Global fantasy football platform Sorare just landed its biggest ever NFT sale, with the Norwegian football superstar Erling Haaland NFT selling for just over A$1 million (265 ETH).
Fanatic YouTubers followed the auction live on-stream and were both excited and shocked when the auction price just kept going up and up. The eventual winner was Zima Blue, who outbid two rivals willing to bid half a million dollars for the Haaland Unique NFT.
The record was previously held by the Kylian Mbappe NFT, which sold for 116 ETH in late 2021. The Haaland card smashed through the French footballer’s price to more than double the record.
Most expensive footballer NFT auctions. Source: SorareData.com
Sorare User Growth Soaring
The number of users owning at least one NFT on the Sorare platform has grown more than 2,700 percent from 3,055 users in January 2021 to 88,143 users in February 2022.
Sorare is a blockchain-based NFT fantasy football game where fans can own their players and enter them into competitions to win prizes.
The France-based company recently completed a US$680 million fundraising round to scale operations and onboard major football leagues around the world.
If you want to find out more, check out our Sorare Review.
đ€ Join us in welcoming none other than… @warnermusic to The Sandbox! đ¶
Their LAND will be the first of its kind in the #Metaverse which will feature live concerts & music experiences from WMGâs huge roster of musical talent!
According to Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder of The Sandbox, the partnership âbrings the open metaverse one step forward in the direction of fan-owned and community-driven initiativesâ.
Weâre shaping The Sandbox as a fun entertainment destination where creators, fans and players can enjoy first-of-a-kind immersive experiences and be more closely connected to their favourite musical artists through non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder, The Sandbox
Warners the First Major Music Label in the Metaverse
The unprecedented initiative, which marks Warners’ first foray into the NFT metaverse, will see WMG digital land in The Sandbox host concerts and other live experiences featuring artists represented by the label. The Warners roster includes Ed Sheeran, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Madonna, Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue and Rita Ora.
The Sandbox will provide some of those artists with another outlet to engage with fans, experiment with virtual entertainment, and generate new revenue streams while reaching a global community.
Sandbox Now Rivals Decentraland
Digital land remains in high demand, and consistent high trading volume in The Sandbox has made it one of the most competitive rivals to Decentraland in the metaverse sphere. According to the company, The Sandbox will hold a LAND sale in March to allow music fans to buy LANDS adjacent to the WMG property.
During a single week in late November, investors purchased more than US$100 million worth of virtual land, the majority of it coming from The Sandbox.
Other Metaverse Musical Projects
In December, another new project called Animal Concerts announced the formation of a virtual touring company to host virtual live music events in the metaverse. Through that project, artists can earn up to 50 percent of revenues from both ticket and NFT sales.
Earlier this month, a new blockchain-based music platform built for creators and investors was announced, intending to address the biggest challenge facing artists in the music industry today: raising capital. Opulous, as it’s called, allows fans to bankroll their favourite artists by harnessing the power of DeFi. They can also benefit from music sales as part copyright owners, thanks to NFTs.
All of which helps goes some way to prove that the world of NFTs is not all about mindless frivolity and outrageous prices.
In a bid to be the leading NFT gaming platform in the metaverse, Balthazar has kicked off its Token launch with a US$3 million token sale, valuing the DAO at US$30 million.
Animoca Brands, a global leader in gamification and blockchain with a large portfolio of over 150 investments in NFT-related companies and decentralised projects, was the lead token purchaser in the round and will be providing advisory services to Balthazar.
Other token purchasers include Finder Group (through Hive Empire Capital, which is led by Fred Schebesta), Zip co-founder Larry Diamond, Digital Asset Capital Management (DACM), Fantom, ZED Run, Darling Ventures, Pluto Digital, San Francisco-based VC Side Door Ventures, Algorand, Rising Capital, Saltwater Ventures, eFrontier, and Three Arrows Capitalâs TPS Capital.
Launched in September 2021, Balthazar aims to be the largest decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) in the play-to-earn space. Itâs a community-focused platform, removing the barrier to entry for gamers to access play-to-earn games through its scholarship program with no upfront costs.
