Nifty Newsletter

Despite the effects of the FTX debacle, many industry players remain positive and hopeful that NFTs will recover.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how a nonfungible token (NFT) protocol was affected by the FTX collapse leading to layoffs. Despite the effects of the FTX collapse, industry players within the NFT space are still confident in the recovery of NFTs. Meanwhile, Disney brought back metaverse-backer Bob Iger as its CEO, and check out how NFTs have taken center stage at Formula 1. And, don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring China-based tech companies offering FIFA World Cup fans a metaverse-like viewing experience of the soccer event. 

Nickel Digital, Metaplex and others continue to feel the impact of FTX collapse

Due to the effects of the FTX collapse, NFT protocol Metaplex has laid off members of its Metaplex Studios team. According to the firm’s CEO Stephen Hess, the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange has indirectly impacted their business. Because of this, the firm is taking a “more conservative approach” as they move forward.

Hess also highlighted that Metaplex is the base layer of the Solana NFT ecosystem. The NFT executive mentioned that it’s their responsibility to ensure the sustainability of the protocol for its community.

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Industry expresses confidence in the NFT space amid the FTX collapse

Despite the troubles brought about by the FTX debacle, NFT industry players continue to have hope in the space. Cointelegraph spoke with several people working in the space to ask about their perspectives on how the space will recover from the bear market and FTX’s collapse.

Oscar Franklin Tan, an executive at NFT platform Enjin, says the space will stabilize and consolidate around the strongest communities. By then, the space will see a second generation of “smarter, more sustainable NFT models.”

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Disney brings back Bob Iger as CEO: Here’s the crypto connection

Bob Iger, known as a metaverse backer, has returned as the CEO of Disney to replace Bob Chapek. The executive is known within the crypto space after working with the digital avatar platform Genies.

Back on Dec. 28, the company filed a metaverse patent while Iger was still working at the firm as an executive and board chairman. Despite this, the company said at the time that there were no plans to use the patent yet.

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NFT rides shotgun as Red Bull Racing closes out F1 season

NFTs took center stage as Formula 1 closed out its 2022 season. Red Bull Racing, the team with crypto exchange Bybit as its partner, dominated the racing tournament. With this, the logo of Bybit will be featured along with an NFT artwork called Lei the Lightning Azuki.

The Lei Azuki NFT is one of the pieces within the anime-inspired Azuki NFT collection that features 10,000 NFTs. The NFT is listed at around $11,000 worth of Wrapped Ether (wETH) at the time of writing.

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Nifty News: Chinese firms to offer World Cup metaverse viewings, X2Y2 backtracks on royalties and more

As the FIFA World Cup commenced, tech companies based in China have offered Metaverse-like experiences that allow soccer fans within the country to access the World Cup within the Metaverse. Meanwhile, NFT marketplace X2Y2 has backpedaled on its opt-in royalties announcement, signaling that it will be enforcing royalties on all existing and upcoming collections.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

An image of the sandals worn by Steve Jobs was minted as a nonfungible token and sold for over $200,000.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how the FTX contagion led to the sale of a collection containing high-ticket nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Check out the struggles in onboarding artists to Web3 through NFTs and find out about OpenSea’s decision to finally enforce royalties on all collections within its NFT marketplace. In other news, a tool that allows layer-2 networks to showcase NFTs on social platforms like Twitter was released. And don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring Nike’s Dot Swoosh NFT platform. 

FTX contagion victim Deepak.eth puts NFT collection up for sale

After announcing an eight-figure exposure to FTX exchange, Deepak.eth, the pseudonymous founder of blockchain infrastructure firm Chain, has tweeted that they are selling their NFT collection either to the highest bidder or through a fractional decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for 80% ownership.

The collection includes prominent NFTs such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club characters. The collection is being sold for 8,000 Ether (ETH), which is around $10 million at the time of writing.

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Helping mainstream artists into Web3: The triumphs and struggles

Bernard Alexander, an executive at Animal Concerts — the firm that helped onboard celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Billy Ray Cyrus to Web3 through NFTs — spoke with Cointelegraph about the struggles of helping artists get into Web3.

According to Alexander, helping artists gain an understanding of the space remains a big challenge, as people are naturally hesitant to get into a nascent industry that is evolving rapidly.

