Hot Topics: Navigating the NFT Landscape: OpenSea's $1 Million Reserve and Token Launch

Welcome to another Hot Topics episode of The Edge of Show hosted by Josh Kriger and January Jones, featuring returning guest Hrish Lotlikar, Co-Founder & CEO of SuperWorld. In this lively discussion, the trio explores the SuperWorld Token Launch (SPWR) and its mission to monetize digital and physical activities through Web3’s most promising intersection — AI, Deepin, and real-world assets. From OpenSea’s $1 million NFT reserve to immersive XR tech shaping the metaverse, this episode connects the dots between NFT revival, decentralized infrastructure, and human creativity. Discover how SuperWorld’s token ecosystem rewards real-world engagement, why 2025 is the breakthrough year for immersive tech, and what to expect at the upcoming Future of Money, Governance & Law Summit in Washington D.C.

Key Topics Covered

• OpenSea’s NFT Comeback: The platform’s $1 million NFT reserve and token launch signal a renewed push toward sustainable NFT utility amid intense marketplace competition.
  
  
• NFTs vs. Meme Coins: Josh Kriger explains how trader psychology and market volatility affect NFT speculation — and why true value lies in digital collectibles with long-term cultural relevance.
  
  
• The Rise of Immersive Tech: January Jones and Hrish Lotlikar unpack how Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest 3, and spatial computing are blending AR, VR, and blockchain to redefine user experiences.
  
  
• SuperWorld Token Launch (SPWR): Hrish reveals the mission behind SuperWorld’s economic layer on Earth, where users earn, stake, and interact through digital-physical (“phygital”) content, powered by AI and Deepin.
  
  
• Real-World Utility & Decentralization: Learn how SPWR enables users to monetize content, stake real-world businesses, and govern digital assets in a community-driven metaverse.
  
  
• FOMGL Summit Preview: Josh Kriger spotlights the Future of Money, Governance & Law event on Capitol Hill — uniting policymakers, innovators, and Web3 builders to discuss tokenization and digital policy evolution.
  
  

Episode Highlights

“The utilization of NFTs to encapsulate experiences, art, and music will become much more mainstream because of the utility it provides.” — Hrish Lotlikar

“We’ve built a virtual world on top of Earth — where everyone can personalize their own filter on Earth.” — Hrish Lotlikar

“There was a reason we rebranded the show as The Edge of Show — all these industries are coming together in creative ways.” — Josh Kriger

“The secret in plain sight is that your entire life can be tokenized and monetized — and that’s what SuperWorld is revealing.” — Hrish Lotlikar

“Washington D.C. is at the forefront of global crypto regulation — making this summit the right event at the right time.” — Josh Kriger

People and Resources Mentioned

• Hrish Lotlikar — SuperWorld
  
  
• Josh Kriger — Edge of Show
  
  
• January Jones — Co-Host, The Edge of Show
  
  
• OpenSea — opensea.io
  
  
• Meta Quest 3 — meta.com/quest
  
  
• Apple Vision Pro — apple.com/apple-vision-pro
  
  
• Future of Money, Governance & Law Summit — gbaglobal.org/FOMGL
  
  
• Realm Insurance — realmprotection.com
  
  
• Republic — republic.com
  
  

About Our Guest

Hrish Lotlikar
Hrish Lotlikar is the Co-Founder & CEO of SuperWorld, a groundbreaking platform building an economic layer on top of the real world — blending AR, AI, NFTs, and decentralized infrastructure (Deepin). Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Cointelegraph have recognized a serial entrepreneur and early metaverse pioneer, Hrish, for his work at the intersection of immersive tech and blockchain. His mission: to empower users to tokenize and monetize real-world experiences, creating a socially impactful, AI-driven digital economy.

Guest Contacts:
LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/hrishlotlikar
Twitter → x.com/HrishLotlikar
Website → superworldapp.com

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Transcript:

Josh Kriger: Welcome to Hot Topics on the Edge of Show. I'm Josh Krieger, and I'm here with my co-host, January Jones, as well as Rish Ladakar from SuperWorld. We're welcoming him back to talk about some exciting updates on what's happening there and get his perspective on the news. Great to have you on the show, Rish.

Hrish Lotlikar: Yeah, thanks so much for having me. It's always a pleasure to be here.

