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Latest from Web3 gaming: Gaming Demo Day with Cointelegraph Accelerator, Animoca Brands, BGA, Metaera, Cipholio and Sandbox

Coin Telegraph
Latest from Web3 gaming: Gaming Demo Day with Cointelegraph Accelerator, Animoca Brands, BGA, Metaera, Cipholio and Sandbox
Blockchain

Cointelegraph Accelerator, Animoca Brands, BGA, Metaera, Cipholio and Sandbox the second Gaming Demo Day to showcase seven new projects from the Web3 gaming space.

Web3 gaming has become one of the hottest trends in the tech world, and not without a good reason. Using blockchain technology to give more control to gamers turned out to be a fascinating idea and catapulted Web3 gaming to the main stage of Web3 space.

Web3 gaming applies key principles of blockchain technology - including decentralization, true ownership and community - to video games. Blockchain has enabled the creation of concepts such as play-to-earn (P2E), nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and more to cater to the needs of true players who don’t want to escape exploitation by the Web2 monopoly.

Web3 gaming components

The fast growth of Web3 gaming, however, makes it hard to track the most promising projects and chart the map of the blockchain-based gaming ecosystem. To provide a reliable perspective on Web3 gaming, Cointelegraph Accelerator has partnered with Cipholio, Animoca Brands, Blockchain Gaming Alliance, Metaera and Sandbox for the next Gaming Demo Day, slated for Oct. 12 at 2 pm UTC.

Gaming Demo Day: For investors, developers and gamers

By joining Gaming Demo Day, startups can introduce their projects and present their ideas to an engaged audience of interested parties eager to hear about new games, including investors. Developers can capitalize on the opportunity and leverage the event to gain exposure to potential investors actively seeking projects to support.

What’s more, investors attending Gaming Demo Day gain early access to promising projects, enabling them to identify and support projects with high potential. Investors get the chance to witness developers in action and research their potential clients. The “X factor” of the new projects introduced during the event can be measured through the audience's live reaction. These opportunities combined provide direct feedback and ease the process of making investment decisions.

The Web3 startups scheduled to present their groundbreaking projects throughout the event are:

Challenge

Challenge is a decentralized multi-chain tournament platform where gamers can compete against each other, host tournaments and earn rewards. The platform’s reward protocol ensures active participants receive a share of the tournament revenue. Challenge’s software development kit (SDK) facilitates the integration of both Web2 and Web3 games, enabling on-chain tournaments.

JR Studio

JR Studio is a platform designed to empower game creators with the tools they need to create, host, launch, manage and grow their games and communities. The platform serves as a gateway from traditional gaming into Web3 gaming by providing true ownership and effectively managing technical aspects like blockchain integration.

SuperSnappy

SuperSnappy is a cross-platform messaging app with a social network and a gaming portal that allows users to play games. The social network, which boasts 3D avatars, pets, spaces and NFTs, enables users to smoothly transition between games and create profiles featuring friends lists, feeds, achievements and digital assets.

Isotopic

Isotopic is a software distribution service that utilizes blockchain technology to advance the metaverse towards a sustainable Web2.5. The service also hosts the first decentralized cross-platform game store.

Worlds Beyond

Worlds Beyond is a creator platform that lets creators craft immersive virtual experiences fueled by the power of artificial intelligence (AI). The platform aims to become the definitive Web3 destination and aspires to be the Roblox of Web3 for grown-ups.

The Unfettered

The Unfettered is an AA-quality story-based Web3 action RPG game with elements from the soulslike genre. The team is dedicated to presenting an immersive adventure that provides true ownership to players using virtual assets.

MetaFight

MetaFight is a digital trading card game and social entertainment platform for fighting sports. The platform stands as the world’s premiere globally-licensed gamified platform for mixed martial arts, featuring collectibles of fighters.

Investors, gamers, and startups who want to witness exceptional projects, explore investment opportunities and build connections within the Web3 gaming industry’s key players in a single place can mark their calendars for Oct. 12 to be a part of the Gaming Demo Day.

Registrations are now open for investors who wish to secure their spots at this exclusive event. Attendees can guarantee their place in the event and become a part of the flourishing blockchain community by registering here. One of the startups attending the event will also receive a 12-month basic membership to the Blockchain Gaming Alliance after pitching their projects to frontrunning industry backers. Check out the registration page here.

