标签：Web3

Creating Something Out of Nothing — How the Metaverse Inflates Big Bubbles

Web3 & Bitcoin2022.03.20
Creating Something Out of Nothing — How the Metaverse Inflates Big Bubbles
Recently there has been a milestone event in the NFT world, all initiated by the team behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs. First it acquired the IP of Cyberpunks and Meetbits—Cyberpunks was a pioneer of the NFT market, even one of its creators, while Meetbits was a derivative project of Cyberpunks. Then Yuga Labs launched Apecoin, part of which was airdropped to the holders of all ape-related NFTs (BAYC, MAYC, BAKC). One BAYC could receive a little over 10,000 apecoins. Apecoin is said to play a role in the metaverse project the team will build next. What exactly that role will be is still unclear, but the market…
technology Web3 Bitcoin blockchain
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2022年3月20日
The Metaverse: the “New Continent” of the Information World

Culture & Public Commentary2022.02.24
The Metaverse: the “New Continent” of the Information World
“Cyberspace is not a lawless place; cyberspace also has sovereignty”—of course, I am not going to discuss this sentence itself; let us assume it is valid. If cyberspace also has sovereignty, then what lies between sovereignties, and beyond the borders of sovereignty? In physical space, the border of sovereignty is the national border. Within a country’s boundaries, that country can legislate and enforce the law, can exercise jurisdiction and governance. Beyond the border, it may be another country exercising sovereignty. But is there a territory that lies outside the sovereign boundaries of any country? Of course, excluding disputed and contested territories. In ancient times, such territories certainly existed: they were…
Web3 internet blockchain Huawendao
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2022年2月24日
Are Houses in the Metaverse Sold by Square Meter?

Web3 & Bitcoin2022.02.11
Are Houses in the Metaverse Sold by Square Meter?
This article was commissioned by China Business Journal; see http://www.cb.com.cn/index/show/zl/cv/cv13457191859 or https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404735824251191808. It was published with slight revisions here, and I am posting the original text. Because of space constraints and because some things cannot be said too directly, it is still better to read it together with my earlier On VR IV, The Metaverse Is Hyperreality, and related essays. For some reason, a couple of days ago the domestic media once again recycled the news about metaverse property speculation, reporting that “in December 2021, a virtual plot of land on the metaverse platform Sandbox was sold for about 32 million yuan.” I looked up the news from last December…
technology culture Web3 internet
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2022年2月11日
Rebuilding the Threshold—Web3 Is Indeed a Kind of Regression into “Enclosure and Self-Exaltation,” but That May Not Necessarily Be a Bad Thing

Culture & Public Commentary2022.01.30
Rebuilding the Threshold—Web3 Is Indeed a Kind of Regression into “Enclosure and Self-Exaltation,” but That May Not Necessarily Be a Bad Thing
Yesterday, the floor price of the Bored Ape NFT broke through 100 Ether (ETH), and now it is 106.9 (one Ether is currently worth more than 2,500 U.S. dollars), which means a single Bored Ape is worth roughly one to two million yuan. “Floor price” refers to the cheapest ape you can buy right now if you rush in and make the purchase immediately. Because every ape looks different, and the rarity of their various attributes also differs, many people choose to buy at a higher price point; for example, Justin Bieber today spent 500 ETH to buy one. The full name of Bored Ape is “Bored Ape Yacht Club”…
culture Web3 blockchain decentralization
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2022年1月30日
On VR (IV): If Houses Are Square, What’s So Strange About People Who See Squares? — On the Sensory Style of the Metaverse

AI & the Future of Technology2022.01.25
On VR (IV): If Houses Are Square, What’s So Strange About People Who See Squares? — On the Sensory Style of the Metaverse
In the earlier articles about the metaverse, I already said that the metaverse is not “virtual reality”—one path runs above reality, the other below it; these are two opposite roads. But just how different these two roads are, I still haven’t made sufficiently clear. Some people divide the development of the metaverse into two relatively independent dimensions: on the sensory dimension, simulation, realism, immersion; on the social dimension, openness, co-creation, decentralization. I basically agree with this division. Of course, first of all, I think the development of the metaverse places more emphasis on the social side, especially power relations and economic relations. But the path opposite to “virtual reality” that…
technology Web3 Aristotle environment
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2022年1月25日
“The World of Ideas,” “Lyceum”: An NFT Project I Imagined, 2 and 3

