Quick take:

Meta is doubling down on user onboarding to its Horizon Worlds metaverse with the launch of mobile and web versions.

The new versions are now available on early access via the Meta Quest app on Android with iOS expected in the coming weeks.

The only experience currently available on the web and mobile is the free-for-all shooter game Super Rumble.

Horizon Worlds is expanding its horizons to mobile and web platforms as it seeks to onboard more users to its 3D worlds. The metaverse platform is now available on early access via the Meta Quest app on Android and on any web browser at horizon.meta.com.

This announcement comes hot on the heels of Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre’s claims that Meta, the creator of Horizon Worlds ruined the metaverse.

Meta “ruined the term because it said: ‘This is something brand new’”, Alegre told Cointelegraph. “I was at Activision Blizzard, we had World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft is a metaverse, Fortnite is a metaverse — so the metaverse is evolving, I think, in very, very positive ways,” he added.

Meta’s own vision of the metaverse has struggled to retain users with reports last year suggesting that people could not stay on the platform for more than a month.

Horizon Worlds could only be accessed with a VR headset, which may have hindered the user onboarding campaign. 

“The metaverse should be available to everyone—no matter what device they’re on,” Meta wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

“And while Quest headsets are the most immersive way to access the metaverse, we believe there should be multiple entry points. Bringing Worlds to more surfaces is a step toward delivering on that vision and opening up the experience to more people.”

This expansion allows users to do more in the metaverse by expanding their reach. Users can see when their friends are online and join them on the go. They can also invite friends who don’t have a headset to meet up and have fun together. “This new flatscreen version of Worlds is a great way to keep the FOMO at bay,” added Meta.

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Quick take:

Stoner Cats NFT is the latest project to be probed by the SEC.

Impact Theory became the first NFT project to face an SEC enforcement action on August 28.

NFT prices have reacted differently with Stoner Cats floor price rising after the enforcement announcement.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken its fight against crypto to the world of NFTs. After failing to enforce its rule on Binance and Coinbase amid claims of selling unregistered securities, the US capital markets regulator is looking to enforce the action on the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market and it seems to be working, at least on some projects.

YouTube and podcast studio Impact Theory became the first company to face enforcement action from the SEC after agreeing to pay a penalty of more than $6 million after being accused of selling unregistered securities. The company also agreed to destroy all the NFTs and compensate buyers of its NFTs.

That move was bound to trigger a ripple effect in the industry and it has done just that. The latest project to fall under the axe of the SEC’s crackdown on unregistered securities that are being offered as NFTs is the Stoner Cats NFT project.

Although NFT transaction volumes increased in the three consecutive days following the Impact Theory announcement on August 28, the picture seems quite different after the latest SEC action.

Source: NFTgo.io

Volumes remained low on Thursday following Wednesday’s press release. But this may have nothing to do with Stoner Cats at all because its NFTs experienced something perplexing.

As reported by Decrypt, the floor price of Stoner Cats NFTs has more than doubled to 0.049 ETH up from 0.019 ETH following Wednesday’s announcement. The number of transactions also increased significantly compared to the previous day.

According to the SEC, Stoner Cats agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay a civil penalty of $1 million.

And just like in the Impact Theory case, the order establishes a Fair Fund to return monies that injured investors paid to purchase the NFTs, with Stoner Cats also agreeing “to destroy all NFTs in its possession or control and publish notice of the order on its website and social media channels.”

The SEC is particularly targeting NFT projects that offer investors an opportunity to earn income from the project by holding NFTs. So, projects that offer NFTs for gaming purposes, or to unlock certain experiences shouldn’t worry about facing a similar action.

The NFT industry is highly segmented, with different companies offering different types of NFTs. NFT profile pictures (PFPs) account for the biggest segment of the industry with a market cap of about 1.785 million ETH, with digital collectibles and NFT art following at a distance with about 312k ETH and 285k ETH, respectively.

Source: NFTgo.io

Then we have gaming NFTs with about 186k in market cap and Utility NFTs (those that unlock benefits like merchandise etc.) at 213k ETH. None of the five NFT types mentioned are under threat from the SEC probe, which essentially means the industry may be well-positioned to survive the purge.

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Quick take:

Kasikornbank (KBank) has launched a $100 million fund to invest in AI, web3 and deep tech startups.

The fund will be led by Krating Poonpol, the group chairman of KBTG and Jom Vimolnoht, Managing Director of KXVC.

For Web3, the fund is specifically targeting Web3 infrastructures, node validators, RPC providers and the commercialisation of NFTs, among others.

Kasikornbank (KBank), Thailand’s second-largest bank by assets is making its foray into Web3. The bank has launched the KXVC fund, which will see it invest across artificial intelligence (AI), Web3 technologies and deep tech startups.

According to the announcement on Wednesday, the fund will be led by Krating Poonpol, the Group Chairman of Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG) and Jom Vimolnoht, the Managing Director of KXVC, the venture arm of Kasikorn X (KX).

Poonpol boasts a strong track record as a venture capitalist, having invested in over 100 projects across five funds, which yielded four unicorns and ten exits.

On the other hand, Vimolnoht has invested more than $400 million across 35 startups in the APAC region. KXVC is looking to become the financial gateway to APAC for global founders as they look to tap into the rich digital community of the region, boasting over 400 million digital consumers.

Commenting on the announcement, Poonol said: “KXVC will be a stepping stone for global founders to drive their business expansion in APAC with strong synergy with KBank and our partners.”