January Jones: Well, today we are talking about OpenSea's $1 million NFT reserve and its upcoming token launch, the convergence of XRM blockchain, and how SuperWorld is leading the charge with creating an economic layer on the real world, monetizing digital and physical activity, AI-powered content, real-world assets, and next-gen infrastructure through Deepin. We will also get into our upcoming Washington, D.C. summit, The Future of Money, Governance and Law, happening on October 30th on Capitol Hill.

Josh Kriger: This episode is brought to you by Realm. Realm crafts insurance solutions that give businesses and dynamic industries like Web3, AI, alternate medicine, biotech, and the space economy the protection to innovate and thrive. Where emergent industries have previously battled uncertainty, Realm is making innovation resilient. And just a quick note, the views expressed by the Edge company and our guests do not necessarily reflect those of Realm. Let's get started.

January Jones: Okay, well, big moves are happening over at OpenSea. They've just announced a $1 million NFT reserve, kicking things off with a big ticket acquisition, Crypto Punk, number 5273465E. That's nearly $300,000 for a single punk. And it's a clear signal that OpenSea wants to play a long-term game in the NFT space. They're also launching a token and have a new mobile app with AI and on-chain trading. You know, the edge of shows started off as the edge of NFT. We have definitely seen the ups and downs, but this is a big flag for OpenSea to plant right now to really establish themselves as one of these market makers. Josh, what's your take on how they're repositioning and how they're trying to expand given the renewed interest in NFTs?

Josh Kriger: Yeah, so, I mean, at one point in the past, OpenSea was untouchable. And then, of course, there was Blur and Magic Eden and other platforms that definitely took some of the luster off. And not to mention, you know, there was a downturn in trading volume. And I think it shows some resilience and creativity. Obviously, I think there's inherent value in NFTs as a form of digital art. It's been overshadowed by the speculative components of the industry. And it's great to see them sort of double down with the crypto punk. Kudos whoever sold them that punk as well. That's that's a that's a nice Price there. I'm curious. I haven't looked it up yet I love to see what what it was trading for and what was purchased for and when I'm just curious now as we're talking about it, but but you know More broadly speaking, I think, you know, they have their work cut out for them still to reestablish market dominance. I think the sort of untouchable nature of their marketplace is sort of the past, and now they have to compete. And I think these are the types of steps that are necessary to, to be competitive. Obviously, AI is a key part of the future of, of all industries, including blockchain. We'll talk about that more later. So yeah, I say this is an interesting move. And you know, time will tell. Rich, what's your take?

Hrish Lotlikar: Yeah, you know, it's the evolution of this space as we think about how, you know, the general mainstream public interacts with these technologies. I think the utilization of NFTs as a technology to, you know, encapsulate experiences, art, music, you name it, is going to become much more mainstream because of the utility that it provides. And I think OpenSea and others are being very strategic here because I think they know that this was not just a fad, but this is going to become a real utility. And I think they're, you know, kind of all kind of preparing for that as it happens and making sure that their platforms are really kind of, you know, utilizing You know, all of the technologies as they evolve as well. So I think the market has changed. Society is changing. But then with AI, there's a lot of things that platforms that are selling NFTs can do to really improve that user experience.

January Jones: I have a follow up question for both of you. Josh, you mentioned competition, right? I think it's competition for attention. But do you see that more people are interested in meme coins, right, or alt coins? And that's competition for NFTs and the idea of, you know, owning and trading these.

Josh Kriger: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think, like, there's two types of folks that sort of speculate on NFTs, I would say. Regularly, one is the ones that sort of are the same types of folks that would speculate on, like, um, you know designer shoes or other sort of cultural artifacts and then there's like Speculators that are more traders and and those guys will will trade anything that that goes up and goes down Um in a sort of volatile way and they'll leverage the volatility of the market. So Mean coins are no exception. Uh, I think everyone's sort of anticipating some kind of alt season sooner than later And I would think that that will sort of push some energy towards both NFTs and meme coins. But ultimately, I think we've learned that there is sort of risk baked into you know, digital assets like NFTs that may sort of dampen the fervor and perhaps just hopefully, one would hope, shine the light on the higher value digital collectibles that have long-term promise, not just the sort of flash-in-the-pan stuff, which is always inherent in every industry, including ours. And just a little bit of a fun fact, this particular CryptoPunk that they purchased, Someone purchased for 59 ETH just a little while before then. It was originally purchased for 48 ETH. back in April and previous to that it was sort of .5 ETH in 2019 and as low as 12.8 ETH in 2021. So this guy has clearly had a good history of accrued value. It's a gentleman with a white and blue bandana and some glasses. So looks like a cool one, one of the originals. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see what happens from here with OpenSea and with their new NFT.

