In this issue:

• This Week in Neo Tokyo: A Special Breed of Psychopath (by PhoenixxDown)

• $BYTES October Chart Update (by StevenT)

• The Emerging Trend That Is #SocialFi (by Flower83_)

• #NTBuilds (by BadFuture)

Two years! It takes a special breed of psychopath to withstand what we've weathered since October 2021. Think about all of the unimaginable carnage we’ve witnessed in this time: FTX, the Luna collapse, bankruptcies, hacks and exploits aplenty. If that wasn’t bad enough, we had Randi Zuckerberg releasing that WAGMI song, which history now proves was a vicious energy harvesting attack.

Yet, here you still are. You survived it all. Undoubtedly you are an unhinged, citizen, but a warrior too. A formidable combination of traits. Here’s to the next 730 days and beyond. Up only from here.

Let’s talk stats as to what’s been achieved at this momentous milestone, courtesy of Firestorm:

• 100+ Web3 Companies with Citizen Founders or Employees

• 70K ETH in Trading Volume - all collections

• 90%+ Unique Citizen Ownership

• 63% of S1 Citizens staked

• 37.2% of S2 Outer Citizens staked

• 52% of the entire $BYTES supply staked

To celebrate, NT is hosting a giveaway of 200 $BYTES. To participate and have a shot at winning, simply retweet the post below and share with your followers what you believe is the best aspect of being a part of Neo Tokyo.

Alpha may be a bit scarce during this calm before the storm, but if you're well-connected, or look hard enough, you can find alpha anywhere. To enrich the community experience for our citizen traders, NT has introduced our very own "Alpha Board," where you can earn rewards for posting successful calls.

Firestorm explains: “A forum channel will be open for all Citizens to post their Alpha Calls. We want to identify the best alpha callers within Neo Tokyo. To reward their efforts, our Community Rewards through the Citizen Directory will enable Citizens to gift the callers $BYTES + Reward Badges.”

Read the full announcement here. 

A heartfelt congratulations to DAMAGE and 0xAvatar on their new appointments to Degen Mod. They'll be joining Guts in overseeing the Alpha Board, among other degenerate duties.

Speaking of new appointments, there are currently four open spots on the NT Council. This is due to the departure of Thare, DrJPEG, and Pandora, whom we at Neo Tokyo News join Firestorm in thanking for their service during their tenure.

If you'd like to apply, you'll find the application form and the Citizen Codex that outlines your role and responsibilities in the latest Discord internal announcement. Best of luck to all who step forward.

To wrap up this week, we have some news that many have eagerly awaited: the return of CitCap OTC trading! This is fantastic news for those who arrived to The Citadel later and missed out on the CitCap deals prior to their upload. It's also an option for those in need of liquidity or looking to reduce their positions.

Everything you need to know about CitCap OTC can be found here.

If you, or your project would like to sponsor an upcoming NFT Market Monday show, or place an announcement in our newsletter, jump into the Neo Tokyo News Division on Discord and tag @ZeHI or @Phoenixxdown.

October is here, and time seems to be flying in our digital city. It’s been two years and much has been built above and below the streets as we see the woven fibers of our digital city become more interlinked.

Last month, we spoke about building the infrastructure for BYTES staking utility, and now - though we don’t know exactly how it will be implemented - we have some clues…… 

For now we are settling for what the true utility of BYTES has been so far.

Although BYTES liquidity depth seems weak ($1900 for a 3% move in price), most of the selling has been met with market buying, signaling a firm belief from the community that our beloved BYTES will return to its former glory.

As far as the chart goes, a pretty lackadaisical month for September (Down 17%) as the price drifted calmly lower, starting at $2.44 and ending at $2.02.

October Monthly Pivots in USD:

• Support 2: $1.17

• Support 1: $1.60

• Central Pivot 🧲: $2.18

• Resistance 1: $2.65

Currently, bulls and bears are battling out around $2 which gives me confidence the price shows value around these levels as buyers have been coming in nicely to offset emission selling.

The ecosystem is clearly growing, we now have 1792 holders (up 26% since July) and a token supply of nearly 1.966 million (Up 36% since July). Daily token emissions have also seen a bump, rising from about 4,000 to an estimated 4,800 since the beginning of last month.

This aligns with the trend of citizens accumulating more BYTES and opting to reinvest their yields into staking, thereby boosting emission rates. With over 50% of BYTES staked, It's a strong indicator of the community's long-term commitment and optimism.

The BYTES and the crypto market as whole appears to be reaching a pivotal moment. Those who sell now may find themselves on the sidelines, missing out on future gains. Conversely, those accumulating BYTES at these levels could reap exponential rewards, particularly given the limited liquidity pool.

