Welcome to Chain Reaction, where we unpack and explain the latest in crypto news, drama and trends, breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious.

For our Tuesday episode where we chat with a web3 expert, we talked to James Zhang, founder and CEO of Concept Art House, a consultancy that creates and advises on art for web3 video games and NFT collections. The company raised $25 million in funding last October from investors including Animoca Brands and Dapper Labs but faces a slumping NFT market today. We talked to Zhang about:

• How artists behind popular NFT projects are compensated for their work — and whether it’s enough
• Zhang’s experience navigating the often-sticky issues of intellectual property and ownership surrounding NFT art
• What impacts the recent dropoff in NFT trading volume means for artists and creators

Join us at TechCrunch Disrupt this October to hear from speakers including a16z’s Chris Dixon and Solana Labs’ Anatoly Yakovenko — use the promo code REACT for 15% off, excluding online and expo.

We’ll also be hosting our first crypto event in Miami this November with plenty of web3 experts — you can get 2 passes for the price of 1 if you buy them before September 7th at techcrunch.com/tccrypto.

And even if you can’t join us in person, you can use the promo code REACT for 25% on an annual pass for our TechCrunch+ membership service.

Chain Reaction comes out every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PT, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.

Chain Reaction comes out every Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.