⚡️ OCBC stepping into the metaverse for next-gen customers
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) O39% becomes the first local bank to launch its own metaverse experience as an avenue to acquire young prospective customers. Called OCBCx65Chulia, it is built off Decentraland, a 3D virtual world browser-based platform. It is the 43rd iteration of the product since the idea arose from an internal innovation sprint in 2021 as part of the bank’s digitalisation and transformation efforts. OCBCx65Chulia was built by an in-house technology team at OCBC, together with Web3 firm Memotics, which specialises in creating dynamic and social spaces through digital architectural design. It is named after the location of the bank’s headquarters. Speaking at the media launch on April 5, OCBC’s head of group technology architecture Peter Koh says that the bank’s venture into the metaverse was their effort to have a presence in the virtual world. It is free to the public, including non-OCBC customers, who want to learn more about the bank’s latest products and services.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) O39% becomes the first local bank to launch its own metaverse experience as an avenue to acquire young prospective customers. Called OCBCx65Chulia, it is built off Decentraland, a 3D virtual world browser-based platform. It is the 43rd iteration of the product since the idea arose from an internal innovation sprint in 2021 as part of the bank’s digitalisation and transformation efforts. OCBCx65Chulia was built by an in-house technology team at OCBC, together with Web3 firm Memotics, which specialises in creating dynamic and social spaces through digital architectural design. It is named after the location of the bank’s headquarters. Speaking at the media launch on April 5, OCBC’s head of group technology architecture Peter Koh says that the bank’s venture into the metaverse was their effort to have a presence in the virtual world. It is free to the public, including non-OCBC customers, who want to learn more about the bank’s latest products and services.
Donald Trump Pleads Not Guilty, NFT Collection Sales Increase 172% In 24H
Sales of Donald Trump‘s Trump Digital Trading Cards continued to surge as the former US president appeared to refuse to accept allegations related to his Mar-a-Lago estate. Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last week. Former US President Trump has been officially arrested and becomes the first former president in US history to be criminally charged.
Trump claimed the “fake case” was made “just to interfere in the upcoming 2024 election” and said it should be “dropped immediately." According to OpenSea, the Trump NFT series sold a total of 30 units within an hour of his appearance in court and 47 within six hours. With jumps its sales jumped 172% in the last 24 hours.
Sales of Donald Trump‘s Trump Digital Trading Cards continued to surge as the former US president appeared to refuse to accept allegations related to his Mar-a-Lago estate. Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last week. Former US President Trump has been officially arrested and becomes the first former president in US history to be criminally charged.
Trump claimed the “fake case” was made “just to interfere in the upcoming 2024 election” and said it should be “dropped immediately." According to OpenSea, the Trump NFT series sold a total of 30 units within an hour of his appearance in court and 47 within six hours. With jumps its sales jumped 172% in the last 24 hours.
📣 25% of NFT owners have a collection of 51 or more: CoinGecko Report
Crypto data website CoinGecko has released survey findings indicating that most nonfungible token (NFT) holders own 51 or more NFTs. Those who only hold a single NFT comprised the smallest group among the respondents. Published on April 6, the CoinGecko report examined 438 responses from Dec. 2022 to Jan. 2023 in conjunction with Blockchain Research Labs. At least one in four NFT holders (26.5%) said they were “avid collectors” with 51 or more NFTs at the time of the survey. The report states this group likely represents people who are the most enthusiastic about NFTs. It was closely followed by holders holding between two and five NFTs (17.6%), with those who hold just one NFT accounted for a mere 4.8%. Despite 2022 seeing crypto enter a bear market, it still recorded the second-highest influx of new NFT collectors over the past five years, with just over 25% acquiring their first NFT during the year. Almost four out of every 10 people surveyed (38.8%) acquired their first NFT during the first bull market of 2021.
Crypto data website CoinGecko has released survey findings indicating that most nonfungible token (NFT) holders own 51 or more NFTs. Those who only hold a single NFT comprised the smallest group among the respondents. Published on April 6, the CoinGecko report examined 438 responses from Dec. 2022 to Jan. 2023 in conjunction with Blockchain Research Labs. At least one in four NFT holders (26.5%) said they were “avid collectors” with 51 or more NFTs at the time of the survey. The report states this group likely represents people who are the most enthusiastic about NFTs. It was closely followed by holders holding between two and five NFTs (17.6%), with those who hold just one NFT accounted for a mere 4.8%. Despite 2022 seeing crypto enter a bear market, it still recorded the second-highest influx of new NFT collectors over the past five years, with just over 25% acquiring their first NFT during the year. Almost four out of every 10 people surveyed (38.8%) acquired their first NFT during the first bull market of 2021.
