METAVERSE & NFT | NEWS 🌌

2022-04-20 00:34:10 AXES METAVERSE CLOSED BETA — COMING SOON...

Unprecedented play-to-earn mechanics are waiting for you! Choose your favorite class of heroes and dive into one of the greatest mobile battle royale ever by Azur Games

3 game modes:

Axes: Battleground — large-scale royal battles
Axes: Team Tactics — a tactical role-playing game
Axes: Kingdom Wars — a multiplayer strategy

5 classes of NFT-playable heroes:
Knight, Barbarian, Rogue, Ranger, Mage

Trade heroes, mine crypto, join battles and win real money in the tournaments — everything is up to you!

Join now https://t.me/+UOtqcUj7zppjNWIy Open / Comment

2022-04-18 22:40:19 ​​75% of New Stakers on Lido Finance Joined via Staking Project in Past Month

Lido Finance revealed that 75% of new stakers on the Beacon chain who joined in the last 30 days have done so via the staking project.Staking on Beacon Chain has been booming due to the much-awaited Ethereum Merge despite delays. A major chunk of new stakers on the consensus layer have done so using Lido Finance.

With the Ethereum Merge approaching, staking on the Beacon Chain has intensified as expected. According to Lido, the blockchain is now secured by more than $35 billion equivalent in staked assets, with the staking project contributing a major share in the past month. This, in turn, has sparked concerns about centralization among the community, which Lido acknowledged and noted,

“While this validates our mission to democratize staking in Ethereum, some people have expressed concern that this level of success can make Lido a centralizing force. We hear you, and your concerns are both important to us and valuable to Ethereum as a whole.”
As such, Lido has announced adopting Distributed Validator Technology (DVT). This system would categorize validators into independent committees that propose and attest to blocks together.
The end goal is to minimize the risks associated with an individual validator underperforming or turning malicious. On implementation of DVT, Lido will be able to pair “untrusted node operators” with a majority of trusted node operators, thereby contributing to decentralization without posing a threat to Lido stakers on Ethereum.

Another improvement that the staking platform aims to adopt is the creation of a Node Operator Score (NOS) put together from various metrics and distribute stake based on that. This scoring system should enable any individual to join Lido as a node operator and build up a stake over time.
Its native token, LDO, had surged by 257% from a low of $1.36 on 21st February to posting a 2022-high of $4.86 in just a matter of 10 days due to its connection to the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade.
Delay in Ethereum Merge
While the traction has been strong, Ethereum Merge will take place a few months after June this year. As reported earlier, Ethereum’s leading developer, Tim Beiko, revealed that “The Merge,” touted as a stepping stone for the blockchain, is in its final stages while stressing that the initiative is set to occur later than most anticipate.
The dates have been pushed multiple times before as well. Notably, Beiko previously commented he wouldn’t be surprised if Ethereum 2.0 happens in the fall. Open / Comment

2022-04-15 19:46:40 ​​MetaMask expands its offer to customers with new partners

MataMask integrates Parfin, Gnosis Safe, Hex Trust and GK8 to expand the offer for customers. The new integration will provide decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) with key management tools to participate in DeFi through the institutional version of the MetaMask Institutional wallet (MMI).

MMI is going to provide organizations with access to DeFi and Web3. According to the company's representatives, the partnership will allow funds, exchanges, DAOs and traditional financial institutions that have chosen MMI to work in a well-managed environment with manageable risks. The difference between a browser wallet and an MMI is how assets are managed. In MMI, managed assets are custodial.

Last year, the company demonstrated high growth by accelerating the implementation of Web3 worldwide, tripling the number of users in a month. And in March, the parent company of the wallet, SonsenSys, closed a $450 million funding round. Open / Comment

2022-04-11 23:11:36 ​​Punjab Congress's Twitter account hacked, handle posts content on NFT

The Punjab Congress's Twitter account was hacked on Monday morning and content related to NFTs and crypto currency was posted by the handle.

The Twitter account of the Punjab unit of the Congress was hacked on Monday morning. The account posted over 100 tweets in a few minutes, tagging random accounts, most of which seemed to be bots and related to activities around digital assets like non-fungible tokens (NFT) and cryptocurrencies.

This is the fourth high-profile Twitter account hacked in as many days. The Twitter account of the University Grant Commission was hacked late on Saturday. Earlier, the Twitter accounts of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's Office and the Indian Meteorological Department of India were similarly hacked.
All the hacks seem to have been carried out by the same person or group as the criminals tweeted similar content — related to digital assets and currencies — from the compromised accounts. Open / Comment

2022-04-08 17:21:22 Scotty Beam Mystery Sale is Here!

Ahoy, beamers!

