Happy Thursday!

It’s November 3rd and you know what that means, it’s the anniversary of the 1954 release of Godzilla. 

Let’s make like an irradiated, 50-foot lizard from the sea and absolutely demolish some current events. 🦎 ☢️

Espresso Shots

☕️ Bitcoin and Ethereum Drop after Remarks from Fed Chair 📉 ❌

After a brief period of stability, yesterday saw a sharp drop in Bitcoin and Ethereum. These followed a larger trend in stocks plummeting following comments from Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Federal Reserve announced an expected interest rate hike of basis points. Many expected this to be the last of the interest rate hikes but Powell quickly squashed that theory, remarking that the central bank would continue to raise interest rates until inflation was down. And, well, he scared everybody.

Ethereum and Bitcoin began dropping and the DOW Jones plummeted. It would seem that, like disposable vapes and contactless delivery, the bear market is here to stay.

☕️ OpenSea Takes New Measures Against Stolen NFTs 🌊 🚔

Up until now, victims of NFT theft have been truly out of luck, as there’s no way to return their stolen assets on the blockchain. To combat this problem, OpenSea has rolled out two new anti-theft features.

The first scans any link that is posted to the marketplace and disables any link that leads to known scams or to a website that contains malware. 

The second feature is a tool that examines NFT transfers and, if any of those NFTs have been stolen, blocks them from being sold on OpenSea.

These are big steps toward a safer, more secure marketplace. My mother, when consulted, asked if the victims of NFT theft had tried typing, “I do not give OpenSea or any associated entities permission to use my pictures, info, or posts, both past and future,” into that little status update bar. She said it worked for her on Facebook.

☕️ Warner Bros. Releases Game of Thrones NFTs ⚔️ 🐉

Just in time for us to run out of, “Crypto winter is coming,” jokes, Warner Bros has partnered with Nifty’s, the NFT marketplace, to launch a line of officially licensed GOT NFTs. 

The new series, called, “Games of Thrones: Build Your Realm,” will consist of a series of themed avatars from the show. Each avatar will come with a set of customizable upgrades that collectors can use to outfit their avatar.

This will not be the first line of WB licensed NFTs that Nifty has hosted. The marketplace has also been home to other Warner Bros. IP such as The Matrix, Looney Tunes, and Space Jam NFTs.

At this time, Warner Bros. has stayed silent on any plans to license NFTs for Kangaroo Jack or Scooby Doo and the Monster of Mexico. We’re waiting.

Spilling the Beans

The Building in a Bear Market Tutorial

During a panel at the Web Summit in Portugal, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao - the richest man in crypto - emphasized the importance of growing crypto projects despite the bear market.

Much like the ever famous, “buy the dip,” principle in the stock market, Zhao suggested that the hiring process should follow along the same path.

Zhao believes that rather than using a bear market as a time to batten down the hatches, crypto projects should take advantage of the recession to grow their workforce at a lesser cost.

The dip doesn’t just make hiring top talent cheaper, it also makes the projects less expensive overall. “A year ago, every project with a test product or six-page white papers was worth $100 million. Currently, the valuation is very reasonable.”

Zhao continued to pick at the silver lining of the bear market. Not only is the market driving down the price of projects overall, it’s creating a Darwinian survival of the fittest, in which only the strongest projects survive.

Zhao feels the selection of NFTs is actually much better because of the bear market. Last year, everybody wanted to sell NFTs and this bear market has knocked out many of the pretenders. Now, only the strongest, most stable NFTs are left to contend.

Though ultimately, Zhao feels that this bear market is part of a larger pattern. Zhao believes that the crypto market fluctuates in a four year cycle: One year of decline. Two years of recovery. Then rising prices in the fourth year. 

Illustrating his point further, Zhao took to Twitter to skewer alarmists:

Wise words from a wise man. Zhao seems primed for the turbulent days ahead. If only that guy from The Revenant was even half as enthusiastic about taking on a bear.

Meme of the Day

We play to win!

The Last Sip

As many in crypto celebrate Elon’s Twitter takeover, some have been anything but excited. Elon Musk sat down with a group of civil rights leaders on a Zoom call yesterday.

Musk met with representatives from the NAACP, Color of Change, Asian American Foundation, and the Free Press. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Musk’s plans for the platform in regard to election integrity and combating election misinformation.

Musk assured the panel that it will all be fine, he will not reinstate Twitter users who had been banned for violating its rules and racism will probably be over soon anyway! We’ll stay tuned. 

Stay caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.