Author: Jana Serfontein

Jana has keen interest in what cryptocurrencies have to offer in regards to NGO’s, governments and the financial system. And is also intrigued with the psychological effect that cryptocurrencies have on society.

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Blockchain Crypto News Events Metaverse NFTs

Virtual Sporting Company ‘Raramuri’ to Host World’s First Marathon in the Metaverse 

Virtual sporting company Raramuri is hosting the world’s first-ever marathon in the metaverse, where participants can earn digital rewards for running in real life (IRL). The event will take place on June 2, with this year’s annual Global Running Day to be built on the KardiaChain blockchain in what the company is calling its first “run-to-earn event”.

Screenshot of Raramuri marathon in action. Source: Raramuri

Metaverse Marathon Mashup

The in-browser event will host 500 registered participants who will run 26.2 miles (42km) IRL and will be traced using their mobile phones or watches. The race data will correspond to an avatar progressing through Raramuri’s virtual course.

According to Raramuri’s website:

The Metaverse Marathon, the first hybrid race of its kind, allows you to focus on what you love and do best in the physical world: RUNNING, while greatly enhancing your experience with the shared metaverse.

raramuri.io/ 

The company added that physical marathons hold so many logistical boxes to check that they are currently not accessible to a lot of people. The aim of this race is to bring people from around the world together to run in their home towns, all connected by their course.

The race will be coordinated in such a way that spectators can line the virtual course’s track and support their favourite runners by emoting a thumbs up or sending NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to their wallets as they run by in a watch-to-earn incentive model. Whenever a runner passes a competitor, their phone will buzz. Participants are also encouraged to dress their avatars in costumes showcasing their style, cause or inspiration to make the race more theatrical and interesting.

The metaverse has opened up a world of opportunities, but one Twitter user questioned why participating in a marathon would be the first thing to do:

KardiaChain Set to Run Backend Operations

The project’s backend is built on the KardiaChain blockchain. Runners who complete the marathon will be rewarded with a digital asset – an NFT to commemorate their experience, which will feature their race times and grant them early access to future marathon registrations. Participants will own their NFTs and have their race information permanently recorded on the blockchain.

To sign up, visit the Raramuri website for further details.

More and More Events to Take Place in the Metaverse

As the metaverse continues to expand and more companies move into the space, various projects have embraced the innovative platform as a means of hosting. A new project called Animal Concerts is building a virtual touring company to host virtual live music events in the metaverse.

While the everyday person becomes accustomed to the idea of the metaverse, tech companies are accelerating their moves into the space. Microsoft, for example, is set on acquiring gaming giant Activision Blizzard for a whopping US$69 billion as part of its plan.  

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Crypto News NFTs Trading

Monthly NFT Trading Volume Reaches $6 Billion, An All-Time High

The monthly trading volume for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has achieved an all-time high of US$6.13 billion despite the massive crypto market retreat.

Since December 2021, the monthly NFT trading volume grew 129 percent and much of the increase was due to the latest contender in the NFT marketplace scene, LooksRare. The new marketplace has accumulated significant volume since its launch on January 10, although it’s also alleged to have generated $8.3 billion in wash trading.

Along with LooksRare’s incredible performance, OpenSea, the world’s leading marketplace, recorded an astonishing US$2.1 billion, more than half of the total trading volume for August 2021, the highest monthly figure recorded thus far.

PhantaBears Hold Out Apes

The trading volume observed on OpenSea has been driven by the new “PhantaBear” collection, which recorded 17,124 ether (US$53 million) in sales over the past seven days. “Bored Ape Yacht Club” took second place, recording 16,658 ether (US$51.5 million).

Other factors contributing to OpenSea’s record include the number of active users on the platform, which currently sits at 260,369 and is fast approaching last month’s all-time high of 362,679 users.

The NFT craze doesn’t seem to be ending and January’s record numbers are testament to that. As all sectors of the industry hit new heights, one particular NFT sector’s performance deserves special mention – NFT games. During Q3 of 2021, NFT games generated approximately US$2.3 billion in revenue and witnessed growth throughout the year.

Exciting developments are also taking place in the e-commerce space as Shopify offers its merchants NFT minting services. The platform recently opened its NFT beta that allows participants to mint and trade their own branded NFTs on its platform.

Justin Bieber Buys a Bored Ape NFT for $1.3 Million

As the craze continues, more and more celebrities are getting on board the NFT train, such as rapper Eminem and tennis ace Serena Williams, with pop star Justin Bieber the latest to check in to the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Bieber is now the proud owner of Ape #3001, which he bought for 500 ether – around US$1.3 million at the time of writing.

Justin Bieber’s Ape #3001. Source: OpenSea

The ape includes a New Punk Blue background which only 12 percent of apes have; a Black T that only three percent of apes share, sad eyes coming in at six percent rarity, dark brown fur at 14 percent rarity, and a bored unshaven mouth shared by 16 percent of apes.  

