Tag: NFTS news

Bored Apes Creator, Yuga, Investigated By The SEC

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Yuga Labs. The investigation is over whether its Bored Ape Yacht Club Ethereum NFTs and the ApeCoin token are unregistered securities. This info was according to Bloomberg.

The Report On Bored Apes

The report, which cites an unnamed source, claims that the agency is exploring a few things. One of them is whether the crypto startup broke federal law by issuing NFTs that act like stocks. The other is based on exploring the distribution of the Ethereum-based ApeCoin token that launched earlier this year. 

Yuga Labs has not yet been accused of any wrongdoing and the investigation may not necessarily lead to charges.

“It’s well-known that policymakers and regulators have sought to learn more about the novel world of Web3. We hope to partner with the rest of the industry and regulators to define and shape the burgeoning ecosystem.” The above statement was by Yuga Labs. “As a leader in the space, Yuga is committed to fully cooperating with any inquiries along the way.”

The Bored Ape Yacht Club is one of the most successful NFT projects to date. It has a main collection of 10,000 NFTs initially selling to the public at $190 worth of Ethereum apiece. That sale yielded Yuga roughly $1.9 million. Follow-up and spin-off projects, the Mutant Ape-Yacht-Club and the Otherside metaverse game, then raked in $96 million and $319 million, respectively.

How Much Does Bored Ape Really generate?

BAYC has also generated nearly $2.5 billion worth of secondary trading volume, per data from CryptoSlam. Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Otherside have added another $3.35 billion worth of secondary trading volume to that tally. Yuga Labs earns a 2.5% royalty fee on each of those sales.

Bored Ape NFT owners are entitled to various benefits, including access to a private community and live events. In addition, also the ability to use their owned illustration to create and sell derivative artwork and projects. Many of the NFTs have sold for seven-figure sums. 

Furthermore, the project has attracted a number of celebrity owners as it has gained popularity.

Holders Benefits

Furthermore, Bored Ape NFT holders have been granted various past benefits. These includes free Bored Ape Kennel Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and Otherside NFTs. In addition to these, an allotment of ApeCoin when that token launched in March.

Officially, ApeCoin was not created or launched by Yuga Labs. The token was issued by the Ape Foundation, which is fronted by a board that includes prominent Web3 builders. Builders like Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and FTX Ventures head Amy Wu.

That approach was due to regulatory concerns, although Bloomberg reports that the SEC is still investigating the launch and distribution of the token. 

Yuga Labs and its founders have benefited greatly from the launch of ApeCoin. The token has a current price of about $4.75 per token and a market cap of just over $1.5 billion.

ApeCoin’s price tumbled shortly after the report was published. Consequently, it’s down about 9% over the last 24 hours per data from CoinGecko.

The SEC has increased its scrutiny of the crypto and NFT markets under the leadership of chair Gary Gensler. Gensier was named to the post in April 2021. 

Gensler has shared a view that nearly any other crypto token besides Bitcoin could be a security. To this end, he has pursued a number of recent actions – including naming nine tokens listed on Coinbase as securities.

NFTs: “Jpegs Are Not The Future Of NFTs” Says Polygon Studios

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

In the early years of the NFT space thus far, it’s been profile pictures and artwork that have yielded top-dollar sales. And rightly, they have also consistently dominated headlines. However,  as the market evolves and the immersive future internet of the metaverse takes shape, a question beckons. Will tokenized images continue to be the most prominent use case for NFTs?

Brian Trunzo, metaverse lead at Polygon Studios, doesn’t think so. In an interview at the Chainlink SmartCon 2022 conference, he made a statement. Brian stated that the crypto industry will have achieved mainstream adoption of Web3 technology, NFTs, and the metaverse when “we stop saying it.” Emphasizing that things will change only when those terms are no longer necessary.

Trunzo believes that skeptics of the technology are informed by a limited understanding of Web3. Consequently, suggesting that a wider set of NFT use cases will take hold in the future.

NFTs, What Are Those?

