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The Sandbox partners with Ledger Enterprise for NFT security integration.

by Blockchain NewsApril 26, 2023

In its latest move to bolster security and enhance its partners’ experiences, The Sandbox has partnered with Ledger Enterprise to develop security integration. This partnership will enable The Sandbox’s partners to migrate their nonfungible token collections to the Ledger wallet, ensuring the highest level of security for these assets.

The collaboration will also see The Sandbox appear as a decentralized application (DApp) on Ledger Enterprise, and a specific widget will be integrated into the Ledger Live desktop application. This will allow for the transfer of all NFTs in The Sandbox collection wallet to the Ledger Enterprise wallet, thereby ensuring their security.

As part of the partnership, The Sandbox will recommend Ledger Enterprise to its LAND owner ecosystem, while Ledger will promote The Sandbox metaverse to its clients. The initiative extends the recently established partnership between The Sandbox and Ledger to promote crypto education in the metaverse.

This partnership follows a successful collaboration between The Sandbox and Ledger in 2022, which saw the two companies promote crypto security education through a game called School of Block in The Sandbox’s metaverse. According to the VP of Communications at The Sandbox, Ariel Wengroff, the company was thrilled with this experience.

Ledger recently raised $109 million (100 million euros) in a Series C funding round extension, placing its valuation at $1.4 billion (1.3 billion euros). The capital, provided by investors such as VaynerFund, Cité Gestion SPV, True Global Ventures, and Digital Finance Group, will be used to expand the company’s distribution network, increase production, and develop new products.

The Sandbox is actively broadening its partnerships network and signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Saudi Arabia in February to explore, advise and support each other in metaverse development. The Sandbox has also previously partnered with some of the biggest names both inside and outside of the Web3 space, including Snoop Dogg, Gucci, Tim, Atari, HSBC, and Warner Music Group.

In conclusion, The Sandbox’s partnership with Ledger Enterprise is a significant step in ensuring the security and safety of nonfungible token collections on its platform. The collaboration will enable The Sandbox’s partners to enjoy the highest level of security and enhance their overall experience on the platform. With its growing list of partnerships, The Sandbox continues to position itself as a leading decentralized metaverse platform in the Web3 space.

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Singapore’s DBS Acquires Land in The Sandbox Metaverse

by Blockchain NewsSeptember 11, 2022

The Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), a multinational financial institution based in Marina Bay Singapore has proposed to secure land in The Sandbox metaverse which is an arm of Animoca Brands, a blockchain virtual, and investment firm.

DBS is set to acquire a 3×3 LAND piece in The Sandbox metaverse, a type of virtual property to experience a better and more sustainable world according to a report.

DBS asserts that it is both the first Singaporean business to collaborate with The Sandbox and the first regional bank to engage with the metaverse. The bank declared that it will also purchase carbon offsets to make its metaverse carbon neutral.

“As we stretch the limits of what the metaverse can do, our cooperation with The Sandbox and Animoca Brands represents the beginning of a thrilling collaboration,” said Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS, “We also look forward to using it as an extra cutting-edge platform to raise awareness of crucial ESG (environmental, social, and governance) concerns and to highlight partners and communities doing admirable work to solve them’’.

DBS Emerging as a Frontier in the Digital Space

DBS’s acquisition of The Sandbox’s property comes after the launch of its crypto exchange for Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), and other altcoins in 2020. According to Gupta, the DBS exchange appears to be the first cryptocurrency exchange that would be backed by a traditional bank.

The multinational bank claimed that despite a significant global decline in the value of digital assets, its purchases of Bitcoin accounted for 90% of all crypto trading activities. The bank has witnessed a high amount of digital exchange which caters to family exchange and institutional investors.

Animoca Brands earlier received new money worth $110 million through the sale of convertible notes according. The Convertible Notes, which were issued at a price of AU$4.5 ($3) and have a three-year expiration date, do not alter the company’s valuation from its previous investment round as stated by the firm.

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Tagged : Animoca Brands / Dbs / Metaverse / The Sandbox

Animoca Brands Confirms New $110m Funding Round

by Blockchain NewsSeptember 9, 2022

Blockchain gaming and investment company Animoca Brands has raised new capital worth $110 million from the issuance of convertible notes.

According to the company’s announcement, the funding round was opened to a limited number of investors, which includes Temasek, Boyu Capital, and GGV Capital, as well as existing investors Mirae Asset Management and True Global Ventures (TGV).

