A crypto gambling website foresees a high probability that a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) will be approved by mid-January. According to the crypto betting site Polymarket, there are 88% odds that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve a BTC spot ETF by January 15, 2024. According to a recent report by Reuters, […]
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A crypto casino that has seen its native asset skyrocket by over 400% in the last three months is shutting down its trading platform. In a new thread on the social media platform X, crypto gambling platform Rollbit (RLB) says that it’s closing down its Degen EXchange trading platform due to “regulatory uncertainty and low […]
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Palm NFT Studio has also launched a new tool via Epic Games’ Unreal Engine that enables creators to make generative “game-ready” 3D assets and art collections.
Blue chip nonfungible token (NFT) project Pudgy Penguins has signed a representation deal with major Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME).
According to an announcement via Twitter on May 5, Pudgy Penguins is looking to spread its intellectual property across film, TV, and gaming.
We’re proud to announce that @WME will be representing us as our official talent agency.
— Pudgy Penguins (@pudgypenguins) May 5, 2023
Together, with WME’s relationships in film, TV, and gaming, we will focus on strategic partnerships that help Pudgy Penguins reach new audiences. pic.twitter.com/TtbkLexxAV
Pudgy Penguins joins a growing list of big name NFT projects that have sought out Hollywood representation deals as a way to expand their brands and audiences. WME’s other NFT-related clients includes Dapper Labs co-founder Mack Flavelle, the Boss Beauties project, pseudonymous NFT artist FEWOCiOUS and artist Claire Silver.
Pudgy Penguins is the twenty-first highest-selling NFT project of all time according to data from CryptoSlam. Since launching in July 2021, it has generated a total of $250.2 million worth of sales on secondary markets.
Last month the project was acquired by Luca Netz of Netz Capital for 750 Ether (ETH), worth about $2.5 million at the time of purchase on April 3.
Pudgy Penguins has been gradually developing a Web3 ecosystem and community surrounding the project, and has already made some moves to get the IP out into the mainstream.
In late March, the project soft-launched physical Pudgy Penguin figurines that come with certificates of authenticity and a proof of ownership that is recorded on Ethereum.
Soft launched in a couple of specialty retail chains internationally this week. Slowly and then all at once. Pudgy season is coming… https://t.co/hMbUnscxzo
— Luca Netz (@LucaNetz) March 31, 2023
A new blockchain gaming studio called Bitblox has launched to build a suite of Web3 gambling games on the Solana-based Hxro Network, a distributed liquidity layer for derivatives trading and betting applications.
The online gambling industry, or igaming, was worth roughly $63.5 billion in 2022, and is estimated to grow 11.7% annually from 2023 to 2030, according to Grand View Research.
In a May 4 announcement, Bitblox Games stated that it will focus on developing player-to-player (P2P) games built around skill and speed, where players bet against each other as opposed to the ‘house’ such as Casino or bookie in regular gambling.
“Blockchain-based gaming provides additional transparency to igaming operators while giving players the ability to bet in new and engaging ways,” noted Bitblox CEO Brandt Page.
OG degens Crypto degens
— Hxro (✖️,✖️) (@HxroNetwork) May 4, 2023
Bitblox Games has launched a studio to bring crypto gaming to the $67.9B online gambling industry, with all games being built exclusively on Hxro Network’s core protocols.
Welcome to #HxroNation ✖️✖️
Learn more: https://t.co/ylM0hvlHeB pic.twitter.com/xVQ2SI3pmh
Specific games are yet to be announced, however more information is likely to come later this month as Bitblox is set to debut at CasinoBeats Summit 2023 in Malta between May 23 and May 25.
Related: A new frontier for collectibles: Preserving music history in NFTs with Legends of Rock
NFT infrastructure and ecosystem developer Palm NFT Studio has launched a new tool via Epic Games’ Unreal Engine that enables creators to make generative “game-ready” 3D assets and art collections.
The tool is dubbed the “Palm Generative Art Maker” and provides a simplified process for people to make generative art and assets, something which is usually quite complicated for creators that are not well versed in coding.
The end of one world, the beginning of another ❍ mapping the contours of generative art after AI.
— Palm NFT Studio (@PalmNft) May 5, 2023
→ https://t.co/aJr7Wg746l pic.twitter.com/HR71VpUKTA
The tool was launched on May 4 and is available for download as an Unreal Engine plug-in.
It enables users to develop a concept in the plug-in, and then port the assets into Unreal Engine 5.1 to fine tune and add finishing details. From there, they can mint the assets as NFTs on the blockchain.
Interest in generative art has surged alongside the growth of the NFT sector over the past couple of years, with profile picture/avatar-based projects such as CryptoPunks helping to popularize the method. While NFT art projects such as Tyler Hobb’s Fidenza have also driven interest in the computer-based art style.
