Category: News

We’ve been hearing for years now about the state of the world’s oceans and why it is important that we clean them up for the sake of the planet’s future. These efforts have included work by private groups, lobbying of governments, and so on. 

Now, Polygon is throwing its hat into the ring with a new partnership with SaveYour.World, a metaverse designed by WWF Deutschland and Savespecies. This project will help Polygon users clean up the oceans by prompting them to interact with the metaverse and remove thrash from there as well.

How Polygon is Saving the Planet

The metaverse has really taken off as a concept over the last few years partially because of the things that we can do on them. This can include attending events, meeting people, taking part in contests and now, cleaning up the ocean. 

This initiative offers something called play-to-donate and allows buyers to essentially make a donation to an ocean-cleaning charity with the purchase of an NFT. 

“Save.YourWorld’s trash whale is composed of 366 discrete NFTs of 50 different types, each of which can be bought as a donation to make a quantifiable impact on cleaning up the beaches and seas on Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam,” an announcement from Polygon says. 

And the NFTs being bought are designed to be right on theme with its goal. Each unique NFT trait represents some sort of commentary on the effects of pollution on the planet. The project acknowledges that the current environmental situation is dire and believes that bringing in more people (even through gamification) to address the problem could be the solution. 

And while this is certainly a novel approach, it has proven to be effective thus far. As per Polygon, 2,453 kg of plastic has been removed from the ocean as a result of this program. And should the new rollout be successful, even more can be done. 

Polygon and the Future of the Environment. 

In the announcement, Polygon further touched on its commitment to benefiting the environment. This is especially important given the fact that the blockchain sector has been accused of being harmful to the environment in the past due to its energy use and emissions. 

Last year, WWF Deutschland ( who are behind this new project) published research about the carbon emissions associated with Polygon. Following this, Polygon commissioned its own research project that looked into not only emissions but also the relationship between Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchain dynamics. 

This research then led to Polygon offsetting its lifetime carbon emissions in 2022 and further prioritizing being environmentally friendly. These efforts were further bolstered by the Ethereum network switching to a proof-of-stake consensus. 

“When Ethereum successfully completed the Merge in September, the network’s emissions were cut by 99.9%. What did this mean for the Polygon chain? A significant reduction in its emissions, making a green blockchain greener, and future-proofing it at a time when many species are facing an existential crisis,” the announcement says.

Pop star Rihanna has had many hits in her career, one of which is the 2015 song “B**ch Better Have My Money”. Upon its release, the song was well-received by fans and critics alike, going on to be certified triple platinum. 

But now, Rihanna fans can also make money off the song thanks to NFTs. This comes as the Bajan singer and producer Deputy have inked a deal with anotherblock, a popular NFT platform. The deal will see the chart-topping song released as an NFT that fans can buy and use to get a cut of the profits. 

B**ch Better Have My (NFT) Money

In the last few years, the music industry has taken a special interest in NFTs. Several artists have released tracks and other creative content as NFTs and the Chainsmokers famously offered royalties to their latest album as NFTs. 

This is similar to what Rihanna is offering fans as 300 NFTs of her song will be released on February 9, 2023. The NFTs will reportedly command a price of $120 and will offer holders 0.0033 % of the song’ streaming royalties. 

And beyond the money to be made from such as song, Deputy has said that it brings fans closer to the creative experience and to the artist. 

“As a fan, you get a certain attachment to an artist or a song. When you get an opportunity to own a part of a song, it’s a game changer. It creates a whole different realm of being connected, outside of streaming or concerts. anotherblock creates another platform for fans to engage in and be a part of my career,” he said. 

This is a constant benefit we’ve seen of NFTs for the music industry. Fans are always looking for ways to be closer to their favourite artists and while it is one thing to see them perform live or buy their merchandise, it is a whole other thing to own a part of their music in a commercial sense. We could also see this becoming a new popular investment channel.

