Author: Angela Wang

After decades of relative safety, venturing into the realm of banking has once again become a precarious task. With investment banks and regional lenders going through a tumultuous period, the spotlight has shifted to the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). A cautious game of predilection, ambition, and trust ended in a dubious failure, which has left many questions about fractional banking, net interest margin (NIM) and EVE risk unanswered.

Just last month, the Corporate Banking giant based in California faced a liquidity crisis that threatened the longevity of its $211 billion balance sheet. This can be attributed to one of the most common threats within the banking sector – asset-liability mismatch. The company was unable to properly align its deposit liabilities with its fixed rate asset portfolio, leading to a maelstrom of NII and EVE losses.

To understand the circumstances that led to SVB’s downfall, let’s take a closer look at Net Interest Margin (NIM). NIM represents a bank’s ability to make a profit by measuring the difference between its interest income and expenses, usually derived from loans or securities. As such, banks will typically target a rate or degree of profit that maximizes their NIM and returns on assets.

In the case of SVB, this ambition is thought to have led the lender to pour large sums of money into bonds and Mortgage-Backed securities with high yields, in the aim of augmenting their NIM and achieving higher returns. Unfortunately, this overexposure to fixed rate, especially when coupled with an absence of interest rate risk protection, resulted in a wave of investment losses stemming from newly unpredictable interest rates. Compounding this issue was EVE, a macroeconomic metric that deems the volatility of a security in reaction to varying market conditions such as changes in interest rate. With a sizable portion of its portfolio relying on EVE risk, SVB was unable to shield themselves from this decline.

Consequently, SVB has now become an example of ‘too big to fail’. The loss had a direct impact on the bank’s capital, pushing the need for further capitalization to maintain solvency. This was a critical situation where the waves of financial distress threatened to collapse the entire financial system, mirroring that of the 2007–2008 global financial crisis (GFC). Despite vigorous attempts to find a potential buyer, SVB was unable to secure a government bailout, like that of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Notably, the GFC was characterized by a massive Asset-Liability mismatch, due to banks funding long-term assets with short-term financing. The Bank Run that ensued from SVB has highlighted how vital it is to manage liquidity risks, in order to prevent a repeat of the disastrous consequences which accompanied the GFC.

Cryptocurrencies are often accused of being the catalyst for the bank’s failure. However, this is more likely to be attributed to the bank’s failure to hedge interest rate risk, its lack of proper EVE risk management, and its use of volatile non-retail deposits, leading to an imbalance of cash flow.

At the end of the day, this case has revealed the stark reality of the banking industry, and the importance of understanding the risks involved in serving their clients. Banks must adopt a proactive approach towards risk management and liquidity, while the regulators need to implement oversight measures and regular stress tests. The collapse of SVB and Signature Bank has further underscored this concern, and the need for greater awareness of the risks in the banking system.

For Ethereum users staking their ETH, news of the much-anticipated mid-April Shanghai upgrade is welcome news. Set to go live after a successful Goerli testnet execution, Ethereum’s new Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559 could unlock a total of $29.22 billion of staked ETH and its rewards from the Ethereum network.

As potentially the most consequential Ethereum upgrade to date, Shanghai is a momentous occasion for the Ethereum community, not least because it marks the fulfillment of Ethereum’s shift to a proof-of-stake consensus model. Essentially, this means Ethereum users can validate on-chain transactions and receive newly generated ETH for their contributions – as long as they stake it in the network.

As the march to Shanghai’s anticipated launch date went on, however, there were a number of questions and setbacks. Many faced challenge of finding validators to run the testnets with, since the ETH is normally worthless. This was highlighted by parithosh | 🐼👉👈🐼 (@parithosh_j), an Ethereum Foundation developer who noted the lack of civic motivation to run a validator or monitor it.

By Thursday, Ethereum developers had a clear consensus: Shanghai would arrive on mainnet three to four weeks after Goerli’s successful testnet launch, pushing the date to mid-April.

The pressure was on for a successful Goerli testnet launch as it was the last simulation before Ethereum’s “Shapella” upgrade activates live on the mainnet blockchain. When the testnet came around on Tuesday, however, only a 29% validator participation rate was reported. This resulted in a brief delay, caused by some validators running older versions of clients.

According to timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko), a product lead at Teku, an Ethereum client, the low participation rate was likely due to validator not having upgraded on time. Regardless, the testnet stumbled through and managed to eventually resolve, with no other issues of note.