Web3 & Cypherpunks2022.01.14
“The World of Ideas,” “Lyceum”: An NFT Project I Imagined, 2 and 3
What did I say? Why have I “not kept up closely with the new things in the crypto world in recent years”? Because it takes too much mental energy: there are too many opportunities, and before you know it you’re getting fomo. I played with NFT for a few days recently, and I felt that familiar sensation again. You really can’t linger in this circle for long; I’d better pull out early and get back to writing papers…… But I’ll still write down the second idea I came up with that night when I couldn’t sleep. At the time I actually mainly thought of three projects: one was 《Pantheon》, the…
scholarship Web3 blockchain Plato
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2022年1月14日
“Investiture of the Gods”: An NFT Project I Envisioned

Web3 & Cypherpunks2022.01.10
“Investiture of the Gods”: An NFT Project I Envisioned
After spending a few days exploring the NFT market, I’ve really felt that it is still just getting started, with far too much room for imagination. One night, when I couldn’t sleep, I did a bit of self-brainstorming and came up with a way to play with NFTs. Actually, it was several ways of playing with them, though several of the others are still not very mature. I recorded the idea here. I’ve also already made the NFT and frozen the metadata: Opensea link If any big names or teams want to draw on it, you’re welcome to contact me. As for NFT development, apart from the specific design below,…
China Web3 blockchain value
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2022年1月10日
Why Are NFTs Valuable? Rethinking NFTs and Tulips

Culture & Public Commentary2022.01.07
Why Are NFTs Valuable? Rethinking NFTs and Tulips
In the article From BTC to NFT: Wealth to Power I already confessed that my understanding of NFTs has clearly changed. Although in the article NFT and Tulip Mania I agreed with the importance of NFT technology, I still felt that “a pixel image worth tens of millions is, however you look at it, not a price that could possibly last long.” But I have now withdrawn that judgment; now I think that at least some historically significant NFTs are entirely capable of maintaining high prices over the long term. Of course, this judgment of mine does not constitute investment advice. On the one hand, most of the accompanying NFTs…
culture history Web3 Bitcoin
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2022年1月7日
The Metaverse Is Hyperreality, Not Virtual Reality: From the Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution to the Information Revolution

AI & the Future of Technology2022.01.05
The Metaverse Is Hyperreality, Not Virtual Reality: From the Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution to the Information Revolution
“Metaverse” was last year’s big buzzword. I also discussed it a great deal on Weibo, in class, and in conversation, but unfortunately no media outlet ever invited me to write about it, so I never got around to writing anything systematic. Perhaps I could consider turning it into an academic paper, but then I’m always lazy. In any case, since I have a bit of inclination these past couple of days, let me first write an essay on it. (I will still turn this article into an NFT through Opensea, but in this era when the copyright consensus around NFTs is still far from mature, I nonetheless welcome reprints by…
technology culture Web3 tradition
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2022年1月5日
From BTC to NFT: From Wealth to Power

Culture & Public Commentary2022.01.04
From BTC to NFT: From Wealth to Power
In recent years I haven’t really kept up with the new things in the crypto world, because researching them takes a lot of time and energy, and it also affects one’s state of mind quite a bit—because if you’re not careful, you start feeling like you’ve “lost a hundred million yuan.” So it’s better, really, to let what you can’t see be “quiet” to the eyes. But the NFT craze and the so-called “metaverse” are major developments that spilled beyond the crypto bubble; even if I’m no longer paying attention to the crypto world, I can’t help but pay attention to them, so here I am writing again. (A few…
culture Web3 Bitcoin blockchain
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2022年1月4日