For Web3, the fund will back startups within the blockchain infrastructure space, node validators, RPC providers, middlewares, modularity technologies, privacy, ZKP, wallets, alternative L1/L2s, shared securities, LsdFi and those championing the consumerisation of NFTs.

For AI the fund is looking to invest in consumer-focused AI, cybersecurity, AI/ML tools (e.g., deployment platforms, data annotation, model optimization), and problem-specific AI startups, the company wrote in a press release.

KXVC has already invested in regional unicorns including Grab, Nium and Carro. It also backed Builk, a Thailand-based cloud software company focusing on the construction industry, as well as, PRIMO — and Omnichannel marketing platforms and the digital magazine platform Ookbee, among others.

KX has also been busy teaming up with other AI and Web3-focused funds, after collaborating with MagicLink, Transak, 1KX, Hashkey Capital, Symbolic Capital, L2 Iterative Ventures, Instari Ventures, and aifund.ai.

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Quick take:

Opera Mini has launched MiniPay, a non-custodial stablecoin wallet for mobile devices.

The wallet is built on Celo, a layer-2 scaling solution for the Ethereum network.

The companies will use the Minipay to onboard millions of mobile users across Africa to Web3.

Opera has teamed up with Celo Foundation to integrate Minipay, a non-custodial stablecoin wallet, into its mobile browser. The two companies are targeting the African market with the product as they look to onboard millions of mobile users to Web3.

According to the announcement on Wednesday, Minipay will debut in Nigeria, with support in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa expected to follow soon.

Announcing the launch via a post on X (formerly Twitter) Minipay claims to offer fast transfers with low fees, powered by Web3.

We're excited to launch MiniPay built on @CeloOrg!MiniPay enables fast transfers with low fees powered by Web3.Built-in right inside Africa's most downloaded web browser Opera Mini.More details pic.twitter.com/Q7Q5iAzBGQ

— minipay (@minipay) September 13, 2023

In the announcement GIF, the company says users can easily sign up using their Google accounts. The wallet automatically stores user funds in a value tied to the US dollar. Users can send and spend the funds in their local currency.

The wallet also sends instant notifications to users after spending, sending or receiving a payment and they can also view and track all transactions.

And that’s not all, Minipay allows users to leverage their Opera Mini free data (up to 100MB per day) to transact even when they don’t have data. Users can only join Minipay via an invite-only prompt during the first month.

Commenting on his organisation’s partnership with Opera Mini, Rene Reinsberg, Celo Co-Founder and Celo Foundation President said that given Opera’s global footprint, the collaboration will help Celo achieve its dream at scale.

“By integrating the non-custodial MiniPay wallet directly into the popular Opera Mini browser, new and existing users will access a truly seamless experience with fast, transparent transactions on the Celo blockchain and be introduced to dApps and projects built on Celo that provide meaningful benefits for people in their everyday lives––this is the ‘killer’ use case the Web3 industry has been waiting for,” added Reinsberg.

This launch also comes following a vote in July by the Celo Foundation committee to migrate from layer-1 blockchain to Ethereum layer-2. 

Jørgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera said the partnership is formed to address some lingering challenges expressed by Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, about high transaction fees, unreliable service uptimes, and lack of mobile data to make payments online. 

“This partnership therefore represents a pivotal moment in the world of digital finance, with the ability to send, receive, and ultimately earn money in a permissionless way,” said Arnesen.

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Quick take:

Telegram and TON Foundation jointly announced the TON Space self-custody wallet.

The social media platform is reuniting with TON 3 years after parting ways.

A global roll-out of the wallet is scheduled for November 2023.

Telegram users around the world will soon be able to access wallet services through the social media app’s settings. The company announced on Wednesday at Singapore’s Token 2049 event that it has teamed up with TON Foundation to launch TON Space, the organisation’s self-custody wallet.

Telegram raised a reported $1.7 billion through an initial coin offering for the Telegram Open Network, which is now TON (The Open Network). The company span off TON after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit citing an offering of unregistered securities.

According to the announcement, TON Space will be rolled out to Telegram users around the world (excluding the US and a few other countries) in November. This feature builds on the existing custodial version of the Telegram wallet, which currently boasts over three million users.

TON Space joins a growing list of mini-apps integrated with the Telegram chat app. The App seems to be moving more towards becoming a Super App, which is a term given to mobile apps that perform multiple functions including serving as a news portal, a social media platform, and trading and banking services.

Commenting on the partnership, Telegram’s Chief Investment Officer John Hyman said in a statement: “With this partnership, we are putting digital ownership rights in the hands of our entire user base. Telegram’s mission has always been to enable freedom of speech, but speech is so much more in this digital age.”

It is the same approach that Elon Musk’s X is taking in a race to become the world’s everything app.

Hong Kong-based hi app has also joined the bandwagon, rolling out crypto exchange services and fiat on-ramps in partnership with MasterCard.

On the TON Foundation’s part, the organisation will gain access to priority ad placements, which will also be extended to companies building on the TON ecosystem.

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Quick take:

Pixels has announced it is leaving Polygon for Ronin Blockchain.

The open-ended world of farming and exploration Web3 game is the number 1 game on Polygon with over 1.5 million monthly on-chain transactions.

Polygon’s gaming-dedicated chain launched in partnership with Immutable is currently in testnet, with its mainnet launch scheduled for Q4, 2023.

Web3 game Pixels is moving from Polygon to Ronin Network, the gaming blockchain operated by Sky Mavis. Pixels has been one of the top games on Polygon with over 1.5 million monthly on-chain transactions.

The open-ended world of farming and exploration game also boasts 100,000-plus monthly active wallets and 5,000 daily active users.

