Sam Blumenthal

Earlier this year, Wei, known as Viya, used Taobao to sell a commercial rocket for 40 million yuan, or $5.6 million. The hashtag #WeiYaSellsARocket went viral on the Chinese social platform Weibo after the incredible feat.

Mystery box products have largely migrated to the U.S. from China, where the phenomenon ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar business over the last few years. The Chinese toy company Pop Mart, for instance, has built an empire out of bundling figurine into “mystery toy” boxes. Those boxes sell for about $9 each, and they have become the company’s... See more

The promise of capture-resistant governance is managing shared resources in a way that prevents capture of those resources by bad actors. In so doing, it also unlocks a new frontier of what is possible together. The amazing fluidity, flexibility, and adaptability exhibited by early web3-native communities is testament to what’s possible when our... See more

The new gaming features are integrated into the experience of browsing. The Treasure Spin appears at the top of a customer’s feed in the Tophatter app, and the skins they win are visible to all of the bidders on a particular product. “If you have time to spare and you’re looking for what to do in that time, we want to be top of mind in terms of a... See more

By definition, a virtual influencer is a fictional AI-generated person with realistic characteristics, features and personalities of humans. They behave just like real-life influencers. They speak to the camera, share selfies, feelings and thoughts. The only difference is the content. And, well, the obvious – they’re computer-generated with... See more