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German brands embrace NFTs, exploring new ways to engage with customers and build brand loyalty. For the most part, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have two primary use cases: Buying and selling digital products (digital art, virtual fashion items) and building digital communities (exclusive memberships, access to events).  These use cases can be easily adopted by brands and companies, such as fashion brands selling digital clothes, various companies offering NFT-based club memberships and musicians holding exclusive concerts for their fans. Traditional German companies are also jumping on the bandwagon, recognizing the potential of NFT technology to innovate and market their products and services. Deutsche Post combines NFTs and AI Deutsche Post, the German postal service, will release its first limited-edition collectible stamp on Nov. 2, 2023. A classic self-adhesive stamp will come with a digital image — an NFT representing ownership of the stamp. The first stamp Features a pixellated ...

The days of wasting hundreds of hours on a game and receiving almost nothing in return are over — and it's all thanks to NFTs and blockchain technology. Blockchain gaming is going from strength to strength — underpinned by the explosion of nonfungible tokens, which continue to achieve mainstream adoption. The FRUITS Eco-Blockchain Project is building on this momentum by allowing NFTs to be redeemed for a coveted, real-world object: a physical golden egg. First came the console, then the humble PC. Smartphones soon came along and transformed the entertainment industry entirely — making games free to play, and putting them in the hands of consumers in emerging economies. Now, blockchain technology and nonfungible tokens (NFT) are ushering in the next wave of innovation. Once, in-game assets couldn't be transported from one title to another, traded freely with others, and sold on secondary markets. Web3 makes this possible — all while allowing avid players to receive recognition...

Proof of Play raised $33 million to create fully on-chain games that “quickly immerse players in fun gameplay.“ Proof of Play, a company led by Farmville co-creator Amitt Mahajan, raised $33 million to create Web3 games, according to a Sept. 21 announcement. Majahan is the CEO of Proof of Play, and Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear is a board member. The funding was co-led by Chris Dixon at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Neil Mehta at Greenoaks. Investors Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan and the founders of streaming platform Twitch also participated, as well as Web3 firms Anchorage Digital, Mercury, Firebase, Zynga and Alchemy. Proof of Play released a closed beta of its first game, Pirate Nation, in December 2022. Pirate Nation Web3 game. Source: Proof of Play In its announcement, the company claimed it can overcome many roadblocks players commonly encounter when attempting to play Web3 games . It stated that it possesses “a set of technological and product innovations” that will “qu...

From real estate to franchising, and from renewable energy to Hollywood, tokenization has the potential to transform the way we do business. Asset tokenization has long been regarded as one of the most compelling applications of blockchain technology. Back in June 2019, the United States investment banking giant BNY Mellon declared it has the potential to “dramatically change the dynamic” for investors and unlock opportunities that were previously out of reach.  Real estate is an inevitable place to start. Tokenizing properties can open the door to fractional ownership, enabling individuals to purchase a small chunk of a building. The volatility of global markets has shown why diversification is crucial — but until now, the sheer cost of real estate has made it inaccessible for many. The benefits might not stop here, either. It can take up to six months to close a purchase on a home, all thanks to a process that is time-consuming, agonizing and surprisingly paper-based. Tokenization h...

The company expects to raise another $20-$30 million when the full round closes in the coming months. Game publisher Mythical Games has secured $37 million in Series C1 funding, with plans to launch a new marketplace and pursue other revenue-generating initiatives. With this funding, Mythical will continue to hold the unicorn status with a valuation of over $1 billion. “Our focus is optimizing our business to get to profitability by year's end, and the funds will primarily be used in our efforts to achieve that," told John Linden, co-founder and CEO of Mythical Games speaking to Cointelegraph. The round was led by Scytale Digital with ARK Invest, Animoca Brands, MoonPay, PROOF VC, and Stanford Athletics, alongside previous investors Andresseen Horowitz, WestCap, Gaingels, Signum Growth, and Struck Capital. Mythical expects an additional $20-$30 million raise in the coming months, when the full round is expected to close. The publisher plans to release in a few months its n...

The total value locked in DeFi protocols fell below $50 billion after nearly a month of bullish price action. Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you the most significant developments from the past week. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is on the lookout for DeFi hackers and exploiters who have stolen millions of dollars worth of assets. The DOJ’s top crypto cop said it was a significant issue in the wake of North Korean state-sponsored hackers . The decentralized autonomous organization Bancor DAO was hit with a class-action lawsuit over its impermanent loss protection promises. As Ethereum un-staking opened on the Beacon Chain, bankrupt crypto lender Celsius moved $781 million worth of staked Ether (stETH) from staking service provider Lido as Ether (ETH) withdrawals opened. Coinbase Cloud has tapped into the Chainlink Oracle network to improve its smart contract reliability. ...

Jesse Hynes, a Web3 lawyer, tagged the SEC and stated that this is the type of activity that they must safeguard investors from. Nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace Blur has recently launched its collateralized lending protocol called Blend, allowing a buy now, pay later approach in purchasing NFTs.  Members of the community had varying reactions. Some believe that it’s massive for the space while others called on the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect users against such products. On May 1, Blur launched a peer-to-peer perpetual lending protocol called Blend, a platform they developed with the help of the venture capital firm Paradigm. The protocol supports NFT collateral, and the team claims that it would collect zero fees from both lenders and borrowers. A community member praised Blur's new move and believes that it's "massive for the space" and makes things more efficient. They tweeted: Massive for the space - great move by @blur_io...

