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Japan’s most popular social messaging app Line adds NFT marketplace

April 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Line, Japan’s number one super app has launched its own NFT marketplace, adding to its list of crypto-ready features.

Japan’s largest social media app, Line has officially launched its own non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called LINE NFT.

Partnering with Yoshimoto Kogyo, a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate — the LVC Corporation, Line’s crypto and blockchain manager — will offer approximately 40,000 different NFTs to its 90 million users.

The first wave of soon-to-be-released NFTs will include videos from the company’s in-house, Yoshimoto NFT Theatre, as well depictions of characters from well-known anime series, Patlabor the Mobile Police, with more to come on offer in the coming months.

Also NFTs from the iconic anime series Patlabor the Mobile Police, and NFTs of other popular characters. At a later point, more #NFTs from a variety of genres will be available.#nftigoo #NFTanime pic.twitter.com/32ZGRbt0Lb
— Nftigoo (@nftigoo) April 13, 2022

Users will store their purchased NFTs in the LINE BitMa wallet, a product offered in conjunction with crypto-exchange BitMax.

The app adds NFT capabilities to a growing list of crypto-ready features, after introducing the option of allowing users to pay for items with its native LINK token (LN) at any of LINE Pay’s online merchants, earlier this year.

Line has a reputation for being among the first major technology companies in Japan to adopt cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, after launching its very own crypto exchange in 2018.

NFTs are becoming increasingly popular throughout Japan, despite the country’s relatively strict crypto regulations. The Japanese financial services conglomerate Nomura Holdings is the latest major player in the country to develop an action plan for implementing NFTs.

Earlier this year, major Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten announced the launch of its own NFT trading platform, dubbed Rakuten NFT.

Vodafone auctions world’s first SMS “Merry Christmas” as NFT for charity

December 18, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Auction

The historic 15 character-long SMS will be auctioned off to help the displaced refugees across the globe.

British telco giant Vodafone has reportedly plans to auction the world’s first Short Message Service (SMS) in the form of a nonfungible token (NFT) on Dec. 21. The SMS, that reads “Merry Christmas”, was sent 29 years ago over the Vodafone network on Dec 3, 1992, and was received by Richard Jarvis, an employee at the time.

The historic 15 character-long SMS will be auctioned off as an NFT in a one-off sale conducted by the Aguttes Auction House in France, according to Romanian news outlet Ziarul Financiar.

By auctioning off the world’s first SMS in the form of NFT, Vodafone intends to redirect the earnings to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UN Refugee Agency) for helping the forcibly displaced people.

The advertisement banner above translates to "Merry Christmas. The world's first SMS auctioned for charity as NFT". Vodafone’s SMS NFT sale will take place this Tuesday on Dec. 21 via an online auction wherein the participants can place bids using Ethereum (ETH). The highest bidder will own exclusive ownership of the communication protocol that was used to transmit the world’s first SMS.

Adding to the SMS’ glory, it took nine years for other networks to have Vodafone’s ability to transmit and receive SMS. This move of minting the world’s first SMS is another example of NFT’s ability to tokenize and digitally preserve history.

The NFT ecosystem has catalysed crypto’s mainstream adoption as corporations find its use cases within their existing business models. Just last week, sportswear manufacturer Adidas announced the launch of an “Into the Metaverse” NFT collection.

As Cointelegraph reported, the Adidas Originals NFT sale will be hosted on the company’s official website on Dec. 17 at a price of 0.2 ETH, approximately worth $810 at the time of writing.

Just days before Adidas’ entry, Nike too acquired a virtual sneakers and collectibles brand RTFKT, signaling a strong interest in the metaverse.

RTFKT is now a part of the NIKE, Inc. family. ‍ pic.twitter.com/5egNk9d8wA
— RTFKT Studios (@RTFKTstudios) December 13, 2021

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Marvel reveals official NFTs will be available on VeVe marketplace by 2022

June 25, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Business

Some of the more well known characters from Marvel include Wolverine, Spiderman, Iron Man, and Captain America.

The VeVe virtual marketplace will soon have official nonfungible tokens and digital comic books from Marvel.

In a Thursday announcement, Marvel Entertainment said it had partnered with Orbis Blockchain Technologies to release nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and digital collectibles on the VeVe marketplace app starting later this year. According to the entertainment company, the NFTs will include digital collectibles and comic books which Marvel fans can trade as well as display in virtual showrooms.

“We hope to expand the limits of what Marvel fandom can be, starting with personal and interactive digital collectibles that, through NFTs, fans can truly collect, share, and enjoy in a way that they have not been able to do before,” said Marvel’s vice president of business development and strategy Daniel Fink.

