Popular media and entertainment company Marvel will be dropping its first-ever non-fungible tokens (NFTs) this weekend, featuring Spider-Man digital collectibles.
This first set of NFTs from Marvel will drop on app-based NFT marketplace VeVe, under a recent partnership with Orbis Blockchain Technologies Limited, the operator of VeVe.
— VeVe | Digital Collectibles (@veve_official) August 5, 2021
More NFTs to Come from Marvel
According to the information shared by VeVe, the Spider-Man digital collectibles will be exclusively listed on the platform from August 7 at 8am PT. Marvel is expected to release about five different collectibles, ranging from US$40 to US$400 per piece.
This will mark the first time Marvel fans will be able to purchase or interact with NFTs officially released by the comics giant. However, Marvel intends to drop more contents on the NFT marketplace, featuring 3D statues of comic superheroes and digital comic books, in coming weeks.
The Spider-Man collectibles will be reportedly minted on Ethereum second-layer network, Immutable X.
NFT Sales Keep Soaring
Marvel’s Spider-Man collectibles come at a time where interest and sales in the NFT market are hitting the roof. Data from NonFungible shows that more than US$547 million changed hands in sales over the past 30 days and over US$42 million in the past 24 hours.
CryptoPunks did US$172 million in seven-day volume, followed by Art Blocks and Meebits with US$57 million and US$17 million, respectively.
NFTs certify ownership to rare or unique items on the blockchain. On July 21, Crypto News reported that one-of-a-kind 2017 painting CryptoMother, aka the “Crypto Mona Lisa“ would be auctioned by NFT STARS, an Australia-based NFT marketplace. The artwork is signed by Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, and previously attracted a bid of US$6 million in 2018. It can only go higher.
The legendary "CryptoMother" will be auctioned on NFT STARS on 30.07. ✨ The NFT and original oil painting ✨ The only artwork signed in person by @VitalikButerin ✨ An iconic work that’s been displayed across the world ✨ An NFT that was offered $6m for!https://t.co/NsGZreG87Rpic.twitter.com/JghHRHOiaw
In the early hours of August 6, a super large transaction of US$1 billion worth of USDT stablecoin was transferred from an exchange to an unknown wallet on the Tron blockchain.
US$1 billion Tron blockchain transaction
USDT Runs on Eight Blockchains
Tether (USDT) is a popular stablecoin whose value is pegged to the US dollar. USDT is a ERC-20 token that currently runs on eight blockchains including Algorand, BCH, EOS, Ethereum, Liquid Network, Omni, Tron and Solana.
The interoperability of stablecoins to transfer between multiple global networks shows the true power of blockchain technology.
Sam Deering, CEO, Crypto News Australia
Other Recent Whale Transactions
There have been quite a few recent whale transactions including a US$430 million Bitcoin transaction for a fee of $82, although a $0.80 fee would have been enough. This was a $430 million instant settlement with no middleman or banks involved.
US media company AccuWeather is launching a Chainlink node to place its application programming interfaces (APIs) directly onto blockchain-based smart contracts, the specialist weather information provider announced this week.
AccuWeather APIs include information such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed and natural disaster classifications. A few potential uses for AccuWeather-powered smart contracts include:
non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that can change depending on weather forecasts
weather prediction market hedges against natural disasters
automatic supply chain shifts correlated with the weather
Chainlink, an Ethereum-based network of decentralised blockchain oracles, allows off-chain data to be placed into smart contracts.
One of the biggest weather data providers in the world @accuweather isn't running a $BTC node or an $ETH node, but a $LINK node.
Why? Because they can provide their data to smart contracts through #Chainlink that way.
“As one of the first weather-related data products to join Chainlink, we are thrilled to expand our reach in bringing value to the emerging blockchain-based market,” commented Kurt Fulepp, AccuWeather’s global chief product officer.
Innovation is in our DNA at AccuWeather and integrating Chainlink demonstrates another way in which we deliver best-in class products to users and consumers in a diverse and growing number of platforms and spaces.
Kurt Fulepp, AccuWeather
How It Will Work
The ability to connect premium weather data to blockchain networks is critical to supporting the many new smart contracts being built on-chain for the forecasting industry. Smart contracts are data-driven applications that automate processes such as product pricing and contract settlement based directly on data feeds.
Smart contract developers need high-quality weather data from sources like AccuWeather to ensure outcomes accurately reflect weather conditions.