If the NFT space continues to pump out such exhilarating news as it has in recent times, we may well witness another more impressive month ahead. Or, we might even see an NFT bear market coming up, if you believe the words of Gary Vee.

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Crypto News Crypto Wallets Ethereum

Syndicate Launches ‘Web 3 Investment Clubs’ That Turn ETH Wallets into DAOs

Instant decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) creator Syndicate has launched a tool to establish online investing clubs. In doing so, the company has enabled turning Ethereum wallets into investing DAOs for “just the cost of gas”.

DAOs are the newest topic of talk in the cryptosphere, garnering a lot of attention for some of the outrageous purchases some have tried to make. Recently, BlockbusterDAO announced its intention to buy Blockbuster Video and turn the iconic brand into a streaming service.

Joining BlockbusterDAO is another group of crypto investors trying to purchase a Caribbean island called Little Whale Cay via crowdfunding for a price tag of US$35 million.

Syndicate has introduced “Web3 Investment Clubs”, the company’s first mainstream crypto-native investing tool, built on the Syndicate Protocol. The public beta version of the initiative, launched on January 25, transforms any Ethereum wallet into an investing DAO within seconds for the cost of gas fees.

Syndicate’s Web3 Investment Clubs run natively on Ethereum using an ERC-20 infrastructure, allowing the clubs to take advantage of Web3 tools. The clubs can invest in tokens and NFTs, as well as off-chain start-ups and assets.

Since investment clubs are member-driven, almost any community can create a club, given they follow certain guidelines such as having up to a maximum of 99 private invite-only members, with all of them participating in decision-making.

How to Start a Web3 Investment Club

To start a club, founders need to connect a wallet such as MetaMask to the Syndicate network. Thereafter, deposits are collected in the wallet and any excess assets available in the wallet are made visible to members of the club. Once the investment club founder chooses a name, the platform assigns a token symbol to a club.

The next step is for the founder to enter how much USDC – the only crypto the platform supports at the moment – the club aims to raise. The amount entered will in turn be paid out to members in the club’s token on a 1:1 basis.

The club founder will then determine how long deposits will be accepted, allowing time for others to join the club. Founders determine how many members can join the investment club, 99 being the maximum. Finally, after accepting the terms of service, the founder is able to launch the club.

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Australia Blockchain Crypto Art Crypto News NFTs

Picasso Family Launches NFT Collection to Bridge Fine Art and NFT

Marina Picasso, granddaughter of famed 20th century artist Pablo Picasso, and her DJ/record producer son Florian Picasso, have announced a groundbreaking multi-platform collection of 1,010 NFTs.

The Picasso family plans to auction off more than 1,000 digital copies of a never-before-seen ceramic work by the Spanish artist, with the collection divided into multiple drops from January 28.

Marina and Florian Picasso with Pablo’s prized ceramic work. Source: bloomberg.com

The first collection consists of five limited sets of 200 NFTs entitled “Visage de Couleur” and will be sold via the family’s own marketplace, “ManAndTheBeat.com”, before the final collection of 10, titled “Visage de Lumière”, is released via Nifty Gateway.

Debuts in the Blockchain Marketplace

The collection released by the family will be further commemorated by Florian’s new song Tomorrow, which also features soul singer John Legend and rapper Nas, set for release on February 4. Marina will extend the NFT drop into March by partnering with an auction house for the sale of a one-of-one NFT paired with an exclusive piece from her private collection.

A portion of the proceeds from Picasso’s family NFT project will be donated to Nurse Heroes – a charity devoted to keeping nurses in the workforce – as well as Carbon180, a climate-focused NFO.

NFTs and Fine Arts Mesh

Blockchain and art enthusiasts are continually able to enjoy the two worlds come together. Last year, Australian multimedia artist Dave Court became the first in his field to stage a physical NFT exhibition. Court decked out an ordinary brick house in colours and light as part of a unique art installation. The house has since been demolished, but collectors can still purchase a digital piece of it online.

Another artist still making headlines is Beeple after his latest installation, Human One, paired with an NFT, sold at Christie’s for almost US$29 million in November.

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Crypto News NFTs Reddit Social media

Reddit Allows Users to Change Profile Pic to an NFT

Following Twitter’s lead earlier this month, Reddit is testing a new feature that would allow its 450 million users to set any NFT they own as their profile picture. And it’s not just limited to Reddit’s own Ethereum-based NFTs called “CryptoSnoos“, which the company released in limited number last year.

However, details regarding how Reddit’s support for NFTs would work have not yet been decided, much less revealed.

