Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands Fully Acquires Lyon-Based Eden Games

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based game software company and venture capital company, announced on Monday that it has 100% acquired Eden Games. This French Lyon-based video game developer majorly focuses on developing racing video games.

Animoca Brands will leverage the capabilities and expertise of Eden Games to work on existing and new titles in the REVV Motorsport ecosystem and to bring to market a variety of new blockchain-based racing games. The new games will offer additional use of the NFT Race Passes and the other assets obtained by swapping assets from Animoca Brands’ F1® Delta Time, which stopped operations in March 2022.

Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, talked about the development and said: “With its quarter of a century of expertise in building high-quality motorsport video games, Eden Games will enhance and accelerate the development of the REVV Motorsport ecosystem and add powerful value to the REVV community and the racing metaverse.”

Meanwhile, David Nadal, co-founder and head of the studio of Eden Games, also commented about the new collaboration and stated: “We are excited to start the next chapter of Eden Games by joining Animoca Brands. We look forward to producing new experiences that challenge the status quo within the motorsport genre and venture into new frontiers such as Web3 alongside a leader in the space.”

Eden Games is a highly successful and respected racing game studio with products ranging from management racing to open-world and pure racing games. Founded in 1998, Eden Games has substantial experience developing award-winning racing games across console, mobile, and PC platforms. Besides that, Eden Games has developed long-term partnerships with over 30 major brands in the automotive industry, including Pagani, Lotus, BMW, Bugatti, Porsche, and many others.

Appetite for Expansion

Founded in 2014, Animoca Brands, together with its subsidiaries, develops and markets a portfolio of mobile games and apps for smartphones and tablets in Asia and Europe.

Animoca Brands has ambitions to expand further and is always interested in acquisitions. In January, the firm raised almost $360 million in a funding round led by Liberty City Ventures, a funding raise that gave the company a valuation of more than $5 billion.

Animoca Brands not only has invested in more than 150 NFT and metaverse-related companies but also publishes games globally, with over 20 brand partnerships currently in place. The firm approaches such partnerships strategically and selects brands that allow it to get ahead in specific markets or with particular demographics.

Its biggest-spending territories are the U.S., China, Japan, and South Korea, but its geographical player distribution is wide. It is always mindful of emerging markets.

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Hong Kong-Based LOST Launches World’s 1st Escape Room in Metaverse

Hong Kong-based LOST has launched the world’s first escape room in the metaverse.

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The real-life escape room game company said that players in the “LOST in Metaverse” could earn awards and attain knowledge all at once while playing the game.

LOST said that the launch date has been set for May 15, 2022.

“Inspired by fictional events, historical stories, and different myths, LOST in Metaverse hosts a series of immersive adventure games online and/or offline,” LOST announced.

The company also said that there is an option for players to earn tokens and limited non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by switching between the physical and virtual worlds to complete tasks.

“By solving the puzzles and riddles, unlocking the treasure boxes and moving through the storyline, the players will uncover secrets and hints that lead them to the way out,” LOST said.

Additionally, LOST has also brought its physical experience into the metaverse for children aged 6 to 14. “LOST Junior” mainly involves an educational experience for children through storytelling, scientific explanations and social skills while playing and collecting rewards.

“The whole concept of LOST in Metaverse is to create a play-to-learn, play-to-earn experience where players can form teams with friends online and solve mysteries together in the comfort of their homes,” Rick Woo, Founder of LOST, stated.

LOST also stated that it plans to cooperate with different partners soon, and build a virtual world based on Web 3.0 named LOST Island – “an ultimate game world of a gaming ecosystem with infinite possibility, defining the new GameFi.”

Established in 2013, LOST currently has 14 branches around the world.

Other Metaverse Developments in Hong Kong

In another major metaverse development in the financial hub, HSBC Holdings said it has established a fund to render investment opportunities to its high and ultra-high net worth investors in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Blockchain.News reported that HSBC will pinpoint investment opportunities across five areas in the metaverse ecosystem; infrastructure, interface, computing, experience and discovery, and virtualization through the Metaverse Discretionary Strategy portfolio.

Lina Lim, Asia Pacific’s regional head of discretionary and funds for investments and wealth solutions at HSBC, stated:

“The metaverse ecosystem, while still at its early stage, is rapidly evolving. We see many exciting opportunities in this space as companies of different backgrounds and sizes are flocking into the ecosystem.”

Last month, HSBC entered the metaverse ecosystem after partnering with Sandbox, a blockchain gaming platform.

As a result, it became the second global bank after JPMorgan Chase invested in a metaverse platform. Through the partnership, HSBC acquired a plot of LAND, the virtual real estate in The Sandbox metaverse, which it would develop for engagement, entertainment, and connection purposes.  