An NFT is a blockchain token that can serve as a proof of ownership for an item. It can represent digital things like profile pictures, artwork, and collectibles. Furthermore, it also involves interactive video game items, customer engagement rewards, real estate deeds, and more.

Polygon Studios works with creators and companies that are building on Polygon, a sidechain scaling network for Ethereum. In his role as metaverse lead, Trunzo and his team help pave the way for technology to support immersive applications and NFT-powered experiences from various creators.

He pointed to Starbucks’ recent NFT announcement as an example of how the assets are being used as an asset class itself. Starbucks will use Polygon to give away NFT stamps to customers. These includes premium NFTs, all of which can earn customers real-world perks and experiences.

“If Web2 was measured in engagement, [then] Web3 will be measured in gamification—brand immersion,” he explained.

In the case of Starbucks, it won’t be a game-like 3D metaverse akin to Decentraland or The Sandbox. However, the NFT-powered program is designed to engage users across digital and physical spaces alike.

Furthermore, that sort of Web3 gamification is one of the biggest opportunities he sees in the space, along with digital fashion. Trunzo, who previously co-founded real-world menswear brands, said that metaverse fashion will tap into users’ need for 2 reasons. One of them is for self-expression. The other is good-old vanity and a desire to showcase virtual “flexes.”

NFTs Gaming, A Firm Future?

Furthermore, when it comes to true video game experiences, Trunzo is unsurprisingly on the side of the debate that sees NFTs as a prospective benefit. Many gamers aren’t thrilled about NFTs. In part because of scams and speculation. But also a widespread belief that creators and publishers will use them to extract even more value from players.

Moreover, with that stigma out there, Trunzo expects a “genie out of the bottle moment.” One in which more and more players embrace the benefits of using NFTs in games. 

In his view, the ability for players to truly own their progress and unlocked benefits as NFT assets will be a real plus.

Nevertheless, he doesn’t expect that all future video games will use NFTs when that happens. Some games may live entirely on-chain, some may not see a need for NFTs, and others could land somewhere in between. In Between modest and limited Web3 functionality.

“We’re not trying to cram it down people’s throats that you have to incorporate NFTs into your game,” Trunzo said.

Poor Graphics

In the meantime, some early metaverse games have been criticized for underwhelming graphics compared to the traditional game industry’s top titles. 

Trunzo acknowledged that Web3 gaming is early, but also said that games don’t necessarily need hyper-realistic graphics to look beautiful.

Everything You Need To Know About NFT Bubblegoose

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

“Sometimes you get so many voices in a room telling you what to do that you can lose your own voice. It’s not uncommon for a TV network to want to reach or market to a specific demographic. This can pull away from the authenticity of an NFT project — and this ‘inauthenticity’ does not have a place in our current cultural space.”

Carl Jones

The above quote is a core tenet of Carl Jones’s latest project — part of the fuel launching the talented Boondocks producer and actor into the Web 3.0 space. The Project? Bubblegoose Ballers.

The Web 3.0 Movement

This Web 3.0 undertaking is here to not only become the top project on Solana’s NFT blockchain but also disrupt the streaming/TV space. 

The acclaimed animation producer has been a creative force on projects like The Boondocks, Black Dynamite, Tyler the Creator’s Jellies. It also has The Last OG, as well as more projects on the way under his own animation studio dubbed Martian Blueberry.

Shows like The Boondocks have become culture-disrupting, cult classic. However it is still relevant as ever due to their nuanced animation, potent social commentary, and gut-busting jokes. 

Furthermore, despite all of the success, Jones will be the first to tell you that building a property with your own distinct creative vision. And voice is no easy feat, and can be impossible — even if you are a veteran in the industry.

What is Bubblegoose Ballers?

An idea born out of his childhood in Fayetteville “Fayettenam,” North Carolina. Bubblegoose Ballers is a 10,000-piece NFT collection with a growing and passionate community around it. 

With their help, Jones aims to develop a new series starring the Bubblegoose Ballers. The show is expected to be honest, edgy, and even more crazier than Black Dynamite or The Boondocks.

