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This Week’s NFT Sales Slide, Bored Ape Market Cap Drops 21%, Floor Prices Sink Lower
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NFTs ‘biggest on-ramp’ to crypto in Central, Southern Asia and Oceania — report
NFT-related websites accounted for the largest share of crypto-related web traffic in most CSAO countries over the last 12 months, according to Chainalysis.
Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) may be the biggest driver of crypto adoption in Central, Southern Asia, and Oceania (CSAO), a new report has found.
According to a Sept. 21 Chainalysis post titled “Crypto Adoption Steadies in South Asia, Soars in the Southeast,” NFT-related actions accounted for 58% of all web traffic going to cryptocurrency services from this region in the second quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile another 21% of traffic in the quarter went to websites of play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain games, with major titles including Axie Infinity, STEPN and Battle Infinity.
Chainalysis noted that P2E blockchain games are “intimately related” to NFTs, as most P2E games feature in-game items in the form of NFTs that can be sold on marketplaces like MagicEden and OpenSea, thus meaning:
"NFTs are perhaps the biggest on-ramp to cryptocurrency in CSAO today."
CSAO countries include India, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia, among 25 others, and is home to seven of the top 20 countries in Chainalysis’ crypto adoption index.
According to a web traffic heatmap, NFT-related websites accounted for the majority of web traffic in almost every country in the CSAO region, though blockchain games and entertainment also saw a significant share of traffic.
Chainalysis noted this is "not necessarily surprising: CSAO is a hub for innovation in blockchain-based entertainment," adding:
"Game-centric blockchain developers Polygon and Immutable X are headquartered in India and Australia, for example, and Axie Infinity and STEPN, the two largest play-to-earn games, are operated in Vietnam and Australia, respectively."
Vietnam topped the Chainalysis cryptocurrency adoption index for the second year in a row, but the Philippines made a surprise appearance at second after ranking 15th in the last report.
"Both of these countries have similar growth drivers: play-to-earn (P2E) games and remittances," explained the blockchain analysis firm.
On the other hand traffic to websites related to other subjects, such as decentralized exchange contracts, have declined in recent quarters, according to Chainalysis — which it said is likely connected to the bear market and ongoing crypto winter.
Related: Emerging markets lead global adoption index: Chainalysis report
The report also touched on crypto adoption in India and Pakistan, noting that while both ranked as second and third highest adopters of cryptocurrency worldwide in 2021, the two countries have fallen this year to fourth and sixth respectively.
Recent regulatory developments are listed as possible reasons for the change.
In January, Pakistan's central bank and government recommended a crypto ban, while the Indian government implemented a 30% tax on all crypto gains in April and an additional 1% fee on every crypto transaction in July.
Selling physical items as NFTs, explained
A growing number of physical items are being immortalized in NFT form. What are the opportunities here... and the challenges that need to be addressed?
Where are the challenges that face the NFT sector in the future being discussed?
Mattereum is hosting a dedicated event to discuss physical asset NFTs on Sept. 21.
The meetup begins at 6pm London time — that's 7pm in Berlin, 1pm in New York, and 10am in California.
A previous event was held in July 2022, and set out how coveted high-value assets such as red wine, fine art and real estate could benefit from Mattereum's approach to NFTs.
With an ever-growing number of blue-chip companies exploring this space, adoption among everyday consumers will continue to skyrocket. Mattereum is determined to ensure that the industry gets off on the right foot, with investor protection a number one priority.
Learn more about Mattereum
Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you with all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor can this article be considered as investment advice.
What happens if something goes wrong?
Typically, disputes will end up going through the courts — but this can have mixed success.
It's easy to forget that NFTs remain a nascent technology, and this means that legal systems still lack understanding about how they work. This may mean that the nuance surrounding digital assets may get missed during civil action… but those in the lawsuit will still have to contend with hefty legal bills.
Mattereum — a new protocol that delivers transferable proofs of digital ownership — aims to do things differently. It offers its customers the legal technical capability to create Trustable NFTs for their physical assets, and legally binding mechanisms for dispute resolution that can be enforced in over 160 jurisdictions around the world. Such smart contracts establish a bond between ownership of the NFT and ownership of the physical asset, whether it's six bottles of red wine, a luxury car or a rare instrument.
While it may appear that this approach takes more time at first, it can have advantages. Offering valid authenticity documentation can significantly increase an asset's value — and boost the likelihood of a sale. It also creates a solid legal framework for the future.