According to a recent report by Citi, the metaverse is expected to move away from the confines of a video game played on a virtual reality headset to become an “Open Metaverse” that would be owned and governed by a community.

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Spot Crypto ETF in High Demand by Financial Advisers: Nasdaq Report

A new survey from Nasdaq has shed more light on the growth in an embrace of spot crypto Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in the United States.

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The survey features 500 financial advisors, including Registered Independent Advisors (RIA) and independent brokers alike.

Per the survey, it was discovered that 86% of advisors who are currently invested in digital currencies plan to increase their holdings in the next year. The survey also revealed that 72% of those surveyed would be more open to investing their client’s funds in crypto if a spot Bitcoin ETF were to be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Of those surveyed, 50% acknowledged that they already use Bitcoin futures ETFs and 28% plan to start using them in the next 12 months. Currently, as many as three Bitcoin futures ETF have started trading in the U.S., the latest being from Teucrium, as reported by Blockchain.News last week.

“Over the last decade, financial advisors have been focused on shifting assets into index funds. As they incorporate digital assets into their investment strategies, they are expressing strong interest in a similar vehicle that can offer broad asset class exposure for their clients,” said Jake Rapaport, Head of Digital Asset Index Research, Nasdaq. “The vast majority of advisors we surveyed either plan to begin allocating to crypto or increase their existing allocation to crypto. As demand continues to surge, advisors will be looking for an institutional solution to the crypto question that now dominates client conversations.”

Other highlights of the survey dwelt on the level of risk adoption by these financial asset managers with most agreeing that just about 6% of the client’s portfolio is enough to invest in any crypto product. With the growing consideration of changing the narrative about crypto’s impact on Climate, the Nasdaq survey shows that 7% of investors agree that “ESG is a very important consideration when determining a client’s strategy toward digital assets.”

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22 Bitcoin ATMs Established Globally Per Day in March, Study Shows

The number of Bitcoin ATMs continues to rise, it is estimated that 22 machines were installed per day last month, according to a study by Finbold. 

Statistics indicated that the number of BTC ATMs surged to 36,709 on April 1 from 36,023 recorded on March 1, increasing by nearly 2%. Per the report:

“22 Bitcoin ATMs were added daily in March alone, as the number of Bitcoin machines installed over time continues to grow.”

Therefore, an increase in Bitcoin ATMs shows that crypto adoption continues to tick as more participants jump on the bandwagon. Furthermore, they play an instrumental role in availing the much-needed infrastructure when buying and selling Bitcoins. 

According to Coin ATM Radar, the number of Bitcoin ATMs spread across 26 countries stood at 36,733 as of April 11. 

 

Source: Coin ATM Radar

Bitcoin ATMs have become famous on American soil, given that nearly 20,000 new machines were established in 2021 with more than 50 machines were established daily, according to Finbold.

Part of their popularity is driven by demand from crypto investors who want to avoid Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements needed in cryptocurrency trading platforms. 

Meanwhile, some retailers offer the crypto ATM service options as part of the digitization efforts needed to optimize their customer satisfaction rates. For example, Walmart partnered with crypto companies Coinstar and Coinme to install Bitcoin ATMs across its retail stores in October 2021. 

Earlier this year, Airbnb’s co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky, disclosed that crypto payments ranked the top suggestion from customers when it comes to better service provision, Blockchain.News reported. 

This observation was made after Chesky asked his Twitter followers what they would like the company to improve or launch in 2022.

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Crypto ATM Market Expected to Hit $1.18B by 2028, Driven by Increasing Fund Transfers

A surge in fund transfers is expected to expedite the global crypto ATM market to hit $1.185 billion by 2028, according to Vantage Market Research, a company providing B2B research services.

The study expects the crypto ATM market to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 58.7% during the forecast period. This market was worth $74.2 million in 2021.

Per the report:

“The increasing fund transfers specifically in emerging economies are expected to fuel the growth of the crypto ATM market during the forecast period.”

According to the World Bank, remittances to low-and middle-income nations were projected to surge by 7.3% in 2021.

Remittances offer a crucial lifeline when it comes to spending on vital items like education, health, and food, especially given that economic hardship has increased.

Therefore, escalating fund transfers, especially in emerging economies, are considered a stepping stone towards more growth in the crypto ATM market. Per the study:

“Crypto ATMs are now seen installed in most of the countries across the globe as businesses are putting a strong emphasis on meeting the changing needs of their customers.”

The dominance of North America in this sector is expected to continue soaring based on the presence of key market players like Coin Flip, Bitcoin Depot, and Coin Cloud and the rollout of crypto ATMs in public areas. 

