Last week, we wrote about Forbes, one of the top business magazines, minting its entire 30 under 30 class on the Ethereum blockchain. Now it appears the publication is wading further into Web3 waters, debuting ForbesWeb3, an X account, and a wallet from which it has already bought three non-fungible tokens.
According to an X post, ForbesWeb3 will be an experience and community hub for Web3 entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers. Forbes added that it’s putting together a network of Web3 doers, offering them the chance to write the next chapter in the publication’s legacy.
In style, Forbes may have already purchased its first NFTs: Nakamigos #10482 (male with a backwards white cap), Trademark #4324 from Jack Butcher’s latest collection, and “Glitch Cube Studies four” by KnownOrigin.
The purchases come from an Ethereum wallet with the Ethereum Name Service domain “web3forbes.eth,” an address that interacted with (and transferred ETH to) the wallet that minted the 30 under 30 collection. The account is verified by OpenSea and has the official Forbes Web3 logo and other Forbes photos with a description of “Celebrating artists and having fun along the way.”
In addition, Forbes recently announced its partnership with Galxe, a platform building Web3 communities, for a series of gamified campaigns. By participating in the campaigns, users can amass points and climb a leaderboard, with prizes for certain finishers like subscriptions to the publication.
Forbes Has Been Busy in Web3
While it may come as a surprise that a big name, mainstream media publication is entering Web3, Forbes has been covering the space for 10 years. And in the past couple, it has increased its activity, especially through metaverse activations and NFT collections. Here are three stories involving it and Web3, all from the past two years.
First, two weeks ago, Forbes revealed that it had minted its entire 2024 30 under 30 class on the Ethereum blockchain. The 600 NFTs were minted solely for educational purposes, but it represented a large step in immortalizing a ranking class — something the blockchain is uniquely suited for.
Next, about a year ago, the publication hosted an event in The Sandbox metaverse. The goal for the event was to bring together Forbes subscribers from all around the world, something difficult for in-person events. At the event, there were games, quests, a virtual yacht, and wearables.
Lastly, two years ago, Forbes released an NFT collection of “Virtual Billionaires” on the FTX marketplace. The collection consisted of 100 fictional billionaires that came complete with “portfolios” and a way to track their net worth. There was even a leaderboard that showed the billionaires’ portfolios changing in real-time.
Forbes has been one of the few mainstream media publications to cover Web3 in a positive light, so perhaps it is no surprise that the company is entering the space in a more significant way. The move is an exciting one, adding to the bull run vibes entering crypto, which bodes well for 2024.