What are the safeguards in place to prevent scams?
It's crucial to ensure that an asset's authenticity, provenance, condition and ownership rights can be verified — giving buyers confidence in what they're buying.
Standards across the NFT industry can help here. When the physical items that back an NFT go into a vault, it's crucial to be crystal clear on who will have the rights to take it out again. External auditors could also be tasked with assessing the background behind a transaction, and information about the condition of an item could be woven into metadata.
More than anything else, it's crucial for NFT platforms to gain a reputation for being trustworthy and credible. Not only is word of mouth a powerful marketing tool, but it can also assure consumers that they'll be in safe hands if they buy a collectible through one of these platforms.
Are there any big brands that are getting involved with physical NFTs?
Yes — and that's despite the bear market, which has seen trading volumes cool. More major companies are inevitably going to join in the future.
Nike has dominated the rankings when it comes to mainstream brands generating revenue from NFTs. Recent research shows the sportswear giant has netted a whopping $185 million in revenue after delving headfirst into the world of digital sneakers — in part thanks to a canny acquisition of the Web3 studio RTFKT.
But Nike's efforts aren't just about ensuring that avatars in the Metaverse look good in cutting-edge virtual threads. It's also been dabbling in NFT collections that accompany digital designs with a real-world version of the sneakers they buy. This could shape up to be a new wave for the fashion industry — and the innovation doesn't stop here.
Another particularly desirable memento for music fans relates to ticket stubs after they've been to a concert — a lasting memory they can stick on their wall that says "I was there." Ticketmaster is now dabbling in establishing NFT tickets that can serve as a commemoration of memorable gigs, immortalized forever on the blockchain. Other forms of technology, known as Proof of Attendance Protocols (or POAPs) could take this concept even further.
Could this help modernize the lucrative world of collectibles?
Yes — and potentially ramp up safety in the process.
Sports memorabilia remains incredibly popular — with Pokemon cards also enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years.
NFTs can be used to create digital representations of items that exist in the real world. This can help clamp down on counterfeiting, and create a crystal-clear record of ownership.
Some crypto companies have been established which even offer custody services for blue-chip collectibles — ensuring they're kept in a safe place and in mint condition. While this may sound counterintuitive at first, this can prove especially compelling if you regard memorabilia as an investment opportunity.
It can also streamline the process of auctions in secondary markets.
How is it possible to sell real-world items as NFTs?
Practically anything can be tokenized these days — and several companies have already started transforming physical items into nonfungible tokens.
Perhaps one of the biggest and most compelling use cases to emerge so far concerns property. If you've ever bought a place before, you'll know how arduous and time consuming this process is — with reams upon reams of paperwork and antiquated systems.
NFTs are being touted as a way of modernizing how things are done, with ownership being duly recorded on the blockchain. This can speed things up, reduce disputes, and help clamp down on fraud, too.
This also opens up the door to house purchases being made with cryptocurrencies instead of fiat — and a number of businesses, especially in Miami, have sprung up in recent months to bring this to reality.
How to find NFT metadata on OpenSea and Rarible?
With the right API, contract address and token id, anyone can find NFT metadata on OpenSea and Rarible.
NFTs are a game-changing technology, providing ownership for digital assets and serving as certificates for holders or access keys for the underlying content, which could be music, movies, art, real estate, and a lot of other stuff. However, what makes nonfungible tokens (NFTs) useful in real terms is metadata. It may not be a buzzword exactly but it ensures the user is able to make out what the NFT is all about.
Metadata is information about the content that an NFT represents. As large files cannot be stored on the blockchain for the simple reason that they become too expensive, NFTs, most of the time, just point to the files stored outside the blockchain. That said, only a few NFT artworks are stored on-chain.
This article explains NFT metadata, what makes putting up content on blockchain impractical, and how to find NFT metadata on Opensea and Rarible. Let’s start with understanding what NFT metadata actually is.
What is nonfungible token (NFT) metadata?
An NFT refers to a specific digital asset that could be in the form of a JPEG, GIF or an MP4 file. Though the token itself is hosted on the blockchain, the file underneath is stored off-chain. NFT metadata points out specifications regarding that stored data. It might include information such as the NFT’s name, description of the NFT, transactional history, link to the hosted image, traits and more.