Balthazar is more than a guild, with plans to develop its tech platform, its rent-to-earn lending model, and to scale up its community.
John Stefanidis, CEO of Balthazar, said the token sale marks a significant milestone for the DAO.
âWe are so thrilled to be backed by Animoca Brands and all of our supporters in helping to shape the metaverse and to continue assisting and expanding our community. This support means we can fulfill our vision of empowering the biggest community of gamers to create a self-sustaining, wealth-building ecosystem.Â
âWe are developing the most incredible platform that will bring together gamers, crypto holders and individuals through our own NFT games, valuable tokenomic strategies and gaming partnerships.
âIâm excited about the future of the play-to-earn space, in particular how itâs spreading earning opportunities to those who need it most, as well as providing a new use-case for cryptocurrency.â
Yat Siu, the executive chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, commented: âBalthazar has a thriving and fast-growing community, offering opportunities for all people to be involved in the NFT gaming space, including gamers, game companies, and crypto holders. With its dynamic leadership, we believe that Balthazar will be able to tap growth for NFT-based gaming in new markets, and we are excited to be part of its journey.â
Prior to the token sale, Balthazar deployed 1,100 scholars into several NFT games including Axie Infinity, Splinterlands and Thetan Arena, with a further 30,000 people on its waitlist and a community of more than 70,000 people in its Discord channel.
Balthazar has opened a private token sale round, with plans to sell US$8 million in tokens at a token cap valuation of US$150 million by February 2022.
For more information about Balthazar, click here to read its Whitepaper.
About Balthazar:
Balthazar is a scholar-driven NFT (non-fungible token) gaming platform for the metaverse, one of the first in Australia. Balthazar aims to be the largest Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) in the play-to-earn space. Itâs a community-focused guild for gamers to access play-to-earn games with no upfront cost, supporting a fun and competitive team of players. It also offers a rent-to-earn feature where NFTs can be rented to Balthazar for the scholars to use in games. Balthazar supports the guild through social networks, educational resources, and training and development around gameplay and learning cryptocurrency investment.
About John Stefanidis:
John Stefanidis, 29, is the CEO of NFT gaming platform Balthazar and one of Australiaâs leading digital marketing and ecommerce experts. After graduating from University of Technology Sydney with a Bachelorâs Degree in Business/Marketing in 2014, John has developed and scaled several businesses, including digital marketing agency Covert. As a serial entrepreneur and avid video gamer, John is passionate about the NFT gaming space.
Microsoft is making a massive move on Activision Blizzard, intending to spend an astronomical US$69 billion to acquire the gaming giant in an apparent escalation of its metaverse plans.
Deal Will Make Microsoft World’s #3 Gaming Company in Revenue Terms
The software behemoth will buy Activision Blizzard for US$95 per share at a valuation of US$68.7 billion. The deal, set to close in the 2023 fiscal year, will make Microsoft the world’s third-largest gaming company in revenue terms behind Riot Games owner Tencent and PlayStation developer Sony.
To frame the deal in another way, as Twitter user @CroissantEth succinctly put it, that US$69 billion purchase price amounts to three times the total market capitalisation of all existing metaverse tokens:
Microsoft purchased Blizzard for $68.7B yesterday, in what they have described as their first move in the Metaverse.
To put things into perspective, that is an astounding 3x the total market capitalization of đąđđ existing metaverse tokens.
Activision Blizzard has a long list of gaming franchises that includes Call of Duty, Overwatch, Candy Crush, World of Warcraft and Tony Hawkâs Pro Skater. On conclusion of the deal, its formidable catalogue is set to be added to Microsoft Xboxâs Game Pass service, which already has 25 million subscribers.
According to Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, the deal will provide âbuilding blocks for the metaverseâ, adding that “gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today, and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platformsâ.
Meanwhile, ‘Mesh’ is Coming
In November 2021, Nadella foreshadowed Microsoft’s metaverse plans with the “Mesh” upgrade to its Teams service, which involves personalised digital avatars and immersive spaces in the metaverse, due later this year.
Microsoft’s latest move also comes as no surprise after Facebook rebranded itself as Meta a month earlier, heralding its own foray into the metaverse. Interestingly, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that 100 employees from Microsoftâs augmented reality team have departed over the past year to join Meta.
