Category: Blockchain

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DC Comics Set to Drop Free NFTs at FanDome Online Event

American publisher DC Comics has officially dipped its toe into the non-fungible token (NFT) space along with Marvel and other major names in the entertainment industry.

The major competitor to Marvel has officially stepped into the blockchain space with the drop of its first collection of NFTs on October 16. The DC FanDome 2021 streaming event will be the key to the free drop for those registering for the event from October 5.

According to the announcement, DC publisher and chief creative officer Jim Lee “hand-selected” the artwork used for each collectible. Featuring superheroes Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and more, the premier drop offers fans the opportunity to collect one of three covers for each character in three levels of rarity.

Registrants will also have the ability to unlock a second, free NFT by sharing the event on social media.

DC FanDome NFT drop.

Fans Want More Access and a Deeper Connection

As more major names in the entertainment industry join the blockchain revolution, it is becoming apparent that fans want more access and a deeper connection to their favourite publishers and brands.

This drop pays homage to our 87-year history while visualising a future in which NFTs play a foundational role in novel ways of interacting with DC content and unlocking new experiences.

Jim Lee, DC publisher and chief creative officer

DC’s FanDome 2020 streaming event pulled in a reported 22 million viewers to learn about the brand’s upcoming comic books, movies, TV shows and video games. By adding the NFT experience, the publisher is aiming to draw in even more viewers and spread the word about the stream.

Given the size of the viewer base for last year’s streaming event, DC suggests that this will very likely be “one of the largest NFT drops ever”, according to Palm NFT.

This news comes one month after Marvel also dropped its first NFT collection on VeVe NFT marketplace.

DC Using Palm NFT Marketplace

DC has partnered with Palm NFT to create its new line of NFTs for the entertainment company that helped shape today’s fan culture. By using sustainable NFT initiatives, DC says it is trying to redefine the industry by giving fans unprecedented access, and the ability to own and be a part of the future of DC digital collectibles.

https://twitter.com/PalmNft/status/1443263377573298193

It’s immensely rewarding to work with a partner like DC who understands that blockchain is more than a technology – it’s a sustainable storytelling tool that can reshape the relationship between creators and fans.

Dan Heyman, Palm NFT co-founder
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Blockchain Crypto News Gaming NFTs

SimCity Creator Launches NFT Game Turning Players into Co-Creators

Proxi by Gallium Studios is Will Wright’s new video game where community-created NFTs turn players into co-creators. The SimCity and Spore creator says he thinks of it less as a game than an educational toy.

Proxi is a blockchain-based artificial intelligence-driven game that utilises NFT technology. The user/creator-modelled game gets inside players’ minds to build the community. As Wright explains, “I want the player’s mind to become the landscape of the game.”

The ultimate goal behind the game is to build avatars, modelled on the player’s own subconscious and memories, that can interact with other Proxis (friends, family, or even a fictitious or historic proxy – one modelled on Albert Einstein, for example).

How Does It Work?

Building the Proxi starts with the Memory Maker, a fun to use, simple editor where players can create memories from their lives by inserting photographs, audio, 3D objects, etc. These memory “crystal balls” can then be placed within the game’s landscape and are organised to interconnect with each other. A map is created for how players think, and the memory globes can be tagged with keywords to help make associations.

Ownership of Assets Using NFTs

Through the creation of in-game assets, users retain copyright ownership through using NFT smart contracts as a tool. If a user builds an asset based on somebody else’s creation, for example, the original creator of that collection is rewarded by maintaining an ownership share of that content.

At every stage, we can keep track of who created every piece of the asset or the collection and return that credit back to the creator. So I think that’s going to be a huge step towards getting people motivated to put their creative energies into helping us build this game.

Will Wright, Proxi creator

Gallium Studios has partnered with NFT gaming platform Forte to process the blockchain integration and NFT functionality of the game. Watch the full interview video below, in which Wright explains the Proxi ecosystem:

NFT gaming is becoming hugely popular as in-game items and digital assets are broadly moving to the blockchain. Earlier this month, Australian-based NFT games platform Immutable raised US$60 million in its latest funding round. Earlier in September, the Solana (SOL) ecosystem announced it would host three new NFT games on its blockchain where players can compete and trade with NFTs.

