NFT & Crypto Updates

2022-10-30 04:03:00 Visa Files Trademark Applications for Crypto Wallets, NFTs and the Metaverse

The move follows that of other large corporations and payment companies including American Express. Payments giant Visa (V) filed two trademark applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) related to digital wallets, non-fungible tokens and the metaverse. Part of one of the applications applies for trademarks related to software for “management of digital transactions; use as a digital currency wallet and storage services software; use as a cryptocurrency wallet; and managing and verifying cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology," while another one is an application related to “providing temporary use of non-downloadable software.

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2022-10-29 22:10:00 Race to the Bottom as NFT Marketplaces Refuse to Pay Artist Royalties

Royalties are a big draw for artists, who value the ability of most non-fungible tokens to allow the creator to add a royalty collection feature on each resale at the time it is minted. So, each time an NFT is sold, a percentage of the price — generally 5% to 10% — is sent to the person who made it. On Oct. 27, LooksRare, the second-largest NFT marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain according to DappRadar, announced that it would no longer collect and distribute artist royalties. Instead, it’s turning a quarter of the 2% protocol fee it collects on transactions, so the creators will get a 0.5% cut of sales.

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2022-10-29 16:14:01 DappRadar deems Reddit blueprint for NFT launches ‘one of the biggest events for Web3’ in 2022

Reddit may have cracked the formula for onboarding new users into web3, according to a new report released by DappRadar on the behavior of the blockchain industry. Reddit’s new digital collectible avatars are NFTs based on the Polygon network, but very little education or marketing material was released by Reddit referencing the blockchain technology behind the products. Reddit also avoided the term ‘wallet’ which DappRadar defined as a “potentially off-putting term.” Instead, the social platform uses the phrase ‘vault’ to entice users into its new digital initiative.

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2022-10-29 10:14:00 McCain Foods wants young consumers to farm its metaverse potatoes

Frozen food conglomerate McCain Foods wants young consumers to farm its metaverse potatoes in a new game on Roblox. The world’s largest manufacturer of prepared potato products is hoping to educate them about challenges facing the farming community and the benefits of regenerative farming, it said in a release. Integrated into Roblox’s popular Livetopia game, Farms of the Future allows players to virtually grow potatoes using regenerative farming methods that improve and restore soil health. The free-to-play game will launch today. Players are rewarded when they apply regenerative practices such as planting cover crops.

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2022-10-13 04:14:02 OpenSea Adds Avalanche NFT Support

OpenSea has added NFTs from the Avalanche blockchain to its online marketplace, the company announced Tuesday. The marketplace—which saw roughly $350 million in Ethereum NFT volume traded last month—now supports NFTs from seven different blockchains: Ethereum, Polygon, Klaytn, Solana, Optimism, Arbitrum, and now Avalanche. Avalanche is an open-source network with the native token AVAX and three different blockchains, one of which is called the C-Chain. The C-Chain is optimized for Ethereum compatibility and smart contracts, which NFTs use (NFTs can exist on Avalanche’s C-Chain or X-Chain). According to CryptoSlam data, Avalanche saw $2.4 million in total NFT volume traded in September across roughly 25,000 transactions and just 4,488 buyers.

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2022-10-12 21:10:17 NFT Infrastructure Company Gomu Closes $5M Seed Round

Gomu, a non-fungible token (NFT) infrastructure company, has closed a $5 million seed round, the company announced Wednesday. Founded earlier this summer, Gomu has launched two products, NFT Hub and Collection.xyz, which make it easier to grow NFT communities. NFT Hub provides a customizable community hub and marketplace to NFT projects, allowing startup collections to more easily build an online space for their holders. “NFT communities can create custom marketplaces and token-gated communities in minutes, all without having any prior experience with blockchain technology,” said Gomu in a statement. Gomu’s other product, Collection.xyz, is a liquidity incentive protocol that makes NFTs more tradeable.

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2022-10-12 16:14:02 DeGods Solana NFT Collection Joins Zero Royalty Bandwagon

Declaring the move its "next experiment," the NFT collection DeGods is the latest to institute a 0% royalty policy. Calling the move the best decision for its business, it effectively removes the collection from potential future legal actions relating to artist royalties. Non-fungible tokens, also known as NFTs, are cryptographically unique tokens linked. Prior to NFTs, the industry standard was to pay royalties to artists as a percentage of purchases on the secondary market. However, these follow-on sales were difficult to track—a problem that NFTs are well-positioned to solve. But recent moves by artists and NFT marketplaces have shown a desire to move away from this model. Top Ethereum NFT collection CryptoPunks.

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2022-10-12 10:14:02 Metaverse platforms refute ‘misinformation’ about daily active users

Ethereum blockchain-based metaverse projects Decentraland and the Sandbox have hit back at reports suggesting low daily user activity on platforms, arguing a “misinformed” metric was used to measure each of the platforms’ daily active users (DAU). The controversy appears to have come from data originating from DappRadar, with observers. Decentraland said in an Oct. 8 tweet that “some websites are tracking only specific smart contract transactions but reporting them as daily active users […] which is inaccurate.”. S

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2022-10-12 04:14:02 Japanese Telecom Giant NTT Docomo Launches $412 Million Metaverse Unit

NTT Docomo, the largest telecom carrier in Japan, has launched a new division that will be dedicated to directing its metaverse push. The unit, named Qonoq, is already operating and has a staff of 200 people, researching and developing software and hardware solutions directed to integrate extended reality products for customers of the Japanese carrier. Telecom companies around the world are interested in the metaverse and the new services this digital world can bring to their customers. NTT Docomo, the biggest wireless telecom carrier in Japan with more than 80 million customers, launched its own metaverse division earlier this month.

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2022-10-11 22:05:11 Multiverse Labs launches government-backed metaverse city in UAE

Multiple emirates in the UAE are looking to the metaverse to boost tourism in their respective regions. Sharjah now joins Dubai in broadening its Web3 ambitions. Artificial intelligence ecosystem Multiverse Labs has launched a new metaverse city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a move the emirate said could enhance the region’s tourism industry. The metaverse city is backed by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, or SCTDA, which is the main government agency tasked with promoting the emirate’s tourism industry.

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