As for the advantages of NFT metadata, it helps solution architects to set aside the technical issues when hosting large files on a chain. The preferred practice is to upload the link of the content to the blockchain while storing content on an HTTP URL on the current Internet or the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS).
IPFS is a file-sharing peer-to-peer (P2P) network for storing and sharing data in a distributed file. The metadata serves as the input of the NFT smart contract one needs to deploy on the blockchain network.
Metadata is specified in a standardized JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format. Inside the smart contract, though, the information is stored as a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) as storing as a JSON is too demanding on resources. However, users can download NFT metadata at will.
Why is metadata for off-chain data needed?
The large size of images, audio and video content makes uploading it to the blockchain very expensive. For instance, if someone wanted to store one gigabyte of data on the Ethereum blockchain, it would cost an approximate equivalent of $35 million. If a movie of 160 odd minutes is stored on a blockchain, it might cost more than the expenses of making the film, i.e., $237 million.
The URI string, as mentioned above, indicates a location where one can find the token’s JSON description. The relevant metadata stays as a permanent record on the blockchain, describing what the token represents.
What Opensea and Rarible add to the NFT ecosystem?
Huge demand for NFTs led to the need for marketplaces where users can create, transfer and monetize their assets. The marketplaces provide the tools for these activities, which are so crucial for keeping up the NFT movement. Topping the chart are Opensea and Rarible, two open platforms where anyone can mint and trade NFTs.
OpenSea is the world’s first and largest marketplace for NFTs, enabling users to roll out their own NFT collections to sell on the platform. Simplifying the intricate processes required for managing and monetizing NFTs, OpenSea provides the infrastructure for minting, listing and trading NFTs. Initially built to support CryptoKitties, OpenSea has grown to become NFT participants’ go-to marketplace.
Rarible is also a peer-to-peer (P2P) gateway into the NFT market, offering simple minting and trading features. Unlike OpenSea, Rarible deploys its native token, RARI, to govern the platform and enable holders of RARI to vote on critical decisions.
How to view NFT metadata on OpenSea?
Any seasoned trader will want to view NFT metadata on OpenSea to find out what the NFT is all about. Checking metadata on OpenSea is pretty simple. For ease of understanding, let us focus on finding metadata of NFTs based on Ethereum.
The process is as follows:
1. Open the NFT they want to get metadata for.
2. Scroll down and click on the “Details” tab and click the link next to the contract address.
3. In the Etherscan link that appears on the screen, then copy the contract address.
4. The user now types api.opensea.io/asset/ in the URL text box and pastes the copied contract address after slash at the end of the URL, followed by the token ID mentioned in contract details.
The metadata in JSON format appears on the screen. To find metadata of NFTs hosted on other blockchains, one uses a relevant blockchain explorer to get the contract address. For instance, if the NFT is hosted on the Solana blockchain, clicking the link next to “Contact Address” on the “Details” tab takes one to Solana explorer Solscan.io. One can then use the relevant API to get the metadata.
How to find NFT metadata on Rarible?
Like OpenSea, Rarible also offers a way to find information regarding metadata. To understand the process, let’s use a popular NFT based on the Ethereum blockchain called EXIO, the pilot who enters the atmosphere of a planet controlled by psychedelic consciousness.
Here’s the process to find NFT metadata for EXIO on Rarible:
1. On Rarible, the user opens the respective page of the NFT, such as EXIO, as shown in the image below.
2. Scroll the screen downwards. Under the Details tab, click View on Etherscan.
3. From the screen, click on the Token ID number in blue.
4. The user will now be directed to a new page.
5. Copy the contract address.
6. To find metadata, plug in the following link in the given format.
https://api.rarible.org/v0.1/items/ETHEREUM:Contract Address: Token id
For the given contract address, the link will be
https://api.rarible.org/v0.1/items/ETHEREUM:0x3D34D2A719C2666e603650858ac159D12e623B77:10029
The metadata will appear on the screen.
To find metadata of the NFTs hosted on blockchains other than Ethereum on Rarible, all one needs to do is replace Ethereum with another blockchain of their choice. In some cases, there is no token ID. Below are examples for each particular blockchain represented on Rarible:
Take metadata into account when trading on OpenSea and Rarible
Metadata helps users to focus on the ownership and tradability of NFTs, thus making the tokens applicable in a string of use cases like art, real estate, music, fashion, gaming, supply chain, luxury goods, ticket sales and more. Immediate access to this important data brings efficiency to real-world implementations of NFT technology. Active usage of metadata by the users will promote stability in the ecosystem, adding tremendous value to it.
