MBA Event Announcement

One for the NFT lovers...

Author

MBA
January 15, 2024

Hi all, Ian here from the Manchester Blockchain Alliance.

I just wanted to wish you all a happy new year and also welcome you to the very first edition of the MBA newsletter (P.S. We’re open to name suggestions!).

2023 was an unbelievable year for the MBA. If you’d told me this time last year that we would be ending 2023 by announcing a partnership with Coinbase and supporting Stand With Crypto’s entrance into the UK, I would've thought you were crazy. But that’s exactly what we did!

Here’s to topping it in 2024 🍻

Ian

Stand With Crypto In The UK

As mentioned above, last month we were delighted to announce a partnership with Coinbase. We joined forces with Coinbase to help launch Stand With Crypto in the UK - an alliance that champions clear, common-sense regulations for the crypto industry.

Our partnership kicked off with a brilliant evening at The Ivy in Manchester, attended by over 100 guests including web3 product builders, ministers and government officials.

Check out our video from the event here and look out for another event with Coinbase in March 👀

Register here to support and stay up to date with the latest events that Coinbase have planned across the UK!

Event Announcement

We’re delighted to announce our first meetup of 2024.

After a difficult year for NFTs, driven by anti-crypto clickbait and mainstream media FUD, we thought what better way to start the year than dispelling the myth that NFTs are dead!

Join us for an evening of keynotes, panel discussions and networking opportunities as we dive into the enormous potential of NFTs.

Event: NFTs Are Dead, Long Live NFTs

When: Tuesday, January 23rd @ 5:00 PM

Where: No.1 Circle Square, 3 Symphony Park, Manchester, M1 7FS

👉 Grab your free spot here! 👈

Speakers

Sara Simeone - CEO and Co-Founder at Niftyz

Adam Partington - Head of UK Marketing at Futera

Balou - ApeCoin DAO Lead at UK Ape Club and Co-founder at Ape Town

Panel 

Insight.chimp (Chimpers)

Fitzy (Ordinals)

Wedge (DR/VRS)

Masked Mitch (NFT Daily)

Hosted by Lee Isherwood - Founder of Community Platforms and Team at UK Ape Club

👉 Grab your free spot here! 👈

Community Updates

😲 MBA at the House of Lords - Last week our very own Lisa McClory was a speaker at the House of Lords! Lisa was a keynote at the APPG Group on Metaverse and Web3 hosted by Baroness Manzila Uddin and Khalid Mahmood MP.

Lisa talked about the MBA and how governments need to support web3 business growth all across the country, not just in London!

Next week, Lisa and Sara will be heading to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.

🚀 UFORIKA - A big congratulations to our community project UFORIKA who today held a super successful IDO. $FORA sold out in the blink of an eye on the GameFi launchpad platform. Well done to their team, community and everyone who purchased.

UFORIKA is a metaverse MMO game where creativity, innovation, and community thrive in harmony. Head over to uforika.io if you’d like to learn more.

🥇 Competition winner - Congratulations to Tim Hague who recently won our Discord giveaway. Tim received an MBA goody bag supplied by our community partners which included an MAYC t-shirt and a Ledger Nano S Plus. More comps to come this year so make sure you’re in our Discord!

Industry News

🚀 Bitcoin ETF - The news we’ve all been waiting for, the spot Bitcoin ETF has finally been approved! In what’s a major win for the crypto space, the approval means Bitcoin can now be traded in the same way stocks and shares can, opening the door for an influx of new investors. Buckle up 👀

💸 Ordinals - December saw Bitcoin NFTs surge in popularity and sales, with over $881 million recorded in transactions. This figure significantly surpassed the previous monthly record of $375 million set in November. The continued spike saw 111,713 buyer addresses and 98,744 seller addresses involved in these transactions, marking new monthly record highs.

💳 Visa - Web2 giant Visa has recently unveiled plans for a web3 loyalty solution to address the changing preferences of modern consumers. The platform will offer immersive experiences, such as gamified rewards, augmented reality treasure hunts, and innovative ways to utilise loyalty points. The digital loyalty solution aims to help brands take loyalty to the next level, going beyond the traditional exchange of ‘spend and rewards’ that we see with current loyalty schemes.

New home for the MBA

Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere…but last month we were thrilled to give our digital home a little makeover before launching our brand new website!

If you haven’t already, go check it out and let us know what you think. Shout out to the Avark team who were responsible for the design and build.

If you’ve not been to one of our meetups before and are wondering what to expect, check out this talk from our last event where Lisa McClory shared her thoughts on the future of DAOs.

Event Sponsors

Accountants, tax, business advisers & all matters financial. Ascendis offer a one-stop solution for client affairs.

Bermans is a multi-award winning practice of commercial, forward-thinking lawyers with offices in Liverpool and Manchester.

Bruntwood SciTech is the UK’s largest property provider dedicated to driving the growth of the science, technology and innovation sectors.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our first event of 2024 next week!