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Australia Blockchain Crypto News NFTs

Industry Leaders Set to Speak at This Week’s Australian NFT Fest

Dozens of speakers from the crypto and blockchain industry will be hosting this week’s Australian NFT Fest to talk about some of the hottest trends in the industry right now.

The list gathers 50 experts on the industry and their take on popular trends in the DeFi and crypto space, such as NFTs and the rise of blockchain video games like Axie Infinity.

The event was organised by Richelle Cox, content director of Melbourne-based digital commerce agency Honey Digital, in collaboration with Steve Vallas, CEO of Blockchain Australia. The virtual meeting is free to watch and will last from 10:00 am to 6:15 pm AEST. 

Some of the speakers include Gauthier Zuppinger and Jess Ford, co-founders of NonFungible.com; Lakoz, the Aussie co-founder of the NFT collection Koala Intelligence Agency (KIA); and Caroline Bowler, CEO of Melbourne-based crypto exchange BTC Markets.

NFTs Are Red Hot in Australia

NFTs are wildly popular in Australia, and as the NFT bandwagon keeps rolling at its frenzied pace more Aussies are jumping on board.

Crypto News Australia recently reported how one Aussie made 9x his investment by flipping a piece of virtual real estate he purchased on the Pokemon-inspired Axie Infinity. Kieran Warwick, the co-founder of Illuvium, a decentralised strategy game and NFT collection built on the Ethereum network, bought a “plot” at A$300 and sold it for $28,000.

A lot of money is being poured onto the NFT market in Australia. Aussie-based horseracing platform ZED RUN, for example, raised US$20 million for NFT racehorses.

However, other projects have fallen at the first hurdle. The Llama NFT platform Sollamas, for one, promised to compensate affected users after its error-plagued launch last month.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum Gaming NFTs

Atari’s ‘Father of Video Games’ is Diving into Augmented Reality NFTs

Nolan Bushnell and Zai Ortiz are releasing an augmented reality NFT experience with the MakersPlace on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. The Arcade OG series will be a range of collectibles from the arcade era inspired by Computer Space and PONG, two of Atari’s earliest creations.

Bushnell, founder of well-known game company Atari and referred to as the “Father of the Video Game Industry”, has recently made his debut in the NFT space. Together, he and frequent collaborator Ortiz, a Hollywood visual effects director with 20 years’ experience, plan to launch the Arcade OG NFT Series.

The duo has been pioneering the field of digital works for decades, with Nolan even being praised by Newsweek as one of the “50 Men That Changed America”. Ortiz is the founder of studio Dark Matter and is credited for influencing modern AI design through his work in feature films such as TRON: Legacy and Iron Man 2, as well as in games.

When Bushnell encountered non-fungible tokens for the first time, his “initial wash on NFTs was: really?” However, as he saw what he describes as “the transition” from all analogue media to digital becoming more prevalent, Bushnell decided to participate, stating that he was “fascinated by the math of it – I went through all the white papers”.

Details of the NFT Offering

The team plans to bring back some of the early-day gaming machines as digital augmented reality (AR) collectibles available on the Bushnell section of MakersPlace.

I decided if I did it, I wanted it to be really cool and feel like my brand, which is about being an innovator […] I needed it to be something more than what was out there, not just slapping my name and image onto something.

Nolan Bushnell

The MakersPlace release offers ownership of five original, immersive videos, which take the viewer from the arcade and into Computer Space (both single-player and two-player versions) and Pong (both table-top and arcade versions).

Each of the five NFTs comes with ownership of a one-of-a-kind AR experience, which allows the owner to place a full-scale rendering of their console in any environment.

The drop will take place on October 12 at 3:30 PST. Meanwhile, the others will be single-edition collectibles to be auctioned to the highest bidder with bonus perks included. For instance, a single-edition red “Pong” NFT will be paired with a visit with Bushnell to the Two Bit Circus arcade and entertainment centre in Los Angeles, while a yellow “Computer Space” NFT will come with a signed and unopened Atari 2600 game console.

At this point in time there’s a lot of stuff we can do that just needs a little more thought and effort, and then I hope we can blow your socks off every six months with a new sock-blower-offer.

Nolan Bushnell

Using AR for NFTs is no new feat; similar technology has been used in the $500,000 Mars House, a virtual estate on Mars created by artist Krista Kim.

Atari Explores Blockchain

Atari has been exploring various avenues in the blockchain space, with its new console even able to utilise blockchain technology.

