Tag: Non-Fungible Token (Nft)

WWE Inks Deal with Fanatics to Offer Fans an Enhanced NFT Experience

by Blockchain News

To render its fans a new experience through non-fungible token (NFT) trading cards, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has signed a deal with the digital sports platform Fanatics. 

As an American integrated media and entertainment company known for professional wrestling, WWE sees the partnership as a game-changer that will give its global fanbase more opportunities to showcase their pride and passion for its star-studded roster and marquee events.

Vince McMahon, WWE chairman and CEO, welcomed the collaboration and stated:

“We believe this multi-platform partnership will set a new standard for WWE e-commerce, apparel and merchandise, while providing our fans globally with more ways than ever to engage with WWE and our Superstars.”

For elevated fan experience, WWE will be able to access Fanatics Collectibles, Fanatics Commerce, and Candy Digital. 

Fanatics Collectibles, the NFT trading cards, will help revamp WWE’s physical and digital cards. 

Michael Rubin, Fanatics CEO, noted:

“From e-commerce and licensed merchandise to trading cards and more, we’re going to offer up an incredible set of capabilities to help WWE’s passionate fans worldwide celebrate their favorite Superstars, marquee events and the WWE brand overall.”

WWE is one of the most widely admired sports and entertainment properties worldwide. Rubin added that it made perfect sense to activate many parts of our Fanatics global platform to create a first-of-its-kind, all-in fan experience.

The organisation has shown its preference for non-fungible tokens, given that it launched John Cena-inspired NFTs just in time for SummerSlam in August 2021.

Meanwhile, a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report acknowledged that NFTs would be at the epicentre of the future of sports as they would revolutionise the way fans consume and interact in the sporting arena. 

Image source: Shutterstock

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YouTube Pledges to Make NFTs Safer for Creators and Fans Upon Launch

by CryptoPotato

A few weeks after reports emerged suggesting that the world’s largest online video sharing platform will enter the blockchain, metaverse, and NFT world, the company has provided more details.

  • With 2021 becoming the year of non-fungible tokens, all eyes were on such assets and the metaverse as of the start of 2022.

  • Countless companies both from inside and outside the cryptocurrency realm continue to hop on board, and Alphabet’s YouTube was the latest to outline such plans, as CryptoPotato reported in late January.

  • The video-sharing giant wanted to focus on expanding its ecosystem to “help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube.”

  • In a more recent blog post, the company’s CPO – Neal Mohan – dug deeper, indicating that some forms of NFTs could be actually harmful to creators and fans due to scams or copyright theft.

  • However, YouTube aims to make them safer:


  • “Giving a verifiable way for fans to own unique videos, photos, art, and even experiences from their favorite creators could be a compelling prospect for creators and their audience.” – reads the post.

  • YouTube also wants to allow its users to join the metaverse, with one possible idea circulating that they will be able to watch videos together.

  • The company will most likely start with videos related to “gaming, where we will work to bring more interactions to games and make them feel more alive.”

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DeFi Project Dego Finance Hacked: Exploiters Reportedly Drain Over $10M

by CryptoPotato

Dego Finance was hacked on February 10. Shortly after, it joined forces with prominent cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Kucoin, and Gate.io to close deposits of its native governance and equity token, DEGO. The protocol also urged Uniswap, Poloniex, PancakeSwap, WazirX, etc., to do the same to mitigate the losses.

Dego Finance Hackers Withdraw $10M

Dego Finance’s official Twitter handle claimed that its own address providing liquidity on popular decentralized exchanges – Uniswap and PancakeSwap – was compromised. As a result, DEGO pairs liquidity provided by the team was drained.

The DeFi platform also urged the hackers to come forward and communicate with it.

“We’ll keep all stakeholders updated on the latest developments, as well as talk to reputable security teams on how to identify the hacker and retrieve loss. We would ask the hacker to come forward and communicate.”

According to the blockchain security and analytics company Peckshield, the exploiters withdrew more than $10 billion from Dego Finance as well as from GameFi Incubator Cocos-BCX. The company’s data showed that funds from 13 addresses were drained, which belonged to Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Ethereum, and Cronos.


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DEGO Takes Nearly 20% Plunge

Dego Finance’s token, DEGO took a severe beating following the hack. It slumped by almost 20% from $4.50 to $3.65 in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

For the uninitiated, Dego Finance saw the light of day in 2020 and offered both DeFi and NFT tools. It claimed to be an open-NFT ecosystem that allowed users to mint non-fungible tokens initiate NFT mining in addition to auctions and trading.

It also offers a cross-chain infrastructure to facilitate blockchain ventures to ramp up the user base, distribute tokens, as well as develop more diverse NFT-based apps. In March 2021, Binance announced listing the project in the Innovation Zone.

