Anime-inspired nonfungible token (NFT) project Azuki has released a Physical Backed Token (PBT) — an open-source token standard that ties a physical item to a digital token on the Ethereum blockchain. Azuki shared on its Twitter account that the first implementation of the PBT will use the BEAN Chip; a physical cryptographic chip that self-generates an asymmetric key pair. The combination of the PBT and the BEAN Chip introduces a feature, which the project is calling “scan to own”. Introducing the Physical Backed Token (PBT): an open source token standard tying a physical item to a digital token on the …

A number of food companies have recently begun to position themselves within the Web3 ecosystem by filing trademark applications for the Metaverse, and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis shared in a tweet that Kraft Foods Group had filed a trademark for its iconic hot dog-shaped Weinermobile on Oct. 12. The filing revealed that the brand plans to expand into NFTs, digital tokens, virtual goods, NFT marketplaces, virtual food, drink, and restaurants. Kraft has applied to trademark the iconic Weinermobile! The October 12 filing claims plans for: NFTs + Digital Tokens NFT Marketplaces Virtual Foods + Drinks + …

Walmart’s global chief technology officer (CTO) Suresh Kumar has tipped cryptocurrency to become a "major" area of disruption, particularly in how customers pay for virtual and physical goods in the future. Speaking at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit on Oct. 17, Kumar outlined Walmart’s positive stance on digital assets, noting that “crypto will become an important part of how customers transact” for both physical and virtual goods. “I think that there are three major areas of disruption. Crypto falls in sort of the middle of it,” he said, explaining that “the way in which customers are getting inspired and …

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced its latest virtual reality (VR) headset at the Meta Connect 2022 event on Oct. 11. The company introduced new features to enhance digital avatars, which raised privacy concerns regarding data collection. The Quest Pro is the latest piece of VR technology released by Meta as it continues its push into the metaverse. It utilizes five cameras inside the headset, which are positioned to watch and track a person’s facial expressions and eye movements. In addition, it has five external cameras, which will be employed in the future to track other bodily …

A software program called a web service enables computer-to-computer communication over the internet. However, web services are nothing new and typically take the form of an application programming interface (API). The Web is a collection of related hypertext materials that may be accessed online. For example, a user examines web pages that may contain multimedia using a web browser and uses hyperlinks to move between them. Tim Berners-Lee, who was employed by CERN, The European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Geneva, Switzerland, invented the Web in 1989. Since then, Berners-Lee has actively directed the development of web standards and has …

On Oct. 14, NFT Steez, a bi-weekly Twitter Spaces hosted by Alyssa Expósito and Ray Salmond, met with the founder of Cryptoys, Will Weinraub to discuss the current role of play and toys in regard to their integration with nonfungible tokens and Web3 as a whole. Weinraub believes that the act of play is "not restricted to children'' and believes that as adults, "we still crave the element of play throughout life." According to Weinraub, through the development of technology, "play has evolved." Nonfungible tokens, especially in gaming, have highlighted this layer of ownership through play. Technology will continue to …

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a mainstay in many Web3 activities. From nonfungible token (NFT) creation to fraud detection, it is integral to the roots of what makes up decentralized technology. Mona, a Miami-based 3D metaverse development and Web3 social platform, unveiled an AI-powered 3D generator for material design. The tool allows designers and creators on the platform the ability to input words into the AI mechanism in order to create materials for their personalized digital spaces. The MonaAI Material Generator is similar to the AI image and design generator DALL-E. However, it focuses specifically on “seamless” and realistic textures to …

The hype around nonfungible tokens (NFTs) may be fading, yet a number of organizations continue to implement Web3 initiatives. Nonprofit organizations and activists, in particular, have begun implementing nonfungible token projects to help fundraise and generate awareness for certain causes. While these methods are still new, NFT projects for philanthropy have been met with relative success. A recent report from crypto donation platform The Giving Block found that nonprofits using The Giving Block received more than $12.3 million dollars in cryptocurrency donations from NFT-related charitable giving initiatives in 2021. The report further noted that charitable organizations using NFTs are presented …

Facebook went under a major brand overhaul to project its focus on the Metaverse and rebranded to Meta in late 2021. The major shift for the social media giant surprised many, but looking at Facebook’s record with emerging tech trends, it was only a matter of time before it jumped into Web3. Meta’s crypto aspirations first came to light in 2019 after a failed experience in the digital payment sector with a Messenger-integrated payment option. The tech giant subsequently revealed its plans to launch a universal stablecoin backed by a basket of fiat currencies from different nations. The plan was …

In the ongoing quest for mainstream adoption, a big challenge surrounds making crypto easy to use. Transacting in digital assets can be clunky at times — putting off consumers and businesses alike. Here, we speak to Oliver Marco La Rosa — the founder and CEO of Globiance — to find out what his company is doing to tear down the barriers to entry. 1. Hello! Tell us about Globiance. We started Globiance to address a major issue: Crypto and legacy banking systems fail to operate synergistically. Right now, investors have no choice but to log into different platforms to manage …

Crypto Twitter was shocked by reports claiming a $1.2 billion metaverse ecosystem like Decentraland has less than 40 daily active users recently. The data, courtesy of decentralized finance (DeFi) analytic firm DappRadar, created quite a buzz among the crypto community, with questions being raised over the future of Web3. Decentraland was quick to refute those metrics and claimed that to get a better insight into the platform’s user activity; one should refer to the dashboard on the website. The metaverse platform noted that it accounted for 1,074 users interacting with smart contracts in September and a total of 56,697 monthly …

The beta version of a much-anticipated NFT game is about to be released. SolChicks has the ambition of becoming the best play-and-earn RPG ecosystem on the Solana blockchain, with gamers using adorable chicks as their characters in an immersive gaming metaverse. Initially, the beta version will only be accessible to those who already hold SolChicks NFTs — and the game will be available on Android devices and PCs. The closed beta service will be launched on 15 October at 12pm UTC, and you can find out how to register here. A dramatic tweet that shows a SolChick in black and …