As we await the next demand catalyst, the community's consistent efforts to add value should eventually pay off for those who remain committed. Timing and trust seem to be the key ingredients for future success.

These pivot charts are not meant to predict anything but they can be used to assess risks and opportunities in the market. Catalysts can affect the price of BYTES in unexpected ways. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out on Discord at Steven-T or on Twitter @neotokyocat.

First there was Friend Tech. It came out of nowhere with quite an innovative idea, that all the NFT degens fell in love with at first sight. Then came the spinoffs, some more successful than others. There are probably dozens, but Stars Arena is gaining some serious traction these days, and PostTech could be considered an honorable mention.

The basic premise is simple:

It’s a social media app integrating blockchain technology where you “invest” into other people by purchasing their “keys,” tickets or shares (essentially NFTs). Also, all of them incentivize you to earn by referral links, posting content, and promise an airdrop.

These days the #SocialFi platforms now have more trading volume than the actual NFTs do. What's more, it shows no signs of slowing down, we are now in an “up only” trend, it seems. Not to mention that the TVL is rising across all these platforms.

While Friend Tech clearly has the first movers advantage, they apparently thought making every account’s content locked behind a paywall (owning a key) was a good idea? Well, Stars Arena solves this - the feed is public and accessible to all. Additionally, it is built on Avalanche (much cheaper than ETH’s mainnet) and is more user friendly.

To put Stars Arena’s meteoric rise in perspective: it grew more than 800% in just 7 days, and increased transactions on Avalanche’s network from 26.87k on September 27th to more than 248k by October 4th. Additionally, we are now seeing articles predicting $15 for AVAX on the Nasdaq’s website.

As with any emerging tech, not everything is as smooth as it could be. There were already two major exploits on Stars Arena. The first attack drained people’s wallets and the team responded saying “we are at war,” after fixing the bug.

People, of course, then pointed out that it is in fact their fault. A few days later, an even bigger breach occurred, where liquidity was removed. At first people thought it was a rug. This time the team's response had a bit of a different tone to it:

This #SocialFi trend could already be near its peak, or it could just be getting started. Time will tell. If the growth is sustained, the natural question to ask ourselves is; could this be the new way we interact and are these platforms the next step in blockchain evolution?

Personally, I am not getting involved, because it all seems a bit off to me. I have my issues with aggressively incentivizing monetization of content and there that leads, but that's perhaps a theme for another week.

Greetings and welcome to #NTBuilds, where we showcase some of the remarkable accomplishments of the Neo Tokyo Citizen project founders and the exciting initiatives emerging from The Citadel.

MintDefense

MintDefense strengthens its user protection with the introduction of MintDefense Secure RPC. This new beta feature safeguards users against on-chain attacks, providing MEV protection and private transactions. Users can enjoy a 30-day free trial and then choose between a $99/year license or a lifetime license NFT. Stay updated on developments through Discord and Twitter as MintDefense aims to lead the charge in Web3 security.

The Kingdom

Exciting developments in The Kingdom as it gears up for its official launch. The kingdom introduces a 3-part episodic riddle adventure that lets users craft rare Mythical Armaments. Community Rewards incentivizes users' actions, offering a chance to win prizes like gaming NFTs and a Steam Deck. A TCG Championship series tests gamers' skills, with cash prizes. The Kingdom also partners with RMRK, integrating Modular NFT tech to enhance user experiences and create versatile NFTs for various applications. Stay tuned for more surprises in the world of The Kingdom.

Impakt

Impakt.com, the AI fitness coach app, shares exciting updates. As part of Hashkey's Creator Camp accelerator, Impakt has renowned coaches and advisors, including Twitch's founder and UFC Hall of Famer Forest Griffin. The app offers personalized workouts, real-time computer vision feedback, and fitness journey analysis. Future plans include nutrition guidance, social features, fitness minigames, and involvement in Web3 with NFT and token launches in 2023 and 2024. Collaboration opportunities abound, making Impakt a promising fitness companion.

Fukushima Fish

Exciting updates for the Fukushima Fish project! Koi holders receive a bonus, a limited-time Fish Market swap offer is on the horizon, and the collection will be showcased at 8020.eco's store in Germany. Artist @Neo_Glyph is now an S2, and future plans include multiple platform listings and fish swaps via Discord. Stay tuned for more!

Stay tuned for the next edition of #NTBuilds, where we’ll highlight more innovative projects emerging from The Citadel. If you’re a citizen founder, and would like to have your project featured in #NTBuilds, please reach out to BadFuture.

All content from Neo Tokyo News is for entertainment purposes only, and not financial advice.

That’s it for our 17th edition of the Neo Tokyo Newsletter. Be sure to subscribe and share with your friends so you don’t miss out on future content.

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