This announcement comes barely a month after Polygons and Immutable X’s joint product, the Immutable zkEVM chain, went live on testnet. 

Luke Barwikowski, the CEO of Pixels.Online, the company behind Pixels on Tuesday said in a statement: “Sky Mavis is the only company that has achieved scale in Web3 gaming, so partnering with the team and migrating to Ronin, naturally made a lot of sense.”

“Collaborating with a team that operates not on assumptions, but hands-on, proven experience was a no-brainer. Migrating to Ronin and leveraging their wisdom simply felt like the next logical step in our journey,” said Barwikowski.

Polygon’s and Immutable’s gaming dedicated chain Immutable zkEVM is scheduled for a mainnet launch in Q4, 2023.

This move comes nearly 18 months after Axis Infinity, the biggest blockchain game by transactions was hacked, with the hackers making way with more than $620 million in ETH and USDC at the time. 

Sky Mavis COO, Aleksander Larsen holds high praise for Pixels calling it the second most popular Web3 game in terms of real users.

“We are thrilled to welcome the team to Ronin and offer them our infrastructure and technology. This deal is also a big value add for our community and Pixel’s open world allows for NFT collections to have their own spaces. In the future, we envision a world where our community has the opportunity to build an Axie space, enabling more social interaction.”

Like Polygon, Ronin is an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible blockchain. And like Polygon’s and Immutable’s joint product Immutable zkEVM, it is dedicated to gaming, allowing blockchain games to leverage multiple products and experiences from Sky Mavis.

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Quick take:

The UK-based family office will lead a curated selection of other family offices in a €30M fundraising for Mocha Ventures.

The fund targets early-stage blockchain startups, which aligns with Dunhill Family Office’s commitment to fostering and investing in pioneering technologies.

Mocha Ventures has already invested in multiple web3 companies including Gamefi startup Magic Square, DeFi company Only U Bank, and v3rify, among others. 

Dunhill Family Office has teamed up with Mocha Ventures to anchor a €30 million digital fund. The UK-based family office will lead a curated selection of other family offices in a funding round that targets early-stage blockchain startups.

Mocha Ventures is a blockchain investment company operating under the Liechtenstein Blockchain Act. According to its website, the company invests in early-stage Web3 startups with potential for global growth.

Mocha Ventures already has direct investments in Gamefi marketplace Magic Square, Web3 infrastructure startup V3rify, decentralised finance startups Flashy Cash and Only U Bank, as well as, layer-1 blockchain Dandelion, among others.

The company has also co-invested in multiple blockchain infrastructure projects including Polkadot, EOS, Unbounded and Hacken.

Dunhill is leading the round with a €3 million investment and will hold a series of private family office events to help secure the €30 million fund. 

This fund’s goals align with Dunhill’s commitment to fostering and investing in pioneering technologies.

Commenting on the announcement, Piers Dunhill, Principal at Dunhill Family Office said: “This partnership underscores our dedication to identifying transformative technologies and supporting visionary entrepreneurs who are reshaping the future generation.”

The two companies feel that the strategic partnership represents a union of expertise, passion, and resources, which will help them drive innovation forward with a shared vision.

Renato Brioni, Founder and General Partner at Mocha Ventures commented: “[Dunhill’s] strategic guidance, passion for disruption, and financial support will undoubtedly catalyze our ability to unearth, nurture, and scale the next generation of digital innovators.”

Dunhill Family Office through its advisory arm Dunhill Ventures provides bespoke structured finance solutions for companies and fund managers raising capital.

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Quick take:

Blockchain security and infrastructure provider Fireblocks is the latest to enter the foray.

In May 2023, Ripple acquired crypto custody startup Metaco for $250 million.

Experts weigh in on why crypto companies are embracing non-custodial wallets and the role of corporate clients.

Blockchain security and infrastructure firm Fireblocks has announced its entry into the non-custodial crypto wallet space with the launch of its non-custodial wallet-as-a-service (WaaS) offering built for brands, corporates, fintechs, and Web3 businesses.

Another major player in the web3 space, Ripple acquired crypto custody services company Metaco for a whopping $250 million in May, while Uniswap has already launched its self-custody wallet for iOS. 

The numbers are building up with Giddy, The Open Network (TON), blockchain wallet services provider Tangem, Trust Wallet, MetaMask, Trezo and Electrum all offering non-custodial wallet services to users.

Self-custody wallets give users full control of their crypto assets, enabling them to take full responsibility for managing their funds. This allows them to manage their own private keys, and handle transactions themselves.

Essentially, the burden of managing user funds shifts from Web3 organisations to individuals and corporate clients.

According to Eric Parker, the co-founder and CEO of Giddy, a self-custody, recoverable smart wallet that allows users to gain access to passive income opportunities, there are several reasons why non-custodial wallets are becoming more popular in the crypto space.

First, he attributes the shift to the fact that the crypto community is becoming more savvy, and wants to actually own their assets. He also thinks companies are able to offer a variety of crypto services if they are not custodying customer funds, while the regulatory frameworks also favour non-custodial wallets.

“Non-custodial wallets make the crypto industry more attractive to corporations due in part to the regulatory hurdles imposed when an organization is responsible for custodying customer funds. By shifting to an on-chain focus, these organisations can build a solid business while providing a clear path for users to access the benefits of blockchain technology without taking on the liabilities associated with custodying funds,” said Parker.

This explains why Fireblocks’ non-custodial Wallet-as-a-Service solution is targeting fintechs, brands, and Web3 startups. It utilises the MPC-CMP technology that runs in a hardware-based trusted execution environment, thus rendering a true multi-layer security architecture.

