Category: Metaverse

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Bored Ape Yacht Club GameFi Markets Metaverse

ApeCoin Pumps Almost 50% on Release of ‘Otherside’ Metaverse Demo

A thrilling “first trip” into the gamified metaverse associated with the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) has boosted the price of ApeCoin (APE) by around 50 percent.

Data from CoinGecko shows APE rallied in the days following a demo of the Otherside metaverse, and it is up more than 43 percent over the past week. 

APE has been on an upward trend since reaching its all-time low of US$3.10 in June this year – but it’s still down more than 77 percent from its all-time high of US$26.70 in April. 

First Voyage into ‘Otherside’ Metaverse Stirs Excitement

The Otherside metaverse was co-created by metaverse tech company Improbable and Yuga Labs. Yuga Labs flagged its metaverse project and the sale of virtual land in March as a means to expand its Bored Ape ecosystem – one of the most expensive and successful NFT collections launched – guaranteeing strong interest.

Around 4,500 people explored the immersive virtual world via a demo held on July 17, which sparked genuine excitement and helped hike the value of $APE:

The demo was exclusively open to owners (known as Voyagers) of an Otherdeed non-fungible token (NFT). Otherdeed NFTs went on sale earlier in 2022 and essentially represent a plot of land and associated resources in the Otherside world. 

Gameplay Central to Otherside Experience

ApeDAO launched $APE in March to a mixed market reaction, while stating its purpose was to “drive culture forward into the metaverse”. That now seems to be being realised given that $APE is required to access Otherside and purchase game-related assets. 

According to the Otherside project’s litepaper, initially users (aka Voyagers) will engage with the virtual world through a narrative-based gameplay.

All Voyagers are invited to take part in Voyager’s Journey, an 11-part storyline surrounding a mysterious Obelisk that has appeared in the Otherside universe. Team up with other Voyagers, develop your own experiences on your slice of the Otherside, and discover and shape what can be harvested, crafted, traded, bought and sold.

Otherside litepaper

Tech demos like the one that triggered the price increase for $APE are the first stage of the Voyager’s Journey. Future “trips” inside Otherside are planned to accomodate more Voyagers, with dates to be announced via Otherside’s social media.

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Crypto Art Crypto News Metaverse NFTs

Christie’s Art Auction House Bets Big on Web3, Launches Investment Fund

Venerable auction house Christie’s has entered the intersection of art and finance with the establishment of Christie’s Ventures, an investment fund for fintech companies looking to make breakthroughs in the art market:

Christie’s, renowned for auctioning art treasures by van Gogh and more recently NFT art by Beeple, is also famous in crypto circles for auctioning off Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales’ first blog post in the form of an NFT, along with the iMac used by Wales when Wiki launched in 2001.

First Investment in LayerZero Labs

The Christie’s venture capital fund is aimed at making investments that “enable seamless art consumption”. The new fund will initially focus on three broad categories: Web3.0 innovation, art-related financial products, and solutions and technologies that enable seamless consumption of art.

The venture fund’s first investment will be in LayerZero Labs, a cross-chain interoperability company with a strong vision and business model. LayerZero Labs reduces friction in a client’s ability to move assets between blockchains. The project’s co-founder and CEO, Bryan Pellegrino, said in a statement: “We look forward to working with their team to find new and innovative ways to create the most accessible, frictionless experience with assets indexed over multiple blockchains.”

Christie’s has said its new fund will “work alongside portfolio companies to help accelerate their progress, simultaneously advancing Christie’s activities in the presentation, education, and sales of fine art and luxury goods”. According to Devang Thakkar, global head of Christie’s Ventures, “We will focus on products and services which can solve real business challenges, improve client experiences, and expand growth opportunities, both across the art market directly and for interactions with it.”

Auction Houses Step Into the Metaverse

Christie’s is not the only auction house to dabble in the metaverse and Web3 space. In October 2021, Sotheby’s launched its own NFT marketplace, dubbed “Sotheby’s Metaverse”, becoming the first auction house to do so. The platform is powered by Mojito, an NFT studio and technology platform that provides services including brand identity, strategy, and management for NFT businesses.

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Crypto News Metaverse NFTs

‘Greatest of All-Time’ Skater Tony Hawk Launches Virtual Skate Park in Sandbox

Tony Hawk, the world’s most famous skateboarder, is building a skate park in the metaverse in partnership with The Sandbox and Autograph:

Under the Autograph collaboration, Hawk will produce NFTs that fans will be able to leverage in The Sandbox’s metaverse. This latest collection joins others of Hawk’s that feature his equipment and apparel, including the legendary skateboard Hawk used to land the 900 (a 2½-revolution aerial spin) at the X Games in 1999.