As detailed by the firm, the Convertible Notes, which will expire in three years, were issued at a price of AU$4.5 ($3), and it does not change the company’s valuation from its last funding round.

“We are incredibly pleased to complete a special strategic round of fundraising comprising several of the most respected institutional investors in the world, and we are honoured by the continued support from existing investors,” Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, “said Animoca Brands has grown significantly as a company in the last year, and our new investors will contribute strategic advice and perspective as we build the world’s leading company furthering digital property rights in the Web3 industry.”

According to Animoca Brands, the newly onboarded group of investors will also play a crucial in advising the firm on its planned business strategies. The newly received funding will also be deployed to “strategic fund acquisitions, investments, and product development, secure licenses for popular intellectual properties, and advance the open metaverse, including through its efforts to promote digital property rights for online users.”

Animoca Brands has strategically positioned itself this year as the delight of investors. The sale of these Convertible Notes is the third time since the parent company to be raised capital this year. While this funding round was hinted at earlier, Animoca Japan secured $45 million in funding, further expanding its ecosystem.

The leading gaming platform remains committed to expanding its footprint in the digital currency ecosystem as it is searching for the next mega unicorn like The Sandbox.

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Tagged : Animoca Brands / Finance / Funding Round / The Sandbox / WEB3.0

Metaverse Giants Collaborate to Form DAO Metaverse Alliance

by Blockchain NewsJuly 25, 2022

The blockchain metaverse giants have collaborated to form the DAO Metaverse called “Open Metaverse Alliance for Web3” (OMA3), which aims to bring together multiple virtual worlds to solve the key challenges of the metaverse and maintain users’ freedom of information.

Game developers joining the consortium of the Open Metaverse Alliance for Web3 include Animoca Brands, a developer of games and other applications for smartphones; blockchain-based game Alien Worlds; a consumer-focused flow blockchain product made for fun and games Dapper Labs; Decentraland; Star Atlas, and The Sandbox, etc.

OMA3 is established on a competitive Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) structure, incentivizing the entire industry to share data ownership and attract user interaction from a more transparent and objective perspective.

The DAO, a form of investor-oriented venture capital fund, aims to provide enterprises with new decentralized business models. Community members come together and have the power to vote on governance decisions, create flexible workflows and allocate resources, enabling new decentralized business models for the entire team.

The official statement states: “We believe in a metaverse without restraining walls, where individual platforms are interconnected and fully interoperable. To realize this goal of an open metaverse, we are announcing the creation of OMA3 and inviting all blockchain-based metaverse companies to join.”

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Tagged : Alien Worlds / Animoca Brands / Dao / Dapper Labs / Decentraland / Metaverse / OMA3 / STAR ATLAS / The Sandbox

Metaverse Giants Collaborated to Form DAO Metaverse Alliance

by Blockchain NewsJuly 25, 2022

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Tagged : Alien Worlds / Animoca Brands / Dao / Dapper Labs / Decentraland / Metaverse / OMA3 / STAR ATLAS / The Sandbox

The Sandbox Taps Cybersecurity Firm Brandshield to Tackle Rising NFT Frauds

by Blockchain NewsJuly 21, 2022

The Sandbox, a Hong Kong-based gaming platform, has announced a partnership with BrandShield, a UK-based digital risk protection and brand protection company, as a major step forward in cybersecurity.

The Sandbox announced on Wednesday that it has hired BrandShield to ensure the safety of cryptocurrency wallets and NFTs on its marketplace.

The Sandbox, the third-largest metaverse based on the Ethereum blockchain, allows users to create, share, and monetise their NFTs (like real estate) and gaming experiences. However, the metaverse landscape, where users can attend virtual concerts or buy digital assets like land, has been hit with exploits and frauds.

In this context, The Sandbox has partnered with BrandShield to secure NFT transactions via BrandShield’s set of robust anti-fraud solutions.

BrandShield uncovers and classifies various threats to prevent cyberattacks on crypto wallets. It evaluates the level of threats from different online platforms to retrieve threats that would otherwise remain undetected by traditional cybersecurity technology.

In a statement, Sebastien Borget, Chief Operations Officer of The Sandbox, talked about the development: “With its ability to monitor and protect against these attacks, BrandShield is a strategic partner to help identify faster and take down phishing attacks and various online threats from brand impersonators and bad actors.”

Borget further added: “In the open metaverse, users should be able to enjoy their true digital ownership rights and have new ways to create, store and trade value while having fun rather than having to worry about online threats.”