The demand for non-custodial wallet services is partly driven by the multiple collapses of come of the crypto industry’s biggest players. FTX is the highlight of them all, with founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried facing multiple criminal charges related to the collapse of the crypto exchange.

“Our offering follows our commitment to reduce counterparty risk across the ecosystem, providing a truly non-custodial solution for companies with multi-million dollar brands to protect,” Fireblocks co-founder and CEO Michael Shaulov said in a statement on Monday.

Ripple’s Metaco has already experienced the benefits of offering non-custodial crypto services to corporations, with the company boasting BBVA Switzerland and BBVA NewGen among its corporate clients.

Zodia Custody, by the UK’s Standard Chartered, Germany’s DZ Bank AG, and Paris-based BNP Securities Services are also among mainstream financial institutions leveraging Metaco’s crypto-custody solution.

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Quick take:

NFL Rivals hit a daily high of 2 million active users on Saturday.

The mobile NFT game debuted in the App Store’s Game of the Day feature.

Mythical Games recently migrated to Polkadot from Ethereum citing scalability as one of the reasons.

NFL Rivals on Saturday hit a new all-time high of 2 million daily active users after making its debut in the App Store Game of the Day feature. NFL Rivals is a collaborative project of blockchain and metaverse gaming studio Mythical Games and the National Football League. It is the first mobile NFT game with official licensing from the NFL.

This milestone comes following Mythical Games’ decision to migrate from Ethereum to Polkadot, a layer-1 blockchain platform that uses pooled security from multiple blockchains to provide infinite scalability.

“The decision to leave the Ethereum ecosystem stems from a combination of issues surrounding slow transaction speeds, even with L2 roll-ups, that would ultimately hinder our scaling plans with our new games this year,” Mythical Games CEO, John Linden said in a statement about the migration to Polkadot.

On Sunday, Linden posted on X expressing his excitement at Mythical Games’ achievement and the implications it could have on Web3 gaming.

Feels like web3 is going mainstream! Thank you to Apple for featuring @PlayNFLRivals on the front page of the App Store!! Big day for Mythical. Big day for web3! Over 2 million players. And yesterday was biggest DAU yet for the game! https://t.co/CTU5HlnFP1

— John Linden (@johnwastaken) September 10, 2023

Polkadot backed Linden’s views with the same optimism, adding that this explains why Mythical Chain is now the third-largest blockchain in terms of sales of digital assets. 

“Web3 gaming is going mainstream!” Polkadot wrote in a post on X.

Web3 gaming is going mainstream! Mythical Games' NFL Rivals was the App Store's Game Of The Day @PlayNFLRivals has over 2 million players. It's no wonder @playmythical is now the 3rd largest blockchain in terms of sales of digital assets… and it's coming to Polkadot https://t.co/Opuw6Qd6Lh

— Polkadot (@Polkadot) September 11, 2023

Mythical Games first announced the migration of Mythical Chain to Polkadot in April this year. This migration allows more on-chain game developers to build on the Mythical Ecosystem without sacrificing interoperability or connectivity, thus resulting in the creation of a superchain. 

“We are thrilled Mythical Games was drawn to the unique strengths of Polkadot, which allows projects to create their own ecosystems within Polkadot, including their own governance and treasury,” Björn Wagner, CEO of Parity Technologies, a leading contributor to the Polkadot network said in April.

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Quick take:

Animoca Brands has raised $20 million in a funding round led by CMCC Global. 

Kingsway Capital, Liberty City Ventures, and GameFi Ventures also participated in the round.

The company issued new ordinary shares at A$4.50 per share granting investors a  free-attaching utility token on a 1:1 dollar basis.

Animoca Brands has announced a $20 million funding round led by CMCC Global. The company issued new ordinary shares at A$4.50 (~$2.87) per share granting investors a free-attaching utility token on a 1:1 dollar basis.

Other participants in the fundraising included Kingsway Capital, Liberty City Ventures, GameFi Ventures, Aleksander Larsen (founder of Sky Mavis), Gabby Dizon (founder of Yield Guild Games), and institutional investors of Koda Capital. They were also joined by Yat Siu, the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands.

Mocaverse is Animoca Brands’ NFT collection, created for the company’s portfolio members. The project launched in December 2022 with a collection of 8,888 NFTs called Mocas, offered in five classifications called tribes.

Last month, Animoca Brands teamed up with CyberConnect to build a decentralised social layer for the Mocaverse community, enabling members to launch gamified social experiences.

This fundraising will accelerate that process and expand the gaming, culture and entertainment ecosystem of Animoca Brands’ portfolio. The company said the capital will also be used in product development and facilitate Web3 adoption across the company’s 450+ portfolio projects.

Mocaverse is planning to introduce Moca ID, a non-transferable NFT that enables users to create on-chain identities that can be used in the Mocaverse ecosystem. The Moca ID also allows users to earn loyalty points through their active contributions to the Mocaverse ecosystem. The Moca ID is designed with interoperability capabilities for third-party adoption.

Commenting on the announcement, Yat Siu said: “We are deeply honoured by investors’ support for Animoca Brands and its vision of decentralisation. The ongoing evolution of the Internet involves a shift from hierarchical power structures to autonomous ones, and the DAO-based approach of Mocaverse ensures that its community will be focused on driving innovation and collaboration across the broader Animoca Brands ecosystem.