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OpenSea to enforce creator royalties on all collections after community outcry

After hearing feedback from the community, NFT marketplace OpenSea announced that going forward, it will continue enforcing royalties across all collections within the platform. Back on Nov. 7, the NFT platform launched a tool to allow creators to enforce royalties on new collections. However, the new update did not apply to already existing collections.

Community members criticized the marketplace for having unclear messaging, urging the platform to clarify its stance on creator fees. Some NFT creators even canceled the launch of their upcoming collections until OpenSea made a decision. Following the pushback, the NFT platform decided to finally enforce royalties on all collections.

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New tool mirrors Optimism NFTs to Ethereum mainnet for use in verified apps

Optimism developers launched Magic Mirror, an application that lets NFT holders mirror their NFTs to the Ethereum mainnet. This allows users to use their NFTs in apps like Twitter, where only layer-1 NFTs were previously recognized.

The NFT badge feature in Twitter allows holders to verify ownership of their NFTs, showing a hexagonal profile picture. Before the release of the app, NFT holders from networks like Polygon, Avalanche and Optimism were unable to showcase them on Twitter.

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Nifty News: Nike unveils NFT platform, Steve Jobs’ sandals sell for $200,000, and more

Footwear manufacturer Nike launched its NFT platform, dubbed .Swoosh, and highlighted that its first digital collection will be on the platform in 2023. Meanwhile, an image of the Birkenstocks sandals worn by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was turned into an NFT and sold for $218,750 in an auction.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

South Korea’s central bank has tested purchasing NFTs with their central bank digital currency (CBDC).

In this week’s newsletter, read about how trademark applications for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse have grown in the United States. Check out how NFT marketplace OpenSea has launched a tool that can enforce NFT royalties on-chain and how the Chinese city of Wuhan backpedaled on its NFT plans while still pursuing the growth of metaverse economies.

In other news, find out how NFTs can turn passive fans into active community members. And don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring South Korea testing purchasing NFTs with their central bank digital currency (CBDC). 

Trademarks filed for NFTs, metaverse and cryptocurrencies soar to new levels in 2022

Data shared by trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis shows that filings for NFT and metaverse-related trademarks in the U.S. have grown in 2022.

For NFTs, the data shows that at the end of October 2022, 6,855 trademark applications were filed. This shows significant growth from 2021. Last year, only 2,142 NFT-related trademark filings were recorded. On the other hand, filings for metaverse trademarks have also increased, with 4997 trademark applications filed by the end of October. This shows a significant increase in filings, as the total number of applications for metaverse in 2021 was 1,890.

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OpenSea launches on-chain tool to enforce NFT royalties

NFT marketplace OpenSea has launched a tool that enforces NFT royalties, which apply to new NFT collections. Devin Finzer, the CEO of OpenSea, noted that the new tool will let creators have on-chain enforcement of royalties. The tool is a code snippet that lets creators enforce royalties on new and future smart contracts for NFT collections.

In addition, the tool also allows creators to restrict the sales of their NFT collections to marketplaces that support and enforce creator fees. However, while OpenSea said that it will support collections with an on-chain enforcement tool, it wouldn’t force new collections that don’t opt-in.

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Wuhan omits NFTs from metaverse plan amid regulatory uncertainty in China

While the Chinese government has been supportive of metaverse efforts, its stance on NFTs has started to become blurry. With the regulatory uncertainty surrounding Web3 within the country, the city of Wuhan has reportedly put aside its NFT plans.

While NFTs were originally included in the city’s metaverse economy development plan, a new version of the plan has deleted a line about NFTs. Despite this, the city still aims to nurture more than 200 metaverse companies and build at least two metaverses by 2025.

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NFTs are the key to turning passive fandom into an active community

In a Cointelegraph interview, Ogden and Miana Lauren, team members of the inBetweeners NFT project, shared how NFTs can turn passive fandoms into more active communities and transform user participation.

The project’s team members shared how Miana started off as a fan of the project and eventually joined the team because of the engagement opportunities provided by the NFTs. She now works as a community manager for the team and believes that NFTs have the power to be many people’s gateway to using more Web3 technologies.