Hawk an Early Crypto Adopter

Since launching in 1999, his Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise has generated over US$1.4 billion in sales. Hawk was also an early adopter of cryptocurrency, having bought bitcoin in 2012 after discovering it on the now-defunct Silk Road marketplace:

I’ve been a fan of new technology all of my life, from the very first video games and home computers with CGI capabilities, so I am fascinated by the metaverse and excited to bring our culture into the virtual landscape of The Sandbox.

Tony Hawk, skateboarding legend and early crypto adopter

Hawk will collaborate with The Sandbox to build “the largest virtual skatepark ever seen”.

The Sandbox has become a magnet for celebrities and brands to explore the metaverse by launching experiences and digital representations of their products, having formed partnerships with the Care Bears, Warner Music, the Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Deadmau5, Atari, the Smurfs and Adidas. Just last week, lifestyle brand Playboy announced it was launching its ‘MetaMansion’ in The Sandbox.

Since raising US$93 million in its series B funding round last November, the company is reportedly considering a new funding round that would bring in US$400 million at a US$4 billion valuation.

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Australia Metaverse NFTs Sports

Australian Open NFT Project ‘AO Metaverse’ Wins Big in Global Advertising Awards

The Australian Open Metaverse, in partnership with Melbourne Web3 studio ‘Run it Wild’, has won the first Cannes Lions award for an NFT metaverse project in the entertainment category for sports, in this instance the annual Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne in January.

The AO Metaverse project was also awarded a Bronze Lion for “most innovative use of tech and platforms in sports” for its AO Artball, a unique feature that utilised match data from the actual tournament.

How the AO Artball Worked

To create the AO Artball feature, the match court was split into 6,776 squares, each corresponding to a tennis ball NFT. These NFTs would change based on exactly where winning points were scored during the tournament.

Since crowd numbers were affected by Covid lockdowns and many fans were unable to attend in person, the joint creative team built a replica of the Melbourne Park tennis precinct in Decentraland, where people could watch matches and interact with each other in real time.

Fans attending matches in the metaverse had the chance to buy an AO Art Ball NFT linked to a specific spot on centre court that marked the winning shot of both the men’s and women’s championships, along with all other finals matches in the tournament. The project proved such a success that the value of a single championship NFT (the men’s, won by Rafael Nadal) soared 4000 percent.

Cannes Lions Advance Industry, Not Just Business

The Cannes Lions Awards, a global advertising benchmark, is one of the world’s most respected for creative excellence. Companies from over 90 countries enter more than 30,000 pieces and are judged by members of the international creative community. The sole purpose of the awards is to recognise the best work that pushes not just one business, but an entire industry forward.

Adam De Cata, CEO of NFT Tech and founder of Run It Wild, had this to say in response to the award shared with the AO Metaverse:

There’s something truly beautiful when creative, data and technology meet. Having the faith and support of the AO, it’s been a crazy ride pushing the limits of creative and technological possibilities, elevating those we work with.

Adam De Cata, CEO, NFT Tech / founder, Run it Wild

De Cata added: “Accepting this award in the same category as major brands like Adidas, Nike, and Samsung reinforces the power of Web3 and its possibilities.”

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Crypto News Gaming Metaverse NFTs

Playboy Set to Launch ‘MetaMansion’ in The Sandbox

Soon to enter its 70th year, seemingly ageless lifestyle brand Playboy is building on its Web3 presence to launch what it calls the MetaMansion in collaboration with NFT-based metaverse gaming platform The Sandbox.

This new, virtual version of the Playboy mansion will feature a host of gaming, social and programmed events, along with future NFT collectibles.

Rabbitars Lose Their Bounce

The MetaMansion is an extension of Playboy’s Rabbitars NFT project, 11,953 tokenised bunny avatars that sold for just over US$800 apiece in October 2021. In a sign of these straitened crypto times, the floor price of Rabbitar NFTs on OpenSea is down 74.25 percent since launch.

In better news for the ageing brand, The Sandbox has stated that users will be able to snap up NFT land plots neighbouring the MetaMansion later this quarter. These should be in hot demand considering someone coughed up US$450,000 to be rapper Snoop Dogg’s virtual neighbour in The Sandbox-based Snoopverse last December.

Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder of The Sandbox, endorsed the platform’s new collaborator with the following warm words:

Playboy is emblematic for its charm, lifestyle, and entertainment content that has transcended generations and [it] has already stepped into Web3 with early success.

Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder, The Sandbox

Sandbox Up, SAND Down

The Sandbox has formed a procession of mainstream partnerships with various other popular figures and brands, including the Care Bears, Warner Music, the Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Deadmau5, Atari, the Smurfs and Adidas.

That said, the price of its token (SAND) is down 86.8 percent since its all-time high of US$8.40 in late November 2021. It would appear that both The Sandbox and Playboy remain undeterred, launching the MetaMansion in the depths of the current crypto bear market.

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Crypto News Crypto Wallets Metaverse

Meta Calls It Quits on Crypto Wallet ‘Novi’ After Just 10 Months

Meta Platforms has issued a notice to the users of its crypto project, Novi, recommending they withdraw their funds without delay. This follows the announcement that Meta will cease the Novi project after the introduction of a digital wallet for the metaverse.

Deposits Close July 21

Novi, a digital wallet that offers fee-free instant money transfers using crypto, will be ‘ending soon’ according to Meta. The current form of the Novi project has been available for barely 10 months. However, its first phase – Calibra, the wallet for Meta’s Libra stablecoin – became available in 2019.

September 1 will mark the end for the wallet, with users no longer able to add money to their Novi accounts from July 21. The project’s end will also mean that Novi for Whatsapp will no longer function.

Funds remaining in accounts after September 1 will be transferred to the debit cards/bank attached to users’ Novi accounts.

In place of the Novi project, Meta is introducing the Metaverse digital wallet. This wallet will allow metaverse players to securely manage their identity, possessions, and payments. Meta seems to be placing the emphasis, yet again, on the potential of the metaverse:

You can expect to see more from us in the Web3 space because we are very optimistic about the value these technologies can bring to people and businesses in the metaverse.

Meta statement

In October 2021, the Novi wallet began trials across a select group in the US. Meta touted the ease of sending and receiving money – a process that could take place instantly, securely, and with no fees. Meta’s head of crypto and fintech at Novi, Stephane Kasriel, announced the rollout on December 9.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum Gaming Metaverse NFTs Stablecoins Stratis

Stratis (STRAX) Token Soars 160% Amid NFT, Gaming and Stablecoin Announcement

Ethereum-based, decentralised blockchain platform Stratis has witnessed its native token STRAX rocket 103 percent in one 24-hour period this week, cooling off from a rally that at one point reached 160 percent.

STRAX took off minutes after the project announced a series of updates, including a new ticketing system via which NFTs will be used to validate entry to venues and distribute rewards at events.

Stratis has also foreshadowed several new blockchain-powered video games set to hit its mainnet later this year, along with issuing an update on its launch of a stablecoin pegged to the British pound called Great British Pound Token (GBPT).

PwC to Provide Audit Services for New Stablecoin

The platform is currently working with Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) to complete regulatory registration and expects the partnership to be ongoing with PwC providing auditing services for the GBPT stablecoin’s implementation.

According to the Stratis announcement, “With entities like Visa increasingly willing to accept stablecoin payments, there’s a huge opportunity to simplify cross-border and wholesale payments using blockchain technology.”

Prior to this week’s STRAX price rally, the team behind the protocol teased the upcoming launch of Sky Dream Mall, a new metaverse project powered by the Stratis blockchain:

STRAX Defies Market Conditions

All of which is in clear defiance of the current bear market and the onset of the so-called ‘crypto winter’. These are arguably the most positive developments in the sector since April, when blockchain-based music platform Opulous saw the price of its token, OPUL, rally 175 percent after it announced DeFi staking, CEX listings and S-NFT sales.

You’d have to go back even further to find another one-day performance to rival that of STRAX this week. In February this year, the utility and governance token for the DEX Injective Protocol rallied more than 100 percent in a single day following the listing of Cosmos (ATOM) perpetual futures on the platform.

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Crypto News KPMG Metaverse

KPMG Enters Metaverse, Investing $30 Million in Web3 Employee Training

KPMG, one of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms in Canada and the US, is opening its first metaverse collaboration hub to help employees and clients pursue new opportunities in the digital space.

The company’s stated long-term objective is to examine other potential metaverse use cases such as healthcare, retail, media, and consumer and financial services.

Of a total of US$30 million in investments this year in Web3 pursuits, KPMG cites the metaverse hub as its “signature piece”, focusing on education, training, events, and workshops.

Speaking about the metaverse generally, Laura Newinski, deputy chair and chief operating officer of KPMG US, said:

It’s a market opportunity, a way to re-engage talent, and a path to connect people across the globe through a new collaborative experience …The unique experience provided by our collaboration hub will tap the creativity and passion of our people and clients to accelerate innovation.