Meta says new focus on generative AI could boost metaverse development
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent of Facebook and Instagram, is investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) and this will benefit its metaverse businesses, which fell short of expectations last year, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth told Nikkei Asia. Bosworth said generative AI will help develop the company’s metaverse plans, saying it will allow users to create their personalized virtual worlds based on text input to the AI.
Despite spending billions of dollars investing in its virtual platform, Horizo`n Worlds, its metaverse division Reality Labs posted a loss of US$13.7 billion last year. Meta’s Zuckerberg also announced that 2023 would be a “year of efficiency” for the company, winding down its non-fungible token (NFT) operations on both Facebook and Instagram.
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent of Facebook and Instagram, is investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) and this will benefit its metaverse businesses, which fell short of expectations last year, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth told Nikkei Asia. Bosworth said generative AI will help develop the company’s metaverse plans, saying it will allow users to create their personalized virtual worlds based on text input to the AI.
Despite spending billions of dollars investing in its virtual platform, Horizo`n Worlds, its metaverse division Reality Labs posted a loss of US$13.7 billion last year. Meta’s Zuckerberg also announced that 2023 would be a “year of efficiency” for the company, winding down its non-fungible token (NFT) operations on both Facebook and Instagram.
🖼 The Rolling Stones one-of-one NFTs that aren’t NFTs
Instead of calling the limited edition NFTs, which accompany vintage, real-life photo slides, the companies handling the drop are calling them Digital Certificates of Authenticity, or DCOAs. The strategy follows recent trend to avoid using NFT terminology when launching a collection of digital collectibles targeting mainstream consumers. The companies managing the drop, OneOf and Globe Entertainment, are using the term Digital Certificate of Authenticity, or DCOA. The trend of companies shying away from calling digital assets or tokens with utility NFTs in favor of more generic terminology like digital collectibles appears to be gaining momentum, especially when geared towards mainstream consumers. A recent promotion for a Nicolas Cage vampire movie, Fox Entertainment using tokens as loyalty passes for fans of its show “Masked Singer,” and Reddit's avatars are all examples of NFTs being issued without using the term itself. NFTs have come to carry a negative connotation for many as scandal and major price deterioration have plagued the digital-assets market, causing some people to sour on the once hot space.
Instead of calling the limited edition NFTs, which accompany vintage, real-life photo slides, the companies handling the drop are calling them Digital Certificates of Authenticity, or DCOAs. The strategy follows recent trend to avoid using NFT terminology when launching a collection of digital collectibles targeting mainstream consumers. The companies managing the drop, OneOf and Globe Entertainment, are using the term Digital Certificate of Authenticity, or DCOA. The trend of companies shying away from calling digital assets or tokens with utility NFTs in favor of more generic terminology like digital collectibles appears to be gaining momentum, especially when geared towards mainstream consumers. A recent promotion for a Nicolas Cage vampire movie, Fox Entertainment using tokens as loyalty passes for fans of its show “Masked Singer,” and Reddit's avatars are all examples of NFTs being issued without using the term itself. NFTs have come to carry a negative connotation for many as scandal and major price deterioration have plagued the digital-assets market, causing some people to sour on the once hot space.
Solana To Launch State Compression: Store 100 Million NFTs For Only $1193
Solana’s ecological team launched a state compression function to store any data on the chain, starting with compressing NFTs. Storing 100M compressed NFTs costs only $1193.
Compressed NFTs are just like regular NFTs, only drastically cheaper. The cost of minting 100 million compressed NFTs is only 1193 US dollars, compared to ◎1.2mm for their uncompressed counterpart. In fact, every incremental compressed NFT is solely a modification of an existing tree, which means the cost of an NFT on Solana is now as little as the cost of a single transaction (◎0.000005) State compression makes elegant use of a well-known data structure and brings it to bear at the speed of Solana, once again proving Solana is the best place to build scalable, user-first web3 products. Although state compression can be used to store any data on-chain.
Solana’s ecological team launched a state compression function to store any data on the chain, starting with compressing NFTs. Storing 100M compressed NFTs costs only $1193.
Compressed NFTs are just like regular NFTs, only drastically cheaper. The cost of minting 100 million compressed NFTs is only 1193 US dollars, compared to ◎1.2mm for their uncompressed counterpart. In fact, every incremental compressed NFT is solely a modification of an existing tree, which means the cost of an NFT on Solana is now as little as the cost of a single transaction (◎0.000005) State compression makes elegant use of a well-known data structure and brings it to bear at the speed of Solana, once again proving Solana is the best place to build scalable, user-first web3 products. Although state compression can be used to store any data on-chain.