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Nifty News: Royalty-enforcing NFTs a ‘new asset class,’ South Korea buys NFTs with CBDC and more

In Solana’s Breakpoint 2022 conference, Jack Lu, the CEO of NFT marketplace Magic Eden, highlighted that NFTs that enforce royalties have the potential to become a new asset class. Meanwhile, South Korea’s central bank has started testing purchasing NFTs with its CBDC.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

MyNFT marketplace’s new NFT vending machine aims to make digital art more accessible at a London in-person event.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how NBA superstar Stephen Curry filed a trademark application for his own metaverse, the Curryverse, where users play-to-earn nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Check out why TV streaming providers should start to incorporate NFTs into their programming. In other news, find out how an NFT vending machine made digital art more accessible at a London event. Last but not least, Nifty News highlighted NFT markets that are scrapping royalties and the launch of GameStop’s new NFT marketplace. 

Steph Curry files trademark for the Curryverse, where players earn NFTs

National Basketball League (NBA) megastar Stephen Curry filed an application for a trademark on Oct. 26 to create his own version of the Metaverse. The “Curryverse” will cater to the NBA star’s large fan base through virtual worlds and play-to-earn experiences.

If approved, it will grant the four-time NBA champion exclusive rights for “entertainment services, namely, personal and virtual and metaverse appearances.” According to the application, the Curryverse will entail online gaming services in which players will be able to earn NFTs.

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TV streaming providers should start relying on NFTs

NFTs could change the way subscription services work by allowing users to sell or rent out their subscriptions when they don’t need them. By using NFTs for subscription products, users can have access to gated content so long as they’re interested in the possibility of selling when no longer needed.

They also have the potential to take the relationship between the consumers and content to the next level. Content creators can benefit from a direct 1-1 relationship with engaged audiences. Creators can use NFTs to package content or incentivize particular behavior.

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NFT vending machine to make digital art more accessible at London event

MyNFT, a multichain NFT marketplace, announced it will showcase its first-ever physical NFT vending machine at this year’s NFT.London event scheduled for Nov. 2–4.

The platform hopes to create an easy and accessible means for people who want to start buying and trading digital assets without needing to get knee-deep in Web3 technicalities. The vending machine will even allow users to purchase an NFT without owning a digital wallet.

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Nifty News: LooksRare the latest NFT market to sack royalties, Twitter’s tweeting tiles and more

The NFT marketplace LooksRare is one of many to recently scrap enforced creator royalties. The move follows similar decisions by NFT marketplaces Magic Eden and X2Y2.

On Oct. 27, the platform tweeted that it would not be supporting creator royalties by default rather, it will share 25% of its protocol fees with NFT creators and collection owners. Buyers can still choose to pay royalties when purchasing an NFT, but it will be on an opt-in basis.

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Nifty News: GameStop NFT market goes live, Hong Kong’s NFT concept and more

The new NFT marketplace for American video game retailer GameStop went live on Ethereum layer-2 blockchain ImmutableX in the latest Web3 push from the gaming retailer.

The pair first partnered in February to build the marketplace offering a $100 million grant for NFT content creators and tech developers before a public beta of the NFT marketplace debuted in July. The full launch will allow for popular Web3 games on ImmutableX, such as the role-playing game Illuvium and Gods Unchained, to be accessed by users.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

Apple published rules for NFT for the first time which included a 30% NFT “tax” and geo-limit exchanges.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how Apple released its first-ever set of rules for nonfungible tokens (NFTs), including a 30% “tax” and limits on how NFTs can be bought and exchanged. Check out how NFTs have the potential to change museum experiences in the future and how OpenSea revised its NFT rarity ranking protocol after feedback from the community. In other news, find out how NFTs are used to democratize scheduled TV programming in the era of Web3. Last but not least, NFT trading volume on Reddit hit an all-time high with nearly 3 million wallet holders. 

New Apple rules double down on 30% NFT ‘tax’ and geo-limits exchanges

The big-tech company Apple released new rules for its App Store around NFTs and cryptocurrency exchanges. This marks the first time the company specified rules for NFTs in particular.

These new guidelines dictate many crypto-related activities, including the taxing of NFT purchases, how they can and cannot be used and rules on when a crypto exchange app can be listed in the app store.

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Will museums of the future just be giant NFT galleries?