AccuWeather data can enable parametric crop and natural disaster insurance for regions where it is otherwise unavailable, hedging against future droughts, floods or associated sea level rises.
Lionel Messi, arguably the world’s greatest footballer, if not of all time, is entering the world of NFTs according to a recent announcement via Instagram. An NFT collection dubbed “The Messiverse” will be available from 21:00 UTC August 20 on blockchain platform Ethernity Chain (ERN).
Enter the “Messiverse”
We bring @TeamMessi Licensed aNFT to the community.
Following the announcement, the native token of Ethernity Chain climbed over 45 percent within 24 hours.
Ethernity Chain is not unfamiliar with such dramatic price surges. The token was worth US$74 back in March 2021, however at the time of publication was around US$11, a significant margin off its 2021 high.
What’s Included?
Ethernity Chain has previously dabbled with football NFTs, dropping a collection last month to celebrate Argentina’s Copa America victory over Brazil. Naturally, captain Lionel Messi was one of the featured collectibles available for auction.
“The Messiverse” consists of four artworks – three by Australian artist Bosslogic, and one by an artist known only as Impossible Brief.
At this stage, little is known of the specific details of each piece, except that they are likely to have a futuristic tone. No doubt football fanatics around the globe will be the first to sign up and be notified of the NFT drop.
NFTs are becoming increasingly interwoven with sports, as reported earlier this year by Crypto News Australia. From the NBA to the NFL to cricket, all manner of sporting codes are getting in on the act. Will this trend continue or are we in a NFT bubble about to burst? Time will tell.
Indian tech startup Rario is set to launch the world’s first cricket-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on August 15, well ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup scheduled for October-November.
!@rariohq
The world's first #NFT platform for officially licensed Cricket NFTs.
Fans can buy, sell and collect their favorite cricketing moments.
Rario NFTs are licensed, verifiable and unique.
I can't wait for the launch on the 15th because it's going to be a major hit. 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/Wqy2yFZlMy
Subcontinental business website The Economic Times reports that Rario has already secured the Lanka Premier League Twenty20 competition as a partner and is in negotiations with three more major leagues.
Rario claims it has initially signed male and female players from India, South Africa and Bangladesh to offer their digital collectibles to fans. Big names cited include former India fast bowler and official Rario ambassador Zaheer Khan, South African batsmen AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, plus Smriti Mandhana, a star of India’s women’s team.
Other Players, Leagues and Cricket Boards To Be Announced
Rario co-founder Ankit Wadhwa told The Economic Times: “We are in the process of signing [other] players, leagues and cricket boards. We are trying to create an ecosystem before making it a global play.”
We are living in a mobile-first world and all our interactions are primarily digital; we buy, sell and help each other online but fandom is still predominantly offline. Rario aims to change all that.
Ankit Wadhwa, Rario founder
The Rario move makes cricket the latest sport to leap aboard the NFT bandwagon. It comes after the International Cricket Council (ICC) invited companies to express interest in developing and launching a digital collectibles platform for cricket fans globally.
Other sports such as the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and Formula One teams Red Bull and McLaren have their own NFT agreements in a collectibles market now worth over US$2.5 billion and rising.
The Rario platform will not only issue digital collectibles, but also offer games and a marketplace for fans to trade their assets.
No doubt Rario will find a foothold in a cricket-mad market such as Australia, which has already shown keen interest in sports trading cards, as reported by Crypto News last month.
Electric Coin Co (ECC), the company behind the Zcash ecosystem, has hinted at moving the privacy cryptocurrency from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox made this known in a recent blog post where he shared his opinion on why such a transition will benefit users.
Wilcox Believes PoS will Make ZEC More Valuable
Zcash (ZEC) is a privacy-focused coin that currently runs on proof-of-work as it was forked from Bitcoin. PoW involves miners who compete to solve mathematical puzzles using intensive energy for newly minted coins as a reward. However, PoS is lighter and only requires validators who deposit their coin as collateral to verify transactions and secure the network.
Wilcox argues that moving Zcash to PoS will reduce downward pressure on the crypto, given there will no longer be miners who are bound to sell their coins to recover operating costs. He says that staking would add utility to ZEC and also encourage users to eventually become long-term holders.
The plan to transition ZEC to PoS also comes amid concerns around the intensive energy usage in PoW, which the court of public opinion believes endangers the planet.
