Kate Irwin

This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thedrop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



There’s another card trading platform in the ring: Enter Drip Shop Live, aka Drip, which has a shopping site, a livestreaming-focused mobile app and plans for more crypto integrations.&nbsp;



Drip has just released Instant Packs, a new feature that gives anyone the ability to “open” physical cards online whenever they want, instead of during limited-time, limited-edition windows to buy from drops or live auctions. Instant Packs are intended to give the feeling of opening a physical card pack, and the physical cards are then shipped to buyers.



Packs can include cards from a range of IPs. You’ll see a lot of Pokémon on their site, but there’s also some Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z cards. There’s a category for sports cards, though there aren’t actually a lot of that type listed on the site yet.&nbsp;



On Drip, collectors can buy and sell unopened card packs, individual cards, collectors’ boxes, “slabs” or graded encased cards. It’s possible to pay with crypto or fiat currency.&nbsp;



For Instant Packs, the team (for now) is focusing on digitizing slabs, its most popular category.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcBy8tM0yu4tWQ1lm0lei5G2_GwMtgNEdm4WGP3t5cCZwSihpgHFHr27AENxrn7H1g9FyU6N_WCWOknGRfEGkl8jlt4ciYIIc0EXs9ZXurhbjz2vCtOYYmbc04SaaC9_yxCcqsIBQ?key=NUoV0zL-O9jcgjUyYj_R7w" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Screenshots I took while exploring Drip’s app on iOS.</figcaption></figure>



“We configure the packs using an algorithm that maps probabilities to each reveal. These reveals are 100% random based on the probabilities we map,” Drip CEO and cofounder Javaughn Lawrence told me in an email. “Users can also preview what’s in each pack by 1) looking at the collections in each pack 2) trying in demo mode.”



Drip has a mobile-first feel because their iOS and Android apps offer the livestreaming component. But their website isn’t bad, either.&nbsp;



While the site feels more like eBay, the mobile app is a lot like TikTok Live and TikTok’s shopping features. Both the Drip Android and iOS app versions have positive reviews overall (its Android version has over 100,000 downloads so far). There are about 40 sellers offering collectibles on the platform right now, Lawrence said.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdLYDRU9DFHYw6ixg3QrF2AGQD2jfw1-xMfpEd-G7SODRpFkOxnDUgiq0xuY3zwnN4kV_OHJhxvdXdVde0DU4P1j25WsrL0pEWcz_KXwbVPEEkZi2-MG1dng4hFSEKL3lfQZWHjsg?key=NUoV0zL-O9jcgjUyYj_R7w" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Drip on the web.</figcaption></figure>



The apps are designed to appeal to live streamers and the entire category of influencers who make videos about card collecting and pack-ripping more broadly, plus the collectors and fans who watch them (think creators like <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@pokedexter_">Pokedexter</a>, who I know from my Twitch-streaming and TikTok days).&nbsp;



While the packs and cards on the site aren’t NFTs or onchain right now, Lawrence shared that the Drip team is currently in talks with a few different blockchains, including L1s and L2s, to determine who to work with to explore that possibility. They’re doing a pilot with Ronin in a few weeks.



It’s also possible to open Instant Packs on desktop via a web browser. I did it via Drip’s demo, and they definitely try to give that ASMR card-opening experience with an emphasis on the shiny wrapper and that ripping sound.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXema3ZTh2ryc0q_CFj1Z19KhyyhIZLiygOkMPAj77Z2BteFI2cYUGLvkn6ZTptqxS7k8A3_2bS4fGi0igDpBaHUgqaRLp-MfrWTto1qEojGlvqBxGgfPbL9ea_Z4iZEHmOxG39eMA?key=NUoV0zL-O9jcgjUyYj_R7w" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Screenshot from a pack-pulling demo on browser (I did not actually get a card).</figcaption></figure>



Drip also has an in-shop synthetic currency called Driplets, which can be used to get giveaway entries on the app or other rewards. Lawrence said that while the currency isn’t a token right now, “this will be the beginning of our social token when we put that onchain.”