Now, with Goerli fully up and running, validator contributions can be simulated and users can withdraw staked ETH from Ethereum as soon as mid-April when mainnet is expected to go live. Though originally set for March, the core development team had to make some difficult decision like removing other much-needed improvements to Ethereum and even hurting the network’s long-term health by avoiding minor technical tweaks in order to hasten the release.

However, the quest towards the Shanghai upgrade is promising, as the vast financial opportunity of unlocking the $29.22 billion worth of ETH would greatly benefit users, staking providers and the Ethereum network as a whole.

As Ethereum Foundation developer parithosh proclaimed in the final stages of the testnet launch: “Mainnet comes next”!

So, get ready for Ethereum’s mid-April Shanghai upgrade and unlock your staked ETH!

The past few days have sent shock-waves through the decentralized finance (DeFi) world as Euler Finance, an Ethereum-based noncustodial lending protocol, is amidst a battle with a flash loan attacker. The attacker had exploited the platform’s code and was able to steal nearly $200 million.
In response, Euler Finance sent the hacker a threatening ultimatum: return 90% of the funds in 24 hours or face a $1 million reward from Euler Labs for information that leads to the perpetrator’s arrest. The reward was publicly announced by the Euler Foundation today.

The reported victims of the DeFi attack include a very significant figure. The hacker was reportedly able to steal $8.7 million in the decentralized stablecoin DAI, . (www.greenbot.com) 5 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), $135.8 million in Staked Ethereum (stETH), and another $33.8 million in Circle’s USD stablecoin USDC. In addition, the hacker apparently siphoned off a hefty sum of Euler’s native cryptocurrency EUL, causing a sharp dip in its token price of over 50%.

The response to the attack by Euler Finance has been notably civil and followed by an ultimatum. Initially, the team at Euler wrote to the hacker, “We are writing to see whether you would be open to speaking with us about any potential next steps.” For potential next steps, the company proposed that the hacker return 90% of the stolen funds along with a commitment to ending the investigation and not taking any legal action against the thief.

Fortunately, Euler Labs has both governmental and professional help to try and track the hacker. The company has engaged the U.S. Justice Department, FBI, the U.K. Law Enforcement, Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and other security experts to investigate and recover funds. They have even been able to disable the EToken module and the “vulnerable donation function” to decrease further damage.

When asked what advice they have to DeFi users in order to protect themselves from similar attacks in the future, a spokesperson from Euler Labs said they always recommend users only lending and borrowing on protocols tested and audited by reputable security firms. “It is also important that users follow movements of their assets and read protocols’ smart contracts closely”, they said.

The attack has created quite a predicament for the anonymous hacker, who can return 90% of their loot to Euler in exchange for no legal action being taken and still pocket $17.6 million, or keep the full amount and risk being tracked down.

One Twitter user summarized the hacker’s dilemma best: “Look over your shoulder for the rest of your life, or take a $20m deal. No brainer.”

But, the rewards system may be the hacker’s final undoing. The $1 million reward gives a great incentive for anyone with information to come forward and will likely be a major factor in finding those responsible and helping Euler Finance return the funds to the users they belong to.

No one knows what the outcome of this DeFi battle will be and until it is settled, the crypto world can only brace itself against further attacks. For now, Euler Finance looks to be in a strong position with the backing of law enforcement, security firms, and a brave decision to call on the hacker for their return of funds instead of automatically proceeding with a legal investigation.

The crypto markets were thrown into turmoil last weekend as every crypto investor’s worst nightmare seemed to be becoming a reality: Circle-issued USDC’s epic collapse. After the revelation that a hefty chunk of USDC’s reserves were tied up with the failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), investors rushed to redeem their holdings, resulting in an unprecedented $1 billion net reduction and a de-pegging from the USD.

USDC has long been regarded as one of the most stable and trusted stablecoins, supporting major exchanges and a whole host of DeFi applications. As Circle revealed its ties to SVB, its market capitalization fell to $36.9 billion from $43.37 billion and USDC tanked around 10% to $0.90. Binance and Coinbase temporarily suspended USDC conversion, following their implementations of risk-management procedures. (sweetfixbaker.com)

The turmoil spread well beyond the USDC market. Blockchain analytical firm Peckshield tweeted that Circle had burned 2.7 billion USDC within 24 hours, with 70% of the redemptions made in the last 8 hours. Coinswap 3pool dashboard showed investors were massively opting to replace their USDC with USDT and Dai.