It's my Mystery Sale day! We’re in for another sale round of my own Scotty Beam Prime collection! NFTs will be sold on my website, and each one has some unique utility value from this list:

1) Increased chances to win and get a bigger allocation on my INO platform!
2) Staking bonuses, increased APR and chance to mine NFT from The Vault.
3) Discounts for NFT Teleporter (to be distributed now), P2P Exchange and NFT Validator (to be distributed after the launch of these services)!

Just like before, we have 4 different rarity levels:

Uncommon
Rare
Epic
Legendary

And the more rare your NFT is - the better utility value it provides! This INO will continue until there’s no NFTs left to buy. Speaking of, one NFT will cost 25,000 SCOTTY (~$180) or 250 USDT and the reveal event will happen on Friday, April 8th.

So yeah, we begin today at 16:00 UTC, see you there:
https://ino.scottybeam.io/scotty-beam Open / Comment

2022-04-05 00:46:53 ​​Bandai Namco Announces Gundam Themed Metaverse

Bandai Namco Begins Building Its Metaverse With Gundam
Bandai Namco, a Japanese game developing and publishing company, has given more details about the future of its $130-million metaverse investment. The company has confirmed that the first IP that will receive the metaverse treatment will be Gundam, the popular giant robot universe with several videogames, manga, and anime adaptations. First being hinted at in an announcement last month, the company took advantage of the third Gundam conference to reveal this news worldwide.

According to Bandai Namco:

This metaverse will be a platform of opportunities for Gundam fans worldwide to come together to converse and connect in a variety of categories.

Fans of the franchise will be able to form part of different communities that include music, video games, anime, and even Gunpla, the models that mimic different robots present in the franchise.

Furthermore, the company also revealed that users will be able to scan their Gunpla models to be able to introduce them to the metaverse and face other Gunpla users in battle.

User Content Is King
Bandai Namco’s first metaverse instance will be used as a device to interest more companies to promote the entry of other companies into the Gundam market inside of the metaverse. In this way, other companies might have the opportunity of offering their Gundam-themed products with the approval of Bandai Namco.

However, the focus that Bandai Namco is putting on users is also significant in this upcoming system. According to the announcement, users will be able to produce their own Gundam content, too, in the form of customer-to-customer (C2C) business. This feature seeks to allow users to get revenue from their own creations, allowing for a sustainable economy established between content creators and consumers. On this, Bandai Namco stated it “expects that new Gundam businesses will be created and that this will lead to further expansion of Gundam IP co-created with fans.”

Other companies have also recognized the importance of rewards and user-generated content economies as a way of improving the longevity of a particular game proposal. This is the case with Yosuke Matsuda, president of Square Enix, who voiced his support for these new features in a letter written in January. Open / Comment

2022-04-03 11:56:45 Paysenger is creating a next gen social network based on paid communications with its own token EGO
The project won “Best ICO 2022” at Crypto Expo Dubai.
Right now EGO token has the best ranking on ICO holder tracker and has the pinned card on the most trustful ICO tracker https://icodrops.com/

We’ve raised $2.5M so far (Strategic investors and Seed round), and are opening a Public EGO Token presale on Tokensoft next week.
There will be 2 rounds - the first opens on April 4th and the second on April 6th. Total raise goal is $1.75M
Purchase from $500 till $2500 in the first round, the 2nd - from $250 till $1500

Presale details - egoco.in/presale-tokensoft Open / Comment

2022-03-29 23:10:13 ​​Meta Brings Metaverse-Like 3D Ads to Facebook and Instagram

Meta is bringing interactive 3D ads to Facebook and Instagram feeds, inspired by the metaverse pivot the company has begun to execute since its name change. This is possible due to a new integration in Meta’s AR (Augmented Reality) publishing library with a development from a company called Vntana.

Publishers will now be able to include 3D models in their ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, that belong to Meta. This innovation will allow any publisher to include these metaverse-inspired ads in the feeds the platforms, with users being able to interact with the objects. The innovation was presented by a company called Vntana, which acts as a service provider so other companies can include their 3D assets in social feeds.

According to a press release issued by the company, Vntana has exclusive access to Meta’s AR API to integrate their services to be able to achieve this goal. “Just like regular ads, 3D ads appear in users’ Facebook and Instagram feeds displaying interactive 3D models that users can tap and interact with – moving the product around to view all angles,” the release details.

This innovation might be part of the first monetization strategies that include metaverse-like elements in Meta-owned platforms. On this, Ashley Crowder, co-founder and CEO of Vntana, stated:

3D and AR technology in online ads is the next frontier for brands looking to connect with the digital consumer and is a great first step into the metaverse.

She further stated that this release might bring democratization to the ad space in these platforms, given that now more companies can bring their products to pontential customers. Customers are also said to benefit because they can see a more detailed model of these products in a 3D, metaverse-like view.