Martin Baumann, the co-founder of CMCC Global, commented: “Having built a long-term relationship with Animoca Brands, we are thrilled to be leading this first round of funding into Mocaverse. The project will unify the unique portfolio of companies within the Animoca Brands umbrella and will become a portal for hundreds of millions of new users to access Web3 and metaverse ecosystems.”

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Quick take:

Hiber has integrated generative AI into its 3D world creation tools.

The unveiling came during the Google Cloud Next event in San Francisco as part of Hiber’s collaboration with Datatonic, and Google Cloud.

Creators will now be able to use natural language prompts to enhance the crafting of 3D worlds with Hiber3D.

Hiber has added generative AI to its 3D world creation tools. The company already offers Hiber3D Development Kit and a no-code tool for consumers, which have helped creators build over five million 3D worlds.

The new tech integration was unveiled during the Google Clud Next event in San Francisco as part of Hiber’s collaboration with Google Cloud and cloud solutions provider Datatonic.

The integration of generative AI with Hiber35 will empower creators to use natural language prompts to enhance the crafting of 3D worlds.

Hiber is trying to make 3D content creation easier, thus bringing 3D web to the masses. The Gothenburg Sweden-based company has already experienced success in its user-generated content (UGC) hub HiberWorld, according to Hiber CEO, Michael Yngfors.

“There’s a lot of AI all over the web these days. But this is actually a topic that we’ve been working on from when we started building Hiber,” Yngfors told GamesBeat.

“When we started in 2017, this was always with us from the start,” Yngfors said. “Our vision was to build this platform that will make the creation of these 3D worlds and experiences in games as easy and accessible and fun for as many people as possible.”

Hiber world users can be part of the community through creation and playing. There is also a marketplace for buying and selling digital products. The metaverse platform was founded in 2017 with the vision of accelerating the transition from web2 platforms to immersive 3D worlds.

The company is backed by a range of venture capital firms from consumer technology, gaming, and blockchain industries including EQT Ventures, Luminar Ventures, Konvoy Ventures, CMT Digital, and Dreamcraft Ventures, among others.

The Hiber3D engine, which powers Hiber World can be integrated into any web-based application, providing a comprehensive set of services for creators.

“Along with our Hiber3D engine, we have a set of services that support creators, including multiplayer, chat, identity, payment rails, and commerce connections,” said Yngfors. “And now we are going further. By uniting generative AI with these services, we’re set to evolve our offering into a living creation platform.”

The company’s partnership with Google Cloud will help in reducing some of the costs associated with integrating generative AI, like the “computing power [required] to delve through large language models.”

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Quick take:

Juventus and Socios.com are expanding their partnership with new real-world experiences for its fans.

Juventus was the first sports organisation to issue an official fan token on Socios.

Among the new catalogue of benefits and rewards is the ability to play at Juventus’ home stadium, the Allianz Stadium.

Juventus is expanding its partnership with Socios.com to bring more experiences and rewards to the JUV Token holders. The two companies are building on a five-year relationship that saw Juventus become the first sports organisation to issue a fan token on Socios.com

According to the announcement on Thursday, the expanded partnership will enable Juventus Fan Token holders to access more benefits and rewards. Among some of the things being introduced is the ability to play at Juventus’ home stadium, the Allianz Stadium.

Other offers on the table for JUV token holders include the ability to gain early access to matchday tickets, discounts on overnight stays at the J-Hotel, access to the J-Museum and Stadium Tour, discounts on memberships and the ability to receive personalised video messages from players, Juventus said in a press release.

Commenting on the announcement, Juventus Football Club COO, Tiziana Di Gioia, said: “We are delighted to be able to extend our collaboration with Socios.com, a key partner who has brought great value to the club and its fans over the past five years.”

“Today our JUV Fan Token allows us to offer exciting opportunities to our fans on a global scale, and this will further increase in this new phase in which we will expand the catalogue of exclusive benefits and experiences that will be available and redeemable for the holders of our Fan Token,” added Di Gioia.

Fan tokens have become popular with football clubs as they are viewed as a means of building more connections between the fans and the sport they love.

For instance, during the five years that Juventus has worked with Socios.com, the Bianconeri football club was able to carry out more than 140 surveys through the platform, attracting over 370,000 fan votes.

Among some of the things the fans were able to vote for and choose included the design of the team bus, the goal celebration song, the pre-match playlists that accompany the team, motivational phrases inside the stadium locker room and the revisiting of the logo for the creation of a merchandise collection.

Founder and CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com, Alexandre Dreyfus commented: “Juventus was one of the first sports organisations to support our vision and believe in our platform and the first club in the world to launch the Fan Token. With their boldness, they have paved a path that dozens of sports companies around the world have followed and that is changing the game for sports fans.”

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Quick take:

Aelf has announced the launch of aelf Ventures with a $50M ecosystem fund.

The Web3 solutions provider said the fund will be used to boost blockchain innovation.

Aelf Ventures has already invested in Web3 projects Crystal Fun and Mythic Protocol.

Aelf Ventures has emerged from stealth with a $50 million ecosystem fund supporting blockchain innovation. The fund was launched by Aelf, a layer-1 blockchain infrastructure platform championing the transition from web2 to web3.

According to the announcement, aelf has already invested in Crystal Fun, a decentralised Web3 gaming ecosystem that aims to convert Web2 game players into Web3 users through high-quality games. The fund has also invested in Mythic Protocol, a protocol building a collaborative entertainment universe driven by its community.

The venture fund has also incubated leading web3 projects including Portkey — a social recovery account abstraction wallet, eBridge — a cross-chain bridge, Forest NFT Marketplace, Awaken Swap — a decentralised exchange (DEX), and EWELL — an initial DEX offering (IDO) platform, among others.