The dollar de-pegging created “countless arbitrage opportunities” in the DeFi ecosystem, largely centering around Aave and Compound. These platforms experienced a net repayment of more than $2 billion on loans that had been taken out in USDC, as the borrowers took advantage of a steep markdown on the coins to pay back their dues.

Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at the digital asset investment firm Arca, wrote in a weekly newsletter that as much as a quarter or half of USDC assets could be redeemed. He further predicted that if USDC succesfully passed the stress test, it could grow assets over time.

The USDC event has highlighted the need for decentralised, rather than centralised infrastructure. As Kaiko Research Analyst Riyad Carey points, the concerns created by the USDC meltdown will linger on, hinging on the fact that there is still no widely adopted alternative to USDC.

Circle’s chief strategy officer and global policy head, Dante Disparte, stressed they had acted quickly to ensure USDC’s stability. He reports that the majority of the reserves are held in U.S. Treasury bonds with Circle and other US banks, adding that they had made a wire transfer request before the bank was seized.

Ultimately, it appears USDC will survive its brush with failure, although the road to recovery is long. Crypto investors have been burned by the nightmare and will surely stay wary for the time being. Investors may yet return to USDC once Circle has completed the transition of moving their reserves from SVB to BNY Mellon, though the ultimate answer to the question of the stablecoin’s future and its ability to return to its prior strength remains to be seen.

As the crypto sector continues to expand, with decentralized finance (DeFi) now boasting a total value locked of over $30 billion, the sector is becoming increasingly attractive to institutional investors in search of yield. One avenue that is quickly gaining traction is liquid staking, a service that allows crypto holders to lock up their tokens to secure proof-of-stake blockchains in exchange for a reward.

In the move to capitalize on the sector’s growth, RockX, a Singapore-based blockchain company, has launched its new service “Bedrock” in an attempt to attract institutional investors to liquid staking. Offering staking services to both retail customers and institutions, Bedrock also provides institutional-grade know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance to institutions looking to stake amounts larger than $57,000. As their first client in the institutional space, RockX has partnered with the crypto trading firm and investor Amber Group.

Liquid staking has shown impressive growth in recent months, with its total value of assets locked surpassing $14.1 billion, now being the second-largest crypto sector in the market. Even more impressive is the fact that liquid staking platform Lido Finance has become the largest DeFi protocol with nearly $10 billion worth of digital assets locked.

The Ethereum blockchain’s Shanghai upgrade is proving to be the catalyzing force behind the growth of liquid staking, as it allows stakers to withdraw the ether (ETH) they have staked and the associated accumulated rewards. By establishing a blueprint for staking protocols, the upgrade is providing users with enhanced security measures and more confidence in their asset sovereignty.

Unfortunately, not everyone is as thrilled about the sector’s accelerated growth and potential. David Cicoria, Head of Markets Technology for the Asia-focused Hex Trust, raised several risks associated with liquid staking such as depegging, risk of hacks, centralization concerns, and lack of regulatory clarity. He also suggested that native staking, or direct staking, would be the preferred form for institutional investors.

Chen Zhuling, CEO and Founder of RockX, acknowledges some of the concerns that institutions have but stresses the distinction between custodial and non-custodial staking services. Bedrock, he explains, is non-custodial in that it never holds any of the ETH assets, which are instead held in a smart contract and then deployed to validators. It’s very easy to check and make sure that the numbers match, providing comfort that there won’t be any inflations of the figures or misappropriations of assets.

In the wake of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) targeting Kraken’s staking service, liquid staking tokens have rallied. The SEC’s chairperson Gary Gensler has expressed his suspicions towards intermediary-based staking platforms, leading some to worry that centralized staking services will receive further regulatory scrutiny.

In the Asian market, however, institutions remain cautious. Hong Kong is actively creating new policies and licensing models in order to regulate both institutional and retail investors, which may involve a framework surrounding staking. It appears that these measure may be paramount to liquid staking gaining more widespread acceptance among institutional investors in the region.

The message amongst sector experts appears to be unified in that more is likely to come as far as inflow of money into staking protocols after the Shanghai upgrade. Liquid staking is quickly emerging as an exciting sector, with impressive growth projected in the months to come. It will be interesting to see the kind of interest and regulatory efforts come to the surface in the midst of its Expansion.