The Sandbox disclosed that their relationship with BrandShield began in the recent past. In March and April, BrandShield helped The Sandbox’s economy to operate securely after the cybersecurity platform identified and neutralised 120 phishing attacks and 58 fake social media accounts impersonating the metaverse platform.

Besides the current efforts to increase the company’s security measures, Borget said The Sandbox would also start educating its customers about fraud prevention techniques as the company will not be responsible for refunding money to phishing scam victims.

The executive elaborated: “Our primary focus is on educating our community and guiding them through our community managers and customer support. Since the wallet is where their identification and ownership are stored, not on our servers, we must provide best practices and guidelines for our players and creators so they can remain vigilant against all external threats.”

Trends Affecting NFT Business

While major NFT marketplaces like Opensea, and The Sandbox, have witnessed significant growth, they have struggled to prevent theft and fraud.

In April, the Rarible NFT marketplace experienced a security flaw, which the firm acknowledged and installed a fix for the matter.

NFT frauds have become a common problem as cybercriminals use phishing links that imitate legitimate metaverse platforms to drain users’ digital wallets of assets.

Troubles are piling to these NFT platforms to address security issues as demand for NFTs cools amid a plunge in crypto prices.

The current sales of NFTs have dropped about 90% since September, according to the industry data tracker NonFungible. Competition has also increased from newer marketplaces built by established crypto firms like Coinbase.

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Tagged : BRANDSHIELD / Cybersecurity / Fraud / NFT / The Sandbox

Dubai Regulator Establishes Virtual HQ in the Sandbox Metaverse

by Blockchain NewsMay 4, 2022

The Emirate’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai’s new cryptocurrency regulator, announced on Tuesday that it has created a virtual headquarters in The Sandbox metaverse platform.

The Sandbox is a platform linked to the Ethereum-based blockchain in which users can purchase and sell play games, plots of land, and earn digital currency.

Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-founder of The Sandbox, disclosed firstly the development on Tuesday. Borget said: “We are thrilled to witness the progressive mission of Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and the UAE, establishing itself at the forefront of innovation to enable the current global movement by being the first regulator in the open metaverse.”

The Emirate’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) claims that it is the first regulatory authority in the virtual world to develop its headquarters in the metaverse. In a statement, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council stated: “Today, VARA joins the metaverse to become Dubai’s — and the metaverse — first government authority, ushering in a new era in which Dubai Government utilizes modern innovations to extend its services.”

The Dubai regulator stated that the metaverse headquarters will serve as a primary channel that engages virtual asset service providers (VASPs) across the world to initiate applications, enable licensed individuals and entities to enter the metaverse, openly share knowledge and experiences with consumers, and regulators to raise awareness, drive global interoperability, and enable safe adoption.

A New Hub for Crypto Players

In March, the Dubai Virtual Asset and Services Authority (VARA) was established to award licenses to crypto companies seeking to set up in Dubai and to oversee activities related to cryptocurrencies.

VARA has already granted licenses to major crypto firms including Kraken, Binance, Bybit, and FTX Europe, which are now operating their trading services in Dubai.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has embraced a friendly regulatory approach, which is attracting crypto companies and boosting the domestic crypto sector. Dubai is competing with the likes of Singapore and the UK to become the global hub for cryptocurrency and appears to be very well-placed to do so.

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Tagged : Dubai / Metaverse / Regulation / The Sandbox

Metaverse Unicorn The Sandbox Targets to Raise $400M Funding at $4B Valuation

by Blockchain NewsApril 20, 2022

The Sandbox metaverse is in negotiations with investors as it looks to raise $400 million in a new funding round.

As reported by Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources close to the transactions, the blockchain startup is seeking a $4 billion valuation. The size of the offering and the market worth may change as deliberations continue.

The Sandbox has plugged itself deep into the Non-Fungible Token (NFT). The broader cryptocurrency ecosystem as its flagship gaming platform and digital collectables marketplace remain amongst the most in-demand nowadays. Animoca Brands, as the majority-owned shareholder of The Sandbox, enrich the Sandbox to be one of the major gateways that a number of global brands are using to get into the metaverse and the emerging Web3.0 ecosystem.

HSBC is one of these brands as it recently partnered with The Sandbox through the acquisition of LAND, a virtual real estate in the metaverse. While The Sandbox’s platform is recording a very large influx of users as evident in its transaction count, through a very robust demand, the bulk of the activities of the protocol is hinged on capacity building for the projected future that the Web3.0 industry will usher in.