Rug pulls and hacks have continued to wreak havoc in the DeFi space in recent years. 2021 has been a monumental year for DeFi and an equally monumental year for bad actors in the space. In fact, rug pulls accounted for 37% of all scam revenue last year as opposed to just 1% in 2020. This year as well, little has changed as such events continue to grab headlines.

CryptoPotato recently reported about Pecksheid detecting more than 50 potentially dubious projects on Binance Smart Chain(BSC).

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Binance Partners With K-Pop Leader to Work on Creating Eco-Friendly NFTs

by CryptoPotato

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a bid to develop a strategic partnership with prominent South Korean multinational entertainment corporation – YG Entertainment Inc. (YG).

Binance – YG’s Strategic Partnership

According to the official blog post, the two companies will collectively work on a myriad of blockchain projects. The partnership will focus on the non-fungible tokens space, wherein Binance will offer the NFT platform and required infrastructure with regards to tech. YG, on the other hand, will be tasked with providing NFT content and gaming assets.

For the uninitiated, YG manages several popular K-pop stars such as BIG BANG, BLACKPINK, WINNER, iKON, AKMU, and TREASURE.

As part of the strategic partnership, the two firms also intend to build Binance Smart Chain-based games. Collaborating on Metaverse, as well as actively pursuing various digital asset opportunities to offer unique experiences and services for fans, are some of the goals that Binance and YG aim to achieve in the future.

With climate controversy swirling around the space, the cryptocurrency exchange will work closely with YG to create an eco-friendly ecosystem for NFTs. This was revealed by Helen Hai, Global Head of Binance NFT, who also highlighted the work on the development of the global blockchain ecosystem, and fostering mainstream adoption of new assets, such as NFTs, to a new user base.

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Commenting on the development, YG Chief Executive, Bo Kyung Hwang, said

“As a Kpop leader, we plan to steadily build an innovative and eco-friendly NFT ecosystem. Collaboration with Binance has provided an opportunity for YG to secure royalties and business opportunities for rare and valuable content. We also hope that it could further strengthen the bond between fans and artists.”

K-Pop And NFT Hype

YG is an important player in the K-Pop industry. The MoU with Binance is expected to enable the Korean giant to further extend the NFT space.

The latest news comes on the heels of home-grown cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit receiving significant backlash after announcing the release of NFTs featuring stars like BTS. This did not sit well with the environmentally-conscious fans of the K-Pop band who waged online wars with hashtags such as “#ARMYsAgainstNFT” and “#BoycottHybeNFT” on the micro-blogging website Twitter. As a result, the platform had clarified to use “low carbon, eco-friendly” technology to mint the NFTs.

Despite a groundswell of opposition against NFTs, the country’s ruling party does not appear to be denouncing the sector’s carbon footprint. As a matter of fact, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) plans to launch NFTS or fundraising in a presidential election.

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VC Paul Graham Comes in Support After Gaming Marketplace Called NFTs Scam

by CryptoPotato

The latest prominent name to jump in favor of the non-fungible token (NFT) sector is none other than the American computer scientist and venture capitalist Paul Graham.

VC Defends NFT Sector

In his latest tweet, Graham highlighted the viability of NFTs and noted that these tokens can be used for various purposes. He also added that dismissing the entire sector will be “inviting history to make a fool of you.” The VC asserted that even if most NFT use cases are “bogus,” he would not paint all of them with the same brush.

“Even if I were sure that most current uses of NFTs were bogus, I’d never dare to say that all possible uses were.”

This isn’t the first time Graham has come in support of the industry. In May 2021, he detailed an NFT launched by a non-profit called Noora Health. Graham mentioned earlier that even though NFTs are new territory, he was excited about its potential.

Paul_Graham
Paul Graham. Source: Flickr

“NFTs Are A Scam” – Itch.io

Not everyone is a fan of the NFT space. Interestingly, Graham’s latest comments come at a time when Itch.io, which happens to be an open indie game marketplace, declared that non-fungible tokens are a scam.

While tweeting about its stance on the sector, the platform said people should “reevaluate their life choices” if they believe that NFTs are legitimately useful for anything except for “exploitation of creators, financial scams, and the destruction of the planet.”

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Itch.io also lashed out on NFT companies and argued that they only care about generating profits and the opportunity for wealth above everything else.

Despite being one of the biggest stories of 2021, the emerging asset class has also witnessed scammers seeping in after detecting loopholes. According to the latest report by the crypto analytic company, Chainalysis, wash trading to artificially inflate the value of NFTs is rampant.

