WTF is BLEND?

GM Web3 ☀️ Recap -May 2, 2023Degenz Market Report by @osf_rekt and @rektmandoTough day in equities the S&P moved down slightly more than the Nasdaq, which is uncommon. Yesterday, First Republic bank was bought by JP Morgan; It looks like banking is still under massive stress, and any sustained rate hike from the FED will have a huge impact on regional banking. The FOMC is currently going on and set to conclude tomorrow with expectation for a 25 bps hike. At the last FOMC, they didn't say anything about banking but it is still unclear if the commentary will mention it this time around. Crypto is rallying in line with the chaos of the banking sector. First Republic and Silicon Valley were both large enough for the FED to do something about and intervene. A smaller regional bank that doesn't get the favor of the FED like PacWest, could end up not getting the assistance needed and causing a huge ripple in the system. JP Morgan is not going to bail out all of the regional banks, it just isn't possible. OSF points out that $PEPE has a larger market cap than some of the banks in question!"There is no way in Hell that the FED has this under control" - MandoThe narrative that things are under control is just plain false. Commercial real estate is a very problematic sector that has yet to be realized. Massive devaluation is expected across the board with properties being devalued that were initially financed through banking loans, and the contagion of this potential banking crisis could be devastating. High yield debt and illiquid private credit will follow commercial real estate and giant holes in the balance sheets are bound to show up. NFTsIt's been a strong day over the past 24hrs in NFTs. It seems to have been initially led by the news of the BLEND loan platform from @blur_io. Cryptopunks, Azuki and Milady are the 3 collections launching through the platform, and the action through these collections has lent to some green across the board in other collections. This initial pump may seem good, but Mando is certain this will lead to higher volatility in floor prices. In a market where things are already pretty unstable, this could be a fan to the flame as things play out. BLUR, BLEND & NewsWe had @gmoneyNFT on stage and he imagines Blur taking NFT projects as proof of concept examples in order to eventually incorporate real world assets to their platform and tech giving potential investors more than ideas to work with.Overall blur has increased volatility and incentivized degeneracy, which is not great for the space as a whole. The loan-to-value is incredibly high on the BLEND platform, although there is some sort of protection on the lending side as lenders basically have a call option on their NFT. If floors go up, they benefit and if the floors go down they have up to 95% of the assets value to lose before going belly up. Sotheby's announces their metaverse marketplace, a royalty enforced platform that claims to be “Art 1st” with a 2.5% platform fee. @SothebysverseAre you aware of the initiatives by Coinbase and Brian Armstrong in the fight for crypto? Shields up! A free mint is available for all to stand up for the cause! look into what is being discussed and hold up your shields for the benefit and longevity of the space! Big congrats to @DeeZe who joined the Sam Spratt Skulls council last night. 💀 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.https://linktr.ee/rugradio