Songs that have a lasting cultural impact and replay value can make money for their creators for years and even decades. As such, those who buy this song’s NFTs could benefit for a long time. It could also lead to more top artists releasing songs as NFTs to share royalties with fans, given that this project is being spearheaded by one of the biggest stars in the world with one of her most memorable songs.

As of when it first hit the market, the song topped not only the charts but also many year-end lists of best songs and showed a willingness on Rihanna’s part to experiment with sounds. 

“I used polarizing sounds and beats, raw emotions. It was aggressive, something you never heard before. It’s something different when you have a record with one of the biggest pop acts and a crazy video. It went off and it confirmed my position as a producer,” Deputy says. 

Even beyond their South Korean roots, k-dramas have amassed a dedicated following from all over the world, breaking streaming records and turning their cast into stars. And with this borderless fanbase, there is a gap in the market for new ways for these shows to connect with their audiences. 

This is a gap that crypto exchange crypto.com is clearly hoping to fill as it has announced a new partnership with South Korean firm Studio Dragon to develop NFTs based on popular K-dramas. This partnership was announced on February 6, 2023. 

K-dramas and NFTs

This partnership is a very promising one as Studio Dragon has several popular k-dramas in its roster. As such, crypto.com will help them release assets for two of them, Crash Landing on You and Start-Up.

The two will be released as collaboration editions of Studio Dragon’s art toy DearRo on February 8, 2023. DearRo, as the official press release explains, is a toy designed by the studio and is a fictional dragon who loves k-dramas and dresses up like the characters from them.

In total, 500 NFTs will be released, along with two global drama IP, and six main character costume cards. And these will not be the end of Studio Dragon’s NFT endeavours as it will reportedly release NFTs each quarter to coincide with the launch of a new k-drama. And given how fast the k-drama market is growing to meet global interest and demand, we should have some interesting drops on our hands. 

“Through this MoU with Studio Dragon, we plan to develop new ways for fans around the world to experience K contents,” said Patrick Yoon, General Manager of Crypto.com Korea. “Crypto.com will continue to collaborate with large content studios and management companies on their IPs and introduce Korean culture and arts to our 80 million users worldwide.”

And this is not the first of crypto.com’s Korean content-related ventures as it released the ‘Mamamoo NFT Special Collection’ last August which came with benefits for users. This was done in collaboration with the K-pop NFT platform Metabeat. 

And given how soon after the company was chosen to enter into more NFT endeavours, those were clearly a success. 

The Disruption of K-Content and NFTs

While they are very clearly different, Korean content and NFTs have both been disruptive in their own ways. In the case of Korean content, it has managed to disrupt the global entertainment sphere, moving beyond its home base and securing a massive audience despite cultural and language differences. This can be seen in the success of TV shows like Squid Game, movies like Parasite, and music groups like BTS and BLACKPINK.

In the case of NFTs, they have created new mediums through which creative content can be made and consumed and through which fans can connect to what they love. These two disruptive worlds are now being brought together through a project that can potentially capture the hearts of digital asset lovers and k-drama fans alike.

For years, WeTransfer has been helping customers move data and files across the internet with ease, becoming one of the best-known productivity tools in the world. Now, WeTransfer is on a mission to take on web3 through a new partnership with Minima.

Minima is a proof-of-work blockchain and on it, WeTransfer intends to launch its first NFT project. This project is geared towards creators, offering them  Digital Rights Management for their intellectual property. Through this, those who use WeTransfer can have more control over the work that they create. 

Details About the Development 

This partnership was announced on February 7, 2023, and will be fully rolled out to users in over 180 countries from next month. Once this is done, users can automatically generate NFTs from any device they own.

One of the core tenets of Minima is data privacy and autonomy for users and this is at the heart of this project. Given that NFTs have proven to be a viable way for creatives to take control of their works and earn a living from them (sometimes in perpetuity thanks to royalties, this made both companies a good fit).