Recent developments in the NFT scene have seen big-name celebrities, brands and large institutions such as museums reinvent themselves for consumers. Museums, in particular, have used technology to verify collections and even raise funds.

Speaking with Cointelegraph, Hussein Hallak, founder and CEO of Next Decentrum Technologies, helped answer the question of museums becoming giant NFT galleries in the future and how ownership really works in such a scenario.

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OpenSea revises NFT rarity ranking protocol after community feedback

The Twitter community called on OpenSea to address several issues surrounding OpenRarity, the new rarity ranking protocol implemented on the NFT marketplace. The NFT investor tweeted that including a “rank” in the NFT listing without “rarity” would mislead collectors.

After the feedback, OpenSea made noticeable changes to the ranking system. Now, NFT listings show “rarity rank” rather than just the rank. Additionally, it also added a trait count as a part of the ranking methodology to categorize NFTs with unique attributes prior to applying any additional information which could elevate its ranking.

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Can NFTs democratize scheduled TV programming in the Web3 era?

The way we watch TV or other scheduled programming is about to be NFT-ied through a new streaming network that focuses on crypto content with NFTs as its backbone. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Greg Cipes, co-creator of NFTV, discussed the fine line between content democratization and staying true to an artist’s vision.

When it comes to creative output, many artists have a specific vision for their content, especially those with a trademark style or brand. As NFTs come more into the picture and give community members a voice, Cipes says this can “absolutely” take away from creators.

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Reddit NFT trading volume hits all-time high as wallet holders near 3 million

The trading volume of Reddit NFT avatars eclipsed $1.5 million in 24 hours on Oct. 24, according to data from Polygon and Dune Analytics. This increase in volume reflects more than a third of the entire trading volume of $4.1 million of the collection since its launch.

Daily sales volume of Reddit NFTs also hit a new all-time high of 3,780 digital collectibles traded. These avatars are created by independent artists and minted, as on the Polygon blockchain. They can be displayed as profile pictures for users on the platform and purchased through Reddit’s Vault wallet.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

The co-founder of Animoca Brands, Yat Siu, claimed that NFT games are only scratching the surface of what’s possible.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu believes that nonfungible token (NFT) games are only at the tip of the iceberg in terms of potential. Check out how an executive at Kraken highlighted that NFTs will be as disruptive as Bitcoin (BTC) and how a museum in Ukraine is preserving the country’s cultural heritage through NFTs. In other news, find out how an industry executive claimed that brands have a lot of responsibility in terms of protecting their NFT investors against fraud. Last but not least, British actor Anthony Hopkins sold out his NFT collection within minutes of its release. 

NFT games are ‘only scratching the surface’ of what’s possible — Animoca’s Yat Siu

The co-founder of Animoca Brands, Yat Siu, highlighted that NFT games are only at the surface of what is possible for the space. The executive believes that there are new forms of gaming that will be developed as a result of NFT's inherent features like digital ownership.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, the Animoca Brands co-founder highlighted the potential of NFTs to branch out into mobile phones. According to Siu, mobile phones and artificial intelligence can play a huge part in the development of NFT gaming.

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NFTs will be ‘as disruptive’ as Bitcoin was 10 years ago — Kraken exec

Jonathon Miller, an executive at crypto exchange Kraken, likened NFTs to Bitcoin in terms of disruptiveness. According to Miller, the exchange is bullish when it comes to NFTs and believes in their innovative features.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Miller highlighted that despite the low NFT activity in recent months, there are positive signals at the institutional level. According to the executive, the NFT space has the potential to eventually stabilize and have gradual growth.

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Ukrainian art museum to preserve art and cultural heritage through NFT auction

Kharkiv Art Museum has announced that it has released an NFT collection with the purpose of saving the cultural heritage of Ukraine. The collection, dubbed Art without Borders, is available at the Binance NFT Marketplace.

Kharkiv, a city that has been affected by the country’s ongoing conflict with Russia, can preserve its culture by turning artworks from the museum into NFTs. At the moment, artworks by Albrecht Dürer, Georg Jacob Johann van Os, Ivan Aivazovsky, Simon de Vlieger and others are already converted into NFTs and are available in the collection.