A big chunk of traders on platforms like OpenSea and Rarible tend to look at metadata as technical stuff and don’t bother to check it. However, any experienced trader would know how important it is to know about every possible stuff about the NFTs they are going to purchase. Both platforms provide users with simple ways to find metadata about the specific NFTs and ensure the tokens they buy are worth the deal.
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World’s Largest NFT Marketplace Opensea Reveals Drop Improvements, Arbitrum L2 Support
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Can the Metaverse exist without blockchain?
Read this article to understand why a metaverse can thrive and scale better on blockchain rails.
So, is blockchain ready to take on the Metaverse journey?
In essence, the ideal metaverse must be on blockchain rails, which mandates inclusive incentives centered around creators and users while still offering immersive and seamless virtual experiences.
The Metaverse is not just about the experiential elements; it is also about the economic aspects. The financial incentives must be centered around the real value creators. Those who create content, and regularly interact and transact on the platform are the ones who are creating value.
While the economic model possibilities are exciting, and several hopeful glimpses of these possibilities have emerged, there are significant technical challenges to overcome. The deficiencies in user experiences need to be addressed too.
In the short term, a few scalable Web2 versions of the Metaverse would embrace the Web2 ethos of incentivizing participants. As blockchain matures, more hybrid models would emerge, where Web2 elements bring scalability and user experience, and blockchain takes care of incentivization. A fully scalable on-chain Metaverse may seem utopian now, but it would be the ideal way to build the future internet.
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Blockchain challenges in delivering the Metaverse
The Metaverse of the future sounds great, but is it all just hype? Serious technological, experiential and economic model headwinds need to be addressed for the Metaverse narrative to come true.
Blockchain suffers from scalability, interoperability and security challenges. Even the best chains with meaningful user bases can handle only about 50,000 transactions per second. The internet has millions of data interactions per second in emails, tweets, posts, Google searches, messages and more.
This comparison assumes that data interactions in a metaverse must be on-chain. As cryptographic techniques (like zero-knowledge Rollups) get better at addressing scalability challenges, the economic features will rightly take the limelight to create new Metaverse-based models for the future.
Apart from the scalability challenges, there are major interoperability issues across blockchains. This is particularly related to bridges used to transfer value from one blockchain to another.
Many cyber attacks on Web3 platforms have occurred through these bridges. The Ronin bridge attack and Solana wormhole bridge attack are examples. Interoperability is an ample opportunity within Web3 but it is equally a vulnerability that needs to be addressed.
These blockchain infrastructure layer challenges keep returning to haunt the ecosystem. One of the more recent issues is creating a sustainable economic model of the Metaverse. While GameFi has been leveraged as a growth hack to attract users, a scalable token model is yet to be identified.
To date, there have been many failed economic models that have informed and inspired new models and economic approaches. Yet, innovators in this space are at least a cycle away from identifying a sustainable model.
The last headwind is that of user experience. VR hardware and the Web3 onboarding user experience need to be more seamless to attract hardcore gamers, creators and users into the Metaverse.
Why would blockchain fix the internet?
The internet handles several million data transactions per second. The blockchain infrastructure is in its technological infancy compared to the current iteration of the internet. Yet, blockchain is not just an infrastructure layer; it is an economic layer too. These economic features of the blockchain can potentially address the challenges of the internet.
In a blockchain-based world, the tokenomics of a metaverse (the new internet) platform allows more inclusive incentives. These metaverse applications can be inclusive from a shareholding (governance token) and user incentivization (utility token) perspective.
Active participants in the metaverse ecosystems often hold utility tokens. For instance, participants in a gaming metaverse earn their utility tokens by playing and creating games. Participants in an art metaverse earn tokens by creating art and being ambassadors of art by writing useful reviews.
The Metaverse allows participants to earn as users and creators of the platforms. As long as participants in these ecosystems keep creating value, they are incentivized. As these participants generate more value in an ecosystem, they accrue credentials and become influencers.
Yet, if an influencer in one Web3 metaverse wants to create a profile on another ecosystem, they should be able to carry their friends and network along with them. Ecosystem credentials such as “XP” (experience points) in a gaming platform should not get carried along as they are ecosystem specific.