Wilcox also mentions it was easy to maintain the security of a network with PoS as offenders or violators can be published without affecting the overall network.
While there are many who prefer PoW, I believe PoS would make ZEC more valuable to more people! The benefits are great, and they far outweigh the drawbacks and risks.
Zooko Wilcox, Zcash founder
Community Remains Unconvinced
Some people, including Justin Ehrenhofer, are not in support of this. In a post on reddit, the crypto compliance analyst opined that transitioning ZEC to PoS indicates “they prioritise wealth over privacy“.
Ehrenhofer claims that 20 percent of the block rewards for the first four years were allocated to the founders. Thus, staking this massive number of coins will give them an advantage to earning new block rewards. He also notes that staking could impact the coin’s privacy.
It is not clear that shielded staking will be supported. If only transparent staking is supported, or if shielded funds must publicly share significant information to stake (which would make them more like transparent funds in effect), then Zcash will forever be largely transparent, not private.
Justin Ehrenhofer
In one of a series of tweets, Luxor CEO Nick Hansen also argued against the move, saying staking is a major centralising force:
"PoS provides a way for large numbers of Zcash holders to become Zcash users"
By staking, you're just getting compensated for the inflation in supply. This isn't a "user". This is also a *major* centralizing force.
The ECC hasn’t yet finalised on transitioning Zcash to proof-of-stake. This is more like a proposal to understand which consensus mechanism the community believes adds more value to the Zcash network. It’s left for the community to decide whether the proposal should be passed.
Whether Zcash itself changes is determined by whether the Zcash community chooses to run that software.
Zooko Wilcox
Regardless of the contradictions, there are already a good number of cryptocurrencies running on proof-of-stake. These include Tezos, Algorand, Cosmos, Cardano, and so on. The development also comes at a time when Ethereum is preparing to move to PoS.
Crypto News Australia revealed this week that a major upgrade “London“ hard fork would be activated on the blockchain on August 4, preparing the path for Ethereum 2.0, which is based on PoS.
Quant (QNT), the utility token of Quant Network, has skyrocketed over 70 percent after being listed on Binance last week.
QNT was trading at US$98 before it was listed on the exchange, reaching US$184, according to data from CoinGecko. It recorded a 24-hour trading volume of over US$70 million and at the time of writing was priced at $168.92.
New #Binance listing: $QNT@quant_network is a London-based blockchain technology company that aims to achieve universal interoperability between blockchains through its Overledger OS, a blockchain operating system.
Quant Network is an ambitious project created and currently led by Australian tech innovator Gilbert Verdian, a graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, now living in London.
The project offers a Multi-Ledger Token System ( MLTS ), which removes single DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) limitations by allowing assets to run on multiple DLTs at the same time. Verdian tweeted that Quant’s MLTS could allow CBDCs to be interoperable domestically, enabling cross-border transactions.
Verdian came up with the idea of using blockchain standards to ensure interoperability between DLT/blockchain implementations and non-DLT when he was the chief information security officer for eHealth NSW five years ago.
Standards enable blockchain platforms with guidance and best practices on what is required to achieve interoperability to reduce the risk of a fragmented ecosystem. It also prevents technology lock-in by providing options to move between technologies and, during implementation, clients can align to standards that make it easier to implement with confidence in continued compliance.
Thanks to his innovative work, Verdian has become a recognised leader in the industry, joining the likes of Dr Jiangshan Yu, an Australian researcher from Melbourne’s Monash University who won a 2020 IBM Academic Award.
More Companies Using Multichain Blockchains
Multichain blockchains are growing in popularity daily as their inherent interoperability allows companies to securely exchange data between two sovereign blockchains.
In March, Cosmos Protocol, the company behind the ATOM token, voted to include the IBC protocol, which allows communication between blockchains without limitations or extra steps.
August 4 sees the long-awaited London hard fork activated on the Ethereum blockchain. This is a significant upgrade that will improve the efficiency of transactions on the network, at least until Ethereum 2.0 (known as “Serenity”) is fully deployed in 2022.
The Ethereum London hard fork will introduce a deflationary model for Ether (ETH) – where half of the transaction fees will be burned. However, this isn’t too exciting for miners since it means a reduction in transaction fees paid to them.