By using Web 3.0 technologies, the producer believes he can create original content and develop an active community around it. One that not only gets the opportunity to creatively shape Bubblegoose Ballers in real-time. But also financially benefits from the success of the project. 

If done right, Jones believes he can build a multimedia company with a wide range of creatives . people who can cultivate IP, build worlds, and establish communities. In short, he plans on creating the next-gen Pixar.

The initial idea of Bubblegoose Ballers can be tied all the way back to your childhood: How did you come up with it?

I grew up in a town called Fayetteville, North Carolina, “affectionately” known as “Fayettenam” during the hype of the crack epidemic. The ballers in my neighbourhood wore “Bubblegoose Coats.” They were status symbols in the same way that sneakers are, or even NFTs today. It was all about the flex.

The jacket let people know that you were successful and tough. Looking back, the coat was aspirational to me. With that context, as a kid, I started drawing this goofy little goose in a Bubblegoose Coat — a character that, in many ways, reflected my personality. The character just stayed with me over the years until I had the opportunity to launch a new TV series over at Adult Swim.

What about this Bubblegoose NFT community resonates with those audiences?

You can buy a Bubblegoose Baller. But I don’t really like to see myself as someone who sells NFTs. I say that because NFTs have been stigmatized a lot because of the bad actors in the space. 

I like to focus more on the brand and community-building side of things. So this project is more of a continuation of what I have been doing my whole career. The blockchain just provides the technology needed to pursue the creative freedom I’ve been seeking. 

NFTs In The Cars Industry?

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

Last year, a physical Elon Musk-signed Tesla Model X toy car was minted as a non-fungible token (NFT). It was then put up for auction on OpenSea. The auction didn’t turn out to be very successful, but this caused some car fans to become curious. They now wonder if NFTs will get into the automotive market someday. 

Well, it’s safe to say, NFTs have entered this market and garnered extensive media attention. But how exactly do automakers take advantage of the accelerating trend? Read on to find out.

Chevrolet And NFTs

Chevrolet is the one of the latest big names in the automobile industry to enter the NFT marketplace. Chevy (as the carmaker is informally known) announced that the company is auctioning off a Corvette NFT “Own The Color” on NFT auction site SuperRare. This they intend to do in collaboration with artist Nick Sullo. The NFT features a Minted Green 2023 Corvette Z06 car accelerating in a cyberpunk backdrop. 

The auction was initially planned to be held from June 20, 2022, to June 24, 2022, but Chevrolet later extended the auction period because some users expressed disappointment about missing the Corvette Z06 NFT artwork auction window. The real-life 2023 Corvette Z06 is expected to be mass-produced in mid-summer 2022 and will be formally put on sale in early 2023.

Although it’s unclear who’s getting the NFT, the winning bidder will not only receive the crypto artwork but more. The winning bidder will also win the physical, first and only Minted Green 2023 Corvette Z06. Chevrolet confirms that the Minted Green color won’t be applied to other Z06s in future production. This move makes the auctioned car one-of-a-kind. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the educational charity DonorsChoose.

More Luxury Automobile Companies 

Italian luxury automaker Lamborghini revealed its first NFT project in January this year. The automobile giant will not be left out in the NFTs world. 

Entitled “Space Time Memory”, the NFT collection contains five pairs of linked digital and physical art. These arts were created in collaboration with Switzerland-based artist Fabian Ofner, NFT Pro and RM Sotheby’s. The space-themed digital artwork portrays a Lamborghini breaking down into its core components after traveling through the atmosphere and enter space like a rocket.

Unlike Chevrolet’s NFT, Lamborghini didn’t offer a physical luxury car for buyers to claim. Instead, winning bidders received a physical “Space Key” made of carbon fibers that Lamborghini sent to the International Space Station as a part of a research project back in 2019. 

Each Space Key is a gray rectangular block onto which a QR code linking to the digital artwork is engraved. To match the astronomical theme, Lamborghini planned to hold every auction for 75 hours and 50 minutes. This move matches the exact time it took Apollo 11 to leave Earth and enter the moon’s orbit.