⚡️ Mintoo, PDAX team up to launch Pinoy artists in metaverse
A collaboration between Mintoo and the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX) led to the launching of a new digital art collection for its Artist Series dubbed as “New Horizon.” The collection features a slew of thoughtfully-curated digital art masterpieces made by established and emerging Filipino NFT artists. PDAX CEO Nichel Gaba said these new digital assets will revolutionize their market as the country’s top cryptocurrency exchange app. “As a cryptocurrency exchange, we’re always looking for ways to innovate and provide our users with new and exciting opportunities. Having Mintoo on the PDAX app will expand our offerings to include digital collectibles and provide Filipinos with the tools and resources they need to participate in this market. This is something which is very timely since we believe that this new technology is on the verge of revolutionizing the way we think about ownership and value,” said Gaba. Meanwhile, Mintoo, a home-grown digital collectibles marketplace, saw the opportunity to help Filipino artists to enter and connect with the growing NFT industry.
A collaboration between Mintoo and the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX) led to the launching of a new digital art collection for its Artist Series dubbed as “New Horizon.” The collection features a slew of thoughtfully-curated digital art masterpieces made by established and emerging Filipino NFT artists. PDAX CEO Nichel Gaba said these new digital assets will revolutionize their market as the country’s top cryptocurrency exchange app. “As a cryptocurrency exchange, we’re always looking for ways to innovate and provide our users with new and exciting opportunities. Having Mintoo on the PDAX app will expand our offerings to include digital collectibles and provide Filipinos with the tools and resources they need to participate in this market. This is something which is very timely since we believe that this new technology is on the verge of revolutionizing the way we think about ownership and value,” said Gaba. Meanwhile, Mintoo, a home-grown digital collectibles marketplace, saw the opportunity to help Filipino artists to enter and connect with the growing NFT industry.
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OpenSea Releases New Wallet Function Update Helps Users Simplify Operation
OpenSea announced on social media a number of enhancements, including the wallet feature, aimed at enhancing the platform’s user experience. The wallet has been updated to simplify ETH packaging/unsealing even more, to provide real-time balance refresh, and to update the collection order mode. The service will be simpler when the new function is updated, and network navigation will be easier after the in-app blockchain transition.
OpenSea announced wallet upgrades to further simplify ETH packaging/unsealing, support real-time balance refresh, collection order mode update, added NFT quotation depth option and quotation option added NFT feature filter.At the same time, users can accurately understand their transaction amount and view the latest floor price and maximum bid in real-time.
OpenSea announced on social media a number of enhancements, including the wallet feature, aimed at enhancing the platform’s user experience. The wallet has been updated to simplify ETH packaging/unsealing even more, to provide real-time balance refresh, and to update the collection order mode. The service will be simpler when the new function is updated, and network navigation will be easier after the in-app blockchain transition.
OpenSea announced wallet upgrades to further simplify ETH packaging/unsealing, support real-time balance refresh, collection order mode update, added NFT quotation depth option and quotation option added NFT feature filter.At the same time, users can accurately understand their transaction amount and view the latest floor price and maximum bid in real-time.
🖼 NFT Aggregator Market Heats up as OpenSea Pro Overtakes Blur
Having lost its title as the world’s most popular NFT marketplace to Blur in February, Opensea has launched a major counteroffensive. When using the relaunched aggregator, users are able to browse listings from over 170 NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea. It also equips them with aggregated cross-market data and a suite of tools. Designed to help collectors and traders optimize how they buy and sell NFTs. Significantly for OpenSea, the recent relaunch appears to have been well received by the community. Two key metrics of platform use — daily active users and new wallets created — spiked significantly throughout the week. From a 54.8% share of all NFT aggregator users on Monday, by Saturday, Blur’s share had declined to 27.%. Meanwhile, OpenSea Pro saw its daily user base surge from 18% to 57% of aggregator users in the same time period. The Drop is a way to reward Gem’s early adopters. Anyone who bought an NFT on Gem before March or the end of March is able to claim a free Gemesis NFT between April 4 and May 4.
Having lost its title as the world’s most popular NFT marketplace to Blur in February, Opensea has launched a major counteroffensive. When using the relaunched aggregator, users are able to browse listings from over 170 NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea. It also equips them with aggregated cross-market data and a suite of tools. Designed to help collectors and traders optimize how they buy and sell NFTs. Significantly for OpenSea, the recent relaunch appears to have been well received by the community. Two key metrics of platform use — daily active users and new wallets created — spiked significantly throughout the week. From a 54.8% share of all NFT aggregator users on Monday, by Saturday, Blur’s share had declined to 27.%. Meanwhile, OpenSea Pro saw its daily user base surge from 18% to 57% of aggregator users in the same time period. The Drop is a way to reward Gem’s early adopters. Anyone who bought an NFT on Gem before March or the end of March is able to claim a free Gemesis NFT between April 4 and May 4.