Below is a quick summary of the five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) included on the London hard fork:
EIP-1559: Change in Ethereum fee structure
EIP-3198: Improve the user experience of smart contracts
EIP-3529: Reduce refunds that had no impact
EIP-3541: Make future updates easier
EIP-3554: Make it easier to migrate to ETH 2.0 PoW to PoS
What ETH Token Holders Need to Know
If you’re holding ETH, then it won’t affect you too much.
All major exchanges are supporting the ETH hard fork. It seems uncertain at this time if a new coin will be created as part of the fork (as it was when BTC hard forked into BCH). There seem to be two scenarios:
No new coin is created – everything will resume as normal. or
A new coin is created – the exchanges will elect to choose the chain with the stronger hashrate and then create a 1:1 ratio distribution of your ETH holdings from the snapshot date of the fork.
If scenario 2) happens, then it could be likely you’ll end up with two ETH coin holdings that both have “value”. But it’s more likely that one of them might become useless and its dollar value will crash to zero.
You no longer need to select GAS price for transactions fees (it will be set automatically).
EIP-1559 will change the current transaction fee structure to a “base fee” for each block. This means there will be a fixed price for transactions so users don’t need to be pricing gas fees in order to increase the chances of having their transactions confirmed earlier. The blockchain will burn the fee, reducing the overall supply of Ether (ETH). This effect will create deflationary pressure on the cryptocurrency.
ETH deposits and withdrawals on exchanges will be paused until the upgrade is completed.
Binance will suspend ETH and ERC-20 tokens deposits and withdrawals at approximately 9:30pm AEST on August 5, 2021. Please ensure that you leave sufficient time for your ETH and ERC-20 tokens transfers to be fully processed prior to the above time. We will handle all technical requirements for users holding ETH and ERC-20 tokens on Binance. More information on specific trading markets affected here.
Some GAS tokens will now be useless and staking users may be refunded.
Among those assets affected by the hard fork will be Ethereum’s gas token GST2 and its improved version developed by the 1INCH team – CHI. Those gas tokens “will become useless after London”. Projects such as 1INCH that are using those gas tokens are implementing refunds to their communities.
This is a temporary upgrade until ETH 2.0 is released.
The PoS transition of Ethereum 2.0 is planned for 2022, so the implementation of the London hard fork is still time-limited and temporary. Developers are working on scaling up the ethereum network by adding more side networks and linking them. Ethereum insiders hope this will reduce congestion and transaction costs.
Ethereum Community Reaction to Ethereum 2.0
It’s evident that Ethereum users are optimistic about Ethereum 2.0, judging by the rapid increase in the number of coins staked on the deposit contract. At the time of writing, 6,681,276 ETH had been staked so far, equivalent to US$16.6 billion.
In anticipation of the upcoming upgrade on the network, Ethereum whales are increasingly accumulating ETH:
🐳 #Ethereum has made it to a high of $2,691 for the first time since June 7th. The near 2-month high comes as the percent of $ETH held by the whale 'Millionaire Tier' just reached a high of 39.2%. This is their largest supply portion owned since May 12th. https://t.co/7pXMQn1lT0pic.twitter.com/ro790oGuuG
Australian DJ, singer and recording artist Alison Wonderland, born Alexandra Sholler, has gone down the non-fungible token (NFT) rabbithole with a new blockchain project called WonderQuest.
Alison Wonderland in DJ mode. Source: theurbanlist.com
The fantasy-inspired project, launched August 1 on Decentraland, a blockchain-powered 3D virtual reality platform, allows investors to purchase a dragon egg – at a cost of 0.0888 Ethereum (ETH) – approximately A$300, with more than 6,500 already sold and another 3,500 minted leading up to the launch – as an NFT from the WonderTown market.
The on-sale period ends with a “hatching” event at which owners can figuratively hatch their dragon eggs, allowing further interaction with the virtual fantasy realm.
Alison Wonderland Plays Live Inside the Metaverse
The project incorporates virtual gift quests, discussions and musical performances, the VR game itself climaxing with a live performance from Alison Wonderland inside the metaverse.
Sales for the NFT project have already gone past A$2 million, with the full extent of the 34-year-old singer/DJ’s earnings to be revealed after the project concludes.
Decentraland describes WonderQuest as “an immersive exploration of Alison Wonderland’s virtual world of dragons and black magic”.
