Nifty News: Taco Bell wants you hitched in the Metaverse, Animoca Japan raises $45M and more

August 29, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Nifty News: Taco Bell wants you hitched in the Metaverse, Animoca Japan raises M and more

X2Y2 has introduced optional royalties to their platform to mixed reaction, while Yumon has launched an NFT trading card game that turns Youtubers into fantasy hero characters.

American fast-food chain Taco Bell and Metaverse platform Decentraland are teaming up to offer United States-based couples a chance to get married in the Metaverse.

The chain has called for engaged couples to enter a competition to win the brand’s first legally-recognized Metaverse wedding package, with a ceremony and reception to take place in the virtual world of Decentraland.

According to Taco Bell, the ceremony and reception will include NFT invitations and custom-designed wedding attire.

The couple will be able to bring virtual guests, who can partake in all the traditional wedding day celebrations like musical entertainment, dancing, and eating (virtual) food.

Engaged couples can enter the competition between Aug. 25 to Sept. 6. to win the brand's first Metaverse wedding package.

Taco Bell will live stream the whole event, and afterward, the couple will receive a marriage certificate memento NFT, according to the press release, the union will be legal and overseen by a licensed wedding officiant.

Your dreams, our reality. We’re looking for one lucky couple to say “I do”. Enter our #TacoBellMetaverseWeddingContest now at https://t.co/JON7yHFRed. pic.twitter.com/9aXOPaESIQ
— Taco Bell (@tacobell) August 25, 2022

This isn't the first time Taco Bell has shown up in the virtual world; in 2017, the company launched its Las Vegas Cantina's Wedding Package, their take on virtual Las Vegas weddings.

Launched in 2020, Decentraland is a virtual social world powered by the Ethereum blockchain.

Animoca Japan unit raises $45M for Web3 biz

Animoca Brands Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of video gaming and Web3 investment powerhouse Animoca Brands has raised $45 million in financing aimed a developing its Web3 business.

In a dual partnership, parent firm Animoca Brands and MUFG Bank both shelled out $22.5 million each, bringing the company's value before public investments and external funding, or pre-money valuation to $500 million.

Animoca Brands Japan stated it will use the funds "to secure licenses for popular intellectual properties, develop internal capabilities, and promote adoption of Web3 to multiple partners."

Overall, the company hopes to increase the value and utility of its branded content while fostering the development of the NFT ecosystem in Japan.

Yumon NFT Fantasy World Game

Blockchain tech Yumon has launched their Creator Fantasy League, a NFT trading card game the company describes as the first player-owned creator fantasy world.

The Play to Earn game will feature digital collectibles that will turn Twitch streamers and YouTubers into in-game fantasy heroes.

The collectibles can be played in tournaments offered by the game, with the possibility of profiting weekly performances or can be traded by fans.

Proud to reveal my @YUMONworld cards! ✨ Available soon ✨ https://t.co/pzmBYXY6pl

Equipped with 4head & the forbidden VTuber toes

Thanks for including me in the Creator Fantasy League ⚡ pic.twitter.com/f4qFE4kzVY
— ✨Skulls Nightshade✨ 【ENVTuber】 (@KawaiiSkulls) August 28, 2022

X2Y2 intros opt-in royalties

NFT marketplace X2Y2 announced on Aug. 26 that they are introducing an option that allows buyers to set the royalty fee when buying an NFT.

With the new update, buyers on the platform will be given the liberty of setting the amount of royalties they want to contribute to an NFT project. This means that some creators may not receive royalties when their artworks are sold.

The decision has however been met with split opinions on Twitter, with some arguing it would help reduce the number of fraudulent NFT projects, while others said it would lead to 0% royalties.

The X2Y2 team responded to the controversy with a tweet on Aug.27 saying “While the debate is raging, pls note this is far from finished product, and updates are already in the works.”

0% royalties is most definitely NOT the way forward! We agree!

We will be working w/ market participants from all sides to ensure it doesn't become the norm as it is up to us, collectively as an industry, to set the right standards & pave the way for the future of the NFT space
— X2Y2 (@the_x2y2) August 27, 2022

More Nifty News:

OpenSea is facing Competition From SudoSwap, a new NFT marketplace with a daily trading volume that has just touched 10% of OpenSea. The decentralized NFT marketplace was launched in early July and framed itself as highly flexible and fully on-chain.

New Competitor Carves Away at OpenSea’s Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Marketplace Supremacy

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More than $100M worth of NFTs stolen since 2021 — Elliptic

August 24, 2022 Coin Telegraph

More than 0M worth of NFTs stolen since 2021 — Elliptic

Business

The firm reported that although the market downturn had caused the value of NFTs to “slump”, scammers stole an estimated 4,647 of the tokens in July 2022.