The world of sports and the world of cryptocurrencies have connected in the form of The Bybit Performance Accelerator, a collaboration between cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bybit and Oracle Red Bull Racing. This program is designed to combine education, physiology, and mental health to help athletes and professionals continually enhance and improve their performance.

As Christian Horner, the Team Principal and CEO of Oracle Red Bull Racing, explains, mental health plays an important part in complementing physical training for all athletes. To address this crucial aspect of training, The Bybit Performance Accelerator is focused on improving the mental and physical well-being of participants through regular regimen training.

The benefits of this program have already been experienced by Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports drivers, who have achieved multiple wins in the 2022 F1 Esports Series, including a second-place finish in the Teams’ Championship. Additionally, the team’s partnership with a prominent crypto casino has provided unique opportunities for both drivers and fans, enhancing engagement and offering innovative rewards. This collaboration exemplifies how the integration of modern digital trends can create a more dynamic and interactive experience for the esports community.

To kickstart the program, Bybit signed a multi-year deal worth $150 million with Red Bull. This deal includes the support of Red Bull’s NFT initiative, promotion of fan tokens, and providing financial inclusion for women in the blockchain industry.

In a bear market, Web3 projects have taken the lead in increasing engagement between fans and sports leagues, as evidenced by the creation of Beacon, a founder-built accelerator set up by Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal and his contributors. This program is helping founders build and connect with potential investors in a 12-week cohort, with mentors such as Jack Lu, Beryl Li, and Evan Fang giving their support.

The accelerating integration of real and digital worlds is being seen in the sports sector, as highlighted in Deloitte’s “2022 Sports Industry Outlook” report. It forecasts an increase in the growth of NFTs and immersive technologies, but the challenge for mainstream adoption remains in finding easy-to-use platforms.

The Bybit Performance Accelerator provides just this, allowing athletes and professionals to break through their mental and physical barriers in order to achieve superhuman peak performance. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou sums it up – “Extreme pressure situations place significant stress and strain on the body and mind, making the program essential for improving the continued education, resilience, and well-being of top athletes and professionals as they continue to push themselves and boundaries”.

The world of sports and cryptocurrencies are now connected, paving the way for professionals to reach new heights in peak performance. The Bybit Performance Accelerator provides the tools to grow and optimise performance, giving both athletes and professionals the opportunity to reach superhuman heights.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was forced to shut down by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation on March 10th, leaving many of its customers in the lurch. Customers were understandably worried about their deposits, some of which were not fully insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The good news is that the U.S. government quickly stepped in and released a joint statement reassuring customers that all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank will be saved–even those not covered by traditional FDIC deposit insurance. The authoritative statement only affirmed the government’s commitment to upholding the banking system and providing financial security to households and businesses.

In light of this move, bitcoin and USDC have already made an impressive recovery. The cryptocurrency markets have been looking for positive news for a long time amid growing concerns about financial instability and inflation. While the news of the bank’s closure brought an initial dip, the joint statement from the U.S. government regulators has apparently been enough to stimulate the cryptocurrency market and erase some of the losses related to the incident.

Ultimately, the federal regulators’ commitment to protecting deposits and providing access to credit, reaffirmed by the statement, has allowed the crypto market to move once again. Circle, the issuer of USDC, looked to the FDIC to insulate its customers’ deposits, which in turn led to the depegging of USDC from the U.S. dollar. Dai also experienced losses before stabilizing. On the other hand, other popular stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD), have managed to maintain a 1:1 peg with the U.S. dollar.

The leaders of America’s biggest financial institutions have taken a proactive and positive step to salvage the financial situation. Joe Biden, chief of the White House, responded to the tragic failure of the two prominent US banks by introducing a $25 million fund to protect the financial system in the future. The Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, also affirmed support to the US Securities Law by issuing a warning for crypto firms.

The crisis has led people to understand the importance of stablecoins, which is why the government’s statement was welcomed with joy in the cryptocurrency space. The incident has also moved those who only read about the Lehman Brothers breakdown in 2008, to recognize Bitcoin and its potential to cure the financial system. Ryan Selkis, founder and CEO of Messari summarized it perfectly when he said “Welcome new friends”.

The moves by the federal regulators demonstrate a proactive approach by the U.S. government and a dedication to protecting the banking system, its customers and the cryptocurrency space. More importantly, the news revealed that banks aren’t invincible and that there are alternative solutions in the digital world. As the value of Bitcoin soared after the announcement, it appears that bitcoin and USDC are finally revelling in the afterglow of the U.S. government coming to the rescue.