Ferrari In The NFTs Scene

Premium sports car manufacturer Ferrari partnered with Swiss technology company Velas Network AG last year. Their mission was to put its first-ever NFT on the market. The company announced plans to make the NFTs available for purchase in March 2022. This was when a new F1 game season began. However, as March came and went, we didn’t hear anything further from the company about the project details. Neither did we hear about the exact date when the project will officially take flight.

While the project is still in progress, Ferrari’s official website was hacked several months after announcing its NFT plan. Ferrari’s subdomain “forms.ferrari.com” was reported to be compromised on May 5 to support an NFT scam. The scammers devised a malicious program named “Mint Your Ferrari” and used “a collection of 4,458 horsepower NFTs on the Ethereum network.”

This they did as tactics to prompt people to purchase. 

NFTs Consultant  Says Poor People Can Be Used As NPCs

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

Players in developing countries could work as NPCs in wealthier players’ worlds on NFTs gaming, according to one game consultant.

“With the cheap labor of a developing country, you could use people in the Philippines as NPCs (non-playable characters), real-life NPCs in your game,” said Mikhai Kossar, who is a chartered accountant and member of WolvesDAO. 

Kossar told Rest of World that players in developing countries could “just populate the world.” 

“maybe do a random job or just walk back and forth, fishing, telling stories, a shopkeeper, anything is really possible.” 

According to WolvesDAO’s membership application form, its mission is to “equip the blockchain gaming sector. They intend to do this with key insights, education, and tools to build the games of tomorrow.”

That future community, apparently, could be a dystopian one

Some find the idea of making real-life people across the globe roleplay as automaton-like NPCs dehumanizing.

“People are coming up with fresh ideas for how citizens of the Third World can be put to productive use. Especially by wealthy users.” According to long-time video game journalist Andy Chalk. 

“It’s an odious idea, perfectly in-character for the NFT field, and literally the dictionary definition of exploitation.”

It also raises questions surrounding the ethics of Web3 gaming more generally. Furthermore, where “scholars” in developing countries already play with NFTs they can’t afford to own in play-to-earn blockchain-games. Especially while NFT owners reap a percentage of the profits.

Importance Of NFTs NPCs

The potential for sentience, and the ethics of exploiting NPCs as disposable beings, has been a staple of science fiction. Furthermore, it was recently explored in HBO’s “Westworld.”  

We also cannot neglect its depiction in last year’s Ryan Reynolds-led Hollywood action comedy “Free Guy.”

However, roleplaying as an NPC isn’t necessarily dystopian in every context. Gamers in roleplay (RP) servers for “Grand Theft Auto V” like NoPixel. The company already volunteer to act as characters who work in various positions in the virtual world. 

Whether it’s as a mechanic, a stripper, or a bartender, they’re effectively roleplaying as NPCs for free. Some RP servers are highly curated, with waitlists of hopefuls wanting to get in.

When it comes to paid metaverse employment, there’s also a whole world of virtual jobs in games like ‘Roblox,’ which doesn’t use any cryptocurrency. But some argue that ‘Roblox’’s underage creators are being exploited and don’t take home the wages they deserve.

As metaverse worlds come to market, so too may a whole new realm of employment. But some jobs are sure to raise more eyebrows than others. 

NFTs And Music

In our latest episode of Behind The Drop, we spoke with rapper, singer, and songwriter Iann Dior about his debut NFT project: the iann dior: 1212 collection. Launched in partnership with green NFT platform OneOf in June 2022. The collection consisted of 1,212 animated NFT avatars depicting the Sick and Tired singer in various interpretations. These were adapted to resemble Tim Burton’s take on claymation.

Speaking on the drop in an interview with nft now, dior stated that the collection was a way for him to “make art and express [his] different emotions.” 