The Atari VCS ecosystem is designed to work with and facilitate the use of blockchain technology, with games, payments, NFTs and tokens all coming to the Atari VCS.

Atari VCS

Besides NFTs and blockchain-enabled consoles, Atari has also been looking into the premium accommodation business in Australia, trying to expand the company by creating an “all-in-one luxurious and entertaining experience” for visitors.

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Bitcoin Blockchain Crypto News ICP

ICP Token Soars 13% Amid News of Bitcoin Integration

DFINITY Foundation, the not-for-profit organisation behind Internet Computer (ICP), has announced that it will leverage new cryptography techniques to integrate with the Bitcoin network, resulting in smart contracts that directly operate on bitcoin balances for the first time.

What is ICP?

ICP is a blockchain-based open-source computing platform designed to address some of the major issues with today’s internet – weak system security, monopolisation of internet services, and misuse of personal user data.

Through a multi-layered proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, DFINITY aims to create a modern decentralised internet capable of hosting practically any applications, big and small, including smart contracts and DeFi. Unlike the traditional internet, applications and data are hosted on-chain, rather than relying on centralised infrastructure.

DFINITY Launches Bitcoin Smart Contracts

With an overwhelming 96.55 percent support from the ICP community, the resolution to launch Bitcoin smart contracts was passed.

According to DFINITY, “bringing smart contracts to the Bitcoin network will enable developers to build all manner of exciting new systems and Web 3.0 services that process bitcoins and run entirely from the blockchain, creating a foundation for immense new value creation on both networks”.

The Internet Computer is powered by novel ‘chain key cryptography’ that allows it to sign transactions for other blockchains such as Bitcoin. This capability will be used to provide smart contracts hosted on the Internet Computer with native bitcoin addresses via a direct integration of the networks. Internet Computer smart contracts will gain access to bitcoin liquidity, and Bitcoin will gain powerful new smart contract functionality, without the need for insecure and cumbersome trusted bridging services. This will help realise Satoshi’s vision by allowing bitcoin to power a new generation of Web 3.0 internet services.

Dominic Williams, founder and chief scientist, DFINITY Foundation

In short, the integration will allow for the creation of smart contracts to enable lending, yield farming, derivatives, and other DeFi applications for Bitcoin.

Williams goes further in outlining the benefits of the integration:

This means it will be possible to create a Bitcoin wallet using Internet Computer smart contracts that is directly served from the blockchain into a web browser, which then allows the user to securely, conveniently and anonymously authenticate themselves using, say, the fingerprint sensor on their laptop, or face recognition on their phone, in order to send bitcoins to another user, without need for the key management typically involved in self-hosting crypto.

Dominic Williams, founder and chief scientist, DFINITY Foundation

Earlier this year, ICP crashed some 95 percent on news that the developers had sold their holdings. However, the token was trading 13 percent higher on the recent announcement, following a rather tumultuous 48 hours where US$2.5 billion was wiped off the crypto markets.

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Australia Blockchain Crypto News

Blockchain Jobs to Attract Top Tech Talent to Australia in 2022

Almost one in eight applications under Australia’s Global Talent Visa Program relate directly to the financial services and fintech sector, which offers roles in IT biochemistry, digital health, resource robotics and, most importantly for the local crypto industry, blockchain.

The program attracted 9,584 migrants in the 2020-2021 year as the government seeks those with clearly delineated skills to help the country rebound from Covid-19 and drive its economic recovery.

Of those 9,584 applications, 7,375 came from migrants already in Australia while 2,209 came from outside the country.

Delivering a full program meant drawing on the pool of onshore applicants due to global Covid-19 restrictions. This has been very successful given the difficult circumstances this year. We will continue to give priority to skilled visas that drive economic growth, job creation and investment in Australia.

Alex Hawke, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

To qualify for the program, candidates need to be highly skilled in one of 10 target sectors, including fintech. They must provide evidence they would be an asset to Australia, and have a recognised organisation or individual in the country nominate them as a global talent.

The largest source citizenship countries of migrants in 2020-2021 were China (22,207 places), India (21,791), and the UK (12,703). In the upcoming year, the migration program has a planning level of 160,000 places and applicants will be able to move within the skill stream to provide flexibility.