After seeing hundreds of millions of dollars poured in during the peak of the last speculative bubble, metaverse real estate is currently in the gutter.
📣 Fidelity International Launches Metaverse Experience, Developed by TerraZero Technologies
TerraZero Technologies, Inc. ("TerraZero"), a technologies products and services firm and in-house creative studio, in collaboration with Fidelity International ("Fidelity") has completed and deployed a 64-parcel activation to the Decentraland Metaverse, marking Fidelity's first major step into the Metaverse and Web3 together. The new Metaverse experience within Decentraland aims to encourage financial literacy and educate. Brandon F. Johnson, Co-COO and Chief Experience Officer at TerraZero sees these virtual environments as technologies which can intervene where more attention is needed, "Fidelity International is bringing financial literacy to young people, creating opportunity for equity and equality for future generations. This experience and those which follow will serve as a global point of entry for people who want to set themselves up for success. This is a genuine instance of intervention where modern education models have lacked for decades. If we're going to truly change the world for the better, let's democratize access to resources which can help people succeed not just tomorrow, but for their entire lives."
TerraZero Technologies, Inc. ("TerraZero"), a technologies products and services firm and in-house creative studio, in collaboration with Fidelity International ("Fidelity") has completed and deployed a 64-parcel activation to the Decentraland Metaverse, marking Fidelity's first major step into the Metaverse and Web3 together. The new Metaverse experience within Decentraland aims to encourage financial literacy and educate. Brandon F. Johnson, Co-COO and Chief Experience Officer at TerraZero sees these virtual environments as technologies which can intervene where more attention is needed, "Fidelity International is bringing financial literacy to young people, creating opportunity for equity and equality for future generations. This experience and those which follow will serve as a global point of entry for people who want to set themselves up for success. This is a genuine instance of intervention where modern education models have lacked for decades. If we're going to truly change the world for the better, let's democratize access to resources which can help people succeed not just tomorrow, but for their entire lives."
According to a court filing in California, Twitter Inc no longer exists. Instead, it has been merged into Elon Musk's X Corp. which has ambitions of becoming an "everything app," according to Elon.
Many in the tech community suggest that X Corp. will aim to become like China’s WeChat, which supports messaging, payments, ride-sharing, food delivery and other services all in one app.
Many in the tech community suggest that X Corp. will aim to become like China’s WeChat, which supports messaging, payments, ride-sharing, food delivery and other services all in one app.
🖼 NFT warranties can help mass adoption of the technology, says Web3 exec
The Web3 space has seen its fair share of exploits in the recent past, with more than $320 million exploited by hackers in the first quarter of 2023. For many users, particularly prospective users, securing their digital assets is a top priority. A new nonfungible token (NFTs) warranty service from Web3 payment provider Wert and insurtech service Avata is trying to troubleshoot the asset security gap for both active and prospective collectors. According to the announcement, the opt-in warranty for NFTs will cover up to 90% of the value of the digital assets for any NFTs compromised in a smart contract hack. Cointelegraph spoke with George Basiladze, the co-founder and CEO of Wert, who said a solution like this helps bridge the “trust” gap, while offering needed protection to an array of collectors. The service will be available on nearly 80 digital asset marketplaces, including the KnownOrigin NFT marketplace. According to Basiladze, the NFT protection will be charged at 6% of the asset cost at checkout, and coverage will be calculated by the purchase price rather than the current market value.
The Web3 space has seen its fair share of exploits in the recent past, with more than $320 million exploited by hackers in the first quarter of 2023. For many users, particularly prospective users, securing their digital assets is a top priority. A new nonfungible token (NFTs) warranty service from Web3 payment provider Wert and insurtech service Avata is trying to troubleshoot the asset security gap for both active and prospective collectors. According to the announcement, the opt-in warranty for NFTs will cover up to 90% of the value of the digital assets for any NFTs compromised in a smart contract hack. Cointelegraph spoke with George Basiladze, the co-founder and CEO of Wert, who said a solution like this helps bridge the “trust” gap, while offering needed protection to an array of collectors. The service will be available on nearly 80 digital asset marketplaces, including the KnownOrigin NFT marketplace. According to Basiladze, the NFT protection will be charged at 6% of the asset cost at checkout, and coverage will be calculated by the purchase price rather than the current market value.
NFT Aggregator Market Heats up as OpenSea Pro Overtakes Blur
Having lost its title as the world’s most popular NFT marketplace to Blur in February, Opensea has launched a major counteroffensive. When using the relaunched aggregator, users are able to browse listings from over 170 NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea. It also equips them with aggregated cross-market data and a suite of tools. Designed to help collectors and traders optimize how they buy and sell NFTs.
Significantly for OpenSea, the recent relaunch appears to have been well received by the community. Two key metrics of platform use — daily active users and new wallets created — spiked significantly throughout the week. From a 54.8% share of all NFT aggregator users on Monday, by Saturday, Blur’s share had declined to 27.%. Meanwhile, OpenSea Pro saw its daily user base surge from 18% to 57% of aggregator users in the same time period.
Having lost its title as the world’s most popular NFT marketplace to Blur in February, Opensea has launched a major counteroffensive. When using the relaunched aggregator, users are able to browse listings from over 170 NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea. It also equips them with aggregated cross-market data and a suite of tools. Designed to help collectors and traders optimize how they buy and sell NFTs.
Significantly for OpenSea, the recent relaunch appears to have been well received by the community. Two key metrics of platform use — daily active users and new wallets created — spiked significantly throughout the week. From a 54.8% share of all NFT aggregator users on Monday, by Saturday, Blur’s share had declined to 27.%. Meanwhile, OpenSea Pro saw its daily user base surge from 18% to 57% of aggregator users in the same time period.
📣 JACK&JONES India steps into the future with the METAVERSE themed capsule collection
Bringing the best of high-street fashion in an all-new avatar, JACK&JONES unveils a Metaverse-themed capsule collection as part of their SPRING/SUMMER 2023 collection. Bridging the gap between style and augmented reality, the new collection boasts an array of bright and playful colors that are ideal for Summer. This limited-edition capsule is an innovative play on 3D augmented reality. Available in stores across India in early April 2023, the new JACK&JONES METAVERSE collection is now available in all stores and is priced at INR 1499 onwards. The in-store experience is not to be missed if one wants to encounter one-of-a-kind experience. More than a quarter of a century ago, we set out to take on the world. We were just a few guys with our first jeans collection and a passion for denim that couldn't be denied. Many years later, we're still just one of the guys and it's still all about jeans, but we've added a few more people to our team along the way. And yes, we know it takes more than a pair of good jeans to cover a guy's wardrobe needs.
Bringing the best of high-street fashion in an all-new avatar, JACK&JONES unveils a Metaverse-themed capsule collection as part of their SPRING/SUMMER 2023 collection. Bridging the gap between style and augmented reality, the new collection boasts an array of bright and playful colors that are ideal for Summer. This limited-edition capsule is an innovative play on 3D augmented reality. Available in stores across India in early April 2023, the new JACK&JONES METAVERSE collection is now available in all stores and is priced at INR 1499 onwards. The in-store experience is not to be missed if one wants to encounter one-of-a-kind experience. More than a quarter of a century ago, we set out to take on the world. We were just a few guys with our first jeans collection and a passion for denim that couldn't be denied. Many years later, we're still just one of the guys and it's still all about jeans, but we've added a few more people to our team along the way. And yes, we know it takes more than a pair of good jeans to cover a guy's wardrobe needs.
NFT warranties can help mass adoption of the technology, says Web3 exec
The Web3 space has seen its fair share of exploits in the recent past, with more than $320 million exploited by hackers in the first quarter of 2023.A new nonfungible token (NFTs) warranty service from Web3 payment provider Wert and insurtech service Avata is trying to troubleshoot the asset security gap for both active and prospective collectors.
According to the announcement, the opt-in warranty for NFTs will cover up to 90% of the value of the digital assets for any NFTs compromised in a smart contract hack.The service will be available on nearly 80 digital asset marketplaces, including the KnownOrigin NFT marketplace.The NFT protection will be charged at 6% of the asset cost at checkout, and coverage will be calculated by the purchase price rather than the current market value.
The Web3 space has seen its fair share of exploits in the recent past, with more than $320 million exploited by hackers in the first quarter of 2023.A new nonfungible token (NFTs) warranty service from Web3 payment provider Wert and insurtech service Avata is trying to troubleshoot the asset security gap for both active and prospective collectors.
According to the announcement, the opt-in warranty for NFTs will cover up to 90% of the value of the digital assets for any NFTs compromised in a smart contract hack.The service will be available on nearly 80 digital asset marketplaces, including the KnownOrigin NFT marketplace.The NFT protection will be charged at 6% of the asset cost at checkout, and coverage will be calculated by the purchase price rather than the current market value.
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