The NFT sellers reportedly mislead the asset’s real value and liquidity by being on both sides of the trade. Chainalysis also found that most NFT wash trades weren’t successful. However, the successful ones made away with immense profits. It also noted that money laundering through the purchase of NFTs is yet another cause of concern for the market participants.

Featured Image Courtesy of CNBC

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Coachella and FTX to Sell Lifetime Festival Passes as Solana-based NFTs

by CryptoPotato

The multi-day music and arts festival held in California – Coachella – partnered with the crypto exchange FTX to introduce non-fungible token (NFT) collections to fans. The digital collectibles are built on the Solana network.

NFTs for The Music Fans

The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to return this April. To provide fans with more opportunities on its comeback, it introduced a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) offering lifetime passes and VIP access to the event.

The three types include “Coachella Keys Collection,” “Sights and Sounds Collection,” and “Desert Reflections Collection.” The first one consists of 10 tokens and grants lifetime access to the festival and “unique experiences.” The second comprises 10,000 collectibles and depicts iconic photos and soundscapes from the Polo Fields.

“Desert Reflections Collection,” consisting of 1,000 NFTs, is the most expensive one with a starting price of $180. It celebrates Coachella’s 20-year history.

All digital collectibles are built on Solana, which Coachella described as an environmentally friendly blockchain protocol.

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The team behind the festival vowed to donate the proceeds to charity organizations. Those include GiveDirectly, Lideres Campesinas, and Find Food Bank.

Sam Schoonover – Coachella’s Digital Innovation Manager – explained why the entity decided to dive into the NFT universe:

“We’ve all seen how NFTs enable true ownership of art and media on the internet. We wanted to take it one step further and use NFTs to enable ownership of experiences in the real world too. Only blockchain can give us the unique ability to offer tradable lifetime passes to Coachella for the first time ever.”

Those willing to purchase non-fungible tokens need to register with FTX US and complete an identity certification.

Some Are Not Fans of NFTs

Despite evolving as a global trend, non-fungible tokens are not an intriguing niche for everybody.

Earlier this week, the American rapper and fashion designer Kanye West urged his fans to stop asking him “to do NFTs.” In his view, essential items are those in the real world, not the digital one.

The podcast host and commentator – Joe Rogan – is also against digital collectibles. The American, a supporter of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, opined that NFTs are a “weird hustle that does not make any sense.”

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Ferrari Looking at Blockchain Technology and NFTs, Admits CEO

by CryptoPotato

Benedetto Vigna – Chief Executive Officer of Ferrari – opined that the blockchain and NFT industry are niches that “deserve some attention.” As such, the exec hinted that the luxury sports car manufacturer might continue with its cryptocurrency endeavors in the future.

‘Blockchain and NFT Can Be Interesting for Us’

While outlining the Q4 2021 results during the recent earnings call, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna asserted that the firm will focus on the Web3 universe in the future.

“We strengthen our relationship with leading-edge technological partners such as Amazon Web Services in Wales to be at the forefront of digital technologies and Web 3.0.”

The top executive added that blockchain technology, Web3, and NFTs are interesting areas for Ferrari. Those could help for the brand’s future development and strengthen its position as a leading company in its field, Vigna noted:

“I think that as we said, it’s important that we look and we see how the new technologies can help our brand. For sure, the digital technologies, the web 3.0 technologies that they’re using the Blockchain and the NFT is an area that can be interesting for us, it deserves some attention.”

The CEO acknowledged that the cryptocurrency industry has been evolving at a fast pace. He also outlined that some of Ferrari’s rivals have already dipped their toes in the digital asset space, meaning that “The Prancing Horse” should do the same to catch up with the competition.

Benedetto Vigna
Benedetto Vigna, Source: New Mobility

Ferrari’s NFTs

The Italian sports car manufacturer took its first steps in the world of crypto at the end of 2021. Back then, it partnered with the Swiss technology company – Velas Network AG – to create non-fungible tokens for its fans.

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The digital collectibles will be available for purchase from March 2022 (when the next season of Formula 1 begins).

Mattia Binotto – General Manager and Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari – described Velas as an entity that “makes innovation and performance the hallmark of technologically advanced products and services.”

Farhad Shagulyamov – CEO at the Swiss organization – said teaming up with Ferrari comes as a natural move since the Italian brand is an ”icon of excellence.”

As part of the agreement, Velas also became Title Sponsor of the Ferrari Esports Series, the mono-brand series of “The Prancing Horse,” and the Esports team that will compete in the F1 championship.

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Justin Bieber Buys Another Bored Ape NFT, Pays $470K Worth of ETH

by CryptoPotato

The Canadian superstar Justin Bieber is on a buying spree, and it appears that his appetite for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is on the rise.