But why claymation? Styling himself as a “big fan” of the medium, the collection’s genesis can be traced back to one fateful day. A day when the young artist was idly scrolling through Instagram. Popping up on his feed was a piece of fan art by digital artist depicting him as a claymation character.

Following this discovery, Dior, took a bold step. The artiste who had recently been exploring the creation of an NFT collection to better engage with his fans, flew out to Ondrej. The rest is predictable, work started immediately on what would later become the 1212 collection. 

KlayMeta Is Bringing NFTs Into MMORPGs

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

Since gaming began, avatars and characters have always been used. They are used for immersive reasons, one of which is to create point-of-view style gameplay. However, what those games were missing, was what if you could irrefutably own the character? Yes, what if you can own the character you’re on that journey with? In a multitude of different MMORPG’s, players have put 1000’s of hours of progress into a single character. But, what if the game suddenly shut-down. Will it all be  completely wiped out? Let’s see how KLAYmeta changes this by making all their avatars NFTs.

First, Definition

What is an NFT? Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are virtual assets on a blockchain that signal ownership of a virtual or physical item. 

Varying widely from houses to tickets, NFTs are, a way to irrefutably prove ownership.

From a gaming perspective, NFTs are a way to transfer progression into ownership. Instead of just playing with the same character for thousands of hours, how about owning that character? No one can take that away from you.

Now that you know what they are, it’s important to understand how they’re used in KLAYmeta. Let’s jump into it.

How NFTs Are Used In KLAYmeta

Avatars as NFTs In KLAYmeta, avatars are the lifeblood of the game. Without them, it would feel very sparse. Users can summon and hold an unlimited number of avatars. However, a singular avatar can only ever be owned by one person at a time.

Why? Because each avatar within KLAYmeta is its own NFT, stored on-chain. 

Currently, they’re KIP-17 compliant for the Klaytn Network. Soon, however, KLAYmeta will be transitioning to the BNB Smart Chain as it launches internationally. So, we’ll see BNB-based avatars popping up everywhere.

Making everything into an NFT doesn’t necessarily make it great. We’ve all seen how saturated the NFT market is becoming. 

However, for KLAYmeta Avatars, making them NFTs was about more than just ownership. It is to allow the player to feel more connected with their avatar. Furthermore, to also allow users feel proud of their progression in the game. Provided the player doesn’t sell their avatar on the marketplace, or burn it through Fusion, it will be there forever. This is something old-school MMORPG players could never say!

Why Bother With NFTs In Gaming?

Why bother? It may seem like all this is too much of a hassle. Why even bother with NFTs in gaming? Well, here are a few reasons why they are worth the effort and why games are trending in that direction:

NFTs bring more value into gaming. What do I mean by value? value by ownership. If a player can own certain aspects of their gaming experience, they’re more likely to come back to the game. They are more likely to interact with the community, and progress further.

Why do you think so many apps are gamified now? It’s because humans crave progression. NFTs are just the next stage in gamification.

NFTs Progression Into Ownership

That crave for progression can be muted if we are continually reset back to the beginning, some sort of groundhog day. 

Therefore, crypto games with NFTs but without progression you can’t come back  day-in and day-out. This is a real problem. KLAYmeta seems to fix this.

Lastly, although cross-chain crypto assets are still not as easy as one thinks, assets on the blockchain are “forever”. 

As KLAYmeta will be transitioning over to the BNB Smart Chain, all avatars will become on-chain assets. Doing this will solidify their existence regardless of if the KLAYmeta game continues on.

Summon Yourself It can be hard right now to visualize NFTs as the future, but that’s exactly what innovative technology feels like, new and exciting. Traditional gamers probably never expected to feel so attached to a character they can’t own. Well, now they can!

NFTs To Be Introduced Into The Metaverse By Snoop Dogg And Eminem

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

Snoop Dogg and Eminem will bring their Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs to the VMAs this Sunday, performing from inside Yuga Labs’ upcoming metaverse game “Otherside.”

The rap superstars will perform their song, “From the D to the LBC,” according to MTV and Yuga Labs.