It starts with a single egg and ends with an epic musical odyssey in Alison’s very own Temple of Wonderland. Those brave enough to embark on this journey will be treated to money-can’t-buy experiences, live performances, fireside chats and epic quests through Decentraland.
Decentraland announcement
"… these aren’t just any old eggs,” he continues. "Hearing this music, it is said, bestows upon you the power to hatch your eggs, if you so desire. Wonderland is no longer just a fairy tale." Glory to the Dragon Sorceress @awonderland, @thewonderquest Ceremony begins 6PM EST pic.twitter.com/AroyhM2K6i
Last month, Australian pop star Tones And I featured on Rolling Stone Australia’s first NFT magazine cover. Aussies are also showing wild enthusiasm for sports trading cards, with several businesses hoping to cash in by offering famous sporting moments as NFTs.
NFTs generally are a trend that most exchanges are keen to exploit. In June, Binance launched its ‘100 Creators’ campaign, which features Australian artists, sports stars and musicians contributing work sold as NFTs. Crypto.com also recently launched its own NFT marketplace, with contributions from music and sports celebrities.
This has been a year of unprecedented growth in blockchain non-fungible token (NFT) gaming coins. With some blockchain-enabled games seeing growth of almost 700 percent in a single week, digital games are becoming surprisingly profitable.
Playing Games and Earning Crypto
Mobile gaming, traditionally largely centralised, now benefits massively from NFTs, which allow gamers to transfer items that were won or purchased from one game to another game, thus conferring real-world value on digital in-game assets.
The transfer of NFTs outside of the ecosystems they were designed for gives them distinct value. Users have been found to spend 10-100x more on in-game NFT assets. This is because NFTs are unique and will remain with buyers forever.
To truly understand the extent of this phenomenon, let’s look at a few games that are realising mind-boggling growth.
StarLink
The price of StarLink ($STARL) token jumped a massive 40 percent over just 24 hours after a week of immense growth, with its trading volume rising 80 percent to just under US$29 million. The crypto gaming currency claims to be the “first 100 percent community-owned decentralised virtual space project” in which users can buy, sell and trade virtual satellites and spacecraft, and enact landings as they explore the solar system.
StarLink is following the ‘metaverse’ trend by creating a virtual world that can host data, ideas and NFTs. The company aims to evolve into a platform that offers visual and audio adaptations to drive NFT technology further, bringing it into real-world space and virtual reality concepts.
Splinterlands
NFT game Splinterlands is a new wave online collectible card game with the aim of replacing traditional trading cards. It has raised over US$3 million through a private token sale, which led to a price rally of over 100 percent for the newly issued token.
Online cards are minted as NFTs, meaning that players can own digital cards in the same way they would physical cards. The company has introduced a play-to-earn system where players can earn crypto rewards based on their in-game performance.
Splinterlands supports cross-compatibility blockchains to ETH, Tron and Wax, so that players can earn and trade coins.
FaraLand
FaraLand has been voted one of Binance Smart Chain’s top winning NFT projects.
Faraland is honored to be selected in Binance Smart Chain’s Top 10 Most Valuable Builders program!!
We appreciate the enthusiastic support from our investors and users!😍😍😍
The NFT metaverse game has gone up almost 700 percent in a week. This turn-based RPG game native to Binance Smart Chain makes use of NFTs to allow players involvement and ownership of their in-game assets.
Players own their warriors, pets, armour and items in the form of NFTs that are used to engage in “thrilling battle”. The in-game token, FARA, can be used to upgrade characters, reinvest in the game, and can even be cashed out for real-world prizes.
Flow
The price of Flow, a token from Dapper Labs, the company that brought you CryptoKitties, has risen from US$18.26 to US$27.56 following an announcement from Binance that it intends to list the project. The Flow blockchain is highly scalable and allows easy integration for third-party developers.
Fear
NFT-based horror game Fear has seen a growth in price of 429 percent in a single week in anticipation of the launch. Fear joins other video games in utilising crypto underpinnings and NFT mechanics to add another layer of player involvement and ownership.
Fear, the first horror game in a series native to the ETH blockchain, launched on July 20, and holders of the FEAR coin will have access to NFT trades and sales. Like other games, NFTs represent in-game items and allow users to become more involved than ever in the workings of the game.
Players will be able to earn FEAR coins by simply playing the game, and will be allowed to farm in-game items. This gamifies staking and yield farming and serves to strengthen the ties between crypto and gaming.
