Plus, memecoins are so back and NFT project Sappy Seals opens a playtest of its metaverse. by Jack Kubinec /. March 17, 2024 12:00 pm. pio3/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks. Major coffee retailer Starbucks said on Friday afternoon it will be ending its NFT-enabled customer loyalty program, dubbed Odyssey.. The program will close on the last day of March. “The Starbucks Odyssey Beta must come to an end to prepare for what comes next as we continue to evolve the program,” Starbucks said in an update to the program’s FAQ page.. The NFTs customers could earn through Odyssey, called Stamps, will be transferred to the NFT platform Nifty Gateway, where they can continue to be bought and sold, Starbucks added.. It’s the latest in a growing trend of non-crypto companies sunsetting NFT programs they started up a couple years ago. Video game venue GameStop shut down its NFT marketplace in January, citing regulatory concerns. Also that month, social media platform X discontinued support for NFT profile pictures. X competitor Meta wound down its own NFT program earlier in 2023.. Read more: X reportedly no longer supports NFT profile pictures. Starbucks Odyssey launched via a partnership with Polygon in September 2022.. Crypto made much ado about memecoins this week as the familiar trope of overnight millionaires re-emerged.. The memecoin of the moment, dogwifhat, surged over 30% on the week. Supporters of the Solana-based token raised nearly $700,000 to put an advertisement on the Las Vegas Sphere.. Read more: A memecoin might get the Vegas treatment, but crypto ads rarely age well. The purported owners of the hat-wearing dog put an NFT of the image up for auction, and it was bid up to 30 ether (ETH) by Friday afternoon, worth roughly $113,000 at current prices.. Many of the new crop of memecoins, including dogwifhat and a slew of intentionally-misspelled politicians, live on the Solana blockchain. Solana (SOL) itself jumped 22% on the week, according to CoinGecko.. Amid the excitement, the digital asset arm of major investment firm Franklin Templeton published a paper on X titled “The Value Between Meme Coins and Their Native Networks.” The paper pointed out that the price appreciation of the Solana memecoin, BONK, and of Solana itself, happened at the same time.. The price floor of Pudgy Penguins fell around $17,000 in the past week, from roughly $56,700 to roughly $39,700, according to NFT Price Floor.. The NFT project Sappy Seals let some users into a playtest of its open world game.. The massive multiplayer online game MapleStory is bringing a “Web3 enhanced extension” to the Avalanche blockchain.. A trading bot on the popular-in-crypto messaging app Telegram saw more revenue than Arbitrum this week.. Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter.. Tags. meme coins. NFTs. Solana. Starbucks. Newsletter. Blockworks Daily. Upcoming Events. Day 0x. HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY. TUES, OCT. 8, 2024. Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, . . learn more. Permissionless III. Salt Lake City, UT. WED – FRI, OCTOBER 9 – 11, 2024. Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains . . learn more. recent research. Research. The Avalanche Network is well on its way to becoming the best platform to build high-performance blockchains that can seamlessly interact with each other, and the strong focus on performant and scalable blockchains will likely be Avalanche’s competitive advantage.. by Dan Smith. more from news. Select a tab. Assets under management in global crypto ETPs broke the $100 billion mark for the first time amid BTC price increases and persistent inflows. by Ben Strack /. March 18, 2024. Bitcoin and ether stay flat post-selloff as SOL fans brace for a new all-time high. by Casey Wagner /. March 18, 2024. For the first time ever, Bitcoin’s halving comes right after a new all-time high. by Jack Kubinec /. March 18, 2024. The company unveiled its research platform upgrades during the first day of Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit in London. by Ben Strack /. March 18, 2024. With this launch, Blockworks Research consolidates hundreds of features into one subscription model. March 18, 2024. After the capital infusion led by Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital and Lightspeed Faction, Figure also seeks to offer a registered security alternative to stablecoins. by Ben Strack /. March 18, 2024