Web3 Roundup 7-24-23
A roundup of activity in NFT, Metaverse, Gaming and AI
Brand Web3 Activity
McDonalds Enters Sandbox
Mcdonalds has unveiled a Chicken McNugget themed experience within the metaverse platform Sandbox
Players can explore the pop-up, tour a Chicken McNuggets factory, learn about the history of Chicken McNuggets and undertake quests which are rewarded in Sandbox’s native token $SAND.
Players in Hong Kong have the chance to win a redeemable coupon that provides free nuggets for an entire year
Sandbox now boasts over 400 brand integrations on their platform, with McDonalds being their latest
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Simpsons poster features prominent NFT collections
While there isn’t much explanation, it seems that some blue chip NFT projects will be featured in the upcoming Simpson special
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Warner Brothers Brings The Flash to the Blockchain
Warner Brothers has released the full length film “The Flash” as an NFT the same day the film becomes available on traditional platforms
The release is on the Eluvio blockchain which specializes in streaming content and decentralized video services
There are two NFT tiers available to fans: the Mystery edition, which will cost $35, and the Premium edition, which will retail for $100
Customers will not only receive the tokenized film with their purchase they will also get a bevy of randomized art, behind the scenes footage, and special menu interfaces
This will be the first time a major Hollywood blockbuster will be released as an NFT the same day as traditional digital platforms
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Starbucks loyalty collaborates with NFT IP AKU
Starbucks is continuing to launch ‘journeys’ for it’s web3 loyalty platform, Odyssey
The latest is in partnership with a native NFT project, AKU
Odyssey members will be able to join “AKU on an Adventure” and claim a Stamp that will be designed by AKU
Starbucks will also be making a charitable donation to Blessing in a Backpack as part of the collaboration
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7-Eleven Launches Slurpee NFTs
To celebrate Slurpee day 7-Eleven has announced they will also be giving away free NFTs on the Polygon blockchain.
The NFTs are offered within the 7-Eleven app and will be customizable, offering users the chance to create their own digital Slurpee favor
7-Eleven will be handling the gas fees and custody of the digital asset
The NFT’s will be non-tradable or transferable and on the app itself the word NFT is never mentioned
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Google to Allow Android App Store to Offer/Integrate NFTs
In what is being received as a big victory for the blockchain/NFT space, Google has announced that the Android app store will allow NFT integration on paid and free applications
They will also allow the for in-app token gating regardless of where the NFT originates from
This is in stark contrast to Apple’s rules in their app store
Interestingly, Reddit helped Google spearhead this policy shift and change in user terms and conditions
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NBA Licenses Draft Picks to Sorare
Sorare continues to build upon its relationship with the NBA after launching an NFT based fantasy league that saw some players representations reaching record breaking price points
To kick off the second year of the NFT fantasy league Sorare is digitizing the top 5 draft picks
Players will have the chance to bid on these cards in a traditional auction
Sorare has become one of the most utilized blockchain platforms, offering a wide range of NFT backed fantasy leagues
They have a player base of over 5 million coming from 180 different countries
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Fox to Debut Blackchain Backed Animataed Series
In June of 2021 Fox announced it was investing 100 million dollars into a creative fund for NFT content
The first show from this fund (titled Krapoplis) is set to air September and will be lead by Dan Harmon, the co-creator of popular show Rick and Morty
The show has already released an NFT collection ahead of its premiere
Holding one of the NFTs gives access to behind the scenes content, art contests, IRL experiences
But most notable holders will get to vote on show elements and storylines.
The show has been greenlit for 3 seasons so holders will not have to worry about their benefits disappearing anytime soon
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Native Web3
Proof Launches Mythics
Proof, the parent company of popular NFT collection Moon Birds, have started to release their anticipated companion collection Mythics
The release is a new spin on the classic minting process
Moonbirds receive eggs that will hatch into Mythics
Holders of Proofs other collection “oddities” can burn their NFT in return for a mythic egg.
The catch? Only 100 eggs will hatch each day which means it will be over 200 days until this collection is finally revealed
Proof has received their fair share of feedback over the months with plenty of criticism on releases and events
So far, in contrast the Mythics launch is being received extremely well
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Opensea adds new feature: “Deals”
Opensea is rolling out a new feature that allows peer-to-peer trading of NFTs across all collections on the site.
The Deal feature is fairly flexible allowing users to offer multiple NFT’s for one as well as being able to include a payment of Etherum in the trade as well
Having this feature should help to prevent scams in the space
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APE Fest Announced
Popular NFT festival APE Fest is making its return
This time the venue has been switched from NYC to Hong Kong marking this Yuga Labs first big event outside of the US
There will be a smaller community led event held in Miami celebrating the two year release of the Mutant Ape collection
Yuga has announced a shift from a music focused festival to prioritizing city exploration in a more convention like setting
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Tokenized watches have entered the blockchain
The watch market is one of the most robust economies of goods out there, but now using the blockchain you can tokenize your watch, trade it, sell it, or even take a loan out against it
This offering comes from the Arcade XYZ platform that enables loans to be taken out against all sorts of NFTs
Users send their watches to be authenticated by the company 4K which then mints a token representing that watch which Arcade XYZ lists, allowing users to make loan offers on the token
This is Arcade XYZ’s first foray into NFTs that represent real assets, though they have facilitated over 100 million dollars in loan on primarily PFP based NFTs so the demand for this service is very much there.