A great battle is coming. The Metaverse will happen. Will it be a decentralized, open Metaverse, or a centralized one controlled by Microsoft or FB?
The best symbols of the open Metaverse are the most open, free digital assets. In other words, @cryptoadzNFT and other CC0 NFTs.
Last year saw explosive growth in the non-fungible token (NFT) market, with interesting and innovative projects popping up left, right, and centre. The new year already looks promising with exhilarating projects up for launch in 2022.
Expantum is a next-generation play-and-earn strategy game that uniquely balances cutting-edge tokenomics and fun gameplay and is built on the Ethereum blockchain. In the Expantum metaverse, players can prove themselves as outstanding leaders at all stages of the game, and can build provinces and capitals while organising continuous production and supply of resources. Players can choose an optimal composition of an army and customise their set, creating alliances with other players for the sake of victory.
GANime
GANime: anime characters based on AI-generated NFT videos.
GANime is on-chain machine learning-generated anime characters built on the Ethereum blockchain, based on AI-generated anime NFT videos. Its creators call it fun and accessible for all.
Solice Metaverse
Solice: an interconnected metaverse of virtual worlds, NFTs and communities.
The Solice Metaverse is the first cross-platform virtual reality metaverse on the Solana blockchain where users can play, build, own, socialise and monetise their virtual experiences. Solice is an interconnected metaverse of virtual worlds, NFTs and communities with the aim of improving overall user experience.
Illuvium
Illuvium: join the quest to hunt and capture deity-like creatures.
An open-world RPG adventure game built atop the Ethereum blockchain, Illuvium is a journey across a vast landscape on a quest to hunt and capture deity-like creatures called Illuvials. More than 100 Illuvials populate this alien world, each possessing different affinities, classes and abilities. Creatures can be captured, fused and upgraded to more powerful forms.
Opulous
Opulous brings DeFi to the music industry and a fairer payment method for artists.
Opulous, built for creators and inventors, brings DeFi to the music industry, changing how artists access funding as well as providing a launchpad for the first music copyright-backed NFTs. Opulous offers DeFi loans backed by future royalties that will replace the unfair deals traditionally forced on promising new artists. The project is powered by cryptos, using future-proof blockchain and smart contract technology to connect investors and artists like never before.
SEGA has put its NFT plans on the backburner after copping considerable backlash from players across the globe, many of whom are calling it another “money grab” scheme from gaming companies.
Following a SEGA management meeting held on December 24, SEGA president and CEO Haruki Satomi mentioned that his views on the play-to-earn model were still to be decided. However, back in April 2019 when the company announced to some of its global customers that it was going to produce NFTs, some responses had been “negative”.
Satomi added that “if it is perceived as simple money-making, I would like to make a decision not to proceed”. At the moment, there seems to be an uprise from gamers against the P2E model and NFTs built into games, especially in the light of what happened with Ubisoft Quartz last month.
As companies continue to gauge the reaction of this new wave of in gaming going forward, others are jumping in head-first. Recently, the creator of SimCity launched an NFT game in which players are also creators, but it is seen more as an educational game.
Not All Gamers Like NFTs
Gamers worldwide have been growing tired of big gaming companies finding new ways to make money off their clients, before loot boxes were even a thing. For some, adding NFTs looks like another way to make just that happen.
Good of them! If #Sega stays away from evil NFT:s I will keep buying their games.
Satomi also briefly touched on the metaverse, stating that as a concept it would possibly change in the next five years. He sees the metaverse as a place where a community can gather, but says that shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of a game.
We want to make Super Game as a game that supports global and multi-platform with having a network and a community. If such a game has a competitive element called PvP [player vs player], it could turn into an e-sport.
Haruki Satomi, president and CEO, SEGA
The creators of Sonic added that if they ever go into the blockchain space, they would “work with partners on new technologies and domains, including NFTs, rather than dealing with them in-house”.
Who knew there were non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that could think for themselves?
Altered State Machine (ASM) is a platform to build, train and trade artificial intelligence (AI) “agents” using NFTs, introducing what it calls a new generation of gaming and finance in which AI bots compete and interact with each other.