All the Marvel digital collectibles will be minted on the blockchain and be available for users to buy and sell to others on VeVe’s secondary marketplace with the in-app token Gems (GEM). The VeVe app accepts credit card payments for the tokens, and already offers digital collectibles with characters from DC Comics, Star Trek, and other franchises. Some of the more well known characters from Marvel include Wolverine, Spiderman, Iron Man, and Captain America.

Though Marvel has largely not been directly involved with the crypto space, individual artists can still offer their work featuring known characters. In February, an NFT featuring a Spiderman drawing by Adam Kubert sold for more than $25,000 on Portion.io, a platform that allows users to create and auction rare art.

In addition, digital assets and aspects of the crypto space have found their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The third episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series available on Disney+ had a reference to a $59 million Bitcoin (BTC) bounty.

The VeVe marketplace has reported it sold more than 580,000 NFTs since December 2020. Cointelegraph reported in May that NFT trading volume across the space could reach $175 million by October, with an industry market capitalization of $470 million.

NFT marketplace Rarible closes $14M fundraising round led by CoinFund

June 23, 2021 Coin Telegraph

NFT marketplace Rarible closes M fundraising round led by CoinFund

Business

Rarible said it will use the funds to hire new team members, and announced the launch of a marketplace on the Flow blockchain.

Major venture capital firms responsible for crypto investments have led the latest $14.2 million fundraising round for Rarible, the online marketplace behind many nonfungible token listings.

In a Wednesday announcement, Rarible said crypto investment group Coinfund and Venrock — the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family — had led a $14.2 million Series A fundraising round for the nonfungible token, or NFT, platform. Rarible said it will use the funds to hire new team members. Other participants in the fundraising round include 01 Advisors.

In addition, Rarible said it would be launching an NFT marketplace on the Flow blockchain, with users able to mint NFTs while listing them on Rarible. The platform announced it had partnered with artists and creators including Maxim, Ghostface, Johnny Nunez, and Xeo Chu to release NFTs.

“Flow has a fantastic track record of bringing NFTs mainstream by creating native experiences for non-crypto audiences,” said Rarible co-founder Alexander Salnikov. “As a blockchain, Flow enables easier access and lowers the entry barrier for consumers and brands via gasless minting, low-cost transactions, and scalability.”

CoinFund originally partnered with Venrock to support innovation in crypto and blockchain firms in 2018 during the initial coin offering boom. The New York-based crypto investment firm also made an undisclosed investment into Rarible in September.

Rarible said at that time that the NFT sector would likely see a 50% growth in capitalization. The NFT market was worth $338 million in 2020. However, Cointelegraph reported last month that NFT trading volume could reach $175 million by October 2021, with an industry market capitalization of $470 million.

Hollywood elite will receive NFTs in recognition of upcoming awards ceremony

April 22, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Among the digital artwork is a piece created as a tribute to late actor Chadwick Boseman, with the proceeds from the auction benefitting the Colon Cancer Foundation.

A project will be distributing nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, in the gift bags of 25 actors, actresses, and directors nominated for their roles in feature films.

According to Nomine(eth), a project formed in partnership with online marketplace Rarible, Metaversal, and AdVenture Media, 25 people from the 115 nominated in this year’s Academy Awards ceremony will receive three nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, in unofficial gift bags. The project will gift the NFTs to Hollywood insiders nominated in the best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, and best director categories.

All the digital pieces designed by artists Jon Noorlander, Shaylin Wallace, Rocco DiSpirito, and others will be minted with the names of those nominated in their respective categories. The winner of each category will receive an additional NFT auctioned off on Rarible. Some or all of the proceeds will reportedly go to a charity of their choice. Because NFTs do not exist in the physical world, the project will add a ticket to each bag allowing nominees to claim their gift through a Portis wallet.

“The motivation to distribute NFTs in the gift bags was to show what can be done with NFTs, raise awareness for the charitable causes that we're supporting and pay tribute to the tremendous achievement that these nominees have achieved,” said Yossi Hasson, co-curator of the project. “[We’re] inviting them to co-own that moment with some of the most inspirational digital artists and the public that purchase their works.”

Among the NFTs is a piece created by 3D animator Andre O'Shea as a tribute to famous actor Chadwick Boseman, best known for his role as King T'Challa in the 2018 film Black Panther. Boseman passed in August from colon cancer but is still nominated this year for his part in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The proceeds from this NFT auction will benefit the Colon Cancer Foundation.

Some experts believe the Hollywood film industry should move to the blockchain, allowing new creators to bypass the traditional "exclusive" route for projects by decentralizing power within the space. A number of film and TV projects related to the crypto industry have popped up as the space becomes more mainstream, including a 10-part crypto-comedy series expected to start filming later this year.

Please note that the gift bags mentioned above are not directly affiliated in any way with the Oscars or the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.

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