Monthly Archives: March 2023

Take Photos And Mint NFTs At The Ends Of The Earth With FOTO’s John Knopf

• John Knopf is an Emmy Award-nominated photographer and early adopter of crypto.
• He co-founded FOTO, a collective geared at training artists to work in Web3.
• In 2021, Time magazine partnered with FOTO on its own NFT drops.

John Knopf: An Emmy Award-Nominated Photographer

John Knopf is an Emmy Award-nominated landscape photographer who works for National Geographic. He was an early adopter of crypto, coming into the space during the heady days of the NFT bull market thinking he could make a “quick buck”. However, he soon became enthralled with the potential of distributed networks.

FOTO: A Collective for Digital Artists

Knopf co-founded FOTO, a collective geared at training artists to work in Web3. With seven other prominent photographers – Alejandro Cartagena, Ben Strauss, Cath Simard, Dave Krugman, Isaac “Drift” Wright, J.N. Silva and Ravi Vora – they sought to elevate digital art and create a supportive community around it. Today FOTO boasts hundreds of members from amateur and professional backgrounds alike. Knopf curates members’ art to exhibit at sponsored galleries and events with no personal financial gain for himself or the artists whether their work sells or not.

Time Magazine Partnership

In 2021 Time magazine partnered with FOTO on its own NFT drops as one way to bring attention to digital photography via blockchain technology. The partnership helped open up new opportunities for photographers like Knopf whose work has been featured in shows across Europe as well as in print publications such as Forbes Magazine and The New York Times’ T Brand Studio Global program.

Turning an Industry Into a Community

Knopf believes that good photography requires technical skill as much as artistic sensibility which makes it uniquely fit for experimentation within the realm of Web3 technology – especially when it comes to creating digital collectibles like non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Through his involvement with FOTO he hopes to turn this traditionally competitive industry into a collaborative community by providing educational opportunities and resources that help photographers understand how best to use blockchain technology in their creative practice while also building relationships with other digital artists around the world who share similar goals and interests about using tech for creating meaningful artwork.

Conclusion

Through his involvement with FOTO John Knopf has helped elevate digital art by bringing attention to talented photographers from around the world while also turning an industry into a supportive community through education about blockchain technology and collaboration between creatives who share similar goals and interests about using tech for making meaningful artwork – something that was unheard of before his involvement in crypto but now seems inevitable given its success thus far!

Rebrand DAI Stablecoin to Attract ‘Normal People’: MakerDAO Founder

• MakerDAO’s DAI stablecoin founder Rune Christensen has called for a rebranding of the token to make it more understandable to “normal people”.
• He believes the current branding may be impeding its growth, and that a new name with “USD” in it should be considered.
• The discussion of a rebranding is part of MakerDAO’s decentralization plan, named “Endgame.”

FinanceMakerDAO Founder Calls for Rebranding of DAI Stablecoin

Rune Christensen, the founder of Ethereum’s MakerDAO, said on a call with community members that DAI suffers from bad branding that could be slowing its growth. He suggested rebranding the token to make it more understandable for “normal people” by including “USD” in its name. This is part of MakerDAO’s decentralization plan, called “Endgame”.

Why Rebrand?

DAI is the fourth-largest stablecoin, with a market cap near $5 billion – and the only top stablecoin backed by a basket of assets, including other cryptocurrencies – but Christensen believes its branding may be inhibiting its growth. A new name would imply that the token would stay pegged to the dollar but there’s no guarantee such a peg would hold.

What Could A New Brand Look Like?

Christensen called for “a complete rebrand, complete new name, complete new look, completely different approach to user acquisition,” saying it’s “the only way to take control of the narrative.” He suggested positioning DAI as a currency that users can generate yield with and as “the safest and most reliable gamified crypto of all.”

Debate Among Attendees

Not all attendees were convinced by Christensen’s argument and further debate ensued regarding whether this was indeed an effective way forward or if another approach would work better.

Conclusion

Ultimately this decision will come down to the MakerDAO community who will have their say on how best to move forward with any potential changes or updates related to their flagship product – The DAI stablecoin.

Bitcoin Miners Rebound as Crypto Winter Thaws

• The bitcoin mining industry has seen a resurgence in activity due to a rally in bitcoin’s price.
• Lower energy costs have also helped miners get back on their feet.
• Publicly traded bitcoin mining firms have outpaced bitcoin this year, with some stocks up as much as 693%.

Bitcoin Miners Rebound from Crypto Winter

The bitcoin mining industry is slowly recovering from the brutal crypto winter of 2020-2021. After seeing several bankruptcies and fire sales, the recent surge in bitcoin’s price has provided some relief for miners. Additionally, lower energy costs over the past few months have also helped to improve their economics.

Rising Investor Sentiment

The rally in BTC’s price has led to an increase in investor sentiment towards the crypto mining sector. According to Ethan Vera of Luxor Technologies, this shows that investor sentiment is still largely driven by BTC prices rather than mining fundamentals. This is evidenced by a composite index of public mining rig manufacturers, foundries and miners compiled by Luxor which has already increased by 52% so far this year, compared with Bitcoin’s 44% rise.

Publicly Traded Mining Firms Outpace Bitcoin

Shares of publicly traded bitcoin mining firms have particularly outperformed Bitcoin so far this year. Core Scientific (CORZQ) has been the biggest winner with its equity value growing 693%, followed closely by Digihost (225%). Other notable stocks include Cipher Mining (CIFR), DMG Blockchain (DMGI), Bitfarms (BITF), Iris Energy (IREN) and Bit Digital (BTBT). All these stocks have at least doubled since the beginning of 2023.

Miners Still Have A Long Way To Go

Despite these gains, stock prices are still below pre-crypto winter levels and miners may not be completely out of the woods yet. They will need sustained bullish momentum if they want to return to where they were before March 2020 when Bitcoin was trading near all-time highs near $20,000 per coin.

Conclusion

Although it appears that miners are starting to emerge from the crypto winter, there is still a long way to go before they can return to pre-2020 levels of profitability and activity levels. However, rising investor sentiment combined with lower energy costs suggest that they may be headed in the right direction once again