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

CNA Insurance excludes NFTs from coverage of $20M trust policy

Coin Telegraph
CNA Insurance excludes NFTs from coverage of M trust policy
Coin Telegraph

The insurer attached an exclusion saying that any losses, damage, claim, occurrence or lawsuit related to NFTs are not covered by the policy.

CNA Financial, the seventh-largest commercial insurer in the United States, has excluded nonfungible tokens (NFTs) coverage from Schwab Strategic Trust’s policy worth $20 million.

In a filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the insurer attached an exclusion to the document, mentioning that the bond does not cover any "loss, damage, claim, occurrence, or suit related to NFTs. The filing defined NFTs as:

“Any unique digital identifier connected to any digital ledger technology which may be used to certify authenticity or ownership of anything, including but not limited to any digital, tangible, or intangible item, but cannot be substituted or exchanged for any similar item.”

With the section attached to the policy, any losses related to NFTs will not be covered by the insurer. However, while NFTs are excluded from the policy, the document also clarified that “cryptocurrency” is not included in its definition of NFTs.

NFTs gained popularity back in the bull market of 2021, with various celebrities and companies jumping into the trend. However, a few years later, NFTs showed a steep decline in terms of their prices and trading volume. On Aug. 3, NFTs showed a drop in terms of gas usage, signaling a shift in the landscape.

Related: NFT-styled debit cards the future of Web3 — Animoca founder on $30M Hi investment

Despite the drop in interest in NFTs, some celebrities and businesses continue to dive in. On Sept. 4, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo said that he plans to release more NFTs in the future while being put into a lie detector test. The lie detector test was done to celebrate the launch of his second NFT collection with crypto exchange Binance.

Apart from Ronaldo, an airline has also recently implemented NFTs into its loyalty program. On Aug. 31, Lufthansa launched an NFT app that allows users to scan their boarding passes to redeem NFTs. Once collected, the NFTs can make passengers eligible for rewards such as flight upgrades or lounge access.

Magazine: NFT collapse and monster egos feature in new Murakami exhibition

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Former OpenSea manager withdraws application for bail pending appeal

Coin Telegraph
Former OpenSea manager withdraws application for bail pending appeal
Coin Telegraph

The attorneys representing Nathaniel Chastain informed the court that Chastain will self-surrender on Nov. 2 to begin serving his sentence.

A former manager at nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea sentenced to three months in prison for insider trading has opted to serve the sentence while his appeal is pending.

On Sept. 6, Nathaniel Chastain’s lawyers filed a letter with a New York District Court informing the judge that Chastain decided to withdraw his application for bail pending appeal.

As a result, per the court's previous order and judgment, Chastain will self-surrender by Nov. 2 to begin serving his sentence while his appeal is pending.

Screenshot of the letter from Chastain’s lawyers. Source: CourtListener

Chastain, a former OpenSea product manager, was convicted on May 3 on counts of wire fraud and money laundering and on Aug. 22 was sentenced to three months in prison for offenses relating to insider trading on the NFT platform.

He was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and forfeit any ill-gotten crypto he made from trading on OpenSea.

Related: OpenSea manager accused of insider trading sentenced to 3 months in prison, $50K fine

Chastain had control over which NFTs and collections would be featured on OpenSea’s homepage — greatly increasing their visibility and possibly impacting their price.

He’s alleged to have purchased 45 NFTs prior to featuring them on the homepage and then reselling them for a profit once their prices had increased.

Prosecuting attorney Allison Nichols argued at the time that Chastain knew he was breaking the law by using anonymous OpenSea accounts to make the trades.

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market: Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Base’s ‘Onchain Summer’ saw over 700K NFTs minted from 268K users in August

Coin Telegraph
<div>Base's 'Onchain Summer' saw over 700K NFTs minted from 268K users in August</div>
BASE

The "Onchain Summer" promotion drove activity to the new network, with hundreds of thousands of users minting NFTs in August.

Base network’s “Onchain Summer” promotion in August resulted in over 700,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) minted by over 268,000 unique wallets, according to a Sept. 6 announcement from the team.

Coinbase launched Base, its Ethereum layer-2, on Aug. 9. To spur adoption, the network’s team implemented a month-long launch event. It partnered with over 50 companies, artists, and creators to release new digital art NFTs exclusively on Base. Each art set was released on a different date, requiring users to return to the network repeatedly to collect every piece.

Over the first two weeks of the promotion, over $242 million worth of crypto was bridged to Base, with over 130,000 unique wallets using it each day.

The final NFT set was released on Aug. 31; it will continue to be mintable until Sept. 7. Meanwhile, the Base team has released more detailed information about which digital art sets collectors were interested in the most.

