By Sabrina Lynch

• Mythical Games has raised $75M to create a product where in-game avatars, in an open- world will become NFTs
• Digital gaming industry hits $127B market size, but less than 7% of gamers are people of color
  

Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) will soon change the financial futures for Black creators. Technology studio Mythical Games has raised $75 million to create a product where in-game avatars, in an open- world, will become NFTs. This recent news has given license to Black gamers in the digital gaming industry that’s hit a $127 billion market size, to have more autonomy to accrue financial wealth and independence from video game publishers.

Why This Matters: The introduction of NFTs into the gaming universe has significantly increased the lucrativeness of brand partnerships for Black creators, who are rarely given the media recognition they deserve. Only 2% of game developers worldwide identify as Black/African-American, a clear green light that a more equitable and inclusive gaming industry needs to take shape as a matter of complete urgency.  

By CultureBanx Team

• Target partners with resale marketplace ThredUp to tap into the $51B market
• Target accounts for African Americans highest share of non-food purchases at 34%

Retail giant Target (+0.05%) has found another way to profit with its new strategy of selling second hand clothes. The company has partnered with ThredUp, a resale marketplace for used fashion items like Chanel bags, Michael Kors clothing, Gucci accessories and Nike shoes, by leveraging its “resale as a service” (RaaS) online platform. Among mass merchandisers such as Walmart and Target account for African Americans highest share of non-food purchases at 34%, according to Nielsen. Therefore, lower-priced brand name goods may resonate with this demographic of Target shoppers at a time when millions of Americans are coping with high prices due to inflation, as the company looks to tap into the $51 billion resale market.  

‍Why This Matters:  This is Target’s second time around the block with ThredUp after previously partnering in 2015. When you consider that the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that Black people spend around 3% of their household expenditures on clothes, it’s no shock that a trendy online thrift store is teaming up again with a major retailer as a way for customers to save some money and stay in style. Not to mention that the resale market is expected to reach $51 billion by 2023, according to research from ThredUp and GlobalData Retail.

By CultureBanx Team

• A.I. based mortgage lenders are 80% more likely to reject Black applicants, 40% more likely to reject Latino applicants and 70% more likely to deny Native American applicants
• Disparities in homeownership rates are cited as the leading cause in the racial wealth gap
  

Artificial Intelligence and its inherent bias seems to be an ongoing contributing factor in slowing minorities home loan approvals. An investigation by The Markup found  lenders were more likely to deny home loans to people of color than to white people with similar financial characteristics. Specifically, 80% of Black applicants are more likely to be rejected, along with 40% of Latino applicants, and 70% of Native American applicants are likely to be denied. How detrimental is the secret bias hidden in mortgage algorithms?

Why This Matters: It’s important to note that 45% of the country's largest mortgage lenders now offer online or app-based loan origination, as FinTech looks to play a major role in reducing bias in the home lending market. Not to mention that with AI involved minority borrowers who get approved online, they’re typically paying more under algorithmic lending. In 2017, $2.25 trillion of the $13 trillion of outstanding household debt in the U.S. was associated with minority households.

By CultureBanx Team

• #BlackTwitter’s ability to spark change, nostalgia and intellectual civic discourse may be challenged on Musk’s leadership
• Black adults comprise the social media platforms largest ethnic group at 29%, far ahead of Hispanics and Whites at 23% and 22% respectively

The epicenter of social media and culture collide everyday when #BlackTwitter shapes global conversations. No internet subsection has a stronger connected Black community than Twitter and this could possibly change with Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of the platform, since he is no stranger to trolling users. Since Black Twitter is not a separate platform, but rather an open secret to spark change, nostalgia and intellectual civic discourse, will accountability remain under new private leadership?

‍Why This Matters: We’ve seen throughout the past decade that 280 characters can be all it takes to spark a movement on Twitter. From #OscarsSoWhite, to #BlackLivesMatter, to #MeToo, which all turned into global rallying calls for racial and social justice, they were conceived by major influencers on #BlackTwitter. Now, many Black Twitter community members are left weighing the pros and cons of whether or not to continue using Twitter.

By Darion Curtis

• Nike will begin testing Jordan-branded stores in North America in fiscal 2023
• The sneaker resale market is estimated at $2B

The sneaker resale is creating new markets and services with incumbent sneaker producers wanting in on the action. Nike (NKE -2.98%) will begin testing Jordan-branded stores in North America in fiscal 2023 as part of its  direct-to-consumer strategy to disrupt the market. Sneaker culture has buoyed Jordans to be treated as a bona fide asset class product worthy of informed investment valuation, like any other commodity and Nike stands to make even more money with an efficient DTC plan.

‍Why This Matters: According to TheStreet, Nike’s digital sales now represent 26% of the company’s revenue. The company has already opened Jordan-branded stores in China, Korea, the Philippines and Brooklyn, NY that carry exclusive releases. Nike’s Air Jordan 1’s now tote their own investment opportunities with the sneaker resale market estimated to be worth $2 billion. StockX’s best selling sneaker of 2020 was the Air Jordan 13 Retro Flint.  With Nike seeing revenue of $4.7 billion surpassing CEO Mark Parker’s goal of $4.5 billion, it seems like the right time for brick and mortar Jordan-branded stores to stomp onto North American shores.