Commenting on the launch of aelf Ventures, Hazel Zhang, the Head of Investments at aelf said: “As we navigate the path toward a decentralised Web3 era, aelf Ventures stands as a guiding light for extraordinary minds and groundbreaking projects. Our mission is clear: to champion those who share our vision, investing in founders driven by passion and ideas that resonate with the essence of aelf.” 

Aelf Ventures will also look to incubate and nurture innovative blockchain projects within the aelf and multichain ecosystems, the company wrote in a press release on Thursday.

According to the announcement, aelf Ventures specifically targets growth-stage blockchain projects looking to bridge Web2 entertainment companies to decentralised Web3.

The company is now expanding its reach into “venture investments spanning diverse sectors, targeting avant-garde projects with visionary founders in alignment with pursuing a decentralised future.”

Among projects that aelf Ventures is looking to invest in include those involved in blockchain gaming, decentralised finance (DeFi), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Aelf Ventures’ launch comes at a time when the Web3 funding is declining. According to Tech Crunch, Web3 startups are tracking to raise less than $1.9 billion during the third quarter of 2023. In Q1, the industry raised about $2 billion, with the second quarter just falling short of that figure.

Still, even after witnessing a backing of nearly $1.4 billion in the current quarter, the figures are significantly lower than what the Web3 industry was registering in 2021 and 2022.

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Quick take:

Mirae Asset Securities has teamed up with Polygon Labs to launch The Mirae Asset Security Token Working Group.

The new network will develop an infrastructure to issue, exchange, and distribute tokenized securities.

The group includes other companies including Linger Studio and Coin Plug but will operate separately from the Mirae, Hana Financial and SK Telecom’s security token consortium.

Mirae Asset Securities has announced a partnership with Polygon Labs to develop an infrastructure that will issue, exchange, and distribute tokenized securities. Dubbed The Mirae Asset Security Token Working Group, it will operate separately from Mirae, Hana Financial and SK Telecom’s security token consortium, the company said in a press release shared with CoinDesk.

According to the announcement, Mirae Asset Securities, the wholly owned subsidiary of Mirae Asset Financial Group also wants to use the network to advance the adoption of Web3 technologies. 

Polygon Labs will provide technical assistance during the development of the network, the company said. Mirae has also collaborated with other companies including Linger Studio and Coin Plug to form the group.

Commenting on the partnership with Polygon, Ahn In-sung, head of the digital assets division at Mirae Asset Securities said: “Polygon Labs is a leading global blockchain technology development company that is innovating throughout all aspects of Web3. Through technical collaboration with Polygon Labs, Mirae Asset Securities aims to establish global leadership in the field of tokenized securities.”

Polygon Labs is the organisation behind the layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution Polygon, which increases the efficiency of transactions on the Ethereum network.

Mirae is targeting to tokenise a wide variety of assets for the new network. Among real-world assets eyed for tokenisation include real estate, bonds, fine art, and equities.

Mirae Asset Securities joins a growing list of global asset managers that have leveraged Polygon to offer tokenised securities. Franklin Templeton and Hamilton Lane have already initiated their tokenised projects on Polygon, while JPMorgan teamed up with Polygon to facilitate the trading of tokenized Japanese yen for the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian.

Sandeep Nailwal, the executive chairman of Polygon Labs thinks the partnership with mainstream financial services companies like Mirae will accelerate the adoption of Web3 in the finance industry.

“Mirae is a great example of a progressive, forward-looking company that aims to stay up to date with the constantly evolving world of digital finance. Its foray into tokenization will undoubtedly help accelerate the mass adoption of Web3 among other financial institutions,” Nailwal said.

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Quick take:

Google has updated its crypto ads policy, clarifying rules for blockchain games.

Advertisers will be allowed to run ads for NFT games that do not promote gambling.

Ads must also meet specific requirements and be certified by Google.

Google has continued to soften its stance on crypto after announcing a policy update that allows advertisers to run ads for NFT games. This follows the technology giant’s Play Store policy update that paves the way for developers to list NFT games.

In the crypto ad policy update, which becomes effective on September 15, 2023, NFT game ads must meet specific requirements and be certified by Google. Advertisers will be able to run ads for blockchain games that do not promote gambling, the policy states.

These changes come at a time when the crypto market is experiencing a downturn and NFT gaming activity is on the decline. 

In a recent Interview with NFTgators, Alex Salnikov, the co-founder and chief strategy officer at Rarible said Google’s recent updates could be a signal that major tech players are recognising blockchain’s potential. 

“This move opens the door for more users to explore decentralized applications and fosters innovation among developers,” Salnikov said regarding the recent Play Store policy update. 

On the other hand, Bertrand Perez, the CEO of Web3 Foundation maintained that it is not clear how Play Store is impacting blockchain companies. 

However, in a Q&A with NFTgators, he stated that this could be “[a sign] of a broader convergence where more and more traditional players are accepting the potential and uses of blockchain technology.”

Google is doubling down on its commitment to balance innovation and responsible ads for the new space by allowing NFT game ads that promote in-game purchases of items like virtual apparel, weapons, or armour that enhance the user’s experience.

However, the company maintains it will continue to prohibit game ads where players can wager or stake NFTs to win crypto and other NFT prizes, including simulated casino games that offer NFT rewards and ads containing links that lead users to NFT gambling sites.

Although violations could lead to potential suspension of the advertiser accounts, Google will issue a warning at least seven days in advance of any suspension.