According to the announcement, the Coca-Cola collection available from Aug. 13-16 saw the most activity, with over 80,000 pieces being minted over the period. 

Vermeer, "Girl with a Pearl Earring," from the Coca-Cola “Onchain Summer” collection. Source: Onchain Summer.

Other highly-minted collections include those of Web3 gaming platform Iskra (71,000 mints), social media platform Friends With Benefits (71,000 mints), layer-2 network Zora (70,000 mints) and music rights marketplace anotherblock (55,000 mints).

Related: USD Coin officially expands to Base and Optimism networks

During this period, Base also saw the amount of cryptocurrency locked in its contracts steadily increase, reaching a peak of over $402 million on Sept. 3, according to data from DefiLlama.

Base network total value locked (TVL). Source: DefiLlama.

Despite these achievements, Base’s launch hasn’t been entirely smooth. The network suffered an outage on Sept. 5 when its sequencer stopped producing blocks. Multiple scams have been promoted on the network as well, including $6.5 million rug-pull Magnate Finance.

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Donald Trump NFT prices spike following release of mugshot in Georgia criminal case

Coin Telegraph
Donald Trump NFT prices spike following release of mugshot in Georgia criminal case
Business

The former U.S. President returned to X for the first time since January 2021 to post his mugshot, which has now been thoroughly manipulated for memes by many users.

The price of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) featuring Donald Trump surged after news outlets released a photo of the former United States President as part of his criminal case in the state of Georgia for allegedly attempting to subvert the will of voters in the 2020 election.

According to data from NFT marketplace OpenSea, the floor price of Trump’s line of digital trading cards first released in December 2022 increased more than 62% from 0.138 to 0.224 Ether (ETH) on Aug. 24 shortly after the former president’s mugshot became public. The image, which shows Trump looking angrily at the camera amid his surrender at the Georgia Sheriff's Office in Fulton County, has gone viral as the first mugshot of a current or former U.S. President facing criminal cases.

Trump, who has largely restricted his social media activity to his own Truth Social platform since being banned from Twitter in January 2021 — and later reinstated by X CEO Elon Musk — posted to X for the first time in more than two years with the mugshot:

The criminal case against Trump in the state of Georgia alleges the former president and 18 allies were part of a racketeering scheme aimed at subverting the will of voters in an attempt to ensure he was re-elected as U.S. President in 2020, despite having lost to Joe Biden. The indictment was made public on Aug. 14 and prosecutors ordered all involved parties to surrender to Georgia authorities before Aug. 25.

Trump appeared on Aug. 24 and was released on a $200,000 bond. However, he still faces federal charges in the District of Columbia for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election by allegedly being part of a scheme involving fake electors. He has also been indicted in a classified documents case brought by the Justice Department and a New York criminal case for allegedly falsifying business records related to a hush money payment for porn star Stormy Daniels.

Crypto and blockchain have been on the lips of many politicians in recent elections and while in office. Trump said on Twitter in 2019 that he was “not a fan” of Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, claiming they were “based on thin air”. However, the nonprofit organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics revealed in August that Trump held more than $2.8 million in an Ethereum wallet.

During his time in office, President Biden has signed an executive order aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets, but has also been criticized by many lawmakers and those in the space. With the Trump mugshot now public, many crypto users on X have wasted no time adding the laser eyes to his image or otherwise manipulating it for a variety of memes:

Related: ‘Is this a Bitcoin ad?’ Joe Biden unknowingly touts BTC in coffee mug video

Though Trump is currently the frontrunner for the Republican Party nomination for the 2024 Presidential Election by a wide margin, he did not appear alongside other candidates in the first party debate on Aug. 23. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who, according to many polls, is the leading Republican presidential candidate behind Trump — has promised to ban central bank digital currencies if elected. Vivek Ramaswamy, who received a lot of online attention due to his debate performance, previously spoke at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami and referred to the 2024 election as a “referendum on fiat currency.”

Magazine: Opinion: GOP crypto maxis almost as bad as Dems’ ‘anti-crypto army’

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

​​NFT marketplace Rarible sees uptick after commitment to royalties

Coin Telegraph
​​NFT marketplace Rarible sees uptick after commitment to royalties
Coin Telegraph

NFT aggregator Rarible said by October it would cut off aggregate orders from competitors that don’t enforce royalties, such as OpenSea.

Nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace Rarible has seen a substantial uptick in trading volume over 24 hours following a public statement in support of maintaining NFT creator royalties.

It comes as competitor NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea have rewound support for royalties and royalty enforcement — prompting other NFT projects to also begin rewinding support for OpenSea.

Data from the analytics platform DappRadar shows that 24-hour fiat trading volume on Rarible reached $1,500 across 38 sales for Aug. 23, clocking a 653% increase from the day before.

While the figures are small relative to its competitors over the same period, Rarible’s 653% volume increase beat out OpenSea — which saw a 15% trading volume drop over 24 hours — and LooksRare and X2Y2 with respective 24-hour volume increases of 5.8% and 14%.

Rarible’s volume rise follows co-founder Alex Salnikov stating on Aug. 22 that it “will no longer support marketplaces that neglect royalties” and by Sep. 30 it won’t aggregate orders from OpenSea, LooksRare or X2Y2.

“This space is about redefining the paradigm in which creativity is valued and compensated,” Salnikov said. “We cannot continue to standby as that promise is taken away.”

Related: Bitcoin Ordinals NFT trading volume tanks 98% since May — DappRadar

In February, OpenSea scrapped enforcing NFT creator royalties — admitting it lost ground to Blur, another popular NFT marketplace that doesn’t enforce creator royalties.

On Aug. 17, OpenSea announced it would shutter its royalty enforcement tool allowing creators to blacklist non-royalty enforcing marketplaces due to a lack of adoption.

Meanwhile, royalties earned by Ethereum-based NFT projects hit a two-year low according to July data from analytics firm Nansen.

Magazine: NFT Collector: Grails’ lucky dip of famous NFT artists, new hope for PFP holders

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

OpenSea manager accused of insider trading sentenced to 3 months in prison, $50K fine

Coin Telegraph
OpenSea manager accused of insider trading sentenced to 3 months in prison, K fine
Coin Telegraph

Nathaniel Chastain will reportedly have until Nov. 2 to surrender himself following his conviction for wire fraud and money laundering related to insider trading on OpenSea.

A federal judge has sentenced former nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea product manager Nathaniel Chastain to 3 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering related to insider trading on the platform.

In an Aug. 22 announcement from the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Chastain had been sentenced to 3 months in prison, 3 months of home confinement, and 3 years of supervised release in addition to being ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and forfeit ill-gotten Ether (ETH) from the NFT trades. Inner City Press reported he would be required to surrender himself on Nov. 2, with Chastain's lawyers planning to appeal the decision and request bail.

“Respect for the law and general deterrence militate for punishment,” reportedly said the judge at sentencing. “But [Chastain] is a first time offender. There are mitigating circumstances. He has a potentially promising future.”

Chastain, accused of using insider information in his position at OpenSea to profit off the trading of NFTs, was convicted by a jury on May 3 of wire fraud and money laundering. In his position as product manager, he had the authority to choose which NFTs would be featured on the OpenSea website. He purchased 45 NFTs prior to them being featured and then resold them.

An Aug. 22 order from Judge Jesse Furman stated the court would consider whether Chastain would be required to forfeit any ETH from the insider trading scheme or the U.S. dollar equivalent. The sentencing likely marked the conclusion of the case following Chastain being charged and arrested by U.S. authorities in June 2022.

Related: SEC settles case against Wahi brothers for Coinbase insider trading

In a separate case, former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi was sentenced to two years in prison in May for using confidential information at the crypto exchange to profit off new token listings. His brother Nikhil and associate Sameer Ramani were also charged in the same case for their involvement in the scheme, with the former pleading guilty in September 2022 and being sentenced to 10 months in prison. At the time of publication, Ramani was still at large.

Magazine: Powers On… Insider trading with crypto is targeted — Finally! Part 1

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Nifty News: Coca-Cola gest Based, Reddit avatars reach 20M milestone and more

Coin Telegraph
Nifty News: Coca-Cola gest Based, Reddit avatars reach 20M milestone and more
Bruce Lee

Coca-Cola has chosen the newly-launched Coinbase layer-2 network Base to deploy its Masterpiece NFT collection.

The world’s largest soft drinks brand is delving deeper into the realm of non-fungible tokens, launching its first collection on the Coinbase layer-2 network Base.

On Aug. 13 Coinbase announced the new Coca-Cola collection as part of its “Onchain Summer” event.

“CocaCola is bringing their Global Masterpiece campaign onchain with iconic works from leading artists,” it stated.