“Otherside” And mainstream Culture

“Otherside” is still in development and does not yet have a confirmed release date. According to the company, the Web3 metaverse game is currently in Phase 1. This means only owners of its Otherdeed land NFTs and select developers have been able to try out aspects of the MMORPG-inspired title.

This VMA performance is yet another example of NFTs bleeding into mainstream culture. NFTs have become digital status symbols for the rich and famous. And Bored Apes have been co-opted for everything from fast food restaurants to M&Ms. 

The promoters say Snoop and Eminem’s “Otherside” performance will be a never-before-seen experience. Their music video for “From the D to the LBC” came out two months ago and features 2D animations of their Bored Ape NFTs, but no metaverse footage.

Since its release, “From the D to the LBC” has been a notable success, both for the rappers and for the emerging trend of Bored Ape-themed music videos. The “D to the LBC” YouTube video has garnered over 46 million views and a VMA nomination for “Best Hip-Hop” song. On Spotify, the track has racked up nearly 25 million streams.

Eminem And Snoop Get Involved 

Eminem is clearly getting good use out of his BAYC NFT. One which he bought back in December for a hefty $450,000. The rapper has used it as his Twitter profile picture ever since. Snoop got his Ape from crypto payments company MoonPay. The company transferred Bored Ape #6723 to Snoop Dogg’s son, Champ de Medici, back in December. 

While “From the D to the LBC” is a lyrical hit for many fans, there has been no shortage of complaints about the NFTs featured prominently across the song’s cover art and music video.

“Fuck NFTs, but THIS is the Em I’ve been wanting for YEARS,” one Redditor wrote in a comment with over 400 upvotes.

“Good song tho [sic] but damn those BAYC things are annoying,” another complained.

While the BAYC has plenty of haters, this celebrity exposure is showing no signs of slowing down. 

And it appears to be affecting token prices as well. Back in June, Yuga Labs’ Apecoin (APE) token pumped 22% after the music video for “From the D to the LBC” was released. 

Despite that exposure, APE—the official cryptocurrency for “Otherside”—has still struggled to gain value. The crypto, since May hovers around $5.27, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Sunday’s performance will mark Em’s first return to the VMAs in 12 years. And Snoop’s first performance at the awards show in 17 years. 

Over the course of his illustrious rap career, Eminem currently has 13 VMAs and is a nominee for 60. That makes him the second-most nominated VMA artist behind Madonna, who has received 69 noms (and who also loves the Bored Apes). Snoop has received thirteen VMA nominations and secured three wins. 

Regardless of how Snoop and Em’s “Otherside” performance pans out, it’ll surely be one for both the rap and Web3 history books.

Meanwhile Cyber Criminals Are Stealing NFTs 

Over $100 million in NFTs have been stolen in the last year, according to a new report by Elliptic. The report released on Wednesday, “NFTs and Financial Crime,” covers nefarious crypto activity between July 2021 to July 2022.

Why NFTs Are Misunderstood

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

When you mention NFTs to your friends, there’s a high chance that what comes to mind is overpriced artworks. Expensive JPEGs that sell for millions of dollars, and that’s a problem.

This is the mindset of a person who believes that the internet is only a play tool. A place to share memes and chat with friends.

Now that NFT collectible prices have crashed, real innovation can happen, and this stigma can be broken as better uses of NFTs are explored.

What Really Are NFTs?

“Non-fungible tokens,” are a type of cryptocurrency where each token is unique from the rest. And contains an embedded URL linking to its unique content and metadata. 

NFTs are comparable to deeds of ownership where the URL points to the thing the token grants ownership of (allegedly, always check the fine print). 

One which affords tremendous flexibility in what NFTs can do and represent. Unfortunately, during the 2020-2021 cryptocurrency bull-run, investors and retail speculators threw millions into NFT profile picture collections. 

They did this with no use cases, often paying $100-$1000 to mint each token hoping to land the next million dollar NFT. 

This only incentivized more collections and various knock-offs to emerge as blatant copy-paste cash-grabs. The kind that was understandably leading to the misunderstanding of NFTs today.