Momentum Continues Despite Recent Market Correction

Massive amounts of capital have been pouring into blockchain and cryptocurrency companies from venture capital and direct investment in recent months, and the momentum has continued despite the recent crypto market correction.

As the crypto industry continues to flourish, industry groups are stepping up efforts to support the ecosystem. Blockchain is one of the most in-demand skills, according to LinkedIn, but there is a gap between available jobs and qualified talent.

According to a recent report, blockchain technology has boomed in recent years and organisations need to expand their hiring policies to meet demand. As reported by Crypto News Australia in May, TAFE Queensland is leading the world in blockchain education with Australia’s first registered Diploma of Applied Blockchain.

Last month, NSW Senator Andrew Bragg pushed for the provision of industry incentives for new investors to create more job opportunities for Australians in the crypto sector.

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Australia Bitcoin BSV Blockchain Industries

Aussie Tech Startup ‘Tokenized’ Launches API to Help Developers with Smart Contracts

Tokenized is an Australian startup aiming to change the way capital markets work by leveraging blockchain and smart contracts. It has recently launched its API that allows anyone to plug into its service to use smart contracts and tokenised instruments.

Smart Contract API for Developers

The API for Tokenized, a smart contracting platform believed to be the “first practical step forward towards building out a smart contract-based global financial system”, has been made available. The platform-as-a-service (PaaS) will release a host of services for users who want to build “banking-grade, and feature-rich, apps with embedded smart contracts and token services”.

Building Your Business on the Blockchain

The platform fully utilises the Bitcoin SV network for its low transaction fees and high transaction throughput at 10,000 transactions per second, allowing both public and private entities as the basis for its blockchain-based applications. It joins the ranks of other Aussie companies leveraging the BSV network, such as Progressive Minerals, a mining company using the Bitcoin SV network (BSV) to build its new blockchain-based infrastructure.

The platform allows users to draft, manage, and execute smart contracts with no code. Some of the features even allow for the recovery of users’ funds if they lose their keys through an identity and authority oracle.

Users can build a business, brands, or even a front-end supported with all the associated Bitcoin, token, smart contract and compliance-related tech. There are various built-in security add-ons such as KYC, multifactor authentication systems, vaults, and lockboxes to assure the safety of future users.

Who Can Benefit From Tokenized?

Tokenized is capable of working with any organisation, or individual, around the world interested in issuing smart contracts and tokens on a distributed ledger.

The Tokenized platform’s design has been generalised to account for all of the key features required of any type of agreement and the associated legal instruments. In other words, any use case that requires entities working together can benefit from utilising the solution.

James Belding, CEO, Tokenized

Any business that would like to issue digital assets (loyalty points, coupons, tickets, etc) to improve customers’ user experience can benefit. The interoperability of an on-chain token system can open up new ways of engaging and rewarding customers on social media while lowering engagement resistance.

Example of an event ticket smart contract being drafted.

Tokenization is an increasingly useful solution for businesses to distribute digital or even real-world assets. Property in Australia has recently been tokenised in an attempt to lower barriers to entry for investors.

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Blockchain Crypto News DeFi Tokens

ATOM Token Surges 25% in a Week Through Inter-Blockchain Growth

While the crypto market has been stagnating for the past couple of days, ATOM – Cosmos Network’s native token – reached new all-time highs overnight. 

ATOM Blowing Up

The ATOM/USDT pair had a 10 percent increase over the weekend and crossed the US$40 mark, making it one of the top-performing coins in the market – US$10 up in a single week and a 180 percent increase from a low of $8 on July 20. The token was trading $34 per coin at the time of writing. 

Source: Binance

Bulls are now in control of the Cosmos market, and some of the hype comes after numerous DeFi project integrations and other novelties, such as the launch of Sifchain, a decentralised exchange (DEX) that allows users to exchange assets between Cosmos and Ethereum.

Another boost for the ATOM token came after the recent launch of Emeris, Cosmos’s first functioning user interface for DeFi, introducing cross-chain exchange capabilities.

What is Cosmos Network?

Cosmos is usually called “the internet of blockchain” as it allows different blockchains to interact, share data, and transact tokens with each other. Every blockchain freely interacts and operates in the network through the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. This mechanism allows information to flow through the network and reach its destined blockchain.