January Jones: All right, well, let's get into our next topic. We've seen 2025 shaping up to be a breakthrough year for immersive tech. From Apple's ProVision to Meta's Quest 3 and Sony's Spatial Reality headset, we're seeing major players doubling down on next-gen XR hardware. But it's not just about the gear, it's also about what the hardware enables, especially when paired with blockchain. The convergence of AR, VR, and decentralized tech is creating more secure, personalized, and truly interactive digital environments. Josh, we're seeing this interaction between immersive tech and Web3, but it's also playing into the real world. What are your thoughts on this?

Josh Kriger: Yeah, look, I'm excited about this convergence. There was a reason that we rebranded the show, The Edge of Show, back in January of this year, which is that all these industries are coming together in such creative ways. And the evidence is that it's creating more utility just based on the pure interoperability that's now out there and possible. Certainly, Wi-Fi bandwidth has increased. younger population is more digitally sort of attuned. I mean, they've grown up with it. Their on-screen time is higher than ever. So sure, I would think that this is the sort of stuff that makes a lot of sense now. A friend of mine has a new Machu Picchu exhibition where you literally put on these VR glasses and with your friends, you're going on this hike up the summit of Machu Picchu. So these are really special experiences that are now possible. And I think we as humans are always looking for that next thing to do that's more fun, more interesting. It's nice to see that more women are playing games, that there's this sort of surgence of anime. So I think all this fits into the genre of creative experience. But there's no one better to talk about this topic than Riege, who's been an early evangelist of augmented reality and has seen this all play out. So what are your thoughts on where we are at this moment?

Hrish Lotlikar: Yeah, you know, it's getting more and more exciting as people are understanding, you know, a lot of the vision that we've been kind of promoting at SuperWorld, which is, you know, all of these technologies, immersive tech, Web3 and AI are really, I think, most impactful when they're related to our real life, to the real world. And that's what we're all about at SuperWorld. Our vision is how can we enable you to improve and enhance your real life using these technologies. And so I think on the hardware side, I think we're moving away from these kind of just solely VR devices to more XR devices, more AR devices, devices that we can utilize in real world locations. And then we're taking the advantages of integrating blockchain into that, giving digital property rights to real world locations, to experiences, to be able to have these kind of persistent experiences that can be visualized and interacted with. Um, and I, and I think AI is really kind of even further accelerating that as we can now start using AI for content creation, um, in, in, you know, much faster, uh, pace than what was, what was, uh, able to be done before. So, you know, anyone now can create 3d environments, um, and interact with them and share them. So it's all, you know, as you said, all of it's really coming together at web three.

Josh Kriger: AI and immersive tech which is what we're all about at Super Bowl any guests on PC magazines pick for the the best standalone VR headset at the moment

Hrish Lotlikar: You know, I would have to guess that Meta is really in the driver's seat. They've just had the most experience with these headsets and continue to evolve. I mean, I would say on the mass market, that would be the one. But, you know, for more specific use cases, industrial or, you know, any type of other more specific type of vocational kind of use case, you know, there's a number of players out there that are making very focused headsets. But I think meta for the more mainstream population is the one to go with.

Josh Kriger: Yep, that's what PC Magazine says as well. There's a, yes, Raeesh, you and PC Magazine agree. The MetaQuest 3 is the recommendation at the moment and it retails for $499.99. And then we have the MetaQuest 3S, which is slightly more affordable at $299 on Amazon. Have you tried them both out? And do you have any sort of thoughts on the differences there?

Hrish Lotlikar: I actually haven't tried the latest headsets. I have the Quest and I have the Pro version. And I've had these headsets for the last 10 years. So every new iteration, I usually try to upgrade and check out the latest stuff. I haven't gotten the latest one yet, but probably soon. But like I said, I think they just have the most experience in the space, the comfortability of the hardware, as well as on the software side. I think they also have a lead in terms of the library that they're creating.