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Industry exec explains why NFT fraud protection falls on brand and not marketplaces

Brands that issue NFTs have more responsibility in terms of protecting consumers than NFT marketplaces, an industry executive argued. In a Cointelegraph interview, BrandShield CEO Yoav Keren said that brands that issue NFTs must be proactive in terms of protecting their investors from fraud.

The executive claimed that brands must be the first to take action to protect their customers across all platforms. According to the CEO, brands must also keep the legal implications in mind when it comes to the misuse of their image.

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Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins sells out NFT collection in minutes

British actor Sir Anthony Hopkins has sold out his first NFT collection, dubbed The Eternal Collection, within 10 minutes. Orange Comet, the actor’s partner in creating the NFTs, claimed that the NFT drop is the fastest sell-out in the history of the NFT marketplace OpenSea. Celebrating the release of his NFT collection, Hopkins took to Twitter to thank his fans for their support.

Inspired by the actor’s performances, the NFTs feature 1000 cinematic artworks. Apart from the art, the NFT images come with other benefits like receiving autographed books and engaging with the actor through a Zoom call.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

Racing league Formula One is positioning its brand in Web3 as it files trademark applications for "F1" covering crypto and NFTs.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how the racing brand Formula One is planning to position itself in Web3 and how nonfungible tokens (NFTs) will transform betting on upcoming athletes. Check out how GameFi can provide the unemployed with a new means to earn and find out how the wealthiest British artist alive burned $10 million in artworks to complete his NFT project. And, don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring OpenSea adding Avalanche support and Meta adding feet to its avatars. 

Formula One files ‘F1’ trademarks covering crypto, NFTs and Metaverse

Racing brand Formula One filed NFT-related trademarks showing a move that positions itself within the Web3 world. Trademark lawyer Mike Kondoudis recently announced that the league filed eight trademarks for the “F1” abbreviation.

Apart from NFTs, the trademark application also covers software for crypto use, meta tokens, digital collectibles and software for digital currency payments. The trademark also shows that the racing league also has an interest in blockchain-based financial transactions.

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NFTs transform how fans bet on upcoming sports stars

In another attempt to bridge sports and the Web3 world, a project claims to enable athlete financing through NFTs. The project called FANtium allows fans to bet on the success of upcoming young athletes.

Through NFTs, fans will be rewarded as their favorite athlete becomes more successful. Apart from this, the platform also allows fans to connect with athletes and gain recurring rewards.

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GameFi could be the answer to unemployment for some: Aussie game studio

Two executives from a Web3 game studio based in Australia argued that GameFi could potentially be the answer to some people’s unemployment. Ninja Syndicate’s CEO Alex Dunmow and founder John Nguyen told Cointelegraph that through NFTs, in-game ownership can be achieved, making games a viable income-generating medium.

Apart from this, the duo believes that there are opportunities in GameFi that provide income, such as play-to-earn and move-to-earn games. With these, those who are unemployed can have ways to earn a living through Web3.

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Damien Hirst livestreams the burning of $10M in art for NFT project

As part of his NFT project called The Currency, British artist Damien Hirst burned expensive artworks worth around $10 million in a livestream to ensure that the copies only exist in their digital format.

According to Hirst, while many may see this act as burning millions of dollars worth of art, he believes that burning the physical copies is a step toward completing the transformation of the artworks into NFTs.

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Nifty News: OpenSea adds Avalanche, Meta has legs, DeGods takes 0% and more

NFT marketplace OpenSea has announced that it has added support for the Avalanche blockchain, further expanding its list of supported networks. The integration will allow Avalanche-based NFT projects to have exposure within the NFT marketplace.

In other news, social media giant Meta has announced that avatars within its metaverse will now have legs. After a period of levitating around the virtual space, the avatars will finally touch the ground with their feet.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

Tennis legend Maria Sharapova sat down with Cointelegraph senior reporter Rachel Wolfson at the Binance Blockchain Week in France.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how Warner Music Group partnered with OpenSea to give artists a way to engage with their audiences. Find out how Tennis legend Maria Sharapova is exploring her growing interest in nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and check out how blockchain game Illuvium is trying to create an interoperable game. In other news, Meta enabled cross-posting for NFTs on Instagram and Facebook. And, don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring the Build-A-Bear Workshop entering Web3 and a CryptoPunk selling for 3,300 Ether (ETH) amid the bear market. 