NFTs With a Brain
Each agent has its own genome – effectively, its DNA. Depending on the agent’s environment, its base values are expressed in terms of strength, speed and size (in gaming) or risk tolerance and randomness (in finance). Think of it as an inboard brain.
Form, on the other hand, is what enables an agent to operate in its physical world. Owners can bring in their existing NFT art or model from another part of the metaverse, or create entirely new forms.
The third facet of agent training relates to its memories. These are specific to the agent’s genome and the world in which they were formed. Each agent can retain multiple memories, created in different worlds.
An ASM Brain NFT. Source: OpenSea
Worlds are applications that exist anywhere in the metaverse using the ASM platform. They may take the form of financial markets or sports fields, combat zones or beach bars. As new worlds grow, new forms and memories are created to explore them.
ASM NFTs are fully compatible with major platforms such as OpenSea and owners can trade their agents on the open market with players who want a head start.
AI Brings New Meaning to Football Headers
ASM Brains has a a decentralised play-to-earn gaming application called AIFA (Artificial Intelligence Football Association) Allstars, unique metaverse-ready footballers to collect and configure.
AIFA All-Stars. Source: ASM Brains
Players can build a team of Allstars, pair them with ASM Brains and train them to compete in the world’s most popular football code.
Arenas will be more than just a place for your All-Stars to compete in AIFA…
They will also be NFTs, allowing them to be owned, traded, and generate passive income for the Arena's owner. đïž
Players open an AIFA box to discover the Allstars and ASM Brain inside. The ASM Brain NFT can be loaded into any Allstar and trained to play AIFA. Owners can change the colour, body parts or accessories of characters and mint them as new NFTs to create a customised four-player AIFA team.
Holding $ASTO tokens will entitle players to vote in the DAO on the future direction of ASM.
Crypto News Australia has a wealth of additional information relating to exciting new play-to-earn NFT projects on the Solana and Cardano networks.
In a blatant pitch for the tech-savvy youth vote, South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party (DPK) is to issue non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for electoral fundraising purposes in what it claims is a political world first.
Digital images of Lee Jae-myung, the ruling party’s presidential candidate, will be sent to supporters who donate money to his campaign from this month. The party says that these NFTs, which feature Lee’s photos and details of his policies, will serve as a kind of bond so holders can freely exchange the assets with others.
Digital Assets to be Taxed … But Not Just Yet
The party was quick to confirm that South Korea’s National Election Commission had quietly decreed last month that fundraising using NFTs does not violate the Political Funds Act or the Public Official Election Act. And while the South Korean Financial Services Commission said in November that NFTs would not be regulated, it has since backpedalled by announcing the digital assets would be taxed from January 2022.
But in a convenient loophole for candidate Lee and the DPK, the implementation of the new tax has been delayed a year because of flaws noted by party scrutinisers.
Lee Declares His Support For Gaming NFTs
As part of his efforts to win over Korean Millennials and Gen Zs, candidate Lee openly supports the gaming industry’s use of NFTs. In an interview last month with a gaming YouTuber, Lee said that Korea should lead the global trend of integrating games with virtual assets and NFTs. Failing to do so, he added, would be tantamount to isolationism.
As the young generation[s] are interested in emerging technologies, including virtual assets, NFTs and the metaverse, this type of fundraising could appeal to them. If we deny what actually exists, it will be similar to an isolationist foreign policy.
Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate, Korean Democratic Party
Party officials claim that if Leeâs initiative is successful, he will become the worldâs first politician to issue NFTs to help finance a presidential bid. The NFTs, representing political memorabilia, could also hold future value and serve as an investment for donors. Donated digital monies will be converted into Korean won through a crypto exchange and then deposited into the campaignâs account.
Trump, Snowden Challenge Korea’s ‘World First’
As for the DPK’s claim of a political world first, former US first lady Melania Trump may have beaten Korea to the punch with last month’s launch of her own NFT platform. Its first offering was a tokenised watercolour of husband (and former president) Donald Trump’s eyes.
But as long ago as April last year, whistleblower Edward Snowden sold an NFT to help raise funds for the Freedom of the Press Foundation. That would certainly fit the description of a political act.
