PayPal Adds Crypto Transfers for 78M Venmo Users
PayPal just made a major step towards the future of mainstream crypto adoption. Find out why it matters, along with key takeaways from this year's Consensus conference.
TylerD's Market Summary
GM!
Today's top news includes:
PayPal adds crypto transfers with Venmo
Consensus takeaways
Yuga hires new CTO
Blur's latest tease
$PEPE soars as crypto falls
💸 Paypal Unlocks Crypto Transfers with Venmo
A massive crypto headline snuck under the radar on Friday.
PayPal is enabling crypto transfers via its Venmo app.
Starting in May 2023, Venmo users will have the option to send crypto to:
Other Venmo accounts
PayPal accounts
External wallets (i.e. an Ethereum MetaMask wallet)
While the ability to buy, hold and sell crypto has been available for a while in this ecosystem (2020 for PayPal and 2021 for Venmo), transfers have not.
Crypto was "stuck" in the PayPal walled garden. It could not be sent anywhere.
Now that has changed, unlocking a huge user base of potential crypto users to be able to interact more broadly in the larger crypto ecosystem.
By The Numbers:
Just how big is this?
Some interesting metrics regarding Venmo and crypto:
$244B in payment volume in 2022
78M active users in 2022 (expected to hit 85M in 2023)
74% on Venmo crypto users* held their crypto through 2022
50% of Venmo crypto users added to their crypto holdings in 2023
*Unfortunately the total number of crypto users has not been made public
While the total crypto user base is not public, Venmo's overall user base is clearly huge.
Why It Matters:
This is a major step in onboarding and unlocking crypto functionality.
When crypto is locked up, it's solely an investment asset.
When it is able to be transferred, it becomes a currency.
The major unlock for crypto is when it can be used to purchase everyday goods and services. When that is readily available and mainstream, holding crypto over USD will become a much more viable option for most.
And PayPal/Venmo adding this transfer function is a major step towards that future.
Payments to businesses are already a core function of the Venmo app - so, those payments can be made via crypto.
For 78M users.
Crypto is coming for the masses.
🎬 Consensus Takeaways
I was able to spend ~24 hours in Austin last Thursday for a whirlwind visit to the Consensus conference.
Here are some of my primary takeaways regarding the event itself:
Consensus is a crypto conference, much more than an NFT conference; NFTs felt like ~5% of the conference and often "put in the corner"
Consensus is near the opposite end of the spectrum from NFT NYC. NFT NYC is mostly about NFT projects, parties and the people; Consensus is much more about the conference (though there are plenty of parties)
People actually attend the conference because there are incredible speakers, ranging from major companies (Paul Grewal from Coinbase), artists (too many to count), founders, to "NFT influencers"
Part of the reason people attend is because Coindesk puts on an amazing and professional event; it's hard to put into words just how well put together this event is
Now for my takeaways from what people were saying at Consensus:
NFTs are entering the broader crypto conversation, but not the JPEG component
People are beginning to talk about NFTs making it for use cases like tickets, digital receipts, etc.
The JPEG aspect of NFTs are effectively laughed at, with the cartoon animals (PFPs) the most commonly thrown under the bus
I'm not certain digital art has been broadly embraced yet either, outside of the core, existing community; within the community, Sam Spratt is building an absolute cult following (the biggest winner that I saw at Consensus)
It was nice to see NFTs starting to be embraced for the functionality of the tech, from the crypto crowd.
But PFP diehards should absolutely feel like underdogs right now.
No one believes in them and most refer to them as a joke.
Everyone who does believe in PFPs, and that they represent more than cartoon animal JPEGs, should have a chip on their shoulder.
Max pain for the crypto community is PFPs making it, along with broader NFT adoption.
Let's make it happen.
🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
Trading volume was just under 12k ETH on Sunday, with volume on top movers down considerably; most NFTs see red
Blur has teased new updates for rewards coming today, likely to have major impacts on the NFT ecosystem
Captainz add a raiding mechanism to steal Maps from other holders and accumulate raid points, though odds are just 40% for a successful raid
Yuga shared 3 major updates across the weekend:
Yuga hired ex-Epic Games VP Mike Seavers as its new CTO in its latest gaming hire
TwelveFold holders are getting bigger images, prints and a new game
HV-MTL previews were shared, highlighting 80+ traits and trillions of combinations
DigiDaigaku Bitcoin Ordinals are coming soon, with Genesis holders able to claim a free Chibi on BTC (snapshot on May 1)
Doodles open the Stoodio on Friday to wide acclaim, as the hub for Doodles 2 designs and the new home for all Doodles digital experiences; Pharrell Packs were also announced
Forgotten Runes inked a global comic distribution deal for its upcoming series to be illustrated by Reilly Brown; official announcement coming this week
Moonbirds are creating a new smart contract for the Diamond Exhibition, while teasing an upcoming "Monaverse" 3D world as home for the Moonbirds community
Jack Butcher shared new details regarding Opepen packs, opt-in and reveals
🌎 Around Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
The crypto market fell on Sunday; BTC down 2% at $28,560; ETH -3% at $1,850
$PEPE full sent on Sunday, reaching a new ATH of $530M marketcap, enabling one lucky holder to cash out 888 ETH
Bitcoin Ordinals set new records on Sunday for Inscriptions (307,365), Inscription Fees ($451,100), and Marketplace Volume ($1,960,609)
🚀 NFT Total Volume
MAYC (1,190 ETH, 10.5 ETH Floor)
BAYC (1,003 ETH, 47.3 ETH)
Azuki (769 ETH; 14.75 ETH)
Pudgy Penguins (312 ETH, 4.07 ETH)
Doodles (246 ETH, 2.93 ETH)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase
DeepBlack (47%, 1.29 ETH Floor)
Consortium Key (24%, 4.8 ETH)
Saved Sould (21%, 0.18 ETH)
Imaginary Ones (17%, 1.09 ETH)
Checks -VV Edition (14%, 0.39 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals
Today is a slower day of drops, with the Memes card coming along with an Art Blocks open edition.
The wild card for today is the Blur announcement, which may have a large impact on farming (and thus the entire market).
Turn those Blur notis on...
Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET); 0.06529 ETH
UMK by Fernando Jerez (1:00 p.m. ET); 0.03 ETH
Ape Reunion Species (TBD)
Blur announcement (TBD)
Enjoy this write-up? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.
For all volume and floor price data, see Lucky Trader's Project Rankings page.
For all upcoming mints, see Lucky Trader's Project Schedule page.