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Quick take:

Story Protocol has raised $24.7 million in a round led by A16z Crypto bringing the total for the round to $54 million.

The Web3 infrastructure company announced a $29.3 million fundraising in May 2023.

Story Protocol aims to democratise IP creation through a global extensible repository.

Story Protocol has wrapped up a $54 million funding round led by A16z. The company raised an additional $24.7 million in a follow-on round, which adds to the $29.3 million seed announced in May.

Story Protocol provides an infrastructure that allows creators to manage the entire lifecycle of IP development, enabling features like provenance tracking, frictionless licensing and revenue sharing.

The project also aims to attract third-party developers looking to build platforms for crowdfunding, capital formation, IP discovery, licensing modules, and authentication for AI content, among others.

Commenting on the announcement, Sriram Krishnan, General Partner at a16z Crypto highlighted the great potential of Web3 to solve the media and entertainment industries’ long-standing problems.

“We believe that Story Protocol has the opportunity to revolutionize the future of IP for artists, fans, and developers by empowering creativity at the speed of the internet,” added Krishnan.

Other participants in the round included Korean Web3 investment company Hashed, Samsung Next, Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media, Dao5, Eva Lau’s Two Small Fish Ventures and several individual investors.

Simon Kim, CEO and Managing Partner at Hashed commented: “As a co-lead investor in Story Protocol’s earliest funding round, I was highly impressed by the calibre of the leadership team and their ability to execute at the intersection of mainstream IPs and web3.”

“Just as Git revolutionized software development, Story Protocol is transforming the development of creative IP and enabling contribution at scale with clear ownership attribution,” added Kim.

Ben Enowitz, SVP of Corporate Development & Talent Ventures at Endeavor believes the Story Protocol infrastructure allows developers to create platforms that empower creators to participate in the creative process.

“Technology cannot replace authentic, human creativity – but it can bring communities together to unlock the full potential of existing and new IP. We’re excited to support Story Protocol in expanding the ways IP is created and shared with the world,” Enowitz said.

Story Protocol was also delighted to add celebrated filmmaker David S. Goyer to its advisory team. Goyer is renowned for being the screenwriter for the “Blade” trilogy, which ran between 1998-2004 and “The Dark Knight” trilogy (2005-2012). He is also a showrunner for the ongoing Apple+ TV series Foundation.

Commenting on his new role, Goyer said: “I envision a future where creators will wield greater control over their IPs, extend their influence on a global scale, and cultivate direct connections with their community.”

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Quick take:

MetaMask has launched a new feature that allows users to cash out their crypto to fiat.

The Sell feature currently supports cashouts to USD, EUR, and GBP.

The function is currently only available on the Ethereum Network but there are plans to expand to native layer-2 blockchains.

One of the biggest challenges the crypto industry faces is the process of cashing out crypto to fiat. Many platforms that support the crypto to fiat cashouts do this via peer-to-peer marketplaces that require users to be cautious about whom they trade with.

That could be about to change for the better.

MetaMask, the world’s most popular hot wallet has launched a new feature that allows users to cash out crypto to fiat. Dubbed, Sell, the feature will initially be available in the US, the UK and parts of the EU. 

According to the announcement, revealed via the MetaMask X account, Sell will initially support the ETH on the Ethereum network, before expanding to other native layer-2 blockchains.

We are beyond thrilled to announce our latest feature: Sell. Yes, you read that right. Available on MetaMask Portfolio, ‘Sell’ allows you to cash out your crypto for fiat currency easily. Discover more at https://t.co/aaSgTswEMo pic.twitter.com/pJa1ZndLQA

— MetaMask (@MetaMask) September 5, 2023

The feature will allow users to convert crypto into USD, GBP and EUR, which can be withdrawn directly to a local bank account or PayPal, depending on the jurisdiction.

MetaMask has plans to roll out the service to more countries worldwide, according to a statement on its website.

“Ensuring a way for users to enter and exit crypto freely is important and we hope these options make Web3 attainable to more people,” the company wrote on Tuesday.

The process of selling crypto for fiat requires one to link a fiat account to their MetaMask wallet portfolio.

Source: MetaMask.io

Now with both the buy and sell feature in the MetaMask portfolio section, users can easily buy and sell any token without engaging intermediaries. Users will only need to sign up and link their bank account once with a specific provider, then buy and sell as the need arises.

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Quick take:

Casio has teamed up with Polygon to launch digital wearables for the G-Shock watch brand.

The Japanese electronic company will allow holders of the NFTs to create virtual G-Shock watches in the metaverse.

Casio will begin rolling out the NFTs to users who have a Casio ID from September 23-26, with the public rollout following thereafter from September 26-29.

Casio has teamed up with Polygon Labs to bring its popular G-Shock watch brand to the blockchain. The Japanese electronics giant will collaborate with the layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution to build a “co-creator community” in the metaverse.

To kick off its Web3 campaign, Casio is dropping 15,000 free-to-mint G-Shock Creator Pass NFTs, which holders will use to access the program’s newly created Discord channel. They will then enter a co-creation competition where they will be allowed to design different versions of the G-Shock NFTs.

According to the announcement, Casio will roll out NFTs through its website to users who have a Casio ID from September 23-26, with the public rollout following thereafter from September 26-29.

Commenting on the announcement, Takahashi Oh, senior general manager of Casio’s timepiece division said: “In recent years, with the spread of the decentralized internet known as Web3, demand for experiences in virtual spaces has increased. We have launched this initiative to further expand the G-Shock brand by establishing points of contact with previously unreachable segments of the population.”