Reddit Expands its NFT Reach

Reddit has explained that the particular NFT test is still in the very early stages and has not yet been made available to public users on the site. According to company spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt, “We’re always exploring ways to provide value for users and communities on Reddit. At the moment we’re testing the ability to use NFTs as profile pictures (avatars) and [to] verify ownership.”

Rathschmidt added that it was still a small internal test and that no decision had been made regarding rolling out the feature’s capability.

This is not the first time Reddit has explored the NFT space, having set up a dedicated page for NFT-related activities at nft.reddit.com. At the moment, the page mainly focuses on CryptoSnoos, of which only four have have been released so far.

Reddit also recently launched a new Ethereum-based community points reward program to even more of its subreddits. Currently, the program is only available on two subreddits.

The news comes only a couple of months after a job posting for a senior backend engineer was posted to the site, fuelling speculation that the social media giant was building its own NFT platform.

CryptoSnoos already in existence. Source: Reddit

Users Not Entirely Convinced of Reddit’s Efforts

While many users are thrilled at the notion of Reddit testing out NFT profile pictures, many remain unconvinced or are downright angry about the venture, describing the expansion into NFTs as “idiotic”, “a gimmick”, among other far less complimentary terms in Reddit’s comments section. Others also displayed their concerns over the high prices associated with collectibles that currently exclude many people from the ecosystem:

Some are even calling it a Ponzi scheme:

And even a scam:

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Crypto News Facebook NFTs

YouTube CEO Hints at NFT Integration

In a letter to creators, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has flagged that the company is interested in “expanding” its ecosystem to possibly include NFTs. This comes soon after competitors such as Twitter and Instagram announced they would also be expanding into the NFT space.

Wojcicki didn’t specify what the team at YouTube is planning, or even when, but this does mark the first time Alphabet Inc, the platform’s owner, is looking to become involved in the NFT space.

“We’re always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalise on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube,” Wojcicki wrote in the letter.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Source: wired.com

She also noted that Web3, a term used for internet models built around crypto, has been “a source of inspiration” for the company, adding that NFTs and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) have the “unimaginable opportunity to grow the connection between creators and their fans”.

YouTube Already Has NFT Options in Place

Although its NFT expansion has not yet been confirmed, YouTube already has a number of ways it could allow creators to showcase their NFTs. The platform offers a “merch shelf” option that can appear under a creator’s video where they can, for example, feature products through an increasing number of supported retail partners. YouTube could also partner with NFT platforms and integrate crypto wallets to allow digital contributors to feature their NFTs there as well.

NFT holders are are naturally excited about the possibility, despite YouTube recently being at the centre of a massive crypto scam. Circle of Ninjas creator and Bored Ape Yacht Club #1334 owner David Gokhshtein expressed his enthusiasm, albeit in a sarcastic fashion:

Another Passenger on the NFT Bandwagon

The news from YouTube comes as a welcome surprise considering many of its competitors have already expanded their reach into the NFT-sphere. Twitter has just launched its latest in-development feature, implementing a verification tool for users who want to display their NFTs as profile pictures.

Meta, formerly Facebook, is also delving deeper into the space by reportedly drawing up plans to allow its users to create and display NFTs on both their Instagram and Facebook profiles.

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Blockchain Crypto News NFTs Social media

NFT Hater Builds Plug-in to Auto-Block NFT People on Twitter

Mcclure, a developer, GitHub contributor and obvious hater of NFTs, has built a plug-in that allows the auto-blocking of NFT proponents on Twitter. The release of the tool comes within 24 hours of Twitter rolling out its NFT verification feature for anyone who wants to prove they do in fact own the NFT they have displayed as their profile picture.

The “NFTBlocker” is a Google Chrome and Firefox plug-in that blocks Twitter users who have NFT profile pictures. Users who have installed the tool can press the “run NFT block” button, which then scrolls the page and blocks anybody with a seemingly offensive picture. According to the developer, future versions will scan the user’s notifications and run the blocking process automatically.

Why Block NFT Users?

Explaining on the GitHub page why anybody would be interested in blocking NFT users, Mcclure summarised three reasons:

  • NFTs are designed in a “foolish way” and their impact on global warming is great.
  • The NFT market is rife with scams and art theft.
  • NFT users are just irritating to be around.

The developer also gave his take on NFTs, providing an in-depth explanation. According to Mcclure, an NFT is an “investment scam”. In the README section of the GitHub page, Mcclure indicated the driving force behind Twitter’s pivot to using NFTs. The developer claims that former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey “is invested in cryptocurrency and if Twitter makes NFTs more popular, Jack Dorsey will make money”.

Mcclure might be a little misinformed in this instance, given that Dorsey has demonstrated little interest in NFTs since stepping down as CEO of Twitter in 2021.

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Australia Bitcoin Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum Jobs

Crypto.com Report Predicts Global Crypto Users to Hit 1 Billion in 2022

According to the newest edition of the Crypto Market and Sizing Report by Crypto.com, global crypto owners are predicted to total one billion by the end of 2022. According to the report, as of January 2022 that number has already reached 300 million.