The fundamental ethos is that users own their credibility and network, not the platforms.
The other fundamental design construct of the Metaverse is nonfungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs offer value permanence. When a gamer buys an in-game asset in a Web2 game, they offer a revenue opportunity to the game studio. They don’t own the asset. That changes in the blockchain world.
NFTs not only offer users the ability to create, buy and sell Metaverse assets but also allows them to accumulate ecosystem credentials in the form of “soul-bound tokens.” Soul-bound tokens behave like credit scores in financial services and as Metaverse users accumulate more, they tend to accrue more value faster.
Why do we need a new internet?
Our current internet is inadequate. Incentives are skewed toward a limited set of stakeholders, creators get exploited and users have very little control over their data. Can the new version of the internet change that?
The internet has been built and evangelized through applications like Google, Meta (previously Facebook), Instagram and Amazon. These applications deploy several techniques to grab users’ attention, and monetize that when they have it. Despite creating monetizable value through these apps, users get a very tiny slice of the value accruing to them.
Even when users who have created value receive very little money, the applications that grabbed the users’ attention have generated wealth for themselves and their shareholders — several trillion dollars. The internet must be more inclusive for this to change.
This is not because of the applications, themselves, but because they were bred in a capitalist ecosystem. Here, the winners take all the value and the wealth. It is okay for this to happen with the new internet, as long as “winners” has a more inclusive definition.
The other key challenge with the current internet is the exploitation of content creators. The internet has left us overfed with content. Yet even high-quality content creators seldom get paid their due. The platforms and intermediaries that offer web-shelf space to these content creators make most of the money. This needs to change; the internet must be more creator-friendly.
Apart from skewed incentive mechanisms, the current internet also takes user data for granted. Internet users have very little control over their data and their network. Why would a user need to start from scratch to build their network when they move from Facebook to Twitter? This needs to change and the Metaverse is the change.
Does the Metaverse need to be on a blockchain?
Blockchain-based solutions have seen financial, legal, gaming and social applications, albeit at a relatively small scale over the last few years. However, whether the blockchain infrastructure layer will be a must-have for the growth of the Metaverse narrative remains unanswered.
The answer to that question depends on how we define the Metaverse. Some definitions of the Metaverse focus only on its experiential elements. The word Metaverse often makes us imagine wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset and going through an immersive experience in a virtual world.
This is not all wrong, but it is an incomplete definition of a Metaverse. The Metaverse is expected to be a futuristic version of the internet. That is a great vision, but why do we need a new internet? The answer to that lies in the answer to another question — do we need blockchain for the Metaverse?
Enhanced KYC checks can be a win-win for crypto exchanges and consumers — here’s why
Adopting more stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) checks can give crypto exchanges a competitive edge over those that meet minimal standards.
Crypto is a fast-moving sector where new trends — decentralized finance and nonfungible tokens among them — accelerate in the blink of an eye. And as demand for digital assets grows, the need for regulation grows too.
Anticipating those regulations and having the systems in place for future compliance can position crypto exchanges as industry leaders. Those that do the bare minimum risk falling behind as customers turn to more trusted options.
Exchanges, though, can adopt a substantial role in setting the regulatory tone by taking the initiative to go beyond compliance and better protect their users. That can help a business build a reputation for security and deliver a compelling point of difference from the competition. More than that, it can show regulators how policies can work in practice.
The business case
Prioritizing adaptable, futureproof solutions can make it easier for exchanges to expand quickly into new markets. It can help them control operating costs, reduce risks and enhance the customer experience.
Beyond helping crypto exchanges achieve compliance, identity verification technology that draws from hundreds of global data sources can accelerate onboarding, offering the right balance between security and friction. Onboarding customers quickly and safely can give exchanges the competitive edge they need in a market that gets more crowded with every crypto bull run.
Trulioo, an identity verification service that enables exchanges worldwide to quickly and securely onboard customers, is helping crypto platforms achieve their full potential in a constantly shifting market.
Fast, accurate digital identity verification can help exchanges build trust and safety while quickly expanding their customer base, the company says. Enhanced Know Your Customer (KYC) checks can help exchanges scale more quickly. By knowing exactly who their customers are and establishing the provenance of funds, exchanges can position themselves to adapt to future regulation changes.
