
“The Cory Van Lew and Rug Radio collaboration is a PFP project meant to represent the faces of Web3. In this market, people still want a PFP that represents something as part of their digital identity.”
Gmoney, Web3 Icon, Collector and Thought Leader
The iconic NFT collector and creative director of 9dcc made waves on the internet when he revealed his visual identity during Art Basel last week. He also rounded off The Gateway’s week of talks by talking about the future of Web3 luxury on Saturday with Chris Coleman. Here is what he had to say:
“What I’ve learned as a founder is that you don’t have to do a drop like everyone else is. You know, PFPs definitely worked some time last year, I don’t know if they work going forward. For that reason, I have built slowly and taken my time, because I believe that technology will change.”
“One of the main reasons I’ve really wanted to connect digitally and physically is because we live in a non-fungible world. Even if we’re wearing the same black shirt, mine might be torn or have a coffee stain or whatever . That means it’s probably worth less.”
“When you talk to someone who is a teenager or younger, they get it. They understand digital ownership.”
Betty, CEO and founder of Deadfellaz
The CEO and founder of Deadfellaz is no stranger to controversy. Betty has long been a vocal proponent of creator’s royalties (artist’s royalties) and has no doubt helped influence OpenSea’s recent U-turn on a highly divisive royalty policy proposal. On Saturday, Betty took the stage with nft now co-founder and CEO Matt Medved to discuss what the fight for artist empowerment and rights will look like as Web3 continues to evolve:
“The connection to creative work gives people validation for their own existence in many ways.”
“A lot of people have recently [told me] “You are too political. You shouldn’t be political. Defi is political. Crypto is political. Everything is political.”
“There’s no such thing as balance in my opinion. I think it’s bullshit, and I also think it’s wise to try to please everyone.”
“Toe [royalties] away, and we must again rely on institutions. It disempowers us, which disproportionately affects marginalized creators. I am here to protect these people and champion these people.”
“I want a future where creators are self-governing over their content.”
Shekinah Apedo, General Counsel of Deadfellaz
Speaking on a panel discussion about the future of Web3’s legal landscape last Thursday with fellow panelists Amy Madison Luo and Mark Jansen, Deadfellaz General Counsel Shekinah Apedo expressed dismay at the lack of legal education among crypto and NFT enthusiasts:
“One thing I’d like to see is more consumers in the NFT landscape taking ownership of their own education … like the differences between copyright and trademark, and people talk about CC0 all the time, but there are six different classifications under that.”
“It kills me when I see projects that don’t have terms of use around their IP.”
“There’s been a lot of talk about royalties for creators, but that can’t be your primary business strategy. One of the most important things is to make sure you have your due diligence in order…trademarks, IPs, etc.
“We just saw that Kraken had over $300,000 in sanctions because they completed transactions with a sanctioned nation … so when it comes to ‘Know Your Customer’ I’m very interested to see how that develops.”
Ayla El-Moussa, interdisciplinary artist
When it comes to Web3, Ayla El-Moussa is a woman ahead of her time. The interdisciplinary artist (who has led the responsibility for the nude art movement in Web3 over the years) has long operated in a digital medium. El-Moussa, along with Lydia Chen, Senior Project Coordinator for Digital Art Sales & NFTs at Christie’s, joined a panel at The Gateway last week with artist Rhymezizidimez, and Richerd Chen, co-founder of NFT smart contract developer Manifold, to dive deeper into the old auction house Christie’s journey into Web3, and what it means for artists and collectors.
“What I think is so special about it is that Christie’s is making this bridge […] what’s happening, as someone who hasn’t been able to sell in the real world because most of my work is digital, there’s this beautiful bridge now to have a primary sale with an institution that means so much.”
Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum
Joseph Lubin needs little introduction. A co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain in 2015, Lubin’s historical perspectives on the Web3 space are not to be taken lightly. Taking to the stage on Friday last week, Lubin spoke about the future of NFTs and Web3 specifically in relation to the catastrophic demise of FTX:
“We’re now in this creative destruction phase where all the pieces are being recombined and people with expertise from the last few years are now figuring out the right things to do.”
“I’m grateful for that [the fall of FTX] will enable us [to] drive a narrative that really describes the value of decentralization in strong terms.”
“Many people have been harmed for millennia by bad centralized systems. You can hide information, you can cheat in so many different ways.”