Josh Kriger: Well, thanks for your insights, Sreesh. Appreciate those tips. And definitely, if you're thinking about picking up a new VR headset, now's not a bad time. Let's get into more of what's happening with SuperWorld. We've been talking about some of the basics, but for those that didn't tune in to our most recent episode, it's an economic layer in the real world, monetizing digital and physical activity. AI-powered content creation, real-world assets, and token-gated experiences, all layered into a location-based immersive platform. And then there's Deepin, bringing decentralized physical infrastructure to the mix. It's really a combination of freedom and decentralized tech that grabs me personally, and I've been a fan of SuperWorld for a long time, because you're not just building a digital content platform, it's empowering users to co-create, to monetize things in a creative way digitally, and it's really anchored in the real world. It's important people actually get out in the world and not just sort of stay at home on their VR headsets, right? So I think you've thought about things quite differently than other folks, and you've been building this company for so long, and now, you know, your brainchild is imminently launching a token with Republic. I'm so curious, tell us about what inspired the token at this point and what folks can look forward to doing with the token.

Hrish Lotlikar: Yeah, we're very excited. And, you know, I think that's very well encapsulated, you know, all of the things that we're thinking about with SuperWorld. Basically, we've just to summarize, built a virtual world on top of Earth, where everyone can personalize their own filter on Earth. Think of it like a map. So you have a map, I have a map, anyone can have a map. And all the content experiences are fidgetal in nature, so you can digitally and physically interact with them. And so if you're recommending a hotel or a restaurant in your world, and I can digitally look at it on a map or physically go there and check in, you're benefiting from those recommendations. And so the token is really pivotal here, because as I interact in your world or with your content, The token is a reward that benefits you for creating that content. But it also benefits me for interacting digitally or physically with that content in real world locations. And that token, once received, then could be used by you for payments with real world businesses to interact virtually on the Super Bowl platform to buy virtual real estate, for example. as well as a way for staking that token to, in a decentralized fashion, actually bring on real world businesses that you love. So you can think of, as you might do on a Google map, you star a business or you star your favorite restaurant, you heart your favorite restaurant or hotel. Well, imagine if you could stake your favorite restaurant and hotel And when they join the platform, now you're given a reward for bringing that business on board the SuperWorld platform. And so the token really is a way to power the platform, but it's a way to really connect with all of the stakeholders in the platform, make sure that they're all understanding who are those that are recommending them and interacting with them in digital or physical ways in those real world locations. and providing a mechanism for rewards, payments, governance, and staking.

Josh Kriger: That's a lot. I think it's sort of the emphasis of a lot of projects in the sense of the token often predates the infrastructure actually being built to create a sustainable economy. um, you know, very novel of you to actually, you know, create the technology and then, and then launch the token, go figure. Um, what's been sort of the, the, the, the biggest challenge of sort of launching the token and, and sort of the opportunity around it that you're most excited about?

Hrish Lotlikar: You know, the biggest challenge is really working with my team and advisors to construct really this kind of optimized, you know, token utility. So we really wanted to think through, you know, one, why would we launch a token? What are the benefits of that? and really interweave that utility and benefits into the design and utility as the token interacts with all of the stakeholders on the platform. You know, what we're building, if you think about it, is the ability to tokenize every part of your life. If you think of Airbnb, the secret hidden in plain sight for Airbnb was that you could rent your bedroom. Most people are like, what? I can rent my bedroom? Wow, I didn't even think that was possible. That's what Airbnb really revealed. What Superworld is revealing as a secret in plain sight is that your whole life, everything around you could be tokenized and monetized. And that starts with virtual real estate. That starts with businesses that you love. That starts with your favorite park or that not-for-profit mission that you want to support. How could we bring in every stakeholder, every business, every organization, and do that in a way that's empowering, And that's the mission. And I think that was the most challenging part. And it continues to evolve, right? So we have our white paper, whitepaper.superworldapp.com. You can read more about that. And the most exciting part is, I think, getting this token out allows us to really expand the number of stakeholders that can, you know, be part of the Superworld ecosystem. Right now you can buy virtual real estate. You can create your own world. It's like a map. That's another way of interacting. You can obviously create content and upload that. But now having holders out there that can buy the token, hold the token, stake the token, and really those that support the mission of what if we could build a virtual world that can enhance your real life? What if we could build a virtual world that empowers humanity You know, that's a mission I would love to support. And I think what we're doing is enabling anyone in the world who loves that mission to jump on board and buy the token SPWR. We call it superpower for a reason.

