Pantera Capital Partner: A Detailed Explanation of the Metaverse Fashion Project Space Runners

Original Author: Paul Veradittakit, Partner at Pantera Capital

Original Title: 《Fashion Metaverse》

Compiled by: Biscuit, Chain Catcher

Space Runners is a metaverse fashion company that is building a fashion-focused virtual world and collaborating with talented designers and artists to launch NFT collections. Space Runners recently completed a $10 million funding round and is pushing the possibilities of digital fashion.

As people seek to express themselves more comprehensively in web3, metaverse fashion companies are gaining explosive appeal. As individuals, appearance is one way to present oneself to society. Whether through following fashion trends, creating one’s own style, or relying on the allure of a brand, everyone has a unique personal style.

For a long time, fashion has reflected a person's style, status, and wealth.

People's first impressions of others are often related to appearance, and this habit is amplified online; the first thing to identify others in the metaverse is often their digital appearance. Moreover, virtual socializing is becoming increasingly important across society, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has limited offline interactions. Fashion NFTs have rapidly developed because the desire for self-expression has always existed, which is an undeniable aspect of the internet. According to a tweet from OpenSea founder Alex Atallah, the number of NFTs on OpenSea has now surpassed the number of websites in 2010. A significant portion of these NFTs will become fashion NFTs.

People generally enjoy showcasing their fashion sense, and fashion in the metaverse ecosystem is particularly striking because it allows individuals to express themselves in ways that go beyond web2. Web3 fashion reaches a broader audience and is not constrained by the time, logistics, and other physical limitations associated with clothing design and production. Most physical fashion items lose value upon resale, whereas in the metaverse, fashion items are seen as investments that can appreciate in value. Additionally, there is no need to worry about the comfort and functionality of clothing in the virtual world, allowing for the possibility of designing bolder and more avant-garde fashion pieces.

Fashion-related activities, such as virtual fashion shows, pop-up boutique visits, and try-on galleries, are becoming increasingly popular in the virtual ecosystem. For example, on March 24, the virtual world Decentraland hosted the first free "Metaverse Fashion Week" (MVFW) utilized by users. Compared to live events, while accessibility is limited, the event is highly inclusive; audience users only need an Ethereum wallet to purchase assets. MVFW allows users to buy digital wearables from various popular metaverse fashion brands without needing high social status, strong connections, or significant funds.

In addition to lowering the entry barrier, another appeal of this space is personalization; the web3 ecosystem becomes stronger as users showcase more styles and more refined decentralized protocols.

Space Runners

Space Runners is a metaverse fashion brand focused on creating fashion items for metaverse players. Fashion is a way for people to express themselves in both the real world and the web3 world, and Pantera is proud to co-lead Space Runners' $10 million funding round with Polychain Capital. The project's co-founder, Won Soh, stated that after completing the funding, Space Runners plans to "build the first end-to-end fashion ecosystem on the blockchain." The concept of showcasing wealth through high fashion is not new, and it is becoming increasingly prominent in the web3 ecosystem. Overall, items in the metaverse carry attributes of wealth, and the transparency of assets makes it easier to spread widely and gain public attention.

The community of Space Runners reflects the hot trend of digital fashion; the community has gained over 300,000 followers on Instagram, over 100,000 followers on Twitter, and additional members on Discord. On Snapchat, users can even experience products through the team's "try-on" sneakers and other digital wearables. The project profits by charging a one-time initial minting fee for each collection and a 4.25% secondary royalty fee upon resale of the works.

A pair of NBA Champions series shoes from Space Runners, with price history and attributes. Source: Magic Eden

Collectibles

Space Runners' unique digital wearables are often created in collaboration with artists and represented as NFTs on the blockchain, which can be referenced in the metaverse and games. Space Runners is creator-focused: the platform frequently holds open design competitions and collaborates with many unique artists. Currently, Space Runners is hosting a design competition where the community votes for the best design, which will be released in the next collection, and the winner can receive a share of the profits.

The protocol initially launched its NFT fashion series on Solana and listed it on Magic Eden and FTX, but it plans to expand to Ethereum and other chains. CEO Deniz Özgür stated that Space Runners has been collaborating with some of "New York's most popular fashion companies" and is seeking to create collections with a softer aesthetic, moving beyond "urban concrete style" items.

Designers for Space Runners' next collection face fierce competition, as shown in the leaderboard. Source: Space Runners

The first collection, named NBA Champions Drop, was designed in collaboration with former NBA stars Kuzma and Nick Young and sold out in just 9 minutes. These works were minted on Solana, and the floor price on the popular NFT trading platform Magic Eden is currently 13 SOL. The collection has a cap of 10,000 pieces, with a lifetime royalty fee of 0.5% for minters.

According to the founders, community members who obtained whitelist status in Space Runners Discord participated in a private sale, which included benefits such as priority minting and discounted pricing. Following the private sale was a public sale, which lasted less than ten minutes. The private sale round 1 price was 3 SOL, round 2 price was 4 SOL, and the public sale NFT price was 5 SOL.

According to data from Magic Eden, owners of sneaker NFTs will receive exclusive benefits, such as courtside tickets to NBA games, Space Runners merchandise, exclusive party invitations, whitelisting for the next collection, and more. The company plans to launch a second collection soon. Space Runners places great importance on bringing emerging outstanding artists into the NFT ecosystem and providing technical knowledge about NFTs.

Works from NBA Champions Drop are currently listed on Magic Eden. Source: Magic Eden

Spaceverse

Space Runners has chosen not to adopt existing metaverse ecosystems but plans to launch a metaverse world called Spaceverse. They believe that their designed metaverse and token model will be better suited for a unique virtual fashion ecosystem. Additionally, the token system and strong community will create a moat for the Spaceverse fashion metaverse.

Preparing to enter Spaceverse. Source: Space Runners

$SPACE

The $SPACE token has many use cases. Users need to burn $SPACE to upgrade and merge NFTs. According to Space Runners, users can also spend $SPACE to purchase land, build stores, and showcase NFTs. $SPACE is a multifunctional token that users can earn by playing games and interacting in the metaverse, and token holders can also participate in governance, voting, and staking.

Imagination

According to the founders, the future plans for Space Runners are exciting. With Spaceverse, not only can fashion be gamified through a Wear-to-Earn model, but fashion brands will also be brought into the virtual world, creating an immersive shopping experience for users. The team will continue to expand collaborations with real-world artists through the fashion NFT concept and integrate metaverse and gaming environments. This will make Space Runners one of the most attractive fashion metaverse platforms.

Team

Space Runners was co-founded by Won Soh and Deniz Özgür. Soh previously worked at McKinsey, Google, and Bain, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. Özgür has spent significant time in business development for blockchain and digital identity after obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Business and Economics from Bosphorus University.

Other notable artists on the team include Rohan Chhabra, Victor Homenko, and Mijoo Kim, each of whom injects their talent into the NFT fashion project. Fashion Creative Director Chhabra has worked for over 10 years at Nike and Ralph Lauren. Homenko is an award-winning designer and the chief artist for Reddit NFTs, while Kim is a co-founder of Mue Studio and has over a decade of experience in art direction and visual arts.

On the technical side, Mert Beyaz has over four years of blockchain experience and was a technical lead at a large cryptocurrency exchange. Ahmet Yildirim has five years of experience in blockchain integration (including at the Ethereum Foundation) and brings expertise in core engine and smart contract development.

Pantera believes that fashion will see more development in the virtual world. Because digital fashion has a broader audience, it allows users to support emerging designers and express themselves in more personalized ways.