KuCoin Labs, the company behind the world's sixth-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume with more than 500 crypto assets listed, announced on Wednesday that it would be launching a $100 million metaverse fund for early-stage projects. The money is also available for entities that develop blockchain-based games, nonfungible tokens, and decentralized applications. In addition, Kucoin will also provide business incubation services, branding, incentives, and business partnerships for developers selected into the fund. Johnny Lyu, CEO of Kucoin, said the following in a prepared statement obtained by Cointelegraph: "KuCoin Metaverse Fund will be launched to accelerate the evolution of the Internet …

Animoca Brands' virtual property and gaming firm The Sandbox is opening up part of its Metaverse to players for the first time via a multi-week play-to-earn (P2E) Alpha event. But only a handful of lucky players will get to enjoy the full experience. Sandbox’s virtual gaming world enables users to monetize their time spent in the Metaverse via a play-to-earn model. Players can purchase land and create NFTs within the game, and earn the Sandbox token (SAND) by completing various quests. They can also stake the token. According to a Nov. 17 announcement from the firm, the event will start …

The Russian State Hermitage Museum continues diving in the nonfungible tokens (NFTs) industry by debuting its first fully-virtual exhibition of digital art. Shortly after raising over $400,000 via its first NFT auction on Binance in September, the Hermitage is now hosting a free exhibition of NFT artworks existing exclusively in the virtual space, the so-called “celestial hermitage,” or the museum’s digital avatar. Launched on Nov. 10, the Hermitage’s exhibition is called the “Invisible Aether” and is based on the concept of metaverse, allowing users to create digital avatars and surf across the virtual site using PCs, smartphones, virtual reality glasses …

Neal Stephenson, a popular sci-fi writer coined the phrase “metaverse” in his first best-selling and breakthrough 1992 novel, Snow Crash. Now that concept is becoming a reality, and what’s more, you can invest in the metaverses. In Ready Player One, The OASIS is another example of an advanced virtual reality. Numerous other sci-fi authors, such as Ian M Banks, have created and used similar concepts within their novels. Back in September, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was clearly interested in advancing the metaverse. In a recent earnings call, Facebook made it clear that they want to unify communities, creators and eCommerce …

Crypto leaders are divided over whether Mark Zuckerberg should lead Facebook into the Metaverse, with Hodl Asset’s Jenny Ta saying he needs to resign if Meta is to succeed while Animoca’s Yat Siu says Zuck is the only one who can drive the company forward. Ta is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of nonfungible token (NFT) platform developer Hodl Assets, and said that Zuckerberg needs to head off lawsuits and protect the company’s image by relinquishing his role as CEO. But the co-founder and Chairman of blockchain game and virtual property developer Animoca Brands, Yat Su said that Zuck is …

Crypto exchange KuCoin has announced it will be opening a virtual office inside the skyscraper from the decentralized metaverse Bloktopia. In a Nov. 2 announcement, KuCoin said it would be joining the metaverse by launching an office inside Bloktopia’s platform, designed as a skyscraper. The virtual building has 21 different levels in recognition of the total supply of 21 million Bitcoin (BTC) and is expected to house other content creators including Polygon and Avalanche. According to the exchange, the meta office will allow users to decorate cyberpunks, interact with virtual furnishings, as well as chat and speak to each other …

The concept of the metaverse introduces alternate realities, linking augmented and virtual worlds, similar to the well-known Steven Spielberg movie Ready Player One. Running parallel to the real world, this virtual world will provide users with more scenes for conversion and various economic applications open to the creativity and ability of the developer. With many possibilities, it is no wonder that so many technology giants continue to invest heavily in the possibilities the metaverse development has to offer. The potential impact is so large, many continue to believe that this could be the next large-scale platform after the internet. However, …

Halloween is traditionally known for costumes, candy and trick or treating, but this year, the holiday is transitioning to the virtual world as the metaverse unfolds. As such, nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, are being created to showcase Halloween themes in hopes of attracting collectors looking for themed drops. Although Halloween-inspired NFTs appear to be a new concept, NFT artist Etsploit told Cointelegraph that Halloween holds a certain cultural importance that can't be dismissed: “I think people will collect NFTs for Halloween similar to that of NFT limited editions or releases of anything else.” Given this sentiment, Etsploit launched the “Mango …

It’s no surprise that nonfungible tokens (NFT) have been dominating the crypto market this year. The booming digital asset class generated over $2.5 billion in sales within the first six months of 2021, demonstrating unheard-of financial gains for artists, brands and content creators across the globe. The rise of metaverses has also impacted the adoption of NFTs, as the world is moving closer toward visions of a future defined by augmented reality. As such, NFTs are further demonstrating the convergence of culture with technology, which in turn is having an impact on a number of mainstream industries. Showcasing culture and …

Nonfungible token (NFT)-game and virtual property developer Animoca Brands has doubled its valuation to $2.2 billion after closing a new funding round that fetched $65 million. The latest funding round was conducted at a pre-money valuation of $2.2 billion, and included backing from gaming giants Ubisoft Entertainment along with Liberty City Ventures, Sequoia China, Dragonfly Capital to name a few. It’s more vindication for a company that was kicked off the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in March 2020, in part for its involvement in cryptocurrencies. According to the Wednesday announcement from the firm, more than 43.8 million newly issued shares …

Galaxy Interactive, a venture capital firm focused on next-generation interactive technology, has announced it has raised $325 million for its second fund from 70 different investors. The fund is focused on virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and blockchain-based games. In a Tuesday announcement, Galaxy Digital, the majority owner of Galaxy Interactive, stated that $150 million from the fund has already been allocated to new portfolio companies, including Republic, 1047 Games, Elodie, Roar, Art Blocks and Masterworks, with other additional investments to be announced in coming months. Established in 2018 by general partners Sam Englebardt and Richard Kim, the company …

The cryptocurrency world includes many unknown nuances to new users, making it increasingly difficult for users to navigate their way around. Crypto Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube contribute to the currency ecosystem of disjointed information that users face. Fortunately, the concept of the metaverse might have the ability to unite information. In simple terms, the metaverse is aimed to bring interconnected experiences together into a single virtual environment. These otherwise isolated experiences are then crafted in a way that is logical to the user. For example, a user might explore artwork and videos in a game by walking into a virtual …