"The Scream" by Edvard Munch. Source: onchainsummer.xyz

The Masterpiece collection brings together classic pieces such as “The Scream” by Edvard Munch along with new works from emerging talents, “all intertwined with the iconic CocaCola bottle.”

Coca-Cola's NFT entry is one of the larger consumer brands announced to be involved with Base so far. Other digital collectible projects expected to launch this month include Zora, Pixelmon, Showtime, and Indelible.

Reddit Collectible Avatars hit 20M milestone

Reddit NFTs minted on layer-2 network Polygon have surpassed the 20 million milestone, with the numerous collectible avatars spread over 16.3 million total holders.

According to Dune Analytics, the cumulative sales transaction volume of Reddit Collectible Avatars NFTs has exceeded $40 million.

Reddit’s Collectible Avatars Gen 4 release called “Retro Reimagined” launched on July 27, and Gen 3 has accumulated sales transactions of more than $3.4 million.

Reddit Collectible Avatar stats. Source: Dune Analytics

On Aug. 13, Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal said the “Polygon ecosystem’s mainstream products are silently reaching “magic inflection points” of growth, be it Reddit Avatars, DraftKings NFTs or Nike dotSWOOSH.”

New Bruce Lee anime has whiffs of NFTs

A new anime project based on the late martial artist Bruce Lee has been announced, with speculation that there could be an NFT angle to it.

The new anime, named “House of Lee” is expected to come out in 2024. It is endorsed by Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon and the Bruce Lee Estate.

However, onlookers have noticed that the animation studio is Shockunit from China, known for NFT-based projects, while the animation artist is Emily Yang, a successful NFT animator, according to reports on Aug. 13.

The producer, a company called Shibuya, also runs a platform for crowdfunding projects through NFT sales. In April, they minted an NFT collection called "House of Lee: Genesis" and sold 49,000 NFTs to raise over $700,000.

The animation aims to promote the collection which has seen prices fall from $15 to around $6 to $10, the report added.

The Enter the Dragon teaser trailer shows Bruce Lee animated in an old-school anime style, doing martial arts and turning into a dragon.

Cointelegraph reached out to Shannon at the Bruce Lee Family Company for further details but had yet to hear back at the time of publication. 

Grimes makes it big with NFTs

Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer Claire Boucher also known professionally as Grimes said she has made more money selling NFTs than she has through her entire music career.

During the 2021 bull market and NFT bubble, Grimes sold her “War Nymph” NFTs on the Nifty marketplace earning roughly $6 million in revenue.

Related: NFT gas usage drops, Ordinals nonprofit launches: Nifty Newsletter

In an interview with Wired on Aug. 8, Grimes said that NFTs “changed her life” before adding, “I’m sad about what happened to NFTs and crypto because it got polluted fast with people trying to make as much money as possible.”

“But I do want to think about compensating artists, especially digital artists. And I hope when the aggro niche dies down, we can come back.”

Other Nifty news

According a to financial disclosure released last month, former U.S. President Donald Trump holds $250,000 to $500,000 of assets in a cryptocurrency wallet. The assets appear to be connected to a collection of self-styled NFTs he marketed after leaving the White House.

On Aug. 9, CBS Studios applied to use the name “Star Trek Continuum” for NFTs and digital collectibles. The collection is a series of NFTs featuring different customizable starships from the adventures in the popular science fiction universe.

Magazine: Grails’ lucky dip of famous NFT artists, new hope for PFP holders: NFT Collector

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Base network has officially launched: Here’s how it can be used

Coin Telegraph
<div>Base network has officially launched: Here's how it can be used</div>
BASE

Coinbase's Base network completed its phased launch on Aug. 9, and is officially open to end-users.

Coinbase’s Base network has officially launched after spending a few weeks in an “open for builders only” phase. The network is now ready to onboard users, according to an Aug. 9 announcement from the team.

Several Web3 development teams have simultaneously announced that they are releasing apps for Base, and the network’s team has released a schedule of upcoming events to celebrate its launch.

Base initially launched in beta version on Feb. 23. As soon as it was announced, many in the crypto community speculated that it could help to onboard more users into Web3 protocols, thanks to Coinbase’s large user base. The network launched its mainnet version “for builders” on July 13, but the team warned that it wasn’t ready for users yet. On Aug. 9, the network became available for all users.

Here are a few things users can do on Base right now.

Bridge tokens

Users can bridge Ether (ETH) from mainnet to Base using the official Base bridge, which launched a user interface on Aug. 3. On Aug. 9, the cross-chain bridging protocol Wormhole announced it is available on Base.

