GM. This is the Syndicate Network. Welcome to day 2 of our daily newsletter!

Today, we dive straight into the world of NFTs and see the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Today’s top stories:

• 🏴‍☠️ MonkeDAO topples leadership in regime change.

• 💰 Pudgy Penguins on track to make $10 MILLION dollars.

• 🤫 This lowkey airdrop could be huge.

MONKEDAO OUSTS GEN3 TEAM 🏴‍☠️

Wtf just happened to Solana Monkey Business (SMB), a top NFT project on Solana?

To give you a little background, we need to define some terms:

• MonkeDAO - The community-controlled governance body made up of SMB Gen2 NFT holders. Basically a country club where people can vote on things.

• SMB Gen2 - The OG Solana NFT collection. Since the very beginning, everyone wanted to own one.

• SMB Gen3 - An NFT collection created by MonkeDAO. 10,000 SMB Gen3 NFTs were minted in June 2023 and $2.3M+ was raised for MonkeDAO.

With that out of the way, let’s understand what happened and why.

Just yesterday on September 6, a proposal was made by a MonkeDAO member to “Terminate the Gen3 Team.” The Gen3 Team was elected to sell out the SMB Gen3 mint, and then execute a plan to make the new collection successful.

MonkeDAO had cast an overwhelming vote in favor of the new proposal, with 85% of Gen2 holders voting “Yes.”

Here are a few reasons why the proposal passed:

• SMB Gen2 NFTs have fallen from ~◎250 SOL to ~◎66 SOL since the SMB Gen3 mint, and SMB Gen3 NFTs are down from ~◎40 SOL to ~◎8 SOL.

• 12.5% of the Gen3 NFT royalties go to the Gen3 team, and members believe that the Gen3 team has been ineffective.

• Members felt like there was a lack of direction for the Gen3 collection.

As of now, SMB Gen3 has no team, and a transition of management is underway.

With this bold move, will this be the catalyst that brings SMB back to its glory days?

PUDGY PENGUINS: ADORABLE AND RICH 🤑

A top Ethereum NFT collection, Pudgy Penguins, is on track to make $10M in 7 months.

Here are a few details about Pudgy Penguins:

• There are 8,888 Pudgy Penguin NFTs and a single NFT costs $6,596 (Ξ3.97 ETH).

• Their NFT GIFs have a staggering 6.6B views, being used predominantly by non-crypto native audiences.

• The brand was acquired by Luca Netz for $2.5M in April 2022.

From these facts alone, you can tell that these cute and cuddly penguins mean business.

So how are they making millions? The answer is simple: by selling toys and merchandise while leveraging their strong intellectual property (IP).

NFT projects often live in a bubble, being unable to generate revenue outside of crypto. However, Pudgy Penguins breaks that narrative by using their lovable characters to appeal to non-crypto audiences.

Here’s how they did it:

• They launched their first toy collection in May 2023 and became the #1 trending item on Amazon.

• They’ve launched several limited-edition toy and merchandise drops, with all of them selling out.

• They connect with Web2 audiences by making memes, GIFs, and attending live events such as Comic Con 2023.

With such a strong 2023 performance, Pudgy Penguins might be on track to become the most recognizable NFT collection in the world.

STARKNET, THE SECRET AIRDROP 🔥

Do you smell that? “Sniff, sniff…” I smell opportunity.

Today, we’re taking a look at StarkNet, a little-known airdrop that could yield HUGE rewards.

What is StarkNet?

• StarkNet is a decentralized Layer2 protocol that enables Ethereum to scale securely and allows decentralized apps (dApps) to achieve unlimited scale.

• StarkWare, the company behind StarkNet, has raised a total of $225M from venture funding, with its latest valuation being $8B.

• The StarkNet token was announced in July 2022.

The StarkNet airdrop has been relatively unknown for months but has recently garnered buzz from airdrop hunters. With fewer than 800,000 users, some are estimating that top users could receive upwards of $4,000 worth of tokens.

The airdrop will be exclusive to the network's most active users, not everyone. Many tools have been created to help people monitor their activity and ensure they receive their airdrop.

Quick News

CFTC Commissioner proposes a pilot program for U.S. crypto regulation.

Kraken in talks with the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority about expanding derivatives services.

OpenCover, a distributor of decentralized insurance, has gone live on Base, an Ethereum Layer2 built by Coinbase

Ryan Salame, co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, intends to plead guilty to criminal charges this Thursday.

P.S. - We’re curious… Reply to this email and let us know your thoughts on today’s edition and how we could improve!

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own resear