It was a quieter week in NFTs, despite consistent numbers in the market around transactions, volumes, and new and returning users. Headlines in the space were dominated by the corporate moves, from Mastercard to Amazon and of course, Meta.
While not all of these firms are directly engaging in NFTs (at least not yet), many seem to preparing to dip their toes in the water. Meta has of course been making a conscious effort, resulting in some meme-able moments along the way. This week was no exception, across the board.
Let’s dive into our weekly recap of all things NFTs.
This Week’s Non-Fungible Token News
Mastercard Makes The Leap
Visa has been notably aggressive in the crypto and blockchain space, relative to many other traditional, legacy fintech firms. The company even bought their own CryptoPunk last year. Mastercard looks like they want to join in on the fun this week, too, as the company has filed for over a dozen new trademark applications across metaverse and NFT verticals. With limited details available thus far, a company release stated that “the initiative will provide participants with access to value-added services and creative solutions, since the new cohort is a critical component of MasterCard’s digital asset strategy.”
Could Amazon Explore NFTs?
Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy has big shoes to fill following behind the departure of Jeff Bezos. Additionally, Jassy has growing conflicts with staffing and unionization efforts. The Amazon image has certainly been taking a hit over worker condition criticism, but Jassy has still found some time to share his thoughts on crypto and blockchain technology.
Jassy was on record this week stating that the company is “not probably close to adding crypto as a payment mechanism in our retail business, but I do believe over time that that you’ll see crypto become bigger and it’s awesome.” He added that NFTs on Amazon “is possible down the road.”
Meta’s ~45% Cut Makes Memes
Meta (formerly Facebook) is looking to offer up NFTs through it’s metaverse application on virtual reality headsets. Sounds straightforward, right? Up until you hear about the cut that the firm plans on taking, which sent Crypto Twitter into an absolute frenzy this week.
Meta announced that a 30% fee would apply towards NFTs on the Meta Quest Store, a certainly steep figure in-itself relative to most NFTs that are available for purchase elsewhere. It doesn’t stop there, though. The platform’s Horizon World, it’s virtual reality avatar software, would also have a 17.5% fee – bringing the total fees applied from Meta to a hefty 47.5%. The number made it’s rounds across Twitter this week as NFT loyalists lost their minds.
Related Reading | Will Elon Musk Accept Cardano Founder’s Offer To Build Decentralized Twitter?
Ronin faced a major hack less than a month ago, but the Axie Infinity-powering blockchain continues to stay afloat. This week, U.S. government officials stated that North Korean hackers were behind the chain's exposed vulnerability. | Source: RON-USDT on TradingView.com
North Korea Allegedly Behind Axie Infinity Hack
In late March, the Ronin blockchain, host to the Axie Infinity network, faced a serious hack that resulted in roughly $500M in lost funds. Axie has, of course, been easily the largest play-to-earn NFT platform on the market, setting the tone for many P2E titles that have followed.
This week, reports emerged, and an official U.S. government statement followed that North Korean hackers were behind the Ronin attack.
Texas’ Sand Vegas Casino Club Faces Heat Over NFTs
The Texas State Securities Board issued an emergency cease and desist order this week against the Sand Vegas Casino Club, accusing the casino and it’s ownership of “illegally offering NFTs to fund the development of virtual casinos in metaverses.”
The casino was looking to mint 11,111 Gambler NFTs to develop metaverse casino gaming in popular metaverses platforms such as the Sandbox, Decentraland, Infinity Void, and NFT Worlds, according to reports.
The Microscopes On NFTs In China Continue To Magnify
A statement from a number of different Chinese banking authorities, including the country’s Internet Financial Association, the China Banking Association and the China Securities Association, has stated that they intend to “resolutely curb” the movement of NFTs working into financial products and potential securities. Chinese authorities have taken a firm stance against crypto and NFTs across the board in recent years.
Related Reading | Russia To Legalize Crypto Payments, But Proposal Causes Internal Concerns
Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com
The writer of this content is not associated or affiliated with any of the parties mentioned in this article. This is not financial advice.
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