That’s a wrap for Week 31 of Coffee with Captain and the highlight is AIP-479 passing, which means Coffee with Captain received some funding and is officially powered by $APE! On top of that we had an all star lineup. The guests consist of Julian (Doodles), Andrea (Beezie), Adam (Pirate Nation), AP (California DMV) and for the first time ever Garga (Yuga Labs). This is a week you’re going to want to go back and listen. We also introduced a new sponsor this week, Harpie!
In case you missed any of the shows, below is a small recap of each day with links to the podcast on Apple and Spotify. Links to other streaming platforms can be found on our buzzsprout page. Check out the timestamp if you want to catch the specific interviews.
Monday
The Story of Yuga Labs with Greg Solano
Bitcoin Nashville was last week and Outer Lumen stopped by to share her experiences. Apparently, there weren’t just Bitcoin people at the conference, but a mix of people from Bitcoin, Solana and Ethereum ecosystems. I love to see this type of cross pollination and it’s how the web3 space as a whole will continue to grow. There were quite a few events and people seemed to enjoy them based on the X timelines. I didn’t really see any type of negative feedback, but Bitcoin also isn’t my circle.
We had a recap of Project Dragon by Otherside and Captain was very excited for its future potential. However, there were plenty who expressed on the X timeline that the gameplay wasn’t very impressive and there was plenty of glitching. In fairness, Garga (Greg Solana) said before the game’s release that this would be the worst version of the game. One of the biggest takeaways was Garga’s renewed focused on Otherside and shipping frequently while telling a story.
Later, the Coffee Crew is joined by Greg, CEO of Yuga Labs, and Sean, CEO of Pixel Vault, to discuss Yuga’s journey in web3. In the early days of Bored Ape Yacht Club, there was a ton of community support and vibing on the X timeline. However, the massive increase in price led to community members losing assets worth over $100k. The web3 space wasn’t ready for the madness. Garga has also experienced some danger from being doxxed unwillingly, which nobody wants. GFunk and Garga also shared their early experience with the Adidas partnership, one of the first major partnerships in web3.
Check this episode out on Apple and Spotify.
Tuesday
DoodlesTV with Julian + Beezie Rebrand (Formerly The Colony) with Andrea
Crypto continues to be in a state of unpredictability. BlackRock says BTC and ETH are the only ETFs for the foreseeable future, which doesn’t bode well for the Solana maxis. The US government is also looking to sell off seized Bitcoin. We continue to bring up the rear when it comes to crypto. There is also uncertainty with the US election and this will likely play a role in crypto’s future.
We have two projects joining us on the show today. First, the Coffee Crew is joined by Andrea and Joey of Beezie to discuss real world assets (RWAs). The team rebranded from The Colony to differentiate themselves from the crowd and ended up creating a word to make the name unique. Beezie is a RWA platform that focuses on collectibles. The platform has been built out for both collectors and resellers, which allows them to have product-market fit outside the web3 space. Beezie’s aim is to bring down the barrier to entry into web3 by improving rails to onboard. Andrea believes this is a brick by brick build that requires going out to people and sharing the vision to make them brand ambassadors.
The second guest is a familiar one. The Coffee Crew is once again joined by Julian, Doodles CEO, to talk about DoodlesTV and more. DoodlesTV is a feature of their product The Stoodio, which is an onchain IP development tool. The goal right now is to use the blockchain to give people token-gated access to music before anyone and then create collectibles to signify the moment when these records come to market. The Stoodio is going to be a platform where Doodles’ community can create user-generated content. Incentivizing content creation will be a pillar of Doodles moving forward. Julian said the original Doodles collection is the grail and holding an OG Doodle is meant to be special.
Check this episode out on Apple and Spotify.
Wednesday
DraftKings Kills Reignmakers + Pirate Nation Shipping with Adam Fern
DraftKings pulls the plug on their Reignmakers program seemingly due to a single lawsuit brought by a platform user. In addition, they’ll be issuing payouts for Reignmakers cards held. Captain is very unhappy about the way DraftKings is going about this and will likely become a detractor of the brand. Others have shared his sentiment on the X timeline. It’s unclear if the regulatory uncertainty was the main issue or if they just bailed when the going got tough..
