It’s Super Bowl recovery day. You probably overdid it last night. You’re bloated not just from the beers but the umpteen wings you consumed. Oh, and that queso.

Well, pop some antacids and we’ll see if this newsletter can’t get your heartburn down to a mild blaze.

Espresso Shots

☕️ Crypto's 2023 Losses 😬 📉

Crypto and Ethereum have posted their first losses of 2023, causing many to speculate that Bitcoin’s bull momentum may have been wishful thinking.

Though we’ve all been excited about Bitcoin’s climb to $23,000, this past week Bitcoin has finally stalled out.

It’s safe to say this is almost a direct correlation with the SEC’s crackdown on crypto staking at US based exchanges.

Bitcoin has fallen 7.5%. Ethereum dropped 8.5%. And then a nasty little 13% and 13.5% for DogeCoin and Avalanche, respectively.

Experts blame GroundhogPunk #3411, who left his cold wallet and saw his shadow, heralding at least six more weeks of crypto winter.

☕️ Reddit's Super Bowl NFT Giveaway 👾 🎁

Reddit has donated millions of free NFTs to users in the months leading up to the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl Avatars were offered in four variations of the little Reddit avatar.

Again, these NFTs were completely free and minted on Polygon, but could be claimed by any users on Reddit.

As free NFTs, they haven’t had much trading value, but accessibility is one of the most important tenets of Web3, and these free Super Bowl NFTs have brought in 6.6 million users so far.

This sort of charitable giving has only been rivaled by Limewire, which gave away tens of millions of free, computer-ending viruses circa 2007.

☕️ The French NFT Invasion 🇫🇷 🎨

NFTs are making waves in the Paris art scene.

The Centre Pompidou, an architectural complex that houses France’s National Museum of Modern Art, has announced its intention to release its first exhibition focused on NFTs.

The exhibition will examine the relationship between art and Web3 and will feature NFTS from the CryptoPunks and Autogylphs collections, as well as work from twelve additional crypto-focused artists.

“Seeing CryptoPunk #110 displayed in the world’s most prestigious contemporary art museum, is a great moment for the Web3 and NFT ecosystem, and we’re honored to help drive this cultural conversation,” said Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs.

NFTs in a National Art Museum may be the most exciting and controversial innovation to Paris life since Nicorette gum or being faithful to your spouse.

Spilling the Beans

NFTs and Sports: A Match Made in Heaven ⚽️ 🏈

It’s already a fandom centered around memorabilia. Owning a piece of sports history is any fan’s dream. Just look at the history of baseball cards for proof.

If you’re a founder trying to make a splash in the world of digital collectibles, is there any place to start better than the world of professional sports?

Here’s a quick and easy way to think of sports NFTs: collectible trading cards. Unique, authentic, valuable.

The only drawback of an NFT comparatively is that you don’t get a rock hard piece of bubblegum with every purchase.

So why are NFTs wading their way into sports? Well, it seems like an easy win for everyone.

Professional athletes are always on the hunt for lucrative sponsorship deals and profit streams that don’t involve them getting hit in the head.

Collectibles have always been a way for athletes to make an extra buck. After all, an athlete only needs to sign a jersey to make it suddenly worth a few hundred bucks.

Compare that now to an NFT: the only thing differentiating a jersey from a collectible is a signature - and digital signatures can do the trick, if there’s an audience for it.

The main claim of any NFT or Non Fungible Token is that it’s distinctly unique and irreplaceable. No two NFTs are alike on the blockchain.

That irreplaceable quality makes NFTs impossible to fake: there’s a public record of ownership and authenticity all held on-chain or on record.

On top of making an extra buck for athletes, NFTs have also helped build online communities for brands. NFT owners often get access to private chat rooms and become more actively involved on social media.

So for athletes, and for the league as a whole, NFTs allow them a revenue stream, and direct access to highly-involved fans and customers.

It should come as no surprise then that the NFL has already spawned quite a few successful NFT collections.

Though nothing has been nearly as successful as the heat of NBA’s Top Shot, the NFT collection that allowed people to own moments from Basketball history.

But beyond fans rushing to collect their favorite team’s NFTs, savvy players are also trying to strike out on their own.

NFL players make a lot of money. And some players are much better at it than others.

Rob Gronkowski didn’t touch any of his millions from playing in the league, living entirely off of ads and endorsement deals.

And if players want to make the most of their astronomical salaries, they’ll have to adapt to new technologies and financial advancement.

And what greater financial advancement has been made than crypto?

When you were watching the game on Sunday, you probably didn’t realize that there are aspiring crypto-bros on both sides.

Pat Mahomes, who was named the Super Bowl MVP last night, is quickly becoming well-versed in NFTs.

Mahomes favors MakersPlace over OpenSea when it comes to auctioning off his NFTs, but he’s done some pretty brisk business.

On a single day in March of 2021, Mahomes unloaded an estimated $3.4 million worth in NFTs. A single one of his NFTs sold for $246,619.98.

But the Eagle’s defense refuse to be intimidated by Mahomes’ NFT prowess.

Ndamukong Suh, the Eagle’s physically massive defensive tackle, is a proportionally massive Bitcoin enthusiast.

Suh has taken the time to educate the younger guys, such as rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis, on the importance of buying and trading crypto.

“Bitcoin, Suh taught me Bitcoin today. He taught me what’s the purpose of it. It’s pretty interesting. Bitcoin and NFTs. It’s pretty interesting stuff… I don’t know all the intricate details as he does, but I know enough,” said Davis.

“I’m like, ‘alright, I don’t know if I want to buy an NFT right now… Just stuff like that, little things like that, and how to handle yourself. Those guys are teammates you admire growing up.”

It’s a beautiful thing, an older player taking the time to teach a younger player about the wonders of Web3.

And yes, we’re aware that these professional athletes’ crypto enthusiasm may have been somewhat tempered by the past several months in crypto.

But that’s the beauty of football and crypto: there’s always next season.

Meme of the Day

Last nights MVPs hanging out and chatting NFTs:

Crypto 101

Staking: Staking in crypto means locking up the crypto you own so that crypto can be used to support the operations of the blockchain. Once you stake assets, you are eligible to receive rewards for you contribution to sustaining the network.

In general, staking is a part of a Proof of Stake chain which serves as a more energy efficient alternate to Proof of Work.

Staking has grown in popularity as it can provide the individual staking with passive income in the form of tokens and transaction fees.

The Last Sip

Bets We Lost on the 2023 Super Bowl:

• The National Anthem will be under 45 seconds.

• A face-melting and fully intentional wardrobe malfunction from Rihanna.

• Assuming the Pat Tillman Foundation would mention the friendly-fire cover up.

• The Coin Toss

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

That's all for today! If this email got you hooked on our unhinged crypto takes, be sure to get a full dose on Twitter @GetCoffeeCrypto.

If you find yourself smiling at any of our dumb jokes, or even *learning* something - make sure to share this newsletter with your friends!

If you get 10 friends to sign up - or even enemies, we don't care - we'll send you a swag box with some epic Coffee & Crypto merch! Just hit the Click to Share button in the section below to get started!

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.