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Yahoo launching Metaverse events for Hong Kong residents under restrictions

Yahoo has announced its intention to launch a series of Metaverse projects in Hong Kong, apparently creating a brief rally for Decentraland’s native token, MANA.

Yahoo has announced a series of Metaverse and NFT-related activities in Hong Kong, a day after Meta Platforms outlined its own metaverse plans for the region.

Yahoo, a US-based internet media company, revealed that it will host a series of virtual events and concerts for Hong Kong residents in the Decentraland metaverse.

According to Lorraine Cheung, the head of audience at Yahoo Hong Kong, the company sees the Metaverse as an attractive alternative for Hong Kong residents looking to engage in social activities while pandemic restrictions remain in force. On Thursday last week, a nation-wide mandate was introduced requiring that a negative Covid test be provided to enter all public venues such bars and restaurants.

“We hope to use the Metaverse to connect people regardless of time and physical location.”

Yahoo will also launch a non-fungible token (NFT) exhibition called The Abyss of Kwun Tong, which will see local artists virtually recreate the historic neighborhood of Kwun Tong which has been heavily impacted by redevelopment.

Creative Producer Leung Ching-hsuan said that the goal of the NFT exhibition was to “retain humanity using technology.”

On Tuesday, the social-media giant Meta put forward a strategy to work alongside local businesses and organizations such as cafes, schools and art galleries to create ‘“first-hand” Metaverse experiences for residents.

Major companies are increasingly embracing the Metaverse with international consulting firm McKinsey releasing a report this week predicting that Metaverse-related spending could be worth nearly $5 trillion by 2030.

Earlier this year, JPMorgan, the largest bank in the United States, made headlines by releasing a report that called Metaverse technology a “one trillion-dollar opportunity”, alongside opening their own virtual headquarters in the Decentraland metaverse.

Related: 71% of high net worth individuals have invested in digital assets: Survey

Decentraland’s MANA token has rallied today, gaining a little over 14% in the last 24 hours according to data from CoinMarketCap.

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Yahoo! Japan works with Line to launch NFT trading

Yahoo! Japan collaborates with messaging giant Line to enable secondary trading of NFTs issued on Line’s proprietary blockchain.

Major Japanese internet company Yahoo! Japan has partnered with messaging giant Line to launch nonfungible token (NFT) trading.

Line officially announced Tuesday that its cryptocurrency-focused subsidiary LVC Corporation would collaborate with Yahoo! Japan to enable secondary trading of NFTs issued on Line’s proprietary blockchain.

As part of the partnership, Yahoo! Japan would place Line blockchain-based NFTs on its online auction service Yahoo! Auctions, a service set up by the company back in 1998 to compete with e-commerce giant eBay.

To enable NFT trading on the platform, the two partners would integrate Yahoo! Auctions with the Line Bitmax wallet, Line’s proprietary blockchain wallet designed for managing digital assets, including NFTs. The collaboration will enable users to trade NFTs managed through the Line Bitmax wallet directly on Yahoo! Auctions. According to the announcement, the companies expect to launch NFT trading on Yahoo! Auctions by late 2021.

Related: Japanese exchange Coincheck to list NFTs by Chiliz and Socios

“We will work with other partners to revitalize the distribution of valuable content and contribute to the expansion of the secondary distribution market in the NFT industry,” the announcement notes.

The announcement comes soon after Line launched the NFT Market Beta Service on its Line Bitmax wallet in late June.

As previously reported, Yahoo! Japan has been an active player in the cryptocurrency industry in Japan. The company is known for backing Taotao; a major local cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2019. The exchange was acquired by Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings last October.

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