How The Misunderstanding Began

The explosive new from NFT projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunk didn’t help mainstream awareness. 

This brought about absolute confusion amongst non-crypto populates. Especially those still struggling with the concept of NFT.

However, on OpenSea, one would notice that there are more sections than just collectibles. Sections like Music, arts, photography, sports, land plots and avatar gear for the virtual world. There are also sections for utility NFT and NFT domain names for crypto wallets.

NFTs are especially suitable for blockchain-gaming and purchase of Metaverse items. This allows the existence of virtual property with real-world value. 

For example, the virtual metaverse worlds Decentraland and The Sandbox both have NFT-based economies. Both with scarce NFT land plots running thousands of dollars. 

Players can create and sell their own NFT avatar gear on in-game marketplaces. Blockchain gaming and “GameFi” sectors also use it extensively. 

Their applications include the adorable yield-generating Aavegotchi pets or the wildly successful Axie Infinity battle-pets. 

These four examples are vastly more interesting than JPEG collectibles, yet they receive little attention outside crypto.

Crypto Wallets And NFT

One powerful feature that is commonly underrated is the ability to check a crypto wallet for particular NFT. 

This feature is widely used for private Discord servers. A situation where a bot is used to auto-approve and kicks Discord users based on which NFT they own. 

NFT-based DAO governance communities utilize this ability for assigning roles and voting power. 

Websites can check for NFTs in a visitor’s crypto wallet, providing hidden areas/content for them to discover. 

Just How Useful Are NFTs?

NFTs can even be used for selling online professional services as tokens. This is done using free market economics to determine the price for that service.

NFT source code is open-source, allowing developers to experiment with new and exciting features for their NFTs. 

NFTs can apply in representing real-world items and property deeds. It can do this using the blockchain to record transactions and ownership data instead of private databases. These examples barely scratch the surface of what NFTs can do, and all of them are more interesting than collectible JPEGs.

FLOW Blockchain NFTs On Instagram

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

Instagram NFTs initiative now includes more than 100 countries. Some of these countries now include collectables from the Flow blockchain. 

The Reality Of FLOW Blockchain

The reality of the situation is this; instagram is expanding its NFT initiative to more than 100 countries. This information was announced by the parent company Meta in the early hours of the day. Furthermore, Instagram is also adding support for NFTs created on the Flow blockchain. Due to this recent development, the FLOW token is now pumping.

FLOW is up by a staggering 44% over the past couple of hours, according to data from CoinGecko. The report also confirmed that a lot of the rise came from Meta’s announcement this morning.

As at the time of writing, FLOW is trading at $2.62 per token. Its latest price action has now brought the token’s 30-day rise to about 72%. 

Instagram’s expanding integration lets collectors showcase their verified Flow NFTs. Especially on their account in Meta’s photo-sharing service. The initiative was first launched in the U.S. to select users in May. Now, it has expanded to include countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East as well.

The feature lets users connect a supported crypto wallet to prove ownership of NFT collectibles and choose which ones to display, with both the owner and original creator automatically attributed alongside the asset.

The NFT Market

An NFT is a blockchain token. One that acts like a deed of ownership to an item on the internet. these items may include digital goods like profile pictures, artworks, collectibles, and video game items.

The NFT market rose to prominence in 2021, generating a whooping amount of about $25 billion worth of trading volume. Currently, in 2022 the market has has yielded more than $22 billion in sales.

Flow was created by the a blockchain company called Dapper Labs. Dapper Labs is a Vancouver-based blockchain company specializing in making video games. 

It has developed games such as Cryptokitties, NBA Top Shot, and Cheeze Wizards. The company’s platform is Flow. A blockchain that allows for users to access consumer applications, games, and digital assets. However, its an open blockchain  platform used by an array of other projects, including notable ones like avatar creator Genies and Kids’ collectables app, Zigazoo.