And as Hugo Feiler, the CEO of Minima explains, this allows Minima to support “the development and acceleration of creativity in the digital age where individuals retain ownership and control of their work,” adding that, “This partnership will explore the practical use of NFT technology, something that interests not only the crypto industry, but will be a test case to demonstrate the potential of wider adoption of this innovative digital tool.”

NFTs are already used by many around the world but they are often seen as a niche tool and as something that requires a lot of technical know-how to leverage. But WeTransger and Minima are combating this by making these NFTs instantly mintable from any mobile device. On top of this, NFTs are being exposed to a very wide audience, given the millions of users WeTransfer has.

This partnership has the potential to expose NFTs to an existing audience of creators who might not be aware of its benefits or might not know how to get started with them. It is also a plus that Minima has branded itself as one of the more wholesome blockchain networks. Despite running on a proof-of-work consensus, which is notorious for its energy use, its whitepaper shows that it decentralizes power usage. 

This means that there are no large pools of miners dominating the network and there are no rewards for mining. This makes the blockchain much more energy efficient than other proof-of-work chains like Bitcoin.

“Minima is a cryptocurrency designed to be ultra-compact. Designed to remain Totally Decentralized. Designed to have no rulers. There are no miners and no ever-growing database. […] All Quantum Secure Cryptography. Small enough to run efficiently on your mobile phone. Everyone runs a Complete node. Forever,” its whitepaper says. 

Hopefully, this initiative will be well-embraced once it goes live and will lead to better outcomes for NFTs as a whole.

For most of us, Doritos are a classic snack that harkens back to childhood and also serves as comfort food even in adulthood. What we don’t tend to think of when we think of Doritos is web3. But even as many consumer brands are developing a greater digital presence, the iconic tortilla chip brand making its debut seemed almost inevitable. 

This was confirmed in a February 5, 2023 announcement that stated not just Doritos’ debut on the Polygon blockchain but also a new digital experience at Decentraland. This experience is due to run from February 8 to 10, 2023. 

Crunching Through the Metaverse

This Decentraland experience will be called the Dorito Triangle Metaverse Studio and it is welcome to both Web3 veterans and newbies. When players enter this game, they will be able to create and customize avatars to their tastes and assign them names. 

After the avatars are created, they can then be used to explore the experience’s second-floor triangle tower and collect points. Depending on how many they collect, they can then stand the chance to win NFTs. 

“A musical metaverse mixer like no other (say that three times fast). Chance to win custom gaming PCs, @RTFKT & @MeebitsNFTs, limited Edition Doritos wearables and more in our new @Decentraland world, #DoritosTriangleStudios. Mark those calendars for February 8th,” Doritos said on its official Twitter page.

The two NFTs up for grabs are the Clone-X #12118 which was released by RTFKT in collaboration with Takashi Murakami and Meebits #24 by Larva Labs. Both NFTs are minted on the Polygon blockchain and along with them, an extensive list of other prizes will be unveiled on February 8. 

This is a win not only for Doritos, which is establishing itself in web3 but also for Polygon as well. The Ethereum scaling solution has attracted a host of top projects in the last year especially, with Synergy Labs and Y00ts moving from their previous blockchain homes to Polygon.

It is also now a favourite of brands looking to launch NFT projects such as Starbucks. Mihailo Bjelic, the co-founder of Polygon, noted that this growth has been organic and without the project having to coerce any of these brands to come on board. 

“Welcoming @Doritos to the @0xPolygon family! Interesting to note that they, as well as several other global brands, started using Polygon without and bizdev activity or help from Polygon Labs! Organic mainstream adoption is the best mainstream adoption. Onwards,” he said on Twitter. 

And why do so many flock to Polygon? This has been put down to the scalability it offers users, as well as low transaction costs and high speeds. Should it continue to offer this, its current run of success in the industry can be extended. 

Consumer Brands in Web3

Over the years, we’ve seen more consumer brands develop a presence in web3. This includes not only releasing NFTs but also developing metaverse projects, as we’ve seen with both Doritos and Taco Bell, showing just how varied the space is.

