Study: India Leads the World in NFT Gaming, Fewer P2E Players in Western Countries

June 2, 2022 Bitcoin.com

WEF 2022: NFT custody is ‘the missing piece’ for mainstream adoption, says Veritic CEO

May 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Veritic CEO argued that providing a simpler way to own NFTs can boost the mainstream adoption of the technology.

On day four of the World Economic Forum 2022, presentations on nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have taken place with speakers sharing their takes on NFT use cases and adoption.

At the Blockchain Hub Davos, speakers Veritic CEO Stephan Holzer and Seal Storage Technology CEO Alex Altman spoke on the importance of NFTs, their role in society, and how the community can attract the mainstream into using the technology.

In his lecture, Holzer argued that simplifying access to NFTs may push mainstream adoption forward. According to the Veritic CEO, minting in more secure environments and NFT custody is “a missing piece to mainstream adoption.” He explained that:

“We want to enable the next billion and this needs NFT custody. And I personally believe that NFTS can potentially have the potential can potentially be bigger than cryptocurrency itself.”

Holzer noted that providing first-time users with a more familiar interface and custody services where users do not need to set up their own wallets could be a “game-changer” for the entire market.

Apart from Holzer, Alex Altman, the CEO of Seal Storage Technology weighed in on NFT use cases in his talk. He gave various examples of how NFTs can improve the current state of affairs in real estate and gaming. He said that:

“There's absolutely no reason that a deed to a house couldn't be a unique digital asset as long as that asset is created and stored in the correct way. Given the fact that an NFT is purely unique, that asset can also be transferred really easily.”

Altman also pointed out that many are spending hundreds of hours playing games and developing characters within their games, and it ends with the player just leaving the game, and afterward, all the assets acquired “disappear into the ether.” With NFTs, Altman said that people can “develop that asset and create it into a real-world piece of data that you can move, transfer and monetize.”

In a panel discussion on equality, the VP of Meta Nicola Mendelsohn mentioned that there is a possibility that the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto is a woman. Not dismissing the possibility, Cointelegraph editor-in-chief Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr shared her belief that the BTC creator is a group comprising of both genders, rather than just a single person.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, the founder of Polkadot (DOT), Gavin Wood underscored that Web3 has expanded beyond only crypto and decentralized finance. He explained that the term also refers to many new kinds of services that Web2 cannot provide.

Blockchain Firm Animoca Brands Raises $358 Million to Enhance Web3 and the Metaverse

January 18, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Why Kevin O’Leary thinks NFTs could become bigger than Bitcoin

January 6, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

Despite betting that NFTs will surpass Bitcoin, Kevin O'Leary said he will hedge his bets and invest on “both sides” of the equation.

Millionaire investor and crypto proponent Kevin O'Leary thinks that the NFT sector could be worth more than Bitcoin in the future.

Speaking with CNBC’s Capital Connection on Jan. 5, O'Leary — also known as Mr. Wonderful — argued that NFTs provide a greater potential to attract capital than Bitcoin due to their ability to tokenize and authenticate physical assets such as cars, watches and real estate:

“You’re going to see a lot of movement in terms of doing authentication and insurance policies and real estate transfer taxes all online over the next few years, making NFTs a much bigger, more fluid market potentially than just Bitcoin alone.”

Mr. Wonderful admitted however, that he is not tied to that bet and will still be investing on “both sides of that equation.”

The former crypto skeptic told Cointelegraph in a recent interview that his change in tune towards blockchain and digital assets was due to the growing trend of regulators warming up across the globe over the past couple of years.

Not everyone agrees with comparisons between Bitcoin and NFTs however, with Coingecko digital marketing associate Khai Ren Kuan telling Cointelegraph that it’s “probably not fair to compare Bitcoin, which is a single asset, to NFTs which are an entire sector.”

Kuan did note however, that the NFT adoption curve in 2022 is only going to increase upwards as the sector is still in its early days:

“I think collectively if you look across all NFTs, and the fact that 2021 was year one of market adoption, there’s definitely still a lot of room to grow.”

“We’ve already got a set of 'blue chip' NFTs, but I think the industry is still barely scratching the surface of what NFTs could be and what they could do, particularly if the Metaverse comes to fruition,” he added.

Coingecko recently published a new book called “How to NFT” which provides a rundown for newbies entering the nonfugible space on how to buy, sell, store and mint NFTs. Questioned on whether he thinks the “NFT art narrative” will continue to dominate in 2022, or if the trend will shift towards utility-based NFTs, Kuan said:

“Arts and collectibles are always going to be high on the list as they’re the most beginner-friendly and easiest to understand. In terms of utility NFTs I think what’s probably interesting to watch for is how some NFTs are going to both be art, and have utility.”

“We’ve seen BAYC which the NFT doubles as membership into their ‘club’, and it really helps build a sense of identity and community,” he added.

Study: 8.3% of Polled South Africans Own NFTs, a Further 9.4% Plan to Buy

November 29, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Blockchain Game Developer Animoca Brands Raises $65 Million – Ubisoft, Sequoia China Participate in Funding

October 21, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Forget Lambos, NFTs are the new crypto status symbol

August 26, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Budweiser

NFTs continue to dominate the crypto conversation, with PNGs on social media profile pictures becoming the new hype.

Not so many years ago, Lamborghinis were the main “flex” for crypto “moon-boys” as token prices reached astronomic valuations. Several high-profile cryptocurrency proponents made it a habit of arriving at conferences behind the wheels of exotic supercars and “when Lambo” was a popular refrain in the industry.

These days, nonfungible tokens (NFT) are arguably the main topic of conversation in the crypto space, and ownership of expensive PNGs to be displayed on social media profile pictures is the new status symbol for the “cryptorati.”

Tweeting on Thursday, Chinese crypto journalist Colin Wu reported that internet bigwigs in the country are among some of the latest to join the NFT hype. Cai Wensheng, founder of smartphone maker and photo touch-up app Meitu, has reportedly purchased CryptoPunk #8236 for 125 Ether (ETH) — about $387,000.

Indeed, CryptoPunks, perhaps the most popular NFT collection in the market, has been gaining even greater popularity even outside the crypto space. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, card payments giant Visa recently purchased CryptoPunk #7610 for about $150,000.

Budweiser also recently purchased a $120,000 fan art as well as the Beer.eth domain in what appears to be a growing appeal for NFTs. Social media giant Facebook has also said that is “definitely looking” at NFTs as part of the development of its crypto wallet product, Novi.

As of mid-August, popular NFT marketplace OpenSea recorded an over 76,000% year-to-date increase in trading volume amid the current NFT hype. Play-to-earn NFT games like Axie Infinity are on a tear in terms of metrics such as internet traffic and governance token price.

Warnings of a possible bubble for NFTs are also beginning to make the rounds, with critics saying the current hype is unsustainable. On the other side of the argument, proponents say NFTs could be to Web 3.0 what social media and e-commerce have been for Web 2.0.

NFT Adoption