Laura Newinski, deputy chair and chief operating officer, KPMG US

Next Step on KPMG’s Digital Journey

The launch of the collaboration hub follows KPMG North America adding BTC and ETH to its balance sheet. The firm announced in February that it had completed its first allocation of digital assets to its corporate treasury. The following month, KPMG Canada announced it had purchased an NFT from the World of Women collection.

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Australia Blockchain Metaverse

Melbourne Sees $100 Million Invested in Metaverse Research Centre

Thai metaverse startup Translucia Global Innovation has announced it will partner with Australian software and design studio Two Bulls to launch the Metaverse Research and Development Centre (MRDC) in Melbourne. 

The MRDC is expected to have an initial budget of US$100 million and will be one of the largest metaverse research centres in the world, aiming to attract top global talent and innovate in the metaverse space.

Melbourne Centre Will Develop Translucia Metaverse Project

Last year, T&B Media Global, the Thai-based parent company of Translucia Global Innovation, announced plans to launch a metaverse project named ‘Translucia’ with several international partners, including Two Bulls. 

The new Melbourne-based hub will help develop the Translucia metaverse while also undertaking research on advanced technologies to enhance and support the experience and push the broader metaverse space forward.

Jwanwat Ahriyavraromp, founder and CEO of T&B Media Global, expects big things from the Translucia metaverse, insisting it will be “a world of happiness and smiles where people can live, work, enjoy business, socialising and entertainment in new ways”.

T&B Media Global expects the Translucia metaverse will soft-launch in November of this year during the company’s virtual expo.

Metaverse R&D Centre Hopes to Attract Best Minds

Speaking to the Bangkok Post, Two Bulls CEO James Kane said the new centre would attract the best minds in the industry and create a new kind of metaverse experience for users:

I think the Metaverse R&D Centre will be a great way to attract metaverse visionaries, helping Translucia fulfill its incredible vision and benefiting the world, introducing people to the concepts of the Translucia metaverse with its fresh perspective. 

James Kane, CEO, Two Bulls

Austalians are generally yet to embrace the metaverse, with a recent study finding only 44 percent of respondents were familiar with the technology. Despite this relative lack of awareness at home, globally the metaverse presents a huge opportunity – a report released last month suggested it may account for 2.8 percent of global GDP in 10 years, a whopping US$3 trillion.

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Australia Metaverse NFTs

Australians Look to Virtual Real Estate Amid Overheated Real-Life Property Market

As prices in the real-life property market surge out of control, some Australians are settling for the next best thing – buying virtual properties.

Those who cannot afford to get into the actual property market purchased digital real estate to the tune of A$59 million in April alone, despite a 35.3 percent first-quarter drop in the Everyrealm Metaverse Index, which tracks virtual property across 14 different metaverses.

Many of Australia’s most prestigious addresses and landmarks have gone on the market at rock-bottom prices. Right now, 47 Aussie addresses are listed for sale in one virtual marketplace where people can “buy” property, or rather NFTs based on the real world.

Buy an Icon for Just Four Figures

Iconic Australian properties such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground have sold for as little as A$6078.90. While that sounds ridiculously cheap by the standards of tangible property, owners won’t actually own the real deal.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground, snapped up by a lucky virtual buyer for just $6078.90. Source: austadiums.com

Virtual land deals are becoming an increasingly frequent occurrence with companies such as McDonald’s setting up shop in the metaverse. NFT community the Bored Ape Yacht Club is also set to start selling large quantities of virtual land.

Royalties to be Earned, Money to be Lost

Dr Simone Brott, senior lecturer in architecture at the Queensland University of Technology and author of the book Digital Monuments, says that new platforms selling virtual land are popping up every day. As she notes, “When you buy a virtual piece of real estate, you’re buying an asset just as if you were buying a bricks and mortar building. If that asset appreciates, you can sell it for a profit.”

Brott also notes that, unlike real world property where you can only make a profit once, when you sell a real estate NFT to a second buyer who then sells it to a third, depending on how the deal was set up you might end up earning royalties each time the NFT changes hands.

There are pros and cons to the craze, warns Dr Brott. “It’s seen as a risky investment but also provides early entry and significant market opportunity.” She adds:

The metaverse is simply the next iteration of social media. But unlike Facebook, which is owned by a CEO, the metaverse is owned collectively by those who own the real estate.

Dr Simone Brott, senior lecturer in architecture, Queensland University of Technology

Canstar personal finance writer Nicola Field confirms that some virtual property owners have made big gains. “But, as is often the case with anything crypto-related, it’s a fair bet plenty have also lost money on virtual property.”