Learning from its Backer

The proposed funding being solicited by The Sandbox will follow the $93 million it raised back last November in 2021, led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2. The growing capital raise complements a similar move from the parent, Animoca Brands, which received as much as $358 million back in January this year to fund its potential acquisition deals.

While Animoca Brands has continued to boost its own reputation in this ecosystem, The Sandbox has followed suit Swiss-based investment fund provider 21Shares has floated a product based on the latter.

The projected funding round will help The Sandbox make good on its acquisition plans, as Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder Sebastien Borget noted at an event in Lisbon earlier this month.

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Tagged : Animoca Brands / Metaverse / NFT / The Sandbox

The Sandbox, FlickPlay Collaborate to Accelerate Interoperability in Metaverse

by Blockchain NewsApril 19, 2022

With the metaverse expected to be worth between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030, virtual world gaming platforms The Sandbox and FlickPlay have joined hands to enhance its adoption by offering players a blockchain asset.

With the interoperability concept being at the heart of the metaverse, the blockchain asset will enable users to move freely between virtual worlds on distinctive platforms, enabling them to carry belongings like virtual clothes.

Pierina Merino, the CEO and founder of FlickPlay, noted that the partnership would be a stepping stone towards attaining the interoperability feature in the metaverse.

She noted:

“Initially, Flicky owners will unlock a version of the chameleon to use on The Sandbox, but soon they will be able to use the exact version of the digital asset stored on the blockchain in both games.”

Sebastien Borget, The Sandbox’s co-founder, welcomed the collaboration because it would offer a more immersive experience and said:

“The integration is notable because it may be the first to bridge an NFT in the virtual world with usage linked to the physical world.”

The metaverse continues to gain steam in the modern era because it entails shared virtual worlds where avatars, buildings, land, and even names can be bought and sold, often using cryptocurrencies.

Therefore, these virtual worlds are made more lifelike using technologies like augmented reality, blockchain technology, and virtual reality.

Meanwhile, HSBC Holdings, a British multinational investment bank, recently established a metaverse fund to render investment opportunities to its high and ultra-high net worth investors in Singapore and Hong Kong.

HSBC would pinpoint investment opportunities across five areas in the metaverse ecosystem; infrastructure, interface, computing, experience and discovery, and virtualization through a Metaverse Discretionary Strategy portfolio.

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Tagged : Blockchain / Collaboration / DIGITAL ASSETS / FLICKPLAY / Metaverse / News / Technology / The Sandbox / VIRTUAL WORLD

21Shares Debuts The Sandbox-Focused ETP Product

by Blockchain NewsApril 7, 2022

The growth in the broader digital currency ecosystem has informed the sustained launch of products by venture capital firms to help their clients gain exposure to the nascent industry.

In one of such moves, 21Shares, a Zug-Switzerland-based digital currency asset manager, has launched a metaverse product with a focus on The Sandbox.

Ranking as its 30th product to date, the single asset investment is billed to track the price of the SAND token. The SAND product is designed to give investors the easiest and safest way to invest in The Sandbox token that powers The Sandbox platform, the decentralized virtual world providing gaming experiences.

A 2.5% fee will be levied, and this seems not to matter as Ophelia Snyder, one of the co-founders of 21Shares confirmed that investors’ preferences are gradually shifting from Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) assets respectively.

“The conversation has really shifted away from, Is bitcoin going to exist in three years? To what will the crypto ecosystem look like in three years? And that means that the types of discussions we’re having with institutional clients are much more sophisticated…and metaverse is one of those things where you’re starting to see real themes emerge in crypto,” says Snyder.

21Shares occupies a very pivotal position in today’s cryptocurrency industry and has generally pioneered innovative exchange-traded products across the board.

Back in July 2021, 21Shares announced a partnership with the German online financial services bank, Comdirect, to diversify more options by providing cryptocurrency ETPs to their customer savings accounts.

The company has also been playing a very prominent role in seeing the U.S. get its first spot Bitcoin ETF product. However, its efforts in this regard were dashed earlier this week as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected the company’s spot application for a Bitcoin ETF it filed in conjunction with Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest.

The latest SAND project comes off as a solace for the firm as it redirects its strategy in a bid to offer investors avenues to embrace crypto innovations.

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Tagged : 21Shares / Bitcoin / Etf / Metaverse / The Sandbox