Other prominent players in this industry include Covault, Cryptomat, Coin ATM Radar, Coin source, Bitaccess Inc., Orderbob, and Coin me.

In August 2021, Atlanta-based leading enterprise technology provider NCR Corporation announced the acquisition of crypto ATM provider LibertyX.

The acquisition intended to integrate the LibertyX mobile application so that NCR Corporation customers such as banks, retailers, and restaurants would be able to pay, purchase or withdraw cryptocurrencies directly from its Bitcoin (BTC) ATM network. 

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22 Bitcoin ATMs Established Per Day in March, Study Shows

The number of Bitcoin ATMs continues to rise, it is estimated that 22 machines were installed per day last month, according to a study by Finbold. 

Statistics indicated that the number of BTC ATMs surged to 36,709 on April 1 from 36,023 recorded on March 1, increasing by nearly 2%. Per the report:

“22 Bitcoin ATMs were added daily in March alone, as the number of Bitcoin machines installed over time continues to grow.”

Therefore, an increase in Bitcoin ATMs shows that crypto adoption continues to tick as more participants jump on the bandwagon. Furthermore, they play an instrumental role in availing the much-needed infrastructure when buying and selling Bitcoins. 

According to Coin ATM Radar, the number of Bitcoin ATMs spread across 26 countries stood at 36,733 as of April 11. 

 

Source: Coin ATM Radar

Bitcoin ATMs have become famous on American soil, given that nearly 20,000 new machines were established in 2021 with more than 50 machines were established daily, according to Finbold.

Part of their popularity is driven by demand from crypto investors who want to avoid Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements needed in cryptocurrency trading platforms. 

Meanwhile, some retailers offer the crypto ATM service options as part of the digitization efforts needed to optimize their customer satisfaction rates. For example, Walmart partnered with crypto companies Coinstar and Coinme to install Bitcoin ATMs across its retail stores in October 2021. 

Earlier this year, Airbnb’s co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky, disclosed that crypto payments ranked the top suggestion from customers when it comes to better service provision, Blockchain.News reported. 

This observation was made after Chesky asked his Twitter followers what they would like the company to improve or launch in 2022.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Tagged : / / / / / /

Crypto ATM Market Expected to Hit $1.18 Billion by 2028, Driven by Increasing Fund Transfers

A surge in fund transfers is expected to expedite the global crypto ATM market to hit $1.185 billion by 2028, according to Vantage Market Research, a company providing B2B research services.

The study expects the crypto ATM market to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 58.7% during the forecast period. This market was worth $74.2 million in 2021.

Per the report:

“The increasing fund transfers specifically in emerging economies are expected to fuel the growth of the crypto ATM market during the forecast period.”

According to the World Bank, remittances to low-and middle-income nations were projected to surge by 7.3% in 2021.

Remittances offer a crucial lifeline when it comes to spending on vital items like education, health, and food, especially given that economic hardship has increased.

Therefore, escalating fund transfers, especially in emerging economies, are considered a stepping stone towards more growth in the crypto ATM market. Per the study:

“Crypto ATMs are now seen installed in most of the countries across the globe as businesses are putting a strong emphasis on meeting the changing needs of their customers.”

The dominance of North America in this sector is expected to continue soaring based on the presence of key market players like Coin Flip, Bitcoin Depot, and Coin Cloud and the rollout of crypto ATMs in public areas. 

Other prominent players in this industry include Covault, Cryptomat, Coin ATM Radar, Coin source, Bitaccess Inc., Orderbob, and Coin me.

In August 2021, Atlanta-based leading enterprise technology provider NCR Corporation announced the acquisition of crypto ATM provider LibertyX.

The acquisition intended to integrate the LibertyX mobile application so that NCR Corporation customers such as banks, retailers, and restaurants would be able to pay, purchase or withdraw cryptocurrencies directly from its Bitcoin (BTC) ATM network. 

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Market Reactions to Elon Musk on not Joining the Board of Directors of Twitter

As confirmed by Parag Agrawal, the CEO of Twitter Inc, who announced on Sunday night that Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has decided not to join the social media company’s board. The market has different reactions to Elon Musk’s decision.

Last week on Tuesday, Musk spent $2.8 billion buying a 9.2% stake in social media company Twitter when he purchased 73,486,938 of common stock in the social media company. This purchase made him Twitter’s largest individual shareholder. Shortly afterwards, Twitter announced that the Tesla executive would be taking a seat on the company’s board.

However, in a tweet on Sunday night, Agrawal disclosed: “Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective on April 9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our Board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input.”

Neither Agrawal nor Musk disclosed the reason for the rejection.

Both Musk and Twitter’s management team had expressed excitement about the addition of the executive to the board.