Nick Sadler never could have guessed at the destiny of the movie he had recently produced. With ‘An Irish Goodbye’, he had stumbled upon a bonafide awards hit. That night, it was to be Oscar-worthy, much to the shock and awe of its cast and crew. But had he known of the unlikely path the film would take to fulfill its destiny, he might have suspected a rather unorthodox Oscar journey.

He had found himself embroiled in a mysterious issue five hours before the gala. He remembers the scene well. He was getting ready in his sun-soaked Los Angeles home. With jacket in hand, he prepared to be presentable—until a rustling in the sleeve pulled him up short. “Oh my fuckin’ lord,” he cursed in surprise. In the silence and sweat of the room, a flurry of orange fur revealed a stray cats’ donation: cat hair, falling from the elbow of Sadler’s #Oscars95 showtime jacket.

And so he reluctantly taped it out, ready for his big night. When the time came and ‘An Irish Goodbye’ won its category, it was time to celebrate. But Sadler had only just arrived in town for the event, having flown in from his London base to witness the spectacle. True, tickets to the ceremony itself were unavailable, but still, his night was just beginning. In the moment, he decided on the next destination: whomever’s party was open to the winners. (gracesterling.com)

What followed was a whirlwind of congratulations and celebrity attendance. But as his story circulated and divulged in the nights to come, a pattern began to form. Sadler had made great leaps in his faith with blockchain technology, looking to use it to help fund independent film projects. He’d hit some bumps along the road—namely, difficulty in understanding and using the platform for traditional production proceedings. Still, he had persisted.

When ‘An Irish Goodbye’ was made, instead of using Sadler’s Web3 platform, funds had been raised traditionally through developer Phil McKenzie’s ‘First Flights’ incubator. But Sadler was ok with this as he had seen something special in the script. Further, much to his delight, a high-profile Hollywood producer had taken an immediate shine to it, introducing the filmmakers to industry peers and contacts.

The ultimate outcome confirmed his hunch. Sadler had backed an all-round brilliant film, a story of two warring siblings and their bond in the wake of a mother’s passing, which had been a hit at various festivals, including the BAFTAs. But Sadler now had a precious bit of hindsight. Knowing what he did now, Sadler passionately articulated a new way of coming at Web3-funded film projects.

Rather than a project having to use the platform fully to succeed, Sadler saw the potential for Web3 to help elaborate on existing projects—an idea with promising implications. With the necessary resources present and a project that has had its inception enjoyed, it may be possible to use digital collectable NFTs or other Web3 tokens to give projects that extra nudge and necessary momentum as they move forward to find greater success.

Options such as these have been explored widely. As seen in successful projects such as “Calladita”, funding for projects can be found in other Web3 pathways. There are also grants like the Steven Soderbergh empowerment grant provided through Web3 funding portal Decentralised Pictures. Others have seen the power of platforms like Untold.io to help open up unaccredited investors to the industry.

But most powerful is how Web3 can be used to provide direction to creators and their respective creative communities. Aksu, CEO of Untold.io, preaches that Web3’s demands for creators to innovate continuously otherwise be left behind by a rapid aging landscape is a notion to which filmmakers must adhere. The “Calladita” example moved to launch a DAO governed by the film’s NFT holders, a powerful tool that can be used to create a library of information for the NFT holders and their film community.

This whole episode had been strange but thrilling for Sadler. With ‘An Irish Goodbye’ now an Oscar hit, there’s no denying that he’d had a part to play. From the hope he’d brought to Web3 filmmakers, to his sheer insight into what worked and what didn’t, his contribution had been monumental.

Perhaps, looking back to his moment of terror as cat hair presented with the bane of his Oscars night, he’d even stop to give thanks to that mysterious little feline. For it had been in its enigmatic after-party invitation that ‘An Irish Goodbye’ had seen its true destiny fulfilled. It wasn’t just a celebration of craft and skill, but of the technology they were able to use to get there, paved with a little help from C-3PO and a mysterious cat hair.

The story of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) has been making waves throughout the digital art world. Once merely a source of curiosity, they have skyrocketed in popularity in the past few months, creating a space for digital creators to showcase their talent and garner serious attention. At the forefront of this digital revolution is the esteemed digital artist and innovator Mike Winkelmann, popularly known as Beeple.
Beeple recently opened a 50,000-square-foot digital art space in Charleston, South Carolina, aptly named Beeple Studios. It was an event to remember, taking place in partnership with renowned auction house Christie’s. The exhibit showcased artwork from powerful NFT creators such as Fvckrender, XCopy, Pak, Victor Duarte, Refik Anadol and others.