For now, Instant Packs are just for opening cards, but Drip could add a loot box-style opening experience for toys, sneakers, or even jewelry at some point in the future.



The app is a bet on the future importance of livestreaming to shopping and collector culture, for sure. That’s what makes it stand apart from Courtyard, which is mainly a slab-buying platform where buyers can choose whether to “vault” or redeem a card (the physical cards have onchain counterparts).



Courtyard, which uses Polygon, has continued to see substantial sales since a spike back in January. It’s netted over <a href="https://www.cryptoslam.io/courtyard">$53.7 million</a> in sales in the past month across over 459,000 transactions and more than 74,600 buyers.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/the-breakdown">The Breakdown</a>: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch">0xResearch</a>: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst. </li>
</ul>

NFTs

Drip Shop Live launches Instant Packs for trading cards

Ornella Hernandez

<div id="highlights-block_62a9e57603c2a" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>NFT collectibles saw $6 billion in trading volume in the first quarter of 2022</li>
 <li>“If you want to be a global market, crypto is fundamentally the best deposit mechanism,&#8221; Dibbs CEO says</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Collectors looking to score on trading cards, comic books, coins and stamps are pivoting to NFTs to secure their prized items.



Collectibles are the leading segment in the NFT (non-fungible token) industry, with a total USD trading volume of about $6.1 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up 29.7% from the previous quarter. Its market share is significantly higher than the art or metaverse segments of the market in terms of volume traded, <a href="https://nonfungible.com/reports/2022/en/q1-quarterly-nft-market-report" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to data from Nonfungible.com.&nbsp;



North America holds the largest market share for collectibles, said Evan Vandenberg, CEO of blockchain-enabled fractional trading card marketplace Dibbs.



Dibbs users can instantly buy or sell fractions of collectable assets, such as NFL trading cards or Hulk comic books, that are authenticated, vaulted, insured, tokenized and minted into the spot exchange-like marketplace.



In a bid to reach more consumers, Dibbs, previously accepting only fiat, is now expanding its payment options for its physically-backed NFTs with with Circle’s stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) integration, the company announced Wednesday.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“If you want to be a global market, crypto is fundamentally the best deposit mechanism. It doesn’t care where you live,” Vandenberg told Blockworks.</blockquote>



Circle, which partners with Coinbase in the Centre Consortium governing USDC, will support Dibbs on all blockchains that currently integrate USDC, such as Algorand, Avalanche, Ethereum, Flow, Hedera, Solana, Stellar, TRON and the Polygon network via bridged USDC.



“As global e-commerce grows, consumers are looking toward dollar digital assets like USDC for a more efficient and low-friction form of payment that can complement their digital retail experiences,” Circle told Blockworks.



Circle added that the main benefits include “a more seamless, cost-effective, and secure transaction process” for buyers, while sellers will benefit from “more efficient settlements at the point of sale to help them monetize and grow their collectibles business with both fiat and dollar digital currencies.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">From physical to digital</h3>



Vandenberg, who described himself as a life-long collector of cards, particularly first-edition Pokemon cards, believes that there is “more consumptive value in these things being digitized, than actually being physically held.”&nbsp;



He explained that it isn&#8217;t about removing the physical, but simply just “moving it from your hand” into vaults. As both collectible and wearable NFTs become valuable to users who spend more time in digital worlds, these assets play a larger role in people’s digital identities.



The growth of the collectibles market will rely on a marketplace’s guarantee of accessibility to rare assets, speed of transaction and liquidity, and trustworthiness, he said.



And sharing a personal collection in a more meaningful and scalable way, added Vandenberg, requires being part of and transacting with a community “that cares about what you care about.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/the-breakdown">The Breakdown</a>: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch">0xResearch</a>: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst. </li>
</ul>