Musk has been a free-speech absolutist and a critic of Twitter. When he bought a Twitter stake on April 5, he disclosed plans to bring about significant improvements at the major social media platform.

Some corporate governance experts have tried to explain the reason behind Musk’s decline to join the board, basically pointing to the fact that putting Musk on the Twitter board of directors could have been a way of controlling his influence over the company.

Danni Hewson, a financial analyst at the investment company AJ Bell, explained: “He (Musk) was never going to want to be constrained in the way that Twitter clearly would want to constrain him as a member of the board.”

In a client note, Angelo Zino, a Senior Equity Analyst at CFRA Research, stated: “We had thought the equity cap and board seat was originally intended to handcuff Musk in many respects and think he is unlikely the type of individual who will now just sell his stake and walk away.”

Brian Fitzgerald, Wells Fargo analyst, also elaborated: “I think what he realized is that by being on the board his voice will diminish and that’s absolutely the last thing he wants.”

As part of Musk’s agreement to join the board, he had committed not to acquire more than 14.9% of the company’s shares during his term. Twitter stated in a regulatory filing that it intended to appoint Musk to its board for a term that will end in 2024. But since the deal is no longer there, this leaves the door open for him to take a more aggressive stance by purchasing more of Twitters’ shares.

Musk’s Influence on Crypto Market

The CEO of electric-car maker Tesla has been a staunch backer of crypto coins and often uses Twitter to publicly announce his views on cryptocurrencies. Musk, who has over 55 million followers on social media, his tweets normally impact the crypto market significantly. His witty tweets on cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Dogecoin, influence the prices to soar or fall.

In May, his tweet brought the price of Bitcoin down when he announced Tesla will not accept Bitcoins anymore because of the environmental concerns around crypto mining. Bitcoin saw a dramatic fall from $65,000 to the $30,000 level. 

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Market Responds to Elon Musk on Not Joining the Board of Directors to Twitter

As confirmed by Parag Agrawal, the CEO of Twitter Inc, who announced on Sunday night that Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has decided not to join the social media company’s board. The market has different reactions to Elon Musk’s decision.

Last week on Tuesday, Musk spent $2.8 billion buying a 9.2% stake in social media company Twitter when he purchased 73,486,938 of common stock in the social media company. This purchase made him Twitter’s largest individual shareholder. Shortly afterwards, Twitter announced that the Tesla executive would be taking a seat on the company’s board.

However, in a tweet on Sunday night, Agrawal disclosed: “Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective on April 9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our Board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input.”

Neither Agrawal nor Musk disclosed the reason for the rejection.

Both Musk and Twitter’s management team had expressed excitement about the addition of the executive to the board.

Musk has been a free-speech absolutist and a critic of Twitter. When he bought a Twitter stake on April 5, he disclosed plans to bring about significant improvements at the major social media platform.

Some corporate governance experts have tried to explain the reason behind Musk’s decline to join the board, basically pointing to the fact that putting Musk on the Twitter board of directors could have been a way of controlling his influence over the company.

Danni Hewson, a financial analyst at the investment company AJ Bell, explained: “He (Musk) was never going to want to be constrained in the way that Twitter clearly would want to constrain him as a member of the board.”

In a client note, Angelo Zino, a Senior Equity Analyst at CFRA Research, stated: “We had thought the equity cap and board seat was originally intended to handcuff Musk in many respects and think he is unlikely the type of individual who will now just sell his stake and walk away.”

Brian Fitzgerald, Wells Fargo analyst, also elaborated: “I think what he realized is that by being on the board his voice will diminish and that’s absolutely the last thing he wants.”

As part of Musk’s agreement to join the board, he had committed not to acquire more than 14.9% of the company’s shares during his term. Twitter stated in a regulatory filing that it intended to appoint Musk to its board for a term that will end in 2024. But since the deal is no longer there, this leaves the door open for him to take a more aggressive stance by purchasing more of Twitters’ shares.

Musk’s Influence on Crypto Market

The CEO of electric-car maker Tesla has been a staunch backer of crypto coins and often uses Twitter to publicly announce his views on cryptocurrencies. Musk, who has over 55 million followers on social media, his tweets normally impact the crypto market significantly. His witty tweets on cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin and Dogecoin, influence the prices to soar or fall.

In May, his tweet brought the price of Bitcoin down when he announced Tesla will not accept Bitcoins anymore because of the environmental concerns around crypto mining. Bitcoin saw a dramatic fall from $65,000 to the $30,000 level.

 

 

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Bitcoin (BTC) $ 43,998.79 5.12%
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,296.54 2.22%
Litecoin (LTC) $ 74.16 1.27%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 252.44 0.60%