Warner Music Group partners with OpenSea to create more Web3 opportunities for artists

Entertainment company Warner Music Group (WMG) partnered with the NFT marketplace OpenSea to let musicians engage with their fans using Web3. Through the partnership, some artists will be given early access to the platform’s new customizable drop pages feature.

WMG executive Oana Ruxandra said that the collaboration will allow artists to create deeper engagement with their communities. The executive recognized that community engagement where artists and fans come together is fundamental to music.

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NFT space bridges passions for tennis legend Maria Sharapova

Tennis superstar Maria Sharapova made an appearance at the Binance Blockchain Week held in Paris, France. The tennis legend shared her interest in NFTs in an interview with Cointelegraph’s senior reporter Rachel Wolfson.

Sharapova shared that she is curious about crypto and is in the process of figuring out how to engage with her fans using Web3. According to the athlete, she is thinking about a long-term project in the space.

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Illuvium co-founder shares plans for new “interoperable blockchain game” model

Kieran Warwick, the co-founder of Illuvium — a blockchain game that integrates various Web3 elements like NFTs and digital assets — spoke with Cointelegraph at the Token2049 event in Singapore. According to Warwick, the team is building an interoperable blockchain game that he described as a series of games that are connected with each other, sharing NFTs and in-game currencies.

The executive mentioned that it is are targeting around 500 million gamers and will focus on making the game a fun game and will not focus on the play-to-earn (P2E) aspect that many GameFi projects prioritize.

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Meta introduces NFT crossposting and sharing on Instagram

Social media giant Meta announced that users on Instagram and Facebook are now able to share their NFTs across both platforms. Users will be able to tag both creators and collectors and share between both of the platforms without paying fees.

According to the social media firm, this feature will be available in more than 100 countries. The firm also mentioned that NFT artists like Lívia Elektra are already sharing their NFTs in Meta’s social media applications.

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Nifty News: Enter the afterlife in style, Solana NFT game demo hits Epic store and more

Customized stuff toy company Build-A-Bear Workshop announced a partnership with an NFT marketplace called Sweet to celebrate its 25th anniversary with an NFT launch. Meanwhile, despite the market being bearish, a CryptoPunk sold for 3,300 ETH, worth $4.4 million at the time of writing.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

UNICEF Giga used NFTs to help raise funds to give schools in developing countries the ability to connect to the internet.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how UNICEF is using nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to help connect schools to the internet and how post offices are able to revive the philately sector through NFTs. Check out how an NFT gaming project lets many aspects of its game be customizable and sold as NFT packs. In other news, Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu spoke with Cointelegraph and shared his thoughts about Asia’s perception of NFTs. And, don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring Walmart’s entry to the Metaverse. 

UNICEF Giga NFTs to connect schools in developing countries to internet

Humanitarian aid organization UNICEF has utilized NFTs as a means of raising funds to help with its mission of providing internet access to schools located in developing regions all over the world. Through its Giga initiative, it aims to help 1.1 million schools across 49 countries.

In a Cointelegraph interview at the Blockchain Expo in Amsterdam, Giga blockchain product manager Gerben Kijne mentioned that their NFT fundraising initiative attracted both UNICEF supporters who had bought NFTs for the first time and NFT collectors who wanted to get the NFTs because it was made by UNICEF.

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Post offices adopting NFTs leads to a philately renaissance

European post offices utilized NFT popularity to jumpstart the philately sector, an area focusing on the study of postage stamps. PostAG philately head Patricia Liebermann and PostNL product manager Sacha Van Hoorn are leading the charge.

Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Blockchain Expo in Amsterdam, Liebermann said that they combined NFTs with physical stamps and got overwhelming feedback. According to Liebermann, they started exploring NFT postage stamps in 2019 and determined that there is a market out there who are interested in this new way of collecting.

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NFTs bring in-game ownership to a new level, says Blokhaus founder

Gaming is a very popular use case for NFTs. There have been many NFT gaming projects flooding the Web3 space. Despite this, one project wants to surpass the competition by making every component of its game NFTs customizable.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Blokhaus Inc. founder Mark Soares gave a description of how their project aims to reach gamers. According to the executive, they allow the creation of their own characters within their own scenes, and these can be sold as NFT packs to other gamers.