Global Crypto Adoption Up 178% in 2021

The report also states that global adoption increased by 178 percent in 2021, almost tripling from 106 million to 295 million owners in December 2021.

During the first half of 2021 crypto adoption was significant, but slowed down during the second half reaching 37.5 percent, 13 percent higher than over the same period in the previous year.

The report further states that Bitcoin was the main driver behind the observed growth, outperforming Ethereum in terms of adoption. Weak Ethereum adoption is attributed to the emergence of competitors such as Cronos, Terra and Avalanche, together with Layer 2 solutions.   

Rise in Adoption Mirrored by Crypto Jobs Boom

As the blockchain industry continues to grow, so too the crypto job market. In a recent report published by LinkedIn, crypto job ads have seen a significant, and rapid, spike. In 2021, crypto job postings surged a whopping 395 percent, as the number of cryptos listed on CoinMarketCap stood at 7,000-8,000 just a year ago. At the time of writing, this number is closer to 17,000.

Another recent report commissioned by digital asset management firm Mawson found that Australia’s crypto economy alone could grow to $A68.4 billion by 2030, employing around 206,000 workers.

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Crypto News Facebook Metaverse NFTs Social media

Meta is Experimenting with an NFT Marketplace on Instagram

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is looking to launch an NFT marketplace on Instagram, reportedly drawing up plans to allow its users to create and display NFTs on both their Instagram and Facebook profiles.

Meta Makes More Moves in the Metaverse

According to a report by the Financial Times (FT), Meta will allow its users to create and display NFTs on their profiles, along with a prototype feature for minting tokens in the pipeline. The report comes after Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri admitted it was “actively exploring NFTs and how we can make them more accessible to a wider audience”, and after Meta announced its upcoming metaverse product would support NFTs.

Nothing to announce yet but we are definitely actively exploring NFTs and how we can make them more accessible to a broader audience. I think it’s an interesting place that we can play … and also a way to hopefully help creators.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri

No Particular Blockchain in Mind … Yet

According to the FT report, it is still unclear which blockchain network these features would be built on. At the moment, NFTs exist on several blockchains including Solana, Tezos, Ethereum, Flow and WAX. The report says teams at Facebook and Instagram are looking at NFT integration, with Meta discussing the possibility of an NFT marketplace.

Meta’s digital currency wallet Novi is also said to be a key component in its push into NFTs. Novi is a new crypto wallet used for sending digital payments through WhatsApp, and is currently being trialled for a limited number of people in the US.

However exciting the news, users are urged to keep in mind that the initiative is still in the planning stages.

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Basic Attention Token Crypto News Metaverse Privacy

Opera Releases Web 3.0 Browser Dedicated to Crypto, a Challenger to Brave?

Opera, the Norwegian-based company behind the popular so-named internet browser, has launched a beta version of its Crypto Browser Project. Featuring built-in Web3 integrations and designed to facilitate users’ experience of browsing decentralised apps (DApps), games and metaverse platforms, the beta browser also offers a built-in non-custodial wallet, now available to Windows, Android, and Mac users.

Opera Targets the ‘Crypto-Native’ and ‘Crypto-Curious’

According to a January 18 press release, the beta browser targets both “the crypto-native and the crypto-curious”, with Opera’s own crypto wallet at the core of its users’ experience. As it stands, the Opera browser features a no-login VPN (virtual private network) and native ad tracker blocker to help secure it. The current wallet is also exclusively compatible with Ethereum, but the company plans to roll out Polygon and Solana compatibility with a “big layer 2 announcement” coming in February.

The main feature of the new browser is that users can switch between apps without having to sign into their wallets for every new tab, which will work for any app that has an Opera wallet integration.

Jorgen Arnesen, vice-president of Web3 at Opera, explained the ultimate goal of the project is to help Web3 and crypto become more mainstream:

Opera’s Crypto Browser Project promises a simpler, faster, more private Web3 experience for users. It simplifies Web3 user experience that is often bewildering for mainstream users. Opera believes Web3 has to be easy to use for the decentralized web to reach its full potential.

Jorgen Arnesen, vice-president of Web3, Opera

Opera Picks a Battle with Brave

Opera, with a host of new features, hopes to expose its 350 million users to the magical world of crypto but is not the only one of its kind looking to take advantage of the interest in Web3. Privacy browser Brave recently launched a new Brave wallet and is including a Brave Swap Rewards program that will allow users to recoup 20 percent of their swap fees as an added incentive to the initiative.

Brave, in a further effort to expand its crypto reach, launched its new self-custody crypto wallet built into its browser application last November. The wallet will enable Brave users to store and buy cryptos, store NFTs, and make use of DeFi.