  • Justin Bieber, arguably one of the most famous people on the planet, is an NFT aficionado.

  • His choice of preference – perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly – continues to be the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.

  • Last week, we reported that he bought ape #3001 for a whopping 500 ETH, worth $1.3 million at the time.

  • Now, the celebrity purchased ape #3850 for 166 ETH, currently worth around $470K.

  • This is what ape #3850 looks like:

img1_boredape
Source: OpenSea


  • The ape hasn’t been sold before on OpenSea – it was only transferred between different accounts.

  • The rarest traits in the NFT are the Bandana Blue hat (0.89% rarity) and the Grin Diamond mount (0.78% rarity).

  • Apart from that, it has pink fur, purple background, puffy vest as clothing, and bored eyes.

  • At the time of this writing, the NFTs from the Bored Ape Yacht Club have a floor price of 99.3 ETH.

Featured image courtesy of Rolling Stone

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Bored Ape NFT Creators Reportedly Seeking Investment Deal With a16z

by CryptoPotato

Yuga Labs, the entity behind one of the most popular non-fungible token (NFT) collections, Bored Ape Yacht Club, is reportedly negotiating financing talks with Andreessen Horowitz, which could potentially value the startup as high as $5 billion.

  • According to the Financial Times report on Thursday (February 3, 2022), anonymous people familiar with the matter revealed that the BAYC creators are looking to sell a multi-million dollar stake to investors.

  • The unknown sources stated that leading venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is among the firms that could be involved in the funding round.

  • However, neither Yuga Labs nor a16z has made any official comments on the matter. Meanwhile, the deal would bring the startup’s valuation to between $4 billion and $5 billion, according to the FT report.

  • But sources with knowledge of the negotiations said, “the terms could still change, and any discussions might not lead to a deal.”

  • Bored Ape Yacht Club is a collection of 10,000 unique Bored Ape NFTs, which are digital collectibles built on the Ethereum blockchain. It was launched by a group of anonymous developers and became the most expensive collection in terms of floor price as of January 2022.

  • A contributing factor to BAYC’s popularity is the caliber of celebrities who hold such NFTs. Notable names include Tennis star Serena Williams, rap icon Eminem, and popular soccer player Neymar Jr.

  • Andreessen Horowitz has also been involved in the cryptocurrency space, investing in several startups. As previously reported by CryptoPotato, the company raised $9 billion to continue injecting funds into the nascent industry.

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GameStop to Launch a Blockchain-based NFT Marketplace

by CryptoPotato

The American video game retailer – GameStop Corp. – partnered with Immutable X Pty Limited (a scaling solution for non-fungible tokens) to establish an NFT marketplace. As part of the deal, both parties created a $100 million fund.

GameStop With an NFT Marketplace

According to GameStop’s announcement, Immutable X will become a layer-2 partner for the former’s NFT marketplace. The project is expected to see the light of day later this year. Immutable X will also provide nearly $150 million in IMX tokens to GameStop upon achieving specific goals.

Anyone willing to become a content creator on the NFT marketplace, including gaming studios, Web3 and Metaverse developers, could apply on GameStop’s website.

The details on the collaboration and other relevant information will be disclosed in Form 8-K with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

GameStop signaled its interest in blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens earlier this year when it launched a new division dedicated to cryptocurrency partnerships. Initially, the company hired 20 people to run the unit.

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Additionally, GameStop started developing an online hub for video game NFT trading, including items such as outfits and weapons for use in virtual reality.

In September last year, the firm was rumored to be working on an Ethereum-based non-fungible token platform. Back then, Jordan Holberg – Principal Engineer of GameStop – asserted that his organization aims to become the “bridge between the old and the new – traditional legacy e-commerce and the next generation of blockchain.”

The GameStop Saga

The US video game retailer became highly popular last year following a short squeeze of the company’s stocks, causing significant market disruptions.

At the beginning of 2021, GameStop’s shares turned into a frenzy as many people started investing in them inspired by a Reddit group called WallStreetBets. On January 28, 2021, those stocks traded at $483 (an all-time high).

At the heights of the uncontrolled excitement, Anthony Scaramucci – SkyBridge Capital’s Co-Founder – opined that GameStop’s skyrocketing shares are actually positive for bitcoin and decentralized finance:

“The activity in GameStop is more proof of concept that Bitcoin is going to work. How are you going to beat the decentralized crowd? That to me is more affirmation about decentralized finance.”

During the following days and weeks, the frenzy faded, and at the beginning of February, GameStop’s shares dropped to nearly $50 (a decline of around 90%). Currently, they trade at about $100.

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