One of the hallmarks of the crypto industry since its inception has been its commitment to open source development as well as its transparency-centric ethos. This is best made evident by the fact that many prominent projects operating within the digital asset sector and decentralized finance (DeFi) arena today have essentially been derived from other prominent projects such as Bitcoin Cash, SushiSwap and many others. In this regard, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a group that promotes the advancement of cryptocurrency-enabled technologies by removing patents as a barrier to growth and innovation, recently welcomed social media giant Meta as …

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is now the 13th-largest cryptocurrency with its market valuation sitting near $18 billion, right behind its rival meme-cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE), worth roughly $20 billion. But despite falling behind in ranks, SHIB's price has outperformed DOGE in 2022. February has seen a sharp recovery for the SHIB/DOGE pair, in particular, rising by over 38% month-to-date (MTD). As a result, Shiba Inu gained more than 50% MTD against the dollar versus Dogecoin's 11%, as shown in the chart below. Most of the February's — and, in fact, 2022's — gains in the SHIB market surfaced on two dates: Feb. …

The team behind one of the top memecoin projects Shiba Inu (SHIB) is rolling out tokenized real estate dubbed “Shiba Lands” as part of its upcoming metaverse project. Shiba’s upcoming metaverse is yet to receive a name, with the team referring to it as the “Shiberse,” and stating that the official title will be revealed later this month. The launch date for the tokenized land sales and auctions is also set to be announced soon and hodlers of the LEASH token (which is available via Shiba Swap) will be granted first access to the land sale events. After the first …

Samsung has unveiled its new range of Galaxy S22 premium smartphones at its virtual Samsung 837X space in the Decentraland metaverse. Over 100,000 users attended the “Samsung Unpacked 2022: The Epic Standard of Smartphone Experiences” event in the first 11 hours since it launched on Feb. 9 at 1:37PM UTC, making it one of Decentraland’s most experienced destinations to date. The South Korean multinational electronics company showcased the new Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra on a screen in the Samsung 837X space’s “Connectivity Theatre.” Metaverse-averse fans could also watch via stream on Samsung’s YouTube channel …

The iconic American restaurant chain McDonald’s looks like it is preparing to make a move into the Metaverse by registering for 10 trademarks in the virtual space. Trademark attorney and founder of Gerben Intellectual Property Josh Gerben tweeted today that McDonald’s submitted a trademark application on Feb. 4 including plans for "a virtual restaurant featuring actual and virtual goods" and "operating a virtual restaurant featuring home delivery." Based on the application, the restaurant chain will be able to provide “downloadable multimedia files” for artwork, audio and video files, and nonfungible tokens (NFT). McDonald’s also included its McCafe brand in the …

The Metaverse is quickly becoming one of the biggest trends of 2022. Recent data found that the metaverse sector currently has a market capitalization of over $26 billion. While impressive, new capabilities are also being added to virtual worlds to create more immersive experiences. For example, metaverse communities that cater to creatives are starting to unfold, allowing users to customize their own interactive experiences. Although this is still an emerging concept, the incorporation of music appears to be one of the defining characteristics of social metaverse environments. Music as NFTs For instance, music in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) …

Many religious denominations now offer interactive digital locations to supplement traditional services, but unique to COVID-19 is the opportunity to experience spirituality in an immersive 3D environment through virtual reality (VR) technology. As per a report by NZ Herald, Garret Bernal and his family were reportedly absent from a recent Sunday service during their quarantine for COVID-19 exposure. So he donned a VR headset and tried praying in the metaverse. He was instantly transported to a three-dimensional virtual realm of pastures, cliffs and rivers as the representative of a pastor guided him and others through computer-generated images of Biblical passages …

By 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the Metaverse for work, shopping, education, social, and entertainment purposes, according to new research. The Feb. 7 report by technology research and consulting company Gartner found that in anticipation of this migration to the Metaverse, brands are already building the infrastructure to allow their users to replicate their lives digitally. According to Gartner Vice President Marty Resnick, brands will need to collaborate in order to unify the Metaverse as their users continue to demand virtual, interactive, three-dimensional experiences. He explained, “from attending virtual classrooms to buying …

A Phoenix couple tied the knot with their digital identities this weekend in the first marriage to take place in the Metaverse. The wedding ceremony took place in Decentraland, complete with witnesses, Supreme Court Justice officiant Clint Bolick, and a virtual crowd of 2,000 guests on Feb. 5. The bride and groom, Ryan and Candice Hurley hired Rose Law Group to legally formalize the marriage. The group’s Founder and President Jordan Rose claims it was the first-ever wedding hosted on any blockchain-based Metaverse. That much anticipated wedding @decentraland @decentraspots @DCL_Events @peopleofdcl @Decentralovers @DCLDating @WearablesDCL @roselawgroup Congrats Ryan and Candice!!! pic.twitter.com/RA7oG9Qmcq …

Li Jiang, COO at Harmony, believes that a bridge connecting all existing blockchains is key to onboard the first 1 billion users on Web 3. “We think that the future is multichain and cross-chain, that you should be able to move assets very easily from one chain to another, with good prices, with good rates and very fast.”, he told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview. Harmony is a Layer-1 blockchain protocol that aims at creating bridges with all major blockchains and becoming a “unifying Web 3 platform” by 2026. Jiang acknowledges that blockchain technology is not mature enough to onboard …

A survey of 1,000 United States consumers around growing interest in the metaverse has revealed some interesting results. In a survey commissioned by nonfungible token and metaverse infrastructure provider Advokate Group, 87% of respondents preferred a decentralized metaverse on a blockchain over some of the mega projects planned by tech giants. This became more evident when 77% of the respondents shared concerns over Facebook’s entry into the metaverse, especially since it owns users' metaverse data. Facebook’s tainted past with mismanagement of private user data has already dismantled its early plans of launching a stablecoin called Diem. The stablecoin project faced …

Popular sneaker maker Nike has started the "licensed NFT" wars by taking an online reseller called StockX to court for trademark infringement or sale of unlicensed nonfungible token (NFT) sneakers. According to a Reuters report, Nike has filed a lawsuit against the reseller in the New York Federal court demanding an undisclosed amount in damages and a halt of sales on such virtual collectibles. StockX reportedly started selling Nike sneaker NFTs in January and promised buyers they can redeem the real-world version of the sneakers in the near future. Nike in its 50-page complaint claimed StockX has sold nearly 500 …