"Regulation is a hot topic in the crypto space and one of the reasons we’re seeing so many crypto exchanges looking to partner with us," Trulioo CEO Steve Munford told Cointelegraph. "Working with a platform such as Trulioo can help exchanges stay ahead of the curve and remain compliant while preparing for tighter regulations that might be on the horizon."
How does enhanced KYC work?
Conventional KYC measures can limit the number of people an exchange can verify, especially if it requires a passport, driver's license or bank account. By contrast, Trulioo offers validation in more than 195 countries and against more than 400 reliable data sources — including mobile networks, credit bureaus, banks, governments and business registers. It's also possible to authenticate new users with the help of a selfie.
Trulioo recently acquired the no-code orchestration solution HelloFlow to accelerate digital onboarding and unveiled major product updates that include document-free proof of address verification. In another significant development, company executives said they achieved unicorn status after a $394 million Series D funding round.
Trulioo wants to help exchanges navigate the choppy waters of regulation now and in the future with fast, secure and accurate KYC and Anti-Money Laundering crypto checks.
That approach can help crypto businesses bolster their infrastructure to ensure they're ready when the next bull run brings a new wave of customers to exchanges.
Learn more about Trulioo
Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you with all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor can this article be considered as investment advice.
Nifty News: The Sandbox hosts its first wedding, Hollywood actor auctions NFT of eye and more
Palm Beach gets its own NFT restaurant offering a range of benefits for members, while the PGA partners with Tom Brady-backed NFT platform Autograph.
Decentralized blockchain-based metaverse The Sandbox has held its first hybrid digital and real-life wedding on its metaverse.
The bride and groom, Singaporean couple Joanne Tham and Clarence Chan, CEO of music company Bandwagon, celebrated their matrimony on Saturday in a “70s disco glam” themed wedding, which took place in a digital replica of Singapore's famous Alkaff Mansion.
❤️ A @TheSandboxGame wedding just happened a few hours ago. Congratulations @clarcrypto ! A special thank you to @borgetsebastien . A feature video dropping today. @thecobbleland #wedding #metaverse pic.twitter.com/141o915Hew
— Smobler Studios (@smoblerstudios) September 17, 2022
While the couple was physically present at a real-world hotel venue along with some guests, their digital avatars were also present within The Sandbox metaverse and could be seen by guests who joined remotely. The event was officiated by The Sandbox co-founder and chief operations officer Sebastien Borget in a digital avatar form.
Following their first virtual kiss as husband and wife, the couple exited the Metaverse to continue their celebrations offline.
The wedding was the result of a collaboration between 1-Group, Smobler Studios and The Sandbox, with Web3 design agency Smobler Studios recreating The Alkaff Mansion and its distinctive architecture in The Sandbox. 1-Group manages the real-world mansion counterpart.
Eyeing an NFT auction
Hollywood star Javier Bardem is set to “donate” a close-up photo of his iris via an NFT as part of a fundraising campaign aimed at restoring sight to people in the developing world.
Bardem, a well-known Spanish actor and director is known for his roles spanning his 30-year career, including Dune, James Bond Skyfall and his award-winning performance in No Country for Old Men.
The photo of his eye is set to be auctioned off by Ojos del Mundo (Eyes of the World Foundation) on Sept. 29, with a starting price of $9,027, or 9,000 euros. The digital photograph will come in the form of a nonfungible token (NFT), and will also come with a printed photo signed and dedicated by the actor himself.
Part of the group’s new fundraising campaign, Iris of the World, the Eyes of the World Foundation hope to raise enough money to expand “lines of action and/or promote new projects in the Saharawi camps, Mozambique, Bolivia or Mali.”
“I am happy to collaborate with ‘Irises del mundo’ by donating a photograph of my iris to auction and continue helping the Foundation's collaboration on avoidable blindness,” Bardem said in a statement.
Javier Bardem is the first celebrity to support the initiative by “donating” his iris but the group has teased other auctions at some point in the future without revealing specific names.
NFTs are set to be a “hole-in-one”
PGA TOUR, which runs a series of men’s golf tournaments in the United States and North America, has partnered with NFT marketplace Autograph to create a golf-based NFT platform.
Set to launch sometime in 2023, the deal will allow golf fans to buy digital content featuring their favorite players and moments from the archives and the current FedExCup Season.
.@TigerWoods: “Enhancing the golf world with NFTs will create a connection between us as players and the fans.”