NFT start-up Cryptoys has unveiled the upcoming launch of Star Wars digital collectibles on the Flow blockchain, home to major NFT projects such as NBA Top Shot.
The NFT collectibles, or “digital toys” will drop on May 24, with the artwork bearing a similar design to Funko Pop figurines. Each token will be priced at $39.99 a piece in a randomized “blind box,” with the buyer not knowing which character they got until after purchase.
The NFTs will feature characters such as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, and will come in different tiers of rarity ranging from common, to rare, legendary, “Grail” and “Ultra Grail.”
new pfp, who sith? #StarWarsDay pic.twitter.com/AzDrB2clp1
— Cryptoys ⚡️ (@Cryptoys) May 4, 2023
Kenya’s lawmakers are considering the introduction of a 3% tax on crypto and NFT transfers and a 15% tax on monetized online content, according to a new bill introduced on May 4.
The former OpenSea manager who was accused of insider trading of NFTs was convicted on May 3 of wire fraud and money laundering in a New York federal court.
Magazine: NFT art pioneer wants to upload her brain so she can live forever: Josie Bellini, NFT Creator
“It’s clear from the draft framework that what they’re looking at is wagering using cryptocurrency,” said Julian Hoskins, the principle of gambling law and regulatory advisory firm Senet.
Australia’s Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC) is consulting with its gambling licensees over a tentative proposal to incorporate crypto wagering as part of the regulated gambling industry.
For the most part, gambling in Australia is regulated at the state level and not federally. The NTRC oversees all gambling and wagering companies that choose to be licensed in the Northern Territory (NT), including global wagering companies such as Betfair, Entain Group, Draft Kings and Sportsbet.
As it stands, the NTRC has sent a private document out to licensees, which seeks input and feedback on what the regulatory landscape could look like to get crypto wagering off the ground in the NT.
Julian Hoskins, the principle of one of Australia’s major gambling law and regulatory advisory firms Senet, has been given access to the private document and discussed with Cointelegraph what the NTRC is looking for at this stage:
“What it provides for is a licensee, say a sports bookmaker who holds a license in the Northern Territory, who wants to accept cryptocurrency for striking or paying out wages, [is that they] need to apply for consent to be able to do that. And there’s certain conditions that attach to that.”
“Now it’s clear from the draft framework that what they're looking at is wagering using cryptocurrency, and not exchanging into fiat,” he added, noting that punters will most likely need to place fiat and crypto bets separately on the one platform, as the two financial tools won’t be interchangeable with each other for gambling.
While the prospect of such a move is hard to quantify at this stage, Hoskins stated that “given the popularity of crypto, I would imagine that this would be very popular as an alternative to fiat. I think it’s got the potential to be quite material.”
He added that if this model went according to plan in the Northern Territory, other state gambling regulators would likely follow.
Hoskins also noted that stringent identification requirements have also been proposed to keep in line with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. As such, gamblers will most likely need to have their crypto wallet addresses verified, and any winnings will need to be withdrawn “back to the same wallet” that made the initial deposit.
“What they’ll require under the draft framework is a verification of the crypto wallet. So it needs to be verified and registered against a customer’s identity. And the customer has got to prove that they control that wallet,” he said.
Hoskins also outlined that the NTRC has recommended monthly crypto deposit limits worth 2,000 Australian dollars, or around $1,300, for the first 12 months, with a max wager of 5,000 Australian dollars, or around $3,500, per month also.
The gambling-industry lawyer also explained that local gambling companies will be legally required to maintain crypto wallets that hold enough funds to fully collateralize customer wager amounts, as per the common practice in fiat-based gambling.
In terms of the tax implications of using volatile crypto assets to gamble, Hoskins said he didn’t know “how that would be treated,” suggesting the NTRC is still pondering such issues.
The NTRC appears to have changed its tune on crypto significantly, given that it previously ordered gambling firms such as Neds to “cease and desist” Bitcoin (BTC) wagering back in 2018.
Related: Australia’s new government finally signals its crypto regulation stance
Jamie Nettleton, partner at Sydney-based commercial law firm Addisons, also spoke to Cointelegraph and emphasized the significance of the move from the NTRC.
“The NTRC consultation paper is the first indication by an Australian gambling regulator of a willingness to consider the use of cryptocurrency,” he said, adding that:
“To date, any Australian wishing to utilize crypto in gambling must do so overseas with a party likely to do so illegally ( at least from the perspective of Australian gambling law.). This paper is a welcome change!”
This comes just a couple of days after the recently elected Australian Labor Party (ALP) finally announced an approach to crypto regulation. Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced a “token mapping” exercise that is expected to help “identify how crypto assets and related services should be regulated.”