Cryptocurrency risk management firm Elliptic has released a report suggesting that scammers stole more than $100 million worth of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, starting in 2021.

In its NFTs and Financial Crime report released on Wednesday, Elliptic said crypto users had been the victims of roughly $100.6 million worth of scams related to NFTs in the 13-month period from July 2021 to July 2022. The firm reported that although the market downturn had caused the value of NFTs to “slump”, scammers stole the most tokens in July 2022 — estimated to be 4,647 assets — and the most value in May 2022 at roughly $23.9 million.

According to Elliptic, the most valuable NFT theft the firm verified as part of its analysis was a CryptoPunk valued at $490,000 at the time it was stolen in November 2021. In December 2021, scammers were able to pilfer “16 blue chip NFTs worth $2.1 million” from a single victim in the crypto space.

The report stated that individuals had laundered more than $8 million on illicit funds through NFT platforms since 2017, while more than $328 million went through cryptocurrency mixers including Tornado Cash, sanctioned by the United States Office of Foreign Asset Control in August. The controversial mixer reportedly processed $137.6 million worth of crypto from NFT platforms and was “the laundering tool of choice” for the majority of scams.

It’s unclear how close the aforementioned figures were to the true value of crypto and NFTs involved in scams, as many go unreported or are identified after the fact. Elliptic reported more than 2,000 NFTs were stolen at rough value of $20 million in April 2022, but the fake airdrop targeting Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT holders accounted for an estimated tens of millions of dollars stolen at the time. Elliptic's data suggested that scammers removed $58.1 million worth of Ape NFTs from the Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club in July 2022.

“Across June and July 2022, thefts of valuable NFTs decreased while those affecting lower value early-stage projects rose,” said Elliptic. “This trend likely partially reflects valuable NFT owners ‘hodling’ their assets throughout the bear market and not engaging as actively with new projects vulnerable to scammer activity.”

Scammers continue to employ a variety of methods to relieve crypto users of their NFTs, through phishing attacks, exploits of a marketplace, and others. The tokens recently became the target in a class-action lawsuit with the potential to influence how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may view assets in the crypto space as securities.

Celsius Countersues Keyfi Founder, Company Claims Millions Were Stolen From Crypto Lender’s Wallets

August 24, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Metaverse Startup Ready Player Me Raises $56 Million in Series B Led by Andreessen Horowitz

August 23, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Pudgy Penguins Ethereum NFT Fetches 400 ETH Despite Bear Trend

August 23, 2022 The Crypto Briefing

Prosecutors want to claim NFTs as securities, alleges legal team of former OpenSea employee

August 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

“The government has brought the instant prosecution using ill-founded applications of criminal law to set precedent in the digital asset space,” said Nathaniel Chastain’s lawyers.

Lawyers representing Nathaniel Chastain, the former OpenSea product manager accused of insider trading, have claimed United States authorities only filed charges in an attempt to set a legal precedent that nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are securities.

In a Friday filing with the Southern District of New York court, Chastain’s legal team from Greenberg Traurig filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against him, which included allegations of wire fraud and money laundering related to an NFT insider trading scheme from June to September 2021. The lawyers argued that the charges against the former OpenSea employee were invalid in part “because the NFTs at issue are neither securities nor commodities” and the tokens were not legally considered the platform’s property.

“The government has brought the instant prosecution using ill-founded applications of criminal law to set precedent in the digital asset space,” said Chastain’s legal team. “While seeking to use this first-of-its-kind prosecution to posit broad assertions of insider trading, property theft and money laundering, the government’s arguments are contrary to years of settled precedent and are a transparent effort to plant a flag in the blockchain industry.”

Prosecutors charged Chastain with insider trading in June, alleging he had used his position and insider information at OpenSea to purchase 45 NFTs before they were scheduled to be featured on the marketplace’s website. He allegedly used anonymous hot wallets and accounts, later selling the NFTs for a profit. Not writing about Chastain by name, OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer confirmed some of the allegations in a September 2021 blog post, noting the employee had resigned.

Cointelegraph reported in June that former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer Alma Angotti said the case could open the doors to NFTs being labeled as securities. Chastain was one of the first individuals to be charged in the United States in a case related to the insider trading of NFTs in the crypto space.

Should Chastain’s legal team reach an agreement with prosecutors or lose the case, it could embolden the SEC to expand its regulatory and enforcement powers over certain cryptocurrencies. The SEC made a similar move to label nine crypto assets as securities in an insider trading case against former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi, his brother and an associate.