One of the effects of mainstream companies embracing NFTs is that a new wave of job roles has been created. A few years ago, Fortune 500 companies would not have been hiring Web3 professionals or NFT leads but now, they are. Sadly, these roles do not always work out for those involved. 

A prime example of this is Satvik Sethi, who was the head of product for NFTs at Mastercard up until recently. Sethi has announced that he has resigned from his position and gave some insight into his time at the company. This time, he says, was riddled with mistreatment and harassment. 

A Timeline of Events 

In a February 2, 2023 thread, Sethi explained his journey within Mastercard and the events that have led to his resignation. As part of his role, he promoted web3 capabilities to Mastercard’s internal teams and clients, But things took a turn after Sethi ran into some visa issues.

“When I moved from NYC to London because of visa issues, my salary was cut by 40% with my workload increasing 200%. I had to work side jobs this past year to make ends meet, alongside all the things I was building and contributing in Web3,” he says on Twitter. 

Along with this, he says that he was subject to mistreatment and emotional distress while at the company, much of which was due to miscommunication and inefficiency. Things were so bad, he says, that he went months without being paid his salary and had to appeal to higher-ups to have these issues addressed. 

On top of this, he was only given a 1-month pay and no benefits after he resigned despite this being against the terms of his contract. When he tried to push back, Sethi was locked out of all his company accounts and was unable to access messages or any of the ideas that he had worked on. 

But Sethi says that he is now moving on and will be exploring web3 projects on his own terms. But given the fact that he is an immigrant, he will be living in India for the foreseeable future as he has lost his visa. Interestingly, Sethi has minted his resignation letter as an NFT and is selling it to raise funds. 

“If you want to support me, you can mint my resignation for 0.023 ETH. A piece of my personal history from the year I leaped. Art airdrop for holders in the future as thanks.

Would appreciate RTs, 100% of this goes to survival. This isn’t gambling money,” he said, adding that he has started a new venture called joincircle that has seen over 90,000 signups thus far and will be launching its own NFT collection soon. Sethi says that he is also working on art, which he has been interested in since he was a teenager.

Mastercard has not yet responded to the thread and it will be interesting to see how Sethi’s career unravels now that he has left the role. 

YouTuber Logan Paul, like many celebrities, has taken an interest in NFTs over the last few years. Besides being the owner of some pricey assets and releasing his own collection last year, Paul has found himself in hot water over CryptoZoo, an NFT-based game he released some months ago. 

After endless back-and-forth which saw him being called out by a fellow creator, being accused of running a rug pull, and eventually offering compensation to users, Paul’s NFT woes continue to pile on. Now, he is facing a class action lawsuit from users of the game. 

Paul Going to Court?

As announced on February 2, 2023, a man named Don Holland is filing a case against Paul on behalf of himself and others impacted by the game at the District Court for the Western District of Texas. 

“We have officially filed a class action lawsuit in the Western District of Texas against Logan Paul et al. for the CryptoZoo fiasco. (This is in addition to the numerous cases heading to arbitration on the matter.),” an attorney connected to the case said on Twitter. 

Besides Paul himself and his CryptoZoo project, several others including Danielle Strobel, Jeffrey Levin, Eddie Ibanez, and Jake Greenbaum are included in the filing. 

This comes after months of the project being accused of being a scam. The way the game was supposed to work was that users would sign up and buy a digital ‘egg’ which would then hatch and produce an NFT for its holder. The issue is that many players complained that the game had several glitches and that they could not redeem their rewards. Paul was criticized by internet users and even a fellow YouTuber Coffeezilla, though the two eventually settled their differences and Paul committed $1.3 million to issue refunds to players. 

But all this is not enough as he is not facing the class-action lawsuit. 

“Defendants promoted CryptoZoo Inc.’s products using Mr. Paul’s online platforms to consumers unfamiliar with digital currency products, leading to tens of thousands of people purchasing said products. Unbeknownst to the customers, the game did not work or never existed, and Defendants manipulated the digital currency market for Zoo Tokens to their advantage,” the lawsuit says, adding that plaintiffs are seeking damages and compensation from Paul.