Josh Kriger: And just briefly, where can folks go that want to participate in the launch?

Hrish Lotlikar: So we're launching with Republic. So if you go to superworldapp.com forward slash token, so superworldapp.com forward slash token, that is the way to get onto our whitelist for early access to SPWR to get onto that token. So we're launching at Republic soon. There's limited spots on that whitelist, and it's kind of an early access opportunity. That's the best place to go and get access to the token.

Josh Kriger: All right. Well, thank you so much for that update and excited for the next phase of the Super World Orbit.

Hrish Lotlikar: Yeah, thanks. Thanks again for allowing us to share our vision and always a pleasure to speak to you guys and to partner.

January Jones: Well, you never know what you're going to hear on the edge of show. That's true. I mean, I love it because we just hear so many mind blowing ideas and people that are so excited about introducing technology into people's lives that have real world applications. And so it's in line with what we do every week. And it's just so exciting to be a part of this. But we're also a part of bigger things, too. So, Josh, I wanted to talk about the upcoming conference we have. in D.C. So we are partnering with the Government Blockchain Association, and we are putting on a one-day summit with some side activities called the Future of Money, Governance, and the Law, and it's actually taking place on Capitol Hill. So there's a lot of policy conferences that are happening in D.C., but not everybody's in the building like we are.

Josh Kriger: Yeah, yeah, I'm so pumped about this event and I'm here in DC right now getting ready on the ground meeting with folks and partners and, you know, dealing with all the different loose ends that come with putting on an event with this Gravitas. We, Edge has always sort of been pushing the limits of what's possible both digitally and physically and trying to get the right people in the room at the right time. And I think the conversation at this present moment is all about tokenization, like Rich mentioned, you know, what can we do with real world assets that we couldn't do even a year ago now that regulation is open and How does AI get into the mix? And what's the next steps with stablecoins? And what are the implications of these new stablecoin policies on society? And what other legislation is going to open things up? And this is not just US policy, this is global policy. There's interesting things going on, as we talked about before with the the Hong Kong stablecoin. And we'll have those types of conversations. So there's also gonna be a lot of fun. On the 29th of October, preceding the event, there's going to be a gala that is open to the public, tickets are limited, you can buy your ticket. Online and we have a lot of information about that that we've been sharing so just have to check our socials or our website for those details, but Essentially, you know, it's a roaring 20 style event. It's gonna be a really fun theme We've got cryptopoly Which is a game that that's played with with real crypto in the real world where you can win very real substantial prizes and the best part of the gala is you actually get a ticket to the actual event with your gala pass, which is pretty exciting. So it's sort of, you don't have, you kind of skip the wait list because the actual daytime event is approval only. So it's a fun little hack, if you will. And for our listeners, Edge VIP gets you 20% off the gala tickets. So, you know, I think, Reese, you've been to a lot of events all over the world. I hope to see you in D.C. I know you're a busy guy, but maybe you can just shed a light on why you might think an event in D.C. at this present moment is valuable for the industry.

Hrish Lotlikar: Yeah, you know, so I think it's a really great time to come to D.C., meet all of the stakeholders who are so important in the industry face to face. And, you know, Washington, D.C. is, you know, I'd say at the forefront globally now because of all of the regulation that's coming out of the United States that's going to affect the whole world as it relates to crypto. Great job with you and your team doing this, and I'm very excited to be able to try and make it there this time.

Josh Kriger: Well, thanks, Rish. Really excited to have you there. So for those of you at home that want to be part of this very special event, please visit gbaglobal.org slash FOMGL for the full details and registration. From there, you'll get to the Luma link where you can register for the daytime event, or you can again use the code EDGEVIP for 20% off the gala the prior evening. Tickets will continue to increase, so grab yours soon.

January Jones: Well, that wraps up today's episode of Hot Topics. We covered OpenSea's $1 million NFT reserve, the rise of immersive tech and XR, and SuperWorld's exciting roadmap with AI, NFTs, and Deepin.

Josh Kriger: I'm Josh here with January and our guest Reesh from Superworld. Stay curious, keep pushing boundaries, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's next on The Edge of Show.

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