A collection of recent news headlines, articles, reports and downloads covering all things broadly blockchain-related, spanning NFTs, cryptocurrencies, Web3, the Metaverse and more.
The Geopolitics of The Metaverse / Eurasia Group
- ICYMI: Gumi Cryptos Capital blockchain-focused VC firm raised $110M for its second fund, focusing on Web3 with aims to back 50 firms in equity and tokens
- Is it too early to get excited about Web3?: “There are huge fortunes being made, long before the technology is really developed or the winning players have emerged.”
- Video: Wild3 Conference Day 1 – sessions covering metaverse, NFTs, cryptocurrency, DeFi, blockchain and beyond
- NFTs extend the life of street art: “Buildings can crumble, weather can cause damage…scanning a mural and turning it into an NFT, we forever immortalize the art…”
- An overview of how news publishers including NYT, The Economist, South China Morning Post and others made $12M selling NFTs
- Nukes, NFTs and Meta’s income tax’: Episode 1 of TechCrunch’s new Web3-focused Chain Reaction podcast
Weekly Asia-Pacific tech news on Substack
- ICYMI: ‘Study of the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Finance Through the Trade in Works of Art’ report released by US Department of Treasury
- ICYMI: Blackbook Accelerator Fund applications are now open, focusing on propelling graffiti and street artists into the NFT space
- Video: ‘New Age Technologies – Web3, NFT & the Crypto Gaming Universe’, a fireside chat between Animoca Brands, Forkast and Gobi GBA
- Security in the Metaverse: “Picture what phishing could look like in the metaverse…an avatar of a teller in a virtual bank lobby…an impersonation of your CEO…”
- Download: ‘Meet Me in the Metaverse – The continuum of technology and experience, reshaping business’ from Accenture (pdf)
- Download: ‘Exploring the Metaverse and the digital future’, a 28-page overview from GSMA (pdf)
- “Manufacturing with metaverse components will become a critical consumer touchpoint—a point of differentiation for brands—in the future.”
- Metaverse, Web3, Blockchain, NFTs, Crypto and more – 2 days on the cutting edge of new technologies at the Wild3 Conference, April 12 & 13
- Wild3 Conference: ‘Reshaping Digital Marketing in The Metaverse’, a panel discussion with @CoinFLEXdotcom @TzApac @BreederDAO and @PReciousComms
- “The metaverse could be tech’s next trillion-dollar opportunity”: CB Insights’ take on the next generation of the internet, and all things related
- ICYMI: Lego and Epic Games partner “to shape the future of the metaverse to make it safe and fun for children and families”
- Video: ‘Futureproofing your newsroom for the metaverse’ from the recent International Journalism Festival
- ICYMI: EPNS – Ethereum Push Notification Service – raises $10.1M Series A to enable a Web3 communication layer for decentralised applications and smart contracts
- Decentralized Autonomous Organizations – DAOs: An alternative to venture capital investment
Token2049 Crypto Conference / Singapore, September28-29
- ICYMI: Prime Blockchain bitcoin mining and infrastructure firm to go public in the US via merge with blank-check firm, in SPAC deal valuing combined company at $1.25BN
- Blockchain Fest 2022 Asia edition set for June 2-3, running from Singapore
- DeSci: “…scientists and entrepreneurs are leveraging blockchain tools, including smart contracts and tokens, in an attempt to improve modern science.”
- “Customer loyalty programs are not realizing their full potential due to low client retention and redemption rates, time delays, and high costs. That’s where blockchain comes in.”
- Podcast: ‘The Valuation of Virtual Land and the Metaverse’, Mint & Burn Episode 35 via Australia’s RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub
- ICYMI: Fonbnk partnered by Visa to allow unused phone time to be spent via virtual credit card, converting airtime to crypto, effectively converting SIM cards to debit cards
Accenture: Meet Me In The Metaverse (pdf)
- Download: Q1 2022 Crypto Focus Newsletter, a 4-page briefing from KPMG (pdf)
- Wild3 Conference, Day 2- Cryptocurrency, DAOs, gaming and crypto, DeFi and financial institutions, and more –
- Australia: The first ETFs to invest directly in Bitcoin and Ether are set to hit the market next week
- Blockchain in hospitality: “…in Thailand, Sri Panwa Phuket and its sister properties…have been accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and USDC…since September 2021.”
