Happy November!
I don’t know about you, but I’m glad October is over, especially when it comes to cryptocurrency. Since there's a lot that happened in October and important events in November, I've decided to use this week's blog to talk about them.
The October Report
October came in like a bull but went out with a hollow moan, and a lot of crypto degens ended up smashed like pumpkins. It left a lot of people cursing private equity and easy leverage that got people rekt.
Meanwhile, everyone keeps asking, where’s retail?
Personally, I don’t think they’re coming at all in this crypto cycle, especially if you’re looking at U.S. retail.
Nearly 170 million U.S. adults are living paycheck to paycheck in 2025, up by more than 30 million since 2021. Since our last bull market, groceries are up 25 to 30 percent, while income is up 5 to 6 percent. Repos are up, defaults are up… the average American doesn’t have enough left over for low-risk investments, let alone high-risk ones. Until the situation improves on the ground, there won’t be enough minnows in the pond to lift the water level.
Obviously, this has bled into the overall sentiment of anything having to do with crypto, including digital collectibles, so it’s something to keep in mind, since it’s the environment we’ve got to swim in.
Regardless of crypto woes, there are still a lot of positives to talk about when it comes to VeVe last month.
VeVe in October
October started out strong with back-to-back conventions at Hong Kong Designer Con followed by New York Comic Con. As I discussed last week, they added a Whatnot show that helped the VeVe-fam get access to convention drops that had previously been very hard to get our hands on. It’s a thoughtful and exciting addition, not to mention it creates exposure to VeVe through another media stream.
It was also a big month for upgrades. Some of them were:
1. Both the mobile apps and the PC version saw some changes, making it a bit more intuitive to use. I also appreciate that I can see all of the new comics on the PC version of the blue app without ever going to the green app site, so I can easily tell what’s come out recently and if it’s something I want to buy. I have found that I’ve been buying more of the new comics since this came out.
2. On the mobile app, you can now zoom in to look at comic covers before you buy them, and on the PC app, you can now read comics you buy right in the main app.
3. In the VeVeVerse, there’s now a jump feature, extending what sorts of games can be set up.
4. Starting with Gigantron from the Ultraman collection, VeVe has also added collision animation, which will help folks who like to make videos set up battle scenes in the future.
The only criticism I have on the new features is that the mobile comic book reader is currently down and search can always be improved, but it has come a long way considering how bad it used to be. I also didn’t hear as much grumbling from the fam when the apps were upgraded, considering that last time it happened, everyone acted like the world was ending.
October Drops
Overall, the drops in October were just okay. The showstoppers were the Hoth AT-AT and the first Street Fighter drop. Many of the drops were tied directly to the conventions and overall, October was really sparse. There weren't any Halloween drops at all, not even Halloween stamps. Even the Emily the Strange drop was on November 1st.
Looking ahead to November
So far, we know at least three really big things coming in November:
Heroes in a Half Shell
The first thing up is the debut of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and that diorama is definitely a showstopper that I’m hoping to get. Fantastic detail, clean animation, and the original TMNT song. I consider it a must-have in my collection.
Las Vegas DesignerCon
Originally in San Diego, the Las Vegas DesignerCon is celebrating its second year in Las Vegas and twentieth overall. VeVe will also be hosting its 5th anniversary celebration, including a party on Friday. On Saturday, Kid Arcade will be hosting an afterparty at the same location.
Last year, we had a very impressive showing of VeVe-fam who met up at this convention despite the fact that VeVe didn’t even have a booth! I expect it’ll be even better than last year.
Ecomi - OMI Integration
Not long after DesignerCon ends, the next stage of OMI integration, namely OMI to Gems, will be put in place. Gems will officially be named an ‘in-app currency’, but you can still sell collectibles on the StackR platform. Hopefully, you’ve been taking advantage of the time since the announcement to play around with StackR and get comfortable with working with wallets and DEXes. If you haven’t started practicing and have little exposure to the cryptoverse, now’s a great time to play around with it. Generally, this is a positive in more ways than one. Not only is it good for both VeVe as a company and the Ecomi ecosystem as a whole, I find it benefits me personally, since I’d rather keep track of microtransactions on one platform rather than two.
Generally speaking, I like that quality of life improvements on the app have picked up, and I like how the quality of the collectibles have improved, especially of late. VeVe has come a very long way in five years, and it feels like it’s finding a rhythm. With any luck, it’ll continue in the months that follow.
Economic sources: (LendingClub & PYMNTS 2025 Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report; Step Financial Survey 2025; Pew Research Center, “5 facts about food costs in America,” May 15, 2025: pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/05/15/5-facts-about-food-costs-in-america/)