At its core, IBC is a method of securely exchanging data between two independent [sovereign] blockchains. This means that any two blockchains that support IBC can send communication back and forth in a permissionless manner. Previously, ATOM was relegated to the Cosmos Hub with regard to its utility as a governance token. It is now transferable and interoperable with all blockchains that support IBC.

Zarko Milosevic, chief scientist, Informal Systems

Since its debut, Cosmos has set itself apart from its competitors for its innovative approach to interoperability and blockchain customisation. Cosmos Hub is the first blockchain launched on the Cosmos Network, designed to act as a bridge and facilitate communication between different blockchains, called zones, by keeping track of their states.

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Blockchain Crypto Exchange Crypto News DeFi Tokens

SUSHI Gains 23% in 24 Hours, Leading the DEX Tokens Surge

SUSHI has gained a mammoth 23 percent in the past 24 hours and is leading the surge following a day of growth for decentralised exchange tokens (DEX). This comes only weeks after a potential exploit of SushiSwap’s (SUSHI) token fundraising platform was foiled by white hat hackers.

In the same period, other DEX tokens PancakeSwap (CAKE) and THORChain (RUNE) gained 2.5 percent and 13 percent respectively. Market cap leader UniSwap also gained 6.23 percent against the US dollar.

DEX token performance on September 16. Source: Messari

SushiSwap, a DApp, has become one of the most popular distributed ledger technologies that allow for the easy transfer and swapping of crypto assets. The exchange is a user-orientated platform in which users provide liquidity in exchange for rewards.

Its native token, SUSHI, is a governance token that enables the community to vote for platform proposals and can be farmed through the yield farming program. Holders of SUSHI, funded by Chef Nomi, an anonymous group, receive a portion of SushiSwap’s trading fees.

SushiSwap Leads the Pack

SushiSwap as a DEX platform has recently branched out to more blockchains than its peers. This has been generating more fees for users and thereby raising the prospect of holding SUSHI tokens.

SUSHI has gained in popularity since it was announced it will be deploying on Arbitrum, a layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum-powered decentralised applications (DApps). The company also recently announced that stakers had locked in US$30 million worth of SUSHI tokens into Arbitrum’s smart contracts.

The SUSHI ecosystem is showing healthy growth signs as it attempts to scale its DEX solutions across various layer-1 and layer-2 chains. SushiSwap has also unveiled its upcoming non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, Shoyu.

SUSHI Price Outlook

Following all its announcements, SUSHI has beaten its DEX rivals in terms of interim returns with profits in the past seven days at over 45 percent compared to UniSwap’s 16.93 percent.

However, the token is behind in its year-to-date gains, sitting at 370 percent compared to UniSwap’s 474 percent gain. PancakeSwap’s CAKE has surpassed all its DEX competitors by showing a 3,330 percent return.

The future for SushiSwap looks positive as it currently sits at the fourth-highest DEX market cap. The protocol that started out as a decentralised exchange is growing into something much more than that.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum NFTs Solana

Katy Perry Invests in $5 Million Funding Round for Decentralised Spotify Rival Audius

Katy Perry, along with other music superstars including Nas, Jason Derulo, Pusha T, the Chainsmokers and Steve Aoki, is the latest investor in crypto-powered music streaming platform Audius.

Audius is a music streaming app, like Spotify or SoundCloud, built on the blockchain and unique as it is the first truly decentralised music platform. The protocol was originally developed on POA (Proof of Authority) Network, an Ethereum sidechain, and has now moved parts of its service to include the Solana blockchain. Developers can build their own apps on top of Audius, giving them access to an exclusive audio catalogue.

Blockchain-Powered Music for Artists

Audius is giving power back to artists, offering a decentralised network model where users can upload their songs directly to the platform and even earn $AUDIO crypto token rewards for using the network. With six million monthly active users, Audius is an open-source community-owned and operated protocol that aims to give artists full control over how their music is monetised online and also enables them to connect directly with fans.

Social Media and NFT Integration

Audius is the first to offer integration with TikTok, allowing artists to share their songs with TikTok users to stream in their viral videos. Audius also offers NFT features, allowing musicians to showcase their own NFT collectibles to fans. It is a powerful tool that allows artists full control and ownership of their copyrighted musical works. No wonder the musicians themselves are excited to support this new music business model.

“Everyone who uploads to Audius can be an owner; you can’t say that about any other platform,” says rapper/entrepreneur Nas.

You can check out more about Audius here.