As the NFT market shows signs of a bull run, consider investing in proven projects like Pudgy Penguins (PUDGY), Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), and Azuki (AZUKI) that have built through the bear market. One such project, Kanpai Pandas (PANDAS), is building a flywheel of media, fighting, and casino businesses to drive value to its NFT holders. The project plans to use 3% of its casino profits to buy back PANDAS NFTs from the market, reducing supply and rewarding long-term holders. For a more direct play on the ecosystem's revenue, consider the Strike Token (STRIKE), the native currency for the entire platform. A significant 17% of all profits will be used to buy back and burn STRIKE tokens, creating a deflationary asset designed to increase in value as the businesses grow.

Kanpai Pandas (NFT)

• Kanpai Pandas is an NFT project founded by the podcast guest, IceBagz. It was launched three years ago during a bear market and is the central piece of a larger business ecosystem.
• The project is positioned at the center of a "flywheel" that includes a media company, a fight league (Dirty Boxing Championship), and a betting/casino application.
• The founder's vision is to build real-world businesses that generate revenue and drive value back to the NFT holders, rather than relying on secondary sales or new NFT drops.
• It was noted as one of the only major projects from its era that has never launched a sub-collection to raise funds, instead focusing on building external revenue streams.
• The speaker believes the project is one of "4 or 5 legitimate projects" in the NFT space that have continued to build through the bear market and are worth paying attention to.

Takeaways

• Direct Holder Benefits: The project is designed to directly benefit its holders through two primary mechanisms tied to the ecosystem's revenue:
  • Token Airdrop: Panda holders receive a share of the Strike Token supply (15% total) distributed linearly over two years.
  • NFT Buybacks: 3% of the profits from the associated casino and sportsbook will be used to buy back Kanpai Pandas from the open market and lock them for five years, reducing the circulating supply.
• Long-Term Value Proposition: The investment thesis for Kanpai Pandas is tied to the success of the surrounding businesses. As the fight league and betting platform grow and generate revenue, this is designed to create buying pressure for both the Pandas NFT and the Strike token.
• Bull Market Potential: The founder believes that a combination of time (for the businesses to mature) and a general NFT bull market is what will drive the project back to its all-time highs.

Strike Token (STRIKE)

• Strike Token is the native cryptocurrency for the ecosystem built around Kanpai Pandas, the Dirty Boxing Championship, and the "overdose" betting platform.
• The token is designed to capture value from all parts of the ecosystem.
• A key part of the growth strategy is leveraging the media company's 51 million monthly views to drive users to the betting and casino platform, which in turn fuels the token's value.
• The founder suggests comparing its potential to other Web3 casino tokens like Rollbit and Shuffle, but argues Strike has a unique, built-in user acquisition engine through its media properties.
• Future plans include launching a US-regulated sports betting/casino product by the end of the year and developing Telegram games that will utilize the Strike token.

Takeaways

• Tokenomics (How it Gains Value): The value of Strike is supported by a "buy back and burn" model, which is a common strategy to increase a token's price over time.
  • Buy Back & Burn: 17% of all profits from the casino and sportsbook are used to buy Strike tokens from the market and permanently remove them from circulation (a "burn"). This creates consistent buying pressure and makes the token deflationary (supply decreases over time).
• Utility & Engagement: The token will be integrated into a consumer-facing app for the Dirty Boxing league, where users can earn Strike for engaging with the platform. This is intended to onboard a large number of new users into the crypto ecosystem.
• Investment Angle: Investing in Strike is a bet on the success of the entire media, fighting, and gambling ecosystem. The more successful the businesses are, the more profit is generated to buy back and burn the token, which should theoretically increase its value.

NFT Market & Key Projects

• Sentiment: The speaker is bullish on the NFT market, stating "NFTs are hot" and believing an "NFT bull run" is coming. The recent sale of CryptoPunks for $8.5 million is cited as a key indicator that serious capital is returning to the space.
• Survival of the Fittest: The speaker notes that most NFT collections from 2022-2023 are "completely dead" because they failed to establish a real business model or a way to generate sustainable revenue.
• He warns investors to be wary of founders from failed projects who might "come back in this cycle" claiming they were "quietly building." The advice is to stick with the projects that have a proven track record of building through the bear market.

Takeaways

• Focus on Builders: The primary insight is to focus on the small number of NFT projects that have demonstrated long-term vision and execution. The projects specifically mentioned as "always building" were:
  • Pudgy Penguins (PUDGY)
  • Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)
  • Azuki (AZUKI)
  • Kanpai Pandas (PANDAS)
• Business Model is Key: When evaluating an NFT project for a long-term hold, investors should look for evidence of a sustainable business model that can generate revenue outside of NFT sales and royalties. Projects with a clear plan for revenue generation and value distribution back to holders are positioned more strongly for long-term survival.
• Community and Visibility: A strong, engaged community (like the one Pudgy Penguins has built) and high visibility are also critical factors for a project's success, especially when the market is not in a full-blown bull run.