A Massive Rug Pull?

There is a good reason why crypto lovers are so concerned about the CryptoZoo game being a rug pull; the industry has endured several of these over the years. But the question of whether or not Logan Paul designed CryptoZoo to be one is yet to be answered. 

After all, he is a globally-recognized content creator and not an anonymous founder on the internet. If he set out to defraud users, he could be very easily identified by users and sued, which is exactly what is happening now. As this case unfolds, however, we should find out if CryptoZoo was a scam or just a poorly-executed project by an influencer.

The NFT space is dominated by such marketplaces as Magic Eden and OpenSea. But in the wake of this success, several crypto marketplaces like Coinbase and Binance have launched their own NFT arms, even securing prized collections in the process. 

But this has not been without difficulty. Take Coinbase which recently announced that it would be stopping new creator drops on its NFT marketplace. This, along with statements from some creators, led many to believe that Coinbase would be shutting the NFT marketplace entirely. However, Coinbase has said that this is not the case.

Coinbase NFT In Trouble?

This saga began on February 1, 2023, when Coinbase announced in a blog post that it would be suspending all creator NFT drops in the meantime. In the announcement, Coinbase said that the reason for this was to allow for certain features and tools that would be beneficial to users to be better developed. 

But then, Jessia Yatrofsky, who had been slated to release an NFT drop on the marketplace, spoke out and insinuated that Coinbase would be shutting down its NFT platform entirely. 

“As you may have heard my official drop, XX GEN, slated for this month with @Coinbase_NFT, will no longer be released on their platform as I have been privately informed that their FT marketplace is shutting down as of February 2023,” she said in a social media message, noting that she would soon be releasing her NFTs independently instead. 

As soon as her announcement was made, NFT users began speculating that Coinbase’s marketplace was going to shut down soon, so much so that the company itself had to step in and clarify matters. 

As it explained, its current ecosystem changes do not mean that it will be closing down its marketplace anytime soon. 

“We recently shared that we are pausing creator Drops on the NFT marketplace to focus on other features and tools that creators have asked for. To be clear:  We are not shutting down the Coinbase NFT marketplace,” Coinbase said, adding that, “Rest assured, our mission for Coinbase NFT hasn’t changed and we remain optimistic about our future as we continue building. We’re excited to find more opportunities to work with creators in the future.”

What’s Going on With Coinbase?

While Coinbase has flat-out refuted rumours that it is shutting down its NFT marketplace, its recent behaviour is quite unusual. Most marketplaces would not suddenly halt asset drops, especially not highly anticipated ones like XX GEN. This also comes after Coinbase put a pause on its Bored Ape short films, that time citing the need to reconsider its creative endeavours moving forward. 

Some have speculated that the reason for this is the ongoing bear market that has seen NFT trading volume decline across the board. Now is not the most profitable time for NFTs and Coinbase might just be trying to cut its losses and wait out the winter. Either way, we can only hope that drops resume on the marketplace soon enough. 

The versatility of NFTs means that they can be tied to all sorts of other sectors, including luxury and art. We’ve seen top luxury brands around the world try their hands at NFTs and they have basically become a staple of the art world at this point. 

Now, luxury watchmaker Hublot is bridging all these together with its newest collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. This will see 13 new watches and NFTs be released to the public in what is perhaps one of the more colourful offerings we’ve seen so far. This collaboration was confirmed on February 2, 2023.

Wearing Your NFTs 

It should be noted that this is not the first time that Takashi Murakami has collaborated with Hublot. In fact, this is the third collaboration between the two and the designs featured on the watch are centred around the ‘smiling flower’ motif that Murakami has become known for. 

And this is also not the first time that Hublot is embracing NFTs as this collection is designed as a way to reward those who bought into its previous drops. In terms of design, the NFTs and watches have a wealth of ties to popular culture within them. 