- Video: ‘File Production using Blockchain’ in the film industry – Lumiere Project founder Patrice Poujol interviewed by Sean Lee, former CEO of Algorand Foundation
- ICYMI: Australia’s RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub proposes a ‘Docklands DAO’ to help the Melbourne precinct recover from the pandemic
Cool Points Club / Climate change, blockchain & NFTs
- Thailand: Athena Mentor blockchain startup unveils ‘mentor-to-earn’ service allowing a user to receive tokens by contributing as a mentor or participating as a mentee
- China: Tencent launches testing of Digital Yuan Wallet, enabling users to transfer funds, collect payments, and access credit card functions via WeChat integration
- Indonesia: Gov’t plans to tax cryptocurrencies from May, levying VAT and 0.1% tax on income from crypto trading
- ICYMI: EPNS – Ethereum Push Notification Service – raises $10.1M Series A to enable a Web3 communication layer for decentralised applications and smart contracts
- Singapore’s Ryde ride-hail app preps for launch of community-focused ‘RydePal NFTs’, providing platform-based rewards and option to trade on secondary NFT platforms
- ICYMI: ANZ Bank in March became Australia’s first major financial institution to issue and execute payment of a stablecoin linked to the Australian dollar
2022 Blockchain Development Trends / Outlier Ventures (pdf)
- Hong Kong: OneDegree virtual insurer partners Germany’s Munich Re reinsurer to expand OneInfinity crypto insurance to clients such as firms dealing with NFTs
- Japan: double jump tokyo, NFT and blockchain gaming startup, raises $24M in part to help major gaming companies with incorporating cryptocurrencies
- Philippines: PayMaya fintech adds cryptocurrency function to its app, allowing users to trade, buy, and spend digital assets
- Singapore: Ryde ride-share platform adds to crypto payments capability with Request Finance, expanding user options for topping up their in-app wallets
- Singapore-based RockX cryptocurrency staking provider raises $6M Series A
- Taiwan: Far EasTone Telecommunications selects 20 startup teams for 5G metaverse accelerator, looking at consumer applications and corporate solutions
The Block Research: 2022 Digital Asset Outlook (pdf)
- Staying Ahead Of The Meta-Curve’: Animoca Brands’ Yat Siu talks with Patrick Grove of Catcha Group at Wild3 Conference
- Japan: H2L, backed by Sony, unveil metaverse product allowing users to feel physical sensations, including pain, triggered by virtual events
- Japan: Bandai Namco video game giant to launch $130M ‘IP metaverse’ project
- Japan: Bandai Namco launches 021 Fund to invest in tech startups and technologies focused on entertainment, dovetailing with its IP Metaverse moves
- Animoca Brands and the open metaverse: “…we think the biggest threat isn’t regulation, but it is groups like Facebook or Tencent.”
- Japan: Nissan and Toyota step into the metaverse with virtual showroom and office spaces
- Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands unveils partners for Mega City 2, phase 2 of cultural hub in the metaverse, and announces LAND sale for April 28th
Islands of Cool / Blockchain, climate change & NFTs
- Cambodia: A interview intro to Lastmile Works VR tech firm, and the potential for Cambodia’s metaverse development
- Taiwan: Pili Int’l Multimedia aims to use NFTs as new source of revenue to keep traditional puppetry art form alive
- ICYMI: A look at The Parallel, a Vietnamese Metaverse project featuring both play-to-earn and passive income via trading, lending, or borrowing NFTs
- China: “NFTs, or the tokens used to prove the ownership and authenticity of an item, must not be used for securitization or transacted in cryptocurrencies…”
- Japan: Line messaging app unveils NFT Marketplace for users in Japan, offering at launch nearly 40,000 digital collectibles
- Malaysia: An intro to Penang’s ArtJam and founder, and the live NFT minting that took place during the launch of the state’s Creative Digital District at George Town initiative
- Hong Kong: A look at Sprout token management startup, aiming to help companies trace digital coins and non-fungible tokens across various blockchain platforms
Samsung 837X Metaverse Project
- Rario and BlockTrust partnered by Australian Cricketers Association and Cricket Australia to launch branded digital collectibles and play-2-earn gaming
- India: Rario cricket-focused NFT platform raised $120M led by Dream Capital, gaining access to 140M Dream Sports and subsidiaries’ users
- Hong Kong: Newman Capital launches $50M fund aiming to help traditional businesses with moves towards Web3 activity
- India: Myraah raises $350K pre-seed funding to build out Web3 platform featuring digital ID builder, private files storage and no-code Web3-ready website builder
- Singapore: Ethlas ‘game-fi’ blockchain startup raises $6M in extended seed-funding, building on largest Polygon-based game metaverse with over 310K gamers
- ICYMI: Warning issued of North Korea-sponsored cyber-threats to critical infrastructure, financial sector organizations in blockchain and cryptocurrency industries
- Hong Kong: Startup Air World launches decentralised virtual world, AiR Metaverse, recreating Hong Kong in a virtual environment and featuring location-based gameplay
- ICYMI: Meta, parent of Facebook and Instagram, to give content creators opportunity to sell virtual items in Horizon Worlds, its main metaverse platform
- Union Bank of the Philippines partners Ark of Dreams blockchain startup for ‘metaverse bank’ presence
Australia: National Plan to Combat Cyber Crime 2022 (pdf)
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