Blockchain is set to influence gaming in a big way throughout 2022 and beyond, and one of those lesser known players is the WAX blockchain. Home to some of the most interesting blockchain based card strategy games, WAX appears to be a silent growing in stature.
DAOs, decentralised autonomous organisations that provide self-enforcing open-source protocols, are helping WAX games do this. DAOs bring native tokens and smart contracts that allow the network to remain transparent.
WAX is a purpose-built blockchain and protocol token designed to make e-commerce transactions faster, easier, and safer for all participants. Offering a lot of potential for those who enjoy P2E and also the wider industry of traditional gamers.
To help you out, weâve compiled a list of what we think are the Best 10 WAX blockchain games using DAOs.
Within this NFT game, itâs all about locating and customising the best starship you can get your hands on. If you wish, you can put your tokens toward a pack of NFT cards. These cards allow you to optimise your starships via NFT stacking in local space stations.
If you are more of a mobile gamer, fancying apps such as Candy Crush or Clash of Clans, Clash Dome could be more your style. The phone-app-style games within WAXâs Clash Dome can be gambled on to earn. With the gameâs main token being $WAX, most of the mini-games available are pay-to-enter, allowing the tokens to pool for a winner-takes-all outcome.
While these games are typically played by a large group of players, you can play quick 1v1 games instead. $WAX isnât the only available token; players may also obtain $LUDIO, which can be traded on the exchange or used for in-game powerups.
Alien Worlds – the game dominating the WAX blockchain.
If youâre looking to opt for one of the big-name games running on the WAX blockchain, Alien Worlds is your giant. The NFT metaverse strategy game has seen staggering growth since its original release in mid-2021. Offering NFTs with utility, a Binance-listed token ($TRILIUM), and planet DAOs, Alien Worlds is another space-situated game with some unique features such as earning NFTs by playing the ‘play to earn’ game.
One such feature is the opportunity to âteleportâ your $TRILIUM (TLM). Once you connect to MetaMask you can teleport from the Binance Smart Chain to WAX or Ethereum, allowing you more room to move with your earnings. Connection to the metaverse permits you to find a group of explorers â from there, the prospects available are vast.
Currently, Taco is another project that is split in half, with a utility side and a gaming side. While the utility aspect of the project is up and running, much of the game is still in development. The Taco app allows users to earn and trade $TACO tokens at the best market price. It also permits you to transfer $WAX and your tokens to other accounts without fees. Interestingly, you can also find a music player on Taco for your enjoyment.
Taco Universe â the game side â is still in development and aiming to arrive soon on the Apple and Google Play stores. With phase one being the launch and two the landing, you can look forward to creating worlds that feature little taco ingredients.
Farmers World – your typical farming game combined with NFTs.
Another P2E, Farmers World is one of the first farming games to land on the WAX blockchain. Some of the elements featured within the game include mining, construction, cultivation, reproduction, and wild animals.
The gameâs NFT marketplace allows players to purchase farm animals, tools, associations, and farm buildings. These are all unique features that contribute to a successful agribusiness lifestyle. Farmers World is rapidly increasing in popularity as this is a game genre that seems to be tried and tested. Adding NFTs and elements of crypto only further intrigues players.
Another collectible card game, Splinterlands is the next game to rival the success of Alien Worlds in terms of sheer popularity among gamers. The game has been in circulation since 2018, but it is only now growing into its boots. If you are a fan of Magic the Gathering or simply enjoy the format of collecting cards and battling with them, Splinterlands might appeal to you.
Splinterlands is a colourful game combining âmayhem and magicâ. Not only this, but the developers have found a way to combine digital and traditional gameplay, with three available game methods: physical games, digital games, and Splinterlands. There truly are multiple opportunities within this project.
Sonyâs Funimation has teamed up with WAX to present NFTs for the anime franchise of Robotech. Originating as a science-fiction series, Robotech has enough of a fanbase to garner interest in the concept of purchasing NFTs based on the show.