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NFTs invade Comic Con
Some NFTs have long been trying to break out of the crypto echo chamber and attract a following outside of the web3 space.
The most successful of these could be argued to be Pudgy Penguins who now boast 5 billion gif views cross their socials and also has a toy collection sold at popular retailers such as Amazon, Target, and Walmart
Now the Pudgys as well Cool Cats and On1 Force will all have their own respective booths at the upcoming Comic Con which is the largest pop culture event in America
Cool Cats will be using the venue to spread the word about their recent gaming developments
On1 Force will be offering a glimpse of their upcoming Comic release
Pudgy Penguins will be educating the masses on NFT IP and Blockchain integration
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AI News
META Continues to Lean into Llama 2
Llama 2 is a family of state-of-the-art open-access large language models and was released to the public by META
Notably, META is allowing for commercial licensing so users can create and sell products using the tool
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Digital Toy Company to Incorporate AI chatbots
Crypto Toys is a company that focuses on releasing NFTs geared towards children
They have had several IP collaborations such as Star Wars and Masters of the Universe
They recently announced that they are working on a kid friendly chatbot that will be tied to their NFT offerings allowing kids to interact with their toys
For example, your Luke Skywalker NFT would be able to tell you his origin story
There will also be a myriad of parental restriction tools available allowing for parent to block specific words, topics and access past chat logs.
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Metaverse / Gaming
Lamelo Ball Launches Sandbox Avatar Collection
The pre-sale begins on 7/25 and features 3,000 unique avatars across four ‘tiers’
Beyond the avatar utility, there is an event set for September that holders will presumably have access to as well as a game tickets being provided to the rarest NFTs
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Cool Cats Partner with Three Gaming Studios
Popular NFT collection has announced that is partnering with three top gaming companies to create distinct games using the Cool Cat IP
The Cool Cats ecosystem has recently gone through quite a shake up with the ending of their $Milk token and a refocusing on gaming and character IP expansion
The studios
ICandy will be developing a temple runner themed game
nWay will be developing a multiplayer arcade style game
And Sync Studios will be developing a mobile app game
Cool Cats has announced that their NFTs will see integration into these games
Each game is slated for a 2024 release.
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Neopets cancels NFT Game After Raising Millions For It
Neopets recently raised 4 million from firms such as Polygon and Avalanche with promises of an NFT enabled relaunch
Neopets also rolled out their free to play “Neopets Metaverse” that in the alpha stage sold over 9000 NFTs with promises of future utility
However the metaverse plans and future NFT integrations have all been unexpectedly canceled with the company now switching to focus on a non-crypto mobile game titled “World of Neopets”
Many purchasers of the NFTs have expressed dismay at no longer having any future integration or utility.
Neopets corporate has responded that “They will continue to support their web3 “community” though many are not satisfied with that answer
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BMW Unveils VR Project
BMW has launched a VR platform called MetaRide which focuses on showcasing their new electric motorcycle the CE 02
Users can explore a branded space, play basketball, learn about the CE 02 and most excitingly even take it on a virtual test drive
The platform was launched simultaneously as their expo at the Pure and Crafted festival in Berlin
Article : https://nftevening.com/virtual-reality-meets-motorcycle-passion-with-bmw-motorrads-metaride
Crypto
Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Launches
The ambitious project seeks to create a unique wallet for every human on the planet, based on biometric data (eyescans)
Today, the app launches and users can visit one of many locations to have their eye scanned and wallet created
Use cases for this project include verified voting systems and a basis for universal basic income (which Altman believes will be necessary as AI eliminates jobs)
Good interview on the subject below:
FTX sues their one time CEO Sam Bankman Fried
In an effort to reclaim misused customer funds, FTX has sued Sam Bankman Fried and three former executives for $1B
The Lawsuit was launched by restructuring expert John Ray who handled the famous Enron fallout in 2007
The lawsuit also targets Caroline Ellison who ran the FTX trading arm, Ellison has already pleaded guilty to fraud on the federal charges stemming from the FTX collapse.
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Coinbase to Enable Messaging Between Wallets
Coinbase has announced that Etherum wallets will be able to communicate with each other in their upcoming update to the Coinbase Wallet
The messages will be encrypted but not recorded on the blockchain as of now
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Wisdom Tree enters the digital world
Asset manager Wisdom Tree has launched a new mobile app “Wisdom Tree Prime” that allows users to invest in Bitcoin, Etherum, tokenized gold, and digital funds
Most interesting in this offering is the digitized funds which don’t invest in crypto currency rather they are tokenized traditional funds such as the S&P 500 that live on the Stellar and Etherum blockchain
Another interesting facet is the tokenized gold which is backed by physical gold held in the HSBC vaults in London
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