According to Oh, the G-Shock watch brand has shipped more than 100 million units since 1983. Casio wants to introduce the popular watch brand to the metaverse and interactive online worlds to be used as a wearable timepiece.

The company has teamed up with Polygon Labs to create a “co-creation community” that will develop the virtual wearables in collaboration with Casio.

“The co-creation of the Virtual G-Shock Project aims to increase the presence of the G-Shock brand in the virtual and Web3 worlds,” Oh told Decrypt. “And to foster a culture of wearing watches in the virtual world.” 

Oh wants to see a metaverse where digital avatars are dressed in his company’s iconic brand of sporty watches.

“In order to realize this world, we would like to cultivate virtual fans through the co-creation project and increase the number of friends who will work together to create the future that Virtual G-Shock is aiming for,” he added.

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Quick take:

Visa is expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities to merchant acquirers.

The payments services giant has teamed up with Worldplay and Nuvei to roll out a pilot on Solana.

The company has already moved millions of USDC between its partners on Solana and Ethereum blockchains.

Visa is expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities to the Solana blockchain. The company announced Tuesday that it is collaborating with merchant acquirers Worldplay and Nuvei for a live pilot on Solana.

1/Breaking: Visa Expands Stablecoin Settlement Pilot to Solana@Visa is scaling their USDC settlement pilot to include the Solana blockchain, enabling enterprise-grade throughput at virtually no cost for Visa issuers and merchant acquirers on Solana. https://t.co/rF5ouZaISM

— Solana (@solana) September 5, 2023

According to the announcement, Visa has already moved millions of USDC between its partners on Solana and Ethereum networks to settle fiat-denominated payments authorized over VisaNet.

Commenting on the announcement, Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa said this partnership helps to improve the way people move money as it fulfils Visa’s commitment to being at the forefront of digital currency and blockchain innovation.

“By leveraging stablecoins like USDC and global blockchain networks like Solana and Ethereum, we’re helping to improve the speed of cross-border settlement and providing a modern option for our clients to easily send or receive funds from Visa’s treasury,” said Sheffield.

This partnership is building on the 2021 Crypto.com pilot which Visa used to test stablecoin settlement on the issuance side. According to Visa, the pilot was successful in leveraging USDC and the Ethereum blockchain to receive payments from Crypto.com.

Crypto.com has successfully been using USDC to settle cross-border payments with its Visa card in Australia. Before the pilot, the crypto exchange company took days to complete currency conversions and international wire transfers.

Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder and CEO of Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin commented: “Circle built USDC to provide a functional digital dollar that could move at the speed of the internet to facilitate secure, reliable payments. Expanding the pilot exemplifies how pairing USDC with Visa’s innovation opens up the future of payments, commerce and financial applications.”

Visa’s expansion of on-chain settlements to include acquirers even speeds up the settlement times for their merchants. It also taps into an expanding network of merchants that interact with blockchain technology including on-ramp providers, games, and NFT marketplaces, who prefer to receive stablecoins over fiat currencies, the company said in a press release.

Jim Johnson, President of Worldpay Merchant Solutions, FIS commented: “Visa’s USDC settlement capability enables Worldpay to bring more of our treasury operations in-house and allows us to offer merchants more choices for receiving funds.”

Philip Fayer, Chair and CEO of Nuvei added: “Optimizing cross-border transactions is only one use case where stablecoins can benefit businesses. As a leading global payments company, we are constantly focused on innovation, and we’re excited to work with Visa to bring these capabilities to our partners.”

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Quick take:

The recruitment phase began on September 4, 2023.

This comes following the company’s second cohort, which began on May 15 before concluding at the end of July.

The Cronos Labs Accelerator program is aimed at supporting early-stage crypto and AI projects.

Cronos Labs has started looking for participants in the third cohort of the Cronos Labs Accelerator program. The blockchain accelerator is looking for eight early-stage crypto startups to join its $100 million program, CoinDesk reported.

This announcement comes just a month after the conclusion of the second cohort, which began on May 15 and ended at the end of July.

The Cronos Accelerator program aims to support early-stage crypto projects through mentorship and funding. In the May-July cohort, Omnus, DeMe, Furrend, Solace, Sakaba, Eisen Finance, Earn Network and CorgiAI participated in the program, with each startup receiving $30 million in seed funding.

The company first announced the program in June 2022 with an initial focus on DeFi, Web3 gaming, infrastructure and tooling. The program is backed by the likes of Mechanism Capital, Spartan Labs, IOSG Ventures, OK Blockchain Capital, and AP Capital, among others.

The current cohort is targeting startups building at the intersection of crypto and AI,” Cronos Labs said in a statement on Tuesday.

“In particular, it is designed to attract projects utilizing AI to provide unparalleled speed and efficiency that will help take products to market.”

The announcement coincides with Korea Blockchain Week, which runs from September 4th to 10th and focuses on artificial intelligence.

Over the past 12 months, Web3 funding has slowed significantly amid the bear market. However, since the emergence of ChatGPT last November, blockchain companies have looked to leverage artificial intelligence in pursuit of the next growth phase.

The popularity of artificial intelligence has also reignited interest in the Web3 space, especially for startups that are looking to build at the intersection of AI and crypto.

On Monday, Bybit, one of the leading crypto exchange platforms launched TradeGPT. The AI-powered education tool leverages an AI model and Bybit’s real-time market data to provide users with real-time market analysis and answers to their questions in multiple languages.

Projects chosen for the $100 million Cronos Labs accelerator have access to AWS’ resources, including machine learning and AI-related workshops and mentorship sessions.

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