Chris Barbour, director of Augmented Reality Business Development & Partnerships at Meta, declared:

3D and AR open a new door of advertising possibilities for retail and e-commerce brands, improving the customer experience from the point of acquisition.

Meta’s flagship AR app, Horizon Worlds, which offers a set of metaverse experiences for users, is currently not being monetized by the company. This technology might be used in the future to allow Meta to monetize and include ads from different brands in these spaces. Open / Comment

2022-03-26 15:19:28 ​​PUBG Developer Krafton Partners With Solana Labs to Build Blockchain Games and Services

Krafton, the company behind the development of the blockbuster videogame PUBG, has announced a partnership with Solana Labs with the objective of building its blockchain game offering. The new business plan of the company includes the creation of token economies to power play-to-earn (P2E) experiences to build its own Web3 offerings.

Krafton Chooses Solana to Build Its Web3 Games
Krafton, one of the biggest Korean game development companies, has proceeded with yet another stage in its recent pivot to blockchain gaming. The creators of the successful multiplayer game PUBG have announced a new partnership with Solana Labs, the developers and maintainers of the Solana blockchain, to power its own tailored Web3 experiences.

The deal between Krafton and Solana Labs involves a “long-term cooperative relationship for the development and operation of blockchain- and NFT-based games and services.” This means that the two companies have agreed to cooperate in the establishment of joint business opportunities and investments, and also in the development of the mentioned blockchain-based games.

The speed and the low fees that Solana offers to its users were big factors in its selection. On this, Hyungchul Park, lead of Web3 Roundtable at Krafton, stated:

As one of the best global high-performance blockchain with strength in high speed and low fees, Solana represents the best of the Web 3.0 ecosystem and its technologies. Through this cooperation, Krafton will acquire the insight needed to accelerate its investment in and output of blockchain-based experiences.

The move could potentially push other leading developers considering blockchain gaming to use Solana as their development chain, as more and more companies are integrating these new technologies in their business models. On this, Johnny Lee, head of Games Business Development at Solana Labs, declared:

We are seeing gamers increasingly seek out on-chain games and gaming companies who respond quickly to this demand will set themselves up well for ongoing success.

Gaming Companies Going Blockchain
Krafton’s movement is part of its recent pivot to blockchain games, NFTs, and Web3. The company acquired equity in two non-fungible token (NFT) and digital IP protection companies, Seoul Auction Blue ($2.5 million) and Xbyblue ($4.1 million) in February. In addition to this, Krafton is also developing a joint metaverse platform with Naver Z, which has experience in building with 3D worlds and AI.

Other gaming companies are also pivoting to include blockchain and metaverse-based elements in their games, like Ubisoft and Square Enix. Open / Comment

2022-03-23 18:22:51 ​​Wex Exchange Co-Owner Reportedly Detained in Russia

Authorities in Russia have arrested a crypto entrepreneur associated with an unidentified cryptocurrency exchange who is suspected of embezzling funds and property. According to a media report, the detained person is one of the owners of Wex, successor of the infamous BTC-e exchange.

Owner of Wex Exchange Apprehended in Russia
Russian law enforcement agencies have detained a man accused of stealing financial and other assets from a cryptocurrency exchange, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) announced Tuesday. The suspect allegedly controlled large amounts in cryptocurrency and their movement between wallets.

Investigators believe he withdrew some of the funds and appropriated them. The person was handcuffed at the hotel of a private airfield in Serpukhov city district of Moscow region with two suitcases holding 190 million Russian rubles in cash ($1.7 million), the press release detailed.

Officials from MVD, the Federal Security Service (FSB), and Russia’s financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring, carried out 29 searches at the residences of the arrested and his accomplices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yalta. Another 50 million rubles, $1 million, €70,000, computer equipment, hardware crypto wallets, luxury goods, and documents were seized.

While neither the detained person, nor the exchange were named by the authorities, the crypto news outlet Forklog quoted Indefibank CEO Sergey Mendeleev who claims the man is Aleksey Bilyuchenko, co-founder of Wex, once the largest crypto trading platform in Russia, which was launched in 2017 as a successor of BTC-e. The latter closed down earlier that year following the arrest in Greece of one of its alleged operators, Alexander Vinnik.

Bilyuchenko’s ownership of Wex was revealed by the BBC. Another Russian, Dmitry Vasiliev, was the official owner of the exchange. In September, the Polish press reported that Vasiliev had been arrested at the Warsaw airport on Aug. 11 and was awaiting extradition to Kazakhstan. In December, news came out that he had been released and had returned to Russia.

In 2018, Wex was sold to Dmitry Khavchenko, a former fighter for the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic in Ukraine who then registered the operator of the exchange, the Singapore-based company World Exchange Services, under the name of his daughter, Daria. The exchange went bankrupt later that year. According to estimates by a group of Wex users, the total losses exceed $400 million. Open / Comment