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) September 19, 2022
Tiger is on the Board of Advisors for @Autograph, a web3 brand co-founded by @TomBrady, which announced a partnership today with the @PGATOUR. https://t.co/On52vM7CAx
PGA TOUR NFT collectors will also have a chance to gain access to exclusive digital, in-person and onsite experiences.
PGA Tour’s chief legal officer Len Brown said the latest partnership is aimed at engaging fans and bringing them closer to the game and their favorite players.
Autograph is an NFT marketplace co-founded by National Football League (NFL) quarterback Tom Brady which has also featured NFT collections of top-rated tennis professional Rafael Nadal and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway collection Indianapolis 500.
Related: NFTs will bring crypto to billions of users, explains VC investor
The PGA joins other major sporting leagues inking deals to enter the Web3 space.
The NFL and National Basketball Association (NBA) both have long-term deals with Flow blockchain creator Dapper Labs, and Major League Baseball (MLB) also has an NFT partnership with Candy Digital.
Palm Beach gets its own NFT restaurant
Downtown West Palm Beach in Florida has become home to a new NFT restaurant, the Vinyl Fish Club (VFC).
Using blockchain technology, the restaurant is using NFTs as membership tokens for diners to gain access to special events both on and off the premises, as well as a concierge service.
Membership also allows access to a special dining menu, whiskey tastings and the VFC’s private room for after-hours cocktails and tastings.
The tokens are trading for a floor price of one Ether (ETH), with a total of 50 available.
The restaurant is open to the public, but the VFC say they will prioritize members when it comes to seating.
More Nifty News:
Despite Minecraft creator Mojang Studios being against the integration of NFTs, a metaverse-focused firm managed to introduce NFTs into several games including its own Minecraft server.
Japanese gaming giants are positioning for mainstream blockchain game adoption, despite the potential backlash from the gaming community.
Metaverse firm implements NFTs into its Minecraft and GTA 5 servers
“We wanted to show Mojang that it could be done in a way that benefited them and benefited their player base,” said MyMetaverse CEO Simon Kertonegoro.
Despite Minecraft creator Mojang Studios being against the integration of nonfungible tokens (NFT), a Metaverse-focused firm managed to introduce NFTs into several games including its own Minecraft server.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Oscar Franklin Tan, the Chief Financial Officer of blockchain gaming firm Enjin, and MyMetaverse CEO Simon Kertonegoro shared how they were able to connect the dots and implement NFTs into Minecraft without violating its terms and conditions.
According to Kertonegoro, Minecraft’s rules on NFTs have been about protecting players from negative experiences, and many servers have violated these rules. However, the executive highlighted that within their own servers, they are able to introduce NFTs without violating the game's guidelines. They do this by not having any pay-to-win NFTs and making their best NFTs free to earn. He explained that:
“We wanted to show Mojang that it could be done in a way that benefited them and benefited their player base and benefited the gaming industry as a whole. It's obviously not you know, it's not the fastest way to get people jumping in your server. [...] But we knew that that was the right way to do it.”
Tan also weighed in on the topic and noted that Enjin supports MyMetaverse’s attempt to get into a conversation with Mojang studios as the firm’s NFT-integrated Minecraft server has been around for four years even before Minecraft placed its ban on NFTs.
The executive also pointed out that even China, a country that’s outrightly against cryptocurrencies has expressed its interest in supporting NFTs. “If it works for the Chinese government, then why not Minecraft,” he mentioned.
Related: Minecraft ban ‘hypocritical’ and NFTs are inclusive — Animoca’s Yat Siu
Apart from Minecraft, the NFTs created by MyMetaverse also have an interoperability aspect and can be used in other games like in the firm’s Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTAV) server and its own massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Infinity Realm. Kertonegoro explained that:
“These different games, read the user's wallet, see that they own the NFT and provide them different benefits in the games. [...] In Minecraft, this NFT is a sword. In GTA the NFT is a car and in Infinity Realms, the NFT is a house.”
In addition to this, Tan also expressed his firm belief that having NFTs that work in various games is an important cornerstone for the development of the Metaverse. He said that:
“Interoperability forms a greater community. It forms the foundation of what we now call the Metaverse, something we've been trying to build since 2018.”
As the NFTs run on Efinity, a Polkadot parachain developed by Enjin, Kertonegoro also highlighted that their NFTs will have a good effect on Polkadot’s broader ecosystem. “The ecosystem could only grow through adopters innovating. And that's what we're doing, really,” he said.