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Yat Siu: Asia GameFi opportunity huge as gamers don’t hate NFTs

Yat Siu, the co-founder of Animoca Brands, spoke with Cointelegraph at the Asia Crypto Week and argued that the Asian region presents a lot of opportunities for GameFi projects. The executive highlighted that Asia is very welcoming to NFTs compared to other regions and has the potential to lead the blockchain gaming space.

Siu mentioned that western gaming companies usually deal with consumer resistance when it comes to NFTs. However, in Asia, the executive noted that this did not happen and cited the differences in Asians’ perception of capitalism.

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Nifty News: Walmart steps into the Metaverse, @NFT founder hacked and more

Retail giant Walmart has dived into the Metaverse by launching its Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play on the online game Roblox. Meanwhile, the owner of the banned handle @NFT has claimed to have lost $1 million in Ether (ETH) and NFTs after an exploit.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

Eminem and Snoop Dogg switched between themselves and their Bored Ape Yacht Club characters in their newest music video.

In this week’s newsletter, read about Meta’s plans to expand their nonfungible token (NFT) testing on Instagram and Facebook. Check out how soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo is planning to introduce his fans to Web3 through NFTs and how the rap legends Snoop Dogg and Eminem featured Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) characters in their latest music video.

Join Cointelegraph’s Tom Farren as he shares details from an event called The Digital Diaspora as part of last week’s NFT.NYC conference. And, don’t forget about this week’s Nifty News roundup featuring Yuga Labs and NFT platform X2Y2 surpassing OpenSea’s volume. 

Meta set to begin testing NFTs on Instagram Stories with Spark AR

Back in May, Meta started testing digital collectibles on Instagram. Last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his team is expanding its NFT testing so that creators can soon display their NFTs on the social platform.

Besides Instagram, Zuckerberg also said that NFTs will also be supported by Facebook in the near future, starting with a small group of creators based in the United States. Additionally, the Meta CEO mentioned that the NFT testing will eventually branch out to Instagram Stories soon, saying that it will also test NFTs with the augmented reality software SparkAR.

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Cristiano Ronaldo to get soccer fans into Web3 with Binance partnership

Soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo partnered with crypto platform Binance last week to introduce his fans to Web3 using NFT campaigns. The agreement involves an exclusive multi-year partnership, where Ronaldo will collaborate with Binance to create NFTs.

These digital collectibles will be sold exclusively on the Binance NFT platform and will let fans have exclusive engagement opportunities with the soccer star. Ronaldo explained that he values his relationship with his fans, and the idea of NFTs and giving new experiences is something he wanted. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao commented that their team is excited about the collaboration.

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Related: Metaverse can’t be built on the corporate business model, says EY innovation lead

Eminem and Snoop Dogg turn into BAYC chars in new music video

Legendary rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg featured their Bored Ape Yacht Club characters in their newest music video titled From The D 2 The LBC. The video switched from reality to cartoons as both of the rappers dropped their bars on the microphone.

Eminem switched between himself and a character resembling BAYC #9055, which he previously bought for 123.45 Ether (ETH), around half a million dollars at the time of the purchase. Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg also switched between himself and a Bored Ape character, which he had purchased in December 2021.

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NFT​.NYC — How the Web3 space is validating the work of digital artists

Cointelegraph's Tom Farren attended an event called The Digital Diaspora during the NFT.NYC conference in New York City. At the event, artists shared their experiences and processes of creating art. NFT artist Diana Sinclair shared how a work of art called You Cant Smooth A Crumpled Paper Or A Wrinkled Heart came to life.

Apart from sharing experiences, the event’s panel members also talked about representation in the NFT space. During this, 3D animator Andre O’Shea spoke about the inclusivity of the Web3 space. According to O’Shea, Web3 provides opportunities and uplifts creators and voices.

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Nifty News: Yuga Labs breaks silence, X2Y2 outpaces OpenSea and more

NFT firm Yuga Labs answered allegations that alt-right memes were integrated into the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) imagery. Gordon Goner, the co-founder of Yuga Labs, tweeted that the allegations are “insanely far-fetched.” Meanwhile, sales volume on the X2Y2 NFT marketplace has surged past OpenSea's in the past week.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights in this actively evolving space.