The Metaverse is poised to become tech’s next trillion-dollar opportunity, as an increasing number of companies are showing interest in immersive virtual spaces that will allow consumers to go beyond what’s possible in real life. This was highlighted in a recent report from CB Insights, which found that the Metaverse will disrupt at least 13 leading industries including fashion, retail, gaming, education and more. While notable, various metaverse environments are still underway. For example, tech giant Microsoft announced on May 24 the creation of an “industrial metaverse,” which will allow workers to wear augmented reality headsets to manage supply chains. …

Popular trading platform Robinhood is creating a noncustodial crypto wallet that will be compatible with multiple blockchains. The wallet will be a standalone application with the ability to store nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and connect to NFT marketplaces. A promo video released for the wallet shows a demonstration using Ethereum-based NFTs. Trade and swap crypto with no network fees. A web3 wallet from us. Get early access: https://t.co/qonXj80BEB pic.twitter.com/qLjByPA4ty — Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) May 17, 2022 The app is a significant step for the company in providing crypto services. Prior to January 2022, trading crypto on Robinhood was a closed system with …

The Italian high-end fashion label Gucci has announced it will begin accepting cryptocurrency payments by the end of the month in five of its United States stores, with plans to extend the service to all of its 111 stores in North America. Gucci will accept 12 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Litecoin (LTC), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and five U.S. dollar stablecoins, according to Vogue Business. Customers paying with crypto in-store at the pilot locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and Las Vegas will be sent an email with a …

The rise of Web3 has paved the way for new business models that could shape the next phase of the internet. For instance, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) will play a large part in the open metaverse as the underlying assets people interact with. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are also coming to fruition to allow for community governance within virtual environments. The growth of Web3 has essentially allowed NFTs and DAOs to flourish. For example, recent data from DeepDAO — a DAO stats platform — shows that DAOs have experienced 130-times growth over the last year, reaching a market capitalization of $24.8 …

When you think of a crypto-friendly U.S. state, Washington is hardly the first to come to mind. Yet, a lot has been happening on the ground in the Pacific Northwest lately. Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill, SB5544, into law on March 30. The new legislation creates a working group of seven state officials and eight trade association leaders to examine “various potential applications of and policies for blockchain technology” and report to the governor in December 2023. Republican state Senator Sharon Brown, one of the sponsors of the legislation, said, “By creating the Washington Blockchain Work Group, we …

“The Market Report” with Cointelegraph is live right now. On this week’s show, Cointelegraph’s resident experts discuss which are the top coins to buy in a bear market. But first, market expert Marcel Pechman carefully examines the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) markets. Are the current market conditions bullish or bearish? What is the outlook for the next few months? Pechman is here to break it down. Next up, the main event. Join Cointelegraph analysts Benton Yaun, Jordan Finneseth and Sam Bourgi as they debate which are the top coins to buy in a bear market. Going up first will …

As an old saying goes: Buy the rumor, sell the news. As a digital-native asset class, the prices of cryptocurrencies are clearly susceptible to market-moving news developments that instantly spread on the internet. Staying on top of bullish announcements can help crypto traders reap huge gains, but navigating the crypto news landscape can be daunting. Two major roadblocks get in the way: the abundance of potentially relevant information and the difficulty of making sure one is always among the first to learn the news that really matters. Extensive research shows that three types of crypto-related developments move digital asset prices …

The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is reportedly investigating the possibility of launching a digital currency and issuing digital bank licenses. According to the head of the fintech section at QCB, Alanood Abdullah Al Muftah, the central bank is expected to set a direction for its future focus soon on a range of fintech verticals. Al Muftah noted that QCB will also determine whether Qatar can establish a central bank digital currency (CBDC). She explained: "Each central bank should study digital banks, considering their growing significance in the global market. We also see the direction of the market moving towards having …

HSBC, one of the largest European banks with total assets of $2.4 trillion, announced its intention to buy a virtual plot of LAND within The Sandbox for an undisclosed amount. The new partners will develop opportunities for users to engage with sports, esports and gaming enthusiasts, according to the statement by The Sandbox. Delighted to announce we’ve partnered with @HSBC, one of the world’s largest international banking & financial services providers! Bringing a host of opportunities to engage with global financial services & sports communities in The Sandbox Metaverse.https://t.co/GmQ3lrVmnB — The Sandbox (@TheSandboxGame) March 16, 2022 The banking giant will …

On Monday, March 14, the European Blockchain Observatory announced a call for tenders to contract a consortium, whose mission will be to facilitate and operate a pan-European regulatory sandbox for distributed ledger technologies, or DLT, and blockchain in particular. A major task for the future consortium will be to provide “comprehensive legal advice” concerning the operation of the core services of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI). The regulatory sandbox is envisaged as a space where regulators, blockchain enterprises and users will interact “in a trusted environment.” In addition to already existing EBSI projects, it will host a broad range …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been relatively calm during the weekend, indicating that traders are playing it safe and not waging large bets before the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting on March 15 and March 16. The quantum of the rate hike could act as the next trigger for the crypto markets. The current neutral setup of Bitcoin has kept the analysts guessing. Analytics resource Material Indicators warned that Bitcoin could plunge but they advised investors to be ready to buy the dip as they believe that the “bounce can change your life.” A Price Waterhouse Coopers' Sports Outlook 2022 report …

While the interest in metaverse seems to slow down, a pioneer in the space is still hard at work, advocating the open metaverse, a decentralized and interoperable multiverse. In an interview with Cointelegraph Brazil, Sebastien Borget, the founder of the open-world blockchain game The Sandbox, shared some of his thoughts and expertise when it comes to Web3 and the state of the metaverse. According to Borget, the metaverse is a gateway to new experiences limited only by what users can think of. He explained that: “Web 3.0 and the metaverse are enabling each of us to become an explorer of …