Swap tokens and provide liquidity

At least two decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges (DEXs) have announced they are running on Base, and a third may relaunch soon. Uniswap, one of the first decentralized exchanges on Ethereum, declared their Base version was running on Aug. 7.

Maverick Protocol also announced its Base version on Aug. 8. Maverick claims to provide greater capital efficiency and allow for greater customization than its competitors.

A third DEX on Base, LeetSwap, was previously running during the “builders only” phase but is currently shut down due to an Aug. 1 exploit. The team intends to relaunch the project at some point in the future. LeetSwap claims to be a DEX for “leet degens" and offers “dual-token farm rewards” to maximize yield.

These three apps provide options for users who want to swap tokens or become liquidity providers.

Make payments

At least one payment app for Base is available.

Beam is a web-based app that allows users to make payments using either U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC) or the app’s native coin, Eco. According to the app’s developers, users aren't required to store seed words or possess Ether to pay for gas fees. They can log in with their Twitter accounts and pay for gas using USDC or Eco. The app also features a built-in fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat gateway.

Base announced Beam’s launch for the network on July 27.

Register a username

Masa Finance has released its soulbound token protocol for Base. On Aug. 8, the protocol announced that users can now register their .masa usernames on Base. These usernames may later be used for credit underwriting and other Know Your Customer-compliant services.

In its announcement, Masa claimed to have minted over 280,000 usernames on Base since the builder phase began.

Launch a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)

Decentralized autonomous organization creation protocol Aragon has launched its “no-code Aragon app” and “modular Aragon OSx” on Base to allow for DAOs to be easily created on the new network. Although it's mostly developers that will use this function, end users can also establish DAOs on Base through Aragon. 

Mint and collect nonfungible tokens (NFTs)

Onchain Summer user interface. Source: Base

Multiple brands and projects will allow users to mint NFTs exclusively on Base throughout August and early September. These include Coca-Cola, Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto campaign, Showtime, Atari, Optimism, OpenSea, and others. Each NFT launches on a different day of the Onchain Summer festival. For example, the Showtime NFT becomes available on Aug. 18, while the Atari one launches on Aug. 25.

Some investors lost during Base's phased launch

Despite Base’s initial success in attracting app developers, its launch hasn’t been without problems. The network was up and running between July 13 and Aug. 2 but didn’t have a bridge UI. As a result, some users attempted to get an early lead by using developer tools to transfer ETH to the network, which was then used to invest in memecoins that were expected to rise in value after the network's official launch. However, many investors lost money in these projects due to various launch issues.

An estimated $2.2 million was lost by investors in the July 28 Pond0x memecoin launch due to confusion surrounding how the token was supposed to be distributed. Another $1.9 million was lost during the July 31 BALD token launch on Base when the developer pulled some of its liquidity.

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Star Trek trademarks for NFTs: The final frontier

Coin Telegraph
Star Trek trademarks for NFTs: The final frontier
Coin Telegraph

CBS Studios applied to use the name “Star Trek Continuum” for nonfungible tokens and crypto collectibles.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has accepted CBS Studios’ application for the Star Trek name to be used in nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto collectibles connected to its Continuum series.

According to USPTO records, the government office registered the character mark for the Star Trek line on Aug. 8, having received an application from CBS in April. The trademark included use in an online marketplace for digital crypto collectibles as well as video clips authenticated by NFTs.

Star Trek Continuum, though likely an enticing name for a television series for many Trekkies, refers to a line of NFTs featuring different starships from the various adventures in the science fiction universe, customized to users’ liking. The trademark focuses on the name “Star Trek Continuum”.

Related: Trademark attorney predicts legal fights ahead with Twitter’s rebrand to X

Navigating the intricacies of U.S. trademark and patent laws could become a challenge for non-crypto and blockchain companies entering the space. Firms filed more than 6,000 trademark applications for NFTs in 2022 compared with roughly 2,000 in 2021.

The universe of Star Trek, whose stories range from the 22nd century to the 25th century, continues to be a source of inspiration for many fans, which include crypto users. William Shatner, who portrayed Captain James T. Kirk on the original series in the 1960s, is now 92 years old but spoke at the 2023 Consensus conference and is scheduled to do so again in 2024.

Magazine: William Shatner tokenizes his favorite memories on the WAX blockchain

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Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

Over 40% of Telegram’s 2023 Revenue Stems From Crypto Ventures: Report

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