In collectible card format, these NFTs are ranked by rarity. With categories such as build, base, bronze, silver and gold, youâll know exactly whether your purchase is worth its money. Combining cards increases their power level. The WAX blockchain works to ensure that your cards are 100 percent authentic, meaning they cannot be duplicated or changed.
WAX Arena – battle your collection against other players.
Described as enabling users to “collect NFTs, raise power points, and earn WAX”, WAX Arena offers three distinct game modes for you to explore. When beginning the game, you have the option to choose one of four distinct races and create a character that can be linked to your WAX cloud wallet. Much like many of the other game formats in this list, the main objective of WAX Arena is battling against other players with your collection of cards.
The game modes available include player vs player, challenge mode, and player vs environment. The WAX Arena cards feature aesthetic illustrations; the higher your cardâs rarity, the more power your character will receive.
Green Rabbit seeks to offer an exciting new experience to the industry of NFT gaming. The Green Rabbit developers claim that the game has been developed with “integrity and ethics” and caters to the industry’s collectors. The Green Rabbit story begins in Nanotopia, and if game lore is of interest, you can find a lengthy dissection on the website.
Within the game, you can get access to chests classed from common to mythic. Inside these chests, players can find the game token $SHELLINIUM, which can be put towards your rabbit. The game also offers concepts such as ANIMA-armour, which you can craft with your tokens.
Train of the Century – trains combine with time travel.
If youâre a train enthusiast, then out of all the WAX blockchain games available this one could be your go-to. Train of the Century presents the opportunity for you to become a railroader â a time-travelling entrepreneur. This means that you can play in any period, providing it has trains.
The cards available are NFT trains of the century. Using the games token, $TOCIEN, you can collect, build, and rule the rails. The game also allows you to purchase commodity cards – the freight that your train can haul – providing the commodity is compatible. For more information about how the game operates, there’s a beta gameplay guide on the website.
Conclusion
We’ve seen NFT avatar meme projects surge in popularity through 2021 and we could see this surge transition into the gaming industry. WAX is providing the next steps towards building this new enterprise of blockchain-based games with low transaction fees and high throughput.
An added layer of ownership and governance will be provided by games adopting DAOs which allow the token holders to have a big part in the organisations, providing an ecosystem that is designed for the players.
Currently, the WAX blockchain is processing more than 80 percent of in-game transactions across all blockchains. With many of the games on this blockchain being play-to-earn (P2E), WAX is ideal for the gamer looking to monetise their time while having fun.
Yet WAX isnât the only blockchain bringing cryptocurrency and NFTs to gaming. Alongside the metaverse projects and the THETA projects, the future of gaming is looking bright and experimental.
SolGame, a decentralised P2E (Play-2-Earn) NFT-focused project on Solana, appears to have pulled the rug after investors reported that the protocol’s social media channels and official website were shut down, denying them access to their money.
SolGame Offline – Developer Identified
On Christmas Day, a Twitter user by the name of Millesimal reported he had lost his money on Solgame after the official website, solgame.org, was shut down and the Discord channel deleted. The user managed to track down the developer, but there isn’t much information on either his whereabouts or his persona.
Hey guys, I am writing this thread about a #scam from Solgame NFT Team… They shut down their website, they had deleted the Discord and now they are running far from customers that minted on their website. So far I got names and downloaded the website archive. x/6#solgamenft
So far I know the name of the Developer of the project he is Matthew. You can find his name in the video of Tom Choi. Here's a picture of him and the website from the archive. We really need help to find them so they can explain why..
The project promoted the game using the voice actor of the Squid Game frontman and other promoters such as Plasma Crypto and NFT YouTuber Pingue. The presale was conducted and tokens sold out quickly, but the project was drifting away from customers and ultimately decided to delete all communication channels.
Yet Another Rug on the Solana Network?
Solana has been a fast gainer in the crypto market, with many innovative developments and interesting projects coming to the platform. Just last week, Crypto News Australia published a list of five interesting Solana NFT projects launching soon.
But scammers have tried to take advantage of the rising popularity of NFT projects on the network. On August 14, Solana suffered its first and biggest rugpull to date after Luna Yield, a cross-chain yield aggregator, stole nearly US$10 million from liquidity pools and quickly deleted its official website.