“The thirteen unique NFTs are inspired by Japanese video games & TV from the 1970s as well as the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami All Black, the first collaboration between the Swiss watchmaker and Takashi Murakami launched in January 2021. These NFTs are linked to a limited edition of 13 new and unique Classic Fusion watches that will be unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2023 in Geneva,” the official announcement from Hublot says. 

Those who already hold at least one of the 324 All Black or Sapphire Rainbow NFTs released in April 2022 as part of a previous collaboration with Murakami can claim one of the 12 watches that will be available for sale on hublot.com at the price of CHF 50,000. After buying one of the watches, they will receive an exclusive NFT.

The 13th watch in this collection, the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Black Ceramic Rainbow, will be a little more complicated to acquire. To do so, they will need to have bought all 12 NFTs that have been given out to other buyers of the watch drop. And in the event that no one is able to buy all the NFTs from the others, the watch will be auctioned and the proceeds will be given to charity. 

Hublot Loves NFTs

This newest drop is the latest example of not just Hublot’s love for NFTs but also a continuation of its ongoing creative relationship with Murakami.

As Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe says, “Our partnership with Takashi Murakami is allowing us to construct a history that interlinks all the works we have released with Takashi, both digital pieces and the watches themselves. Faithful to its history, Hublot is once again first, unique and different in how it rewards its collectors, providing them with privileged access to both ownership of and trade in unique artistic pieces. Hublot Loves Art!”

Over the years, the lore of Kabosu, the popular meme dog, continues to grow. Kabosu first came into the public’s consciousness thanks to a 2010 photo of her on a couch where she appears to give the viewer a side-eye. Ever since the photo made its way unto the internet, she has amassed a cult following, been turned into an iconic meme, and has even inspired several cryptocurrencies. 

Now, a lucky fan can get their hands on the original couch in the photo that started it all. This was revealed by PleasrDAO which will be holding the auction event on February 7, 2023. 

A Piece of Meme History 

This event will be hosted as a stream of a PleasrHouse episode which will see several guests in attendance. Among these will be Kabosu herself and her owner Atsuko Sato who took the photo that we now know. 

Sadly, this initiative took root earlier this year when Sato announced that Kabosu was sick with cancer. 

“Kabosu’s disease names are acute cholangiohepatitis and chronic lymphoma leukemia. Right now, the liver level is very bad and jaundice appears. But antibiotics will definitely improve. Kabosu has an appetite. She can also drink water. To all of you who are worried. Thank you very much,” Sato’s post said at the time.

Following this announcement, there was an outpouring of support for the dog, as well as offers to contribute towards her medical expenses. This is when ‘Tridog’, a member of PleasrDAO and a fan of Kabosu, decided to start an auction to help with the dog’s bills. 

So, as part of fundraising efforts, the couch featured in the now-iconic photo will be auctioned. The winner will receive not only an NFT but also the right to take possession of the couch. There is also the option for those who want to buy a piece of the iconic meme without owning the physical couch to do so through the purchase of a fractionalized NFT. 

The DAO purchased the original NFT of the Doge photo for $4.8 million in 2021 and now works towards fractionalizing it. These fractionalization efforts have led to a deeper relationship between Sato and Own the Doge, a community centred around ownership of the NFT, with several charities benefiting.

“When we fractionalized the NFT, we started the Own The Doge (OTD) community, who has developed a very strong relationship with Atsuko. The Do Only Good Everyday ethos from dogecoiners really resonates with Atsuko, and the OTD community has donated $2M+ to charities. $1M of those donations went to Save The Children, and is their largest crypto donation to date,” said Chris Eberle, the Head of Marketing for PleasrDAO, to Decrypt.

And this is not the first time that PleasrDAO is hosting a live-stream auction event that ties into popular culture. It famously held a live stream with whistleblower Edward Snowden which raised money through an NFT auction for the  Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Daniel Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy.