Barbie-verse: Mattel inks multi-year deal with Cryptoys NFT marketplace

June 10, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Barbie NFT

Mattel plans to use its intellectual property featuring brands such as Barbie and Hot Wheels to create playable avatars sold as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in an upcoming metaverse.

Major toy brand Mattel has signed a multi-year partnership with forthcoming toy-focused non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Cryptoys to exclusively feature its brands on the platform.

Cryptoys is expected to launch in late summer 2022 on the Flow (FLOW) blockchain and is the flagship product of OnChain Studios which has received funding from crypto-interested venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Dapper Labs.

OnChain Studios also plans to make a Cryptoys metaverse and other play-to-earn games where Mattel's intellectual property — including Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Masters of the Universe among many others — will be made into playable avatars.

Mattel President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Dickson said it was the “first toy company to launch NFTs” and that the brand sees “incredible opportunity in the Metaverse for our cherished brands and iconic IP.”

The partnership was teased by Cryptoys on June 8 with its Twitter account posting a cryptic 17-second video featuring some of Mattel’s retro product advertisements.

pic.twitter.com/SJcbrHHs01
— Cryptoys (@Cryptoys) June 9, 2022

Mattel has explored NFTs in the past and partnered with the WAX blockchain in October 2021 to release a collection of Hot Wheels NFTs. January 2022 also saw Mattel auction three one-of-one NFTs in collaboration with French luxury brand Balmain which netted the brands close to $49,000 for all three.

With the NFT sector expected to move around $800 billion over the next two years, other toy brands have launched NFTs to capitalize on the growing interest and generate new revenue streams for their business.

Mattel’s major competitor Hasbro which owns brands like Action Man, My Little Pony, and G.I. Joe launched its first NFT collection in October 2021 for its Power Rangers brand in a bid to compete in the NFT space.

Pop-culture collectibles giant Funko has created multiple NFT collections, an early one of which featured the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in August 2021, shortly after it acquired NFT display and tracking platform Tokenwave.

Cryptoys itself also plans to sell a collection of original avatar like NFTs with these so-called “digital toys” featuring customization through further NFTs which can change clothing, accessories and attributes for use in a wider “Cryptoyverse” the company plans to build.

Mattel’s NFTs will join other popular projects on the Flow blockchain including NBA’s Top Shot and UFC’s Strike.

Nifty News: Hyundai partners with Meta Kongz, Activision surveys on NFTs, and more

April 18, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Activision survey

Hyundai also gave cryptic clues to a possible Metaverse in line with its earlier concept for robots to bridge the real and virtual worlds to enhance mobility.

South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai announced today, April 18th, that it has partnered with the Meta Kongz NFT project to create a limited collection of 30 NFTs launching sometime in May 2022.

Hyundai also created a new Twitter handle @Hyundai_NFT for its NFT-related communications and posted a video showing an animated Meta Kong riding through space in a 1975 Hyundai PONY.

Hyundai x Meta Kongz introduces Hyundai Metamobility universe.

Check out this aweeeesome creature’s breathtaking adventure with Hyundai PONY.@Hyundai_Global @meta_kongz pic.twitter.com/w0iLPHxe5d
— Hyundai_NFT (@Hyundai_NFT) April 17, 2022

Included in the announcement was a teaser for a further “Shooting Star NFT” with a cryptic explanation that it is a “ticket to a whole new world” and might lead to “new NFTs”.

In January, Hyundai shared its “Metamobility” concept, a vision for robotics to be a medium between the real world and the Metaverse so changes users make in the Metaverse are reflected in reality, which “allows people to overcome the physical limitations of movement in time and space.”

As part of its concept vision, Hyundai stated:

“With the metaverse set to become a daily space for people in the future, the company expects the possible emergence of a new type of metaverse platform in which the distinction from reality could disappear, breaking away from the concept of VR as the world knows it today.”

Hyundai continued its concept, hinting at a possible “Hyundai Metamobility universe” a metaverse with the issuance of various NFTs as mobility vehicles.

Activision Blizzard surveys on NFTs and play-to-earn

Activision Blizzard recently sent out a survey to players of its games, asking them to share their interest level in NFTs, along with their thoughts on play-to-earn and Metaverse games.

Twitter user @OTadaka shared a screenshot of the survey conducted by market research firm YouGov which attempted to gauge interest in different categories of “future gaming trends.”

So it seems Blizzard/Activision is trying to see if players are interested in crypto and n.f*t in games. I got a survey from them and it is on the survey. I said very disinterested to them. pic.twitter.com/dIT4bVokDK
— Okage Tadaka BlackLivesMatter StopAsianHate (@OTadaka) April 16, 2022

In January Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, stating at the time that the acquisition would “provide building blocks for the Metaverse,” Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella added that gaming will play a “key role” in developing metaverse platforms.

Health data to be trialed as NFTs

Blockchain services company HashCash Consultants announced on April 16th that it was partnering with an unnamed UK- based company to create NFTs which include information about an individuals' health.

The firms will work with volunteers who will provide their health data, with the intention for it to be made into an NFT so that it can be shared with healthcare providers, a move the company says can be more easily tracked and monetized by the owner.

The release provided an example of how this type of NFT could be tracked and monetized with that of a DNA testing kit company selling its user data to a research firm. The Founder and CEO of HashCash Consultants Raj Chowdhury explained:

“If your genetic data were turned into NFTs, the information is then attached with an inherent feature to be tracked, this would enable you to monitor where your data ends up and track the people who hold the NFT and also figure out if it is being used without permission.”

More Nifty News

Texas and Alabama state securities regulators have sent emergency cease and desist orders to Sand Vegas Casino Club for illegally offering over 11,000 NFTs to raise funds for its Metaverse-based casinos.

The parent company of The Sandbox metaverse, Animoca Brands, has added two video game publishers to its repertoire, enhancing both its motorsport and role-playing blockchain games.

Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton is continuing its Web3 plans with the release of new NFTs as part of its “Louis: The Game” mobile game. The fashion label added new levels and rewards to its app which will randomly reward players with 10 new “profile picture” type tokens.

Animoca Brands and Venture Accelerator Brinc Launch $30 Million Play-to-Earn Guild Fund

February 15, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Is Axie Infinity overheating? AXS price hits record high following 100% QTD rally

October 4, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Altcoin

The gaming token, which reached $150 in the early UTC hours of Monday, risks correcting below $90 as a key technical indicator identifies its overbought conditions.

AXS, the native token of Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn nonfungible token (NFT) game built atop the Ethereum blockchain, rallied more than 100% on a quarter-to-date (QTD) timeframe to refresh a new record high above $155.

Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency now risks paring a portion of its recent gains as a key technical indicator, dubbed the relative strength index (RSI), flashes its overbought conditions. In doing so, it might correct below $90 — almost a 40% drop.

The bearish outlook surfaces after studying the relationship between AXS’s price and its RSI readings. In detail, when the RSI rallies above 70, it mostly prompts AXS to either consolidate sideways or lower later.

But in either case, the token ends up testing its 20-day exponential moving average (20-day EMA; the green wave in the chart below) as an interim support level.

*AXS/USD daily price chart featuring its response to RSI readings above 70. Source: TradingView*

For instance, RSI has closed above 70 three times since July 1, 2021, and each time prompted the price to hit its 20-day EMA within seven to 30 days. That made buying AXS against an overbought RSI reading a risky preposition for traders, increasing their probability of facing short-term losses.

As a result, the Axie Infinity token could go through a similar bearish trajectory in the days/weeks ahead, with its next downside target sitting around $87. Nonetheless, if the price rallies further ahead, as happened after July’s overbought signal, AXS’s bearish target could move to or above $90.

Is hodling a better strategy?

The 20-day EMA served as a buy indicator for traders following the RSI-led corrections. In detail, traders decided to buy the dip in anticipation that AXS’s price would retest and close above its previous high levels.

Therefore, it is visible that traders who did not sell their AXS holdings during the price corrections toward the 20-day EMA managed to earn decent paper profits — the Axie Infinity token has climbed more than 2,500% since July 1.

AXS’s growing utility inside the Axie Infinity virtual world, called Lunacia, has emerged as one of the primary catalysts behind its demand among gamers and traders. In detail, players maneuver colorful creatures called Axies to earn two kinds of tokens.

The first, known as Small Love Potions (SLP), is awarded for successful battles; it can be cashed out or be reused to breed new Axies. Meanwhile, the second token, AXS, can be earned by winning seasonal tournaments or selling Axies in Axie Infinity’s dedicated in-house marketplace.

As of Monday, Axie Infinity’s active user count tallied to 1.85 million, up over 4,500% since April, with its total cumulative revenue climbing to $815 million in the same period, as per Token Terminal. That made Sky Marvis, the firm behind Axie Infinity, the fifth-most valuable video game company globally by market capitalization.

*Top gaming companies in the world. Source: Messari*

The strong fundamentals have intensified traders’ confidence in AXS, which explains its ability to bounce back every time after undergoing a sharp correction toward its 20-day EMA.

AXS staking service, DEX launch

The latest bout of buying in the Axie Infinity markets also surfaced due to a new feature that allows AXS holders to stake their tokens to earn yields. Since its launch on Thursday, the staking feature has attracted more than 12.44 million AXS tokens (~$1.88 billion at current rates).

*AXS staking dashboard. Source: Axie Infinity*

Staking effectively takes active token supply out of circulation, which, against a rising demand for the asset, tends to push its prices higher.

Meanwhile, Sky Mavis announced that it would launch a decentralized exchange on Ethereum-linked sidechain Ronin. In doing so, the company aims to ensure faster AXS and SLP liquidity to players during gameplay without needing to rely on cross-chain bridges to purchase or swap tokens.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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