Later, the Coffee Crew is joined by Adam Fern, Product Lead, to share developments with Pirate Nation. Many projects can end up focused on floor price due to community pressure, but not Pirate Nation. The main focus of the team is shipping out a product and enhancing the gaming experience. It’s important they make the game better each week to serve the player base. The team isn’t afraid to do what’s necessary to keep the game economy sustainable and ensure the longevity of the game.
The current elephant in the room for Pirate Nation is the astronomical wait times that alienate the casual user trying to play the game when they’re on a quick break. Adam says it’s one of the worst things to happen to the company and he’s spent most of his time trying to figure out how to eliminate the lines. No one has built a product at the scale Pirate Nation has done yet, so they’re facing issues that no one else has faced. They’re building a game that can live on multiple chains in a seamless manner and won’t go mobile until they fix the underlying infrastructure.
Check this episode out on Apple and Spotify.
Thursday
BAYC DeFi + Is Scottie Pippen Grifting Web3?
Thursday was another mixed bag episode, but more importantly AIP-497 passed with flying colors. Thank you to all the listeners for the support. It’s really a testament to all the hard work Christ and Steve have put in over the years. This is a chance to build a real business and love the process. Coffee with Captain is now powered by $APE.
Zed Run will have a token, $ZED, releasing soon. Information is still a little scarce, but we’ll update you as the terms become more clear. Currently, the lowest tier horse is expected to receive ~$500 in $ZED. Captain does expect a pretty massive selloff, but the token will have an immediate use case within the game at launch.
Machi has created ApeFi to bring more of DeFi to the BAYC ecosystem. The token is called BAYCcoin ($BAYC) and can be found on both Ethereum and Solana. The token is fully backed by BAYC NFTs. Depositing one BAYC NFT nets you 100M $BAYC and depositing the same in $BAYC returns a random BAYC NFT. I’m not really sure of any other details other than those facts.
Lastly, Scottie Pippen’s X account has released a barrage of ridiculous and ignorant sounding posts the last week or so. He is fractionalizing the Game 5 Ball from the Chicago Bulls championship win over the Lakers. Who is advising him and/or running socials? This seems like a poorly planned and poorly put together launch. There’s very generic language and honestly seems outright like a scam. Scottie has shown his colors in web3 already and this is something I wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole.
Check this episode out on Apple and Spotify.
Friday
California Tokenizes the DMV on the Blockchain
The Coffee Crew is joined by AP, a Staff Service Analyst for the California DMV, to educate us on the DMV’s integration of the blockchain and digital systems. The California DMV is utilizing blockchain technology through DXP (Digital Experience Platform), which aims to modernize the DMV’s IT systems and business processes using cloud and automation. It has three phases. Phase one focuses on occupation licensing, phase two centers around vehicle registration, and phase three incorporates drivers licenses.
The inspiration for the move to the blockchain stemmed from budgeting. The California DMV is very understaffed and constantly going through budget cuts, so they’re trying to eliminate load work and streamline title transfer processes and renewal processes. Completing tasks digitally can make it difficult for users because they like the “old way.” The DMV’s job is to be able to explain how it will benefit everyone and make tasks easier.
The DMV started with a different blockchain, but have landed on Avalanche because of their security potential. The DMV has struggled with data breaches in the past, so this was a better partnership. Additionally, with the REAL ID upcoming, the DMV is trying to introduce their mobile driving license. By fall of 2026 they want to have a national database where you won’t need a PDPS (Problem Driver Pointer System), which is an old, slow database that lets states intercommunicate. Once it’s replaced with a blockchain, those processes will be able to be done instantly.
Check this episode out on Apple and Spotify.
Wrap Up
What a week for Coffee with Captain! A schedule of all star guests and the first time talking about the California DMV’s move to the blockchain. We also introduced a new show sponsor, Harpie.io. Make sure to check them out. And of course we’re so thankful for the passing of AIP-479, which gave Coffee with Captain some much appreciated funding. Thank you to all the listeners and supporters who made it happen! If you missed week 30, make sure to check it out here.
Be sure to check out:
- The Everything Token: A Book on Web3 and NFTs
- Making Coffee: Our Official Coffee Partner
- ENS: Ethereum Naming Service
- Harpie: The Onchain Firewall