FLOW Blockchain And Web3 Support

The news of Flow support didn’t come on its own. Along with the news was the news, Meta made a big announcement to users. Users can now connect a Dapper wallet or a Coinbase Wallet as part of Instagram’s expanding Web3 support. It appears that Instagram’s NFT initiative is still not fully open to the public. However, it is gradually opening up to more of people as time goes by.

In May, Meta announced that Instagram would begin integrating support for NFTs collectibles. They intend to start with Ethereum and Polygon-based assets. Ethereum is the current leading blockchain network for NFts and Polygon is its side-chain. The side-chain – polygon – is enables faster, cheaper and more energy efficient transactions.

Apparently, Instagram also plans to add support for Solana NFTs, as announced in May.  In June, Instagram’s brother company Facebook, also began testing support for Ethereum and Polygon NFTs. They do this on profiles and also intend to add FLOW and Solana support down the line.

Meta is seriously pushing on the coming Metaverse, as the parent company of facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp change its name to Meta. It did this while revealing its grand vision for a next-generation internet that is navigated with avatars in immersive 3D spaces.

NFTs And The Metaverse 

Posted on by Augustine Ojeh

Some experts are of the opinion that the Non-fungible tokens are sustaining the cryptocurrency markets. The crypto winter has persisted and bitcoin seems stable at $23,000 so far.

This stability has been attributed by some experts to the eventfulness of the NFTs scene. With the cryptocurrency and blockchain markets having matured reasonably, attention is now being placed on NFTs. Not just NFTs but also the more encompassing Metaverse. NFTs are becoming a very significant part of the web3. The Metaverse’s popularity is also increasing for both customers and companies. 

Often, it has been presumed that NFTs are the building blocks on which the Metaverse can run. Furthermore, the UAE have taken the forefront in adopting tech that are significant in these fields.

The amount of people in the UAE owning NFTs is double the worldwide average. It is also interesting to know that the country is on its way to becoming a major player in the Metaverse.

However, members of the public are wondering where we are headed with all the jazz on NFTs and the Metaverse.

A Surge In NFTs?

NFT transaction volumes, users and active collections all soared through 2021. The term “NFTs” earned the converted title as Collins Dictionary’s ‘word of the year.’ This momentum continues as the Chainalysis State of Web3 report finding that collectors sent over $37 billion to NFT marketplace. This happened  between January to May this year. This indicates that they are on track to outdo their 2021 total of $40 billion.

There are generally peaks and troughs in NFT activity. This is due to marketplaces undergoing periods of growth, downturns and recoveries, caused by global trends and levels of user demand.

Even after taking all of these into account, there is no doubt a rise in the number of active NFT buyers and sellers. With an increase every quarter, there is no doubt that there has been serious NFTs activities. There’s been a steady growth, too, in the number of active NFT collections on OpenSea since March 2021, with over 4,000 reached in late April 2022.

NFTs And The Metaverse

With NFTs, people can own digital assets like images, audio, and video, and can sell, buy, and transfer items. Within the Metaverse, it’s even possible to own virtual real estate. Many brands, gamers and individuals are already treating the Metaverse as a lived reality. A reality which reflected in the price for virtual real estate. 

Blockchain-based virtual real estate prices grew by 879% from September 2019 to March 2022, while real estate prices grew by 39%.

The collection of 2,003 limited-edition collectables includes Etihad’s Manchester City FC offers a number of travel-lifestyle benefits. And Dubai’s stunning Museum of the Future is collaborating with Binance NFT to develop a range of virtual assets. The first NFT drop is in the coming weeks, according to reports.

The Metaverse is an emerging space, so the long-term price of virtual real estate relies on current and potential utilities. Utilities related to accessing exclusive communities and events. So far, this has been a major driver of NFT demand, and the current signs are that it’s crossing into actual virtual domain.

Synergism

The future of the Metaverse largely depend on how well the entire system can work together. It is not known yet how if brands will create their Metaverses in a way that is peculiar to them. In a way the Metaverses can operate seamlessly with current Metaverse projects and blockchain technologies.  However, there are some early signs that this will eventually become the case.