The increasing popularity of Bitcoin NFTs, or Ordinals, will impact posively the security of the Bitcoin network and attract developers to the ecosystem, according to Ordinals proponent Udi Wertheimer. Bitcoin (BTC) NFTs will have a positive impact on Bitcoin ecosystem by improving its security and incentivizing developers to build on the network, according to independent developer Udi Wertheimer.  The number of newly created Ordinals, also referred to as "inscriptions", have been spiking in recent weeks, causing a surge in transaction Fees and average block size on the Bitcoin block chain.  According to Wertheimer, Bitcoin NFTs are going to be beneficial for Bitcoin's security budget: by driving up transaction fees, the creation of Ordinals will incentivize miners to secure the network while the revenue from mining reward will be decreasing with each Bitcoin halving. “Because the block space is scarce and because there's demand for stuff like inscriptions, there...

NFT marketplace Blur surpassed OpenSea in daily ETH trading volume as users — anticipating greater returns on their NFT investments — are looking for a trading arena that works in their favor. Major nonfungible token (NFT) Marketplace OpenSea announced a massive structuring around lower platform Fees and greater creator earnings as competing marketplaces continue to drain away its once dominant user base. On Feb. 18, NFT marketplace Blur surpassed OpenSea in daily Ethereum (ETH) trading volume as users — anticipating greater returns on their NFT investments — are looking for a trading arena that works in their favor, shows Nansen data. Daily trading volume of major NFT marketplaces. Source: Nansen As a reactionary measure, OpenSea announced three major changes to win back its migrating customers. The measures include a 0% fee for a limited time, introducing optional creator earnings and leniency on other operators. We’re making some big changes today: 1) OpenSea fee → 0% for a limited...

Apple’s rumored VR headset launch appeared to fuel a sharp rally in metaverse tokens, but data suggests that the momentum is not sustainable. The metaverse hype that began in 2021 dissolved almost entirely by the end of 2022 as the top projects in the space, Decentraland, and The Sandbox, lost 95% of their market capitalization. The most prominent reason for the fall was lack of usage growth.  Still, the metaverse narrative is far from dead and will grow in the future. Reportedly, Apple will launch its VR gear sometime in spring 2023. The announcement was a positive catalyst for MANA and SAND, causing a double-digit price surge. While there’s evidence of positive buying volume supporting the pump, the weak fundamentals of metaverse platforms and overheated market indicators suggest that the price pump risks reversing quickly. The Apple pump and dump Facebook's (Meta) foray into the metaverse was one of the most prominent catalysts for metaverse tokens. The idea for Decentraland...

A number of challenges must be overcome in order for “phygital” NFT projects to gain traction. Despite the crypto winter, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) continue to draw interest. This has become apparent as many brands and retailers have started to offer digital NFTs attached to physical products. Known as “phygitals,” these offerings allow real-world products to be tied to digital NFTs.  For example, RTFKT — a digital fashion and collectible company — recently launched a project called Cryptokicks iRL. According to sources, RTFKT is creating digitally-designed sneakers backed by a physical product. RTFKT’s official Twitter account recently tweeted that Lace Engine NFT holders will be able to reserve a pair of Cryptokicks iRL, which can then be redeemed for its physical version starting May 1, 2023. 1/ We are allowing all Lace Engine holders to reserve their sneakers in the RTFKT Interdimensional Hub. This will allow holders till May to figure out a US shipping address. To pick up a Lac...

Despite a tumultuous year, DeFi, NFTs and blockchain games drove DApp usage across the industry, according to DappRadar’s 2022 report. 2022 will go down as a challenging year for the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, but the adversity faced has been strewn with plenty of positives for the decentralized application (Dapp) ecosystem. DappRadar has released its yearly report on the industry, focusing on challenges faced alongside notable technological achievements and an increasing number of active daily users. Cointelegraph highlights the main takeaways from the DApp industry in 2022, which are pertinent, considering macro factors like inflationary concerns in major economies, the collapse of industry-specific projects like Terra/Luna and FTX as well as market woes across the board. Perhaps most telling is unique active wallet data (UAW) from 2021 and 2022, demonstrating a 50% increase in the average daily UAW year on year. This is up from 1.58 million daily users in 2021 to an aver...

As various mainstream industries adopt Web3 tools, the world of filmmaking can take a lesson from the offerings of NFTs and the newly appeared soulbound tokens to define a new age of cinema. Web3 tools and innovations are making their way into various mainstream industries across the world. Some such as the sports and music industries have made a big leap into adoption. However the world of cinema has not been as vocal on its adoption. Some filmmakers in the past have touched on DAOs as a tool to boost community engagement around cinematic projects. Recently, big names in cinematic entertainment like Disney have made more swift moves into the space by hiring Web3-related lawyers and bringing the Polygon blockchain network into its accelerator program. Cointelegraph sat down with Director Stephen Fung, who is currently developing the Web3 film project Departed Apes, to better understand how Web3 tools like nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and now soulbound tokens (SBTs) can serve cinema. M...