Welcome to the OpenSea digest. Let’s look back through the biggest NFT and web3 news of the week.

Mad Arts’ acquires a significant collection of works from theVERSEverse

Digital poetry just got even hotter. Mad Arts, an innovative digital art and technology museum, acquired 22 digital poems from theVERSEverse earlier this month. The acquisition marks one of the most substantial digital poetry collections purchased by an institution. 

Curated by an acclaimed group of poets, the pieces are minted on the Tezos blockchain and will soon be on exhibit at the Mad Arts physical space in Dania Beach, FL. 

A women-led literary arts collective, theVERSEverse continues to innovate at the intersection of technology and both spoken and written word. The online crypto poetry gallery also promotes financial sustainability for artists and the preservation of language on blockchain.

Hans Zimmer creates theme song for web3

In today’s unexpected creative mashup news, celebrated composer Hans Zimmer has written “The Tron Anthem,” a new theme song for the Tron blockchain. The song has reportedly been in development for over two years and was created in collaboration with Tron founder Justin Sun.

Zimmer is known for scoring films like “Inception” and “The Dark Knight.” The song, a blend of orchestral arrangements and electronic music, is said to be a reflection of values in web3. In a quote published by CoinTelegraph, Zimmer seemed to praise the ethos of web3, saying:

‍“Everything that the Western world certainly is built on is a legacy code of the Industrial Revolution. Our education systems are built around that, our government is built around that etc. And once the internet happened, I don’t think we really knew how to use it. I think we need to free ourselves from those philosophies and those restrictions.”

Samsung launching NFT gallery app

Get ready for NFTs on your TV. Samsung is launching its Samsung NFT Gallery TV App on April 24. The app connects with Samsung Lifestyle TVs and enables users to view high-quality digital artwork of their favorite NFTs.

This functionality is enabled through Samsung’s bundle of integrations with OpenSea’s marketplace, Polygon’s layer-two blockchain and Ledger’s smart wallets. The move by Samsung is part of a broader initiative, which the brand is dubbing “GEN|3|GATE,” to improve digital experiences in metaverse gaming. 

STEPN and Adidas announce new drop

Adidas and mobile fitness app STEPN are elevating the sneaker game with the recent launch of a ultra limited-edition co-branded Genesis Sneaker NFT. According to a tweet, the collection will unveil four unique sneaker designs, including rare looks inspired by the colors of the brand’s official web studio ALTS by adidas.   

The Sneakers NFT collectibles listed for 10,000 GMT (worth approximately $2,293 at the time of writing) and minted on Solana. The drop is happening in two phases running from April 17 to April 21. 

While it’s still unconfirmed whether minting a Sneaker NFT delivers holders with physical shoes, the collectibles do open up exclusive perks, including a soon-to-be-revealed STEPNCard.

Cool Cats Color Me Cool is now live

Cool Cats is uniting its community with a colorful new art project. The NFT brand recently shipped 3,000 blank miniature cat statues to holders for them to customize and paint however they like. When complete, proud holders are then able to scan a near-field communication (NFC) chip to create a sharable digital rendering of their unique statue. 

The Color Me Cool project is being carried out in partnership with Macy’s Interactive design studio, which uses AI to create generative art.

Azuki’s 'Enter The Garden' releases this month

Gear up, Azuki fans! “Enter The Garden,” the brand’s long-awaited anime anthology, is dropping this month. Behind the first episode is an all-star creative team led by console gaming animation heavyweight Junichi Yamamoto and well-known character designer Kinu Nishimura, along with voice actors Akari Kito and Tomokazu Sugita.

The series aims to merge traditional anime with blockchain technology, offering the Azuki community a chance to co-create and own parts of the intellectual property (IP).

On Twitter, Azuki said over time it plans to “iterate and improve on this novel process, where the creative teams can deliver unique stories and expressions of the IP while the community is rewarded for owning and participating.

Maison Margiela x The Fabricant MetaTABI is now live

The highly anticipated MetaTABI boot is here! The Maison Margiela collection hit digital shelves on April 17. Blending the iconic toe-box design with exclusive perks, the MetaTABI NFTs are available in two colors — white or black — and come with physical handmade boots or custom leather wallets. Holders also gain early access to Margiela’s future web3 projects and virtual reality experiences. Read more about the MetaTABI launch on OpenSea’s blog.