Beeple Studios is more than just a mere gallery; it is a space for the community to come together, to experience and explore art on a deeper level. The experiential space is a whopping 13,000 square-feet and will host a variety of events to bring people together and foster collaboration between artists. The website for Beeple Studios says this of the mission: “We wanted to build a space where we could program multiple different types of artists showcases and experimental community events.”

It appears that the NFT space is not to be taken lightly. Several museums have brought NFT art pieces into the spotlight, introducing them to audiences on a much larger scale. Los Angeles County Museum of Art recently received a generous donation of 22 NFT artworks from crypto investor Cozomo de’ Medici. New York Museum of Modern Art has been running an exhibit of Refik Anadol’s generative artwork “Unsupervised” since January, impressing people both inside and outside the art world.

Art Blocks and Bright Moments decided to join forces to create an NFT project with a unique real-life component. Titled Metropolis, the project involves 500 generative artworks based on architectural influences from five cities with Bright Moments galleries. Featured artist Michael Kozlowski, more commonly known as Mpkoz, excitedly anticipates how the collection will bring NFTs to a wide range of collectors. With successful collaborations with Pace Gallery in June and promising projects such as Metropolis, Art Blocks proves its commitment to making generative art more accessible.

Paris’s Centre Pompidou is also taking a keen interest in the NFT art world. The prestigious establishment announced an upcoming permanent exhibition focusing on the intersection between art and blockchain. International artists, such as CryptoPunk #110 and Autoglyph #25, will be featured in the exhibit. This marks the first time the Centre Pompidou has dedicated an entire section to NFT art.
In light of the impressive works debuting at Beeple Studios and beyond, it’s safe to say the potential of digital art has just been unleashed. As these larger platforms embrace NFTs, it is becoming clear that digital art is making its transition from the digital realm to the physical world, influencing prominent institutions and drawing in new audiences. Through this revolution, the possibilities of what art can do and represent are truly being pushed to the next level.

Unleashing a Digital Art Revolution: Enter Beeple Studios to Experience Immersive NFTs!

Digital artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, recently made a splash when he sold his most famous work “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” for $69.3 million at a Christie’s auction. In a further bid to help foster a community among NFT artists, he opened up Beeple Studios; a 50,000-square-foot space in Charleston, South Carolina dedicated to the digital art world.
The opening event for Beeple Studios was an unforgettable display of the artwork from brilliant minds like Fvckrender, XCopy, Pak, Victor Duarte, Refik Anadol and many others. The website for Beeple Studios explains that the purpose of this space is to “program multiple different types of artists showcases and experimental community events.” The space consists of a 13,000-square-foot gallery area, as well as a 13,000-square-foot experiential space; so far offering time slots to visit and view the galleries while they’re closed to the public, as typical visits may be on the horizon.
This event marks the peak of recognition for digital art and the NFT space, as established museums and galleries look to embrace this new form of artistic expression. Los Angeles County Museum of Art received a generous donation of 22 NFT artworks in February, and the New York Museum of Modern Art has been running an exhibit of Refik Anadol’s “Unsupervised” since January. Howevere, possibly the most incredible move yet is Centre Pompidou’s announcement of an upcoming permanent exhibition focusing on the intersection between art and blockchain.
This exhibition marks NFTs first display at the internationally renowned Centre Pompidou, as well as a milestone for the digital art world, completely redefining the possibilities of expression. In addition, Art Blocks and Bright Moments collaborated for a unique project that ties NFTs to real-life, in-person experiences for collectors. The 500-unit collection, Metropolis, utilizes influences from five cities with Bright Moments galleries.

Beeple Studios is a sign that digital art is making its official transition into the physical, becoming more of a legitimate art form than ever before and warranting more visibility on larger platforms. It is clear that the potential of digital art has been unleashed, allowing the possibilities of what art can do and represent to reach far more expansive bounds than before. Whether in-person or virtually, Beeple Studios is offering an immersive experience, encouraging artistic interaction and reinstating the importance of community. Those interested in seeing this epic art revolution will not be disappointed as Beeple Studios is sure to provide an innovative and memorable experience for all who enter.