NFTs are in Vogue Readers of the high-end fashion magazine Vogue Singapore will be able to fight for a chance to purchase two tokenized front cover images. The front cover of Vogue’s September issue will feature QR codes allowing readers to sign up for an auction of two one-of-a-kind “virtual-only covers.” While Vogue has revealed that the auction will take place in September, the publication has yet to reveal the exact date of the auction. "Triumphant Awakening," the first of the animated covers up for auction, depicts a gold statuette in front of a blue planet encircled by a rising …

Amid the enormous success of crypto-powered game Axie Infinity in the Philippines, the local Department of Finance has made clear that it wants a cut of profits generated by playing Axie and other play-to-earn games. An August 23 report from Inquirer cites Philippine Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko as clarifying that any profits gleaned through play-to-earn games are subject to income tax. “Cryptocurrency is an asset, so it’s already taxable in the Philippines [...] whoever earns currency from it, it’s income you should report it,” she said. While the official asserted that that play-to-earn gains “are subject to income tax,” Tionko …

Nonfungible tokens (NFT) have arguably transitioned from being an obscure part of the crypto and blockchain space to occupy greater significance within popular culture. Indeed, as cryptocurrencies and decentralization appear to permeate the conversation across social, political and economic lines, the apparent hype surrounding NFTs seems to be incentivizing greater adoption of digital currencies. Within the NFT space itself, gaming has often been cited as a possible use case for the commercialization of digital collectibles. Now, within the ambit of play-to-earn NFTs, there appears to be a growing coincidence of gaming, blockchain and the virtual economy. Inside this confluence point, …

Trading volumes on peer-to-peer nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea have surged by over 12,000% in 2021. DappRadar data shows that the total incoming value to OpenSea’s smart contracts increased to $56.07 million on Wednesday compared to $73,556 on Jan. 1. Meanwhile, the marketplace’s user count increased from 315 to 14,520 in the same period — a 4,423% increase. A major portion of OpenSea’s trading volume spike happened after June. At the start of the month, the capital entering the marketplace’s smart contracts was just $3.6 million. But by Sunday, it had surged above $71.238 million. What’s more, on the previous …

If you're conversant with the cryptocurrency space and you keep tabs regularly on the happenings going on in the ecosystem, then you felt the excitement during Bitcoin's (BTC) rally to $63,000 in mid-April. This excitement is currently being caused by the bullish mood crypto enthusiasts and stakeholders are in at the moment. And this bullish sentiment is a result of the gaming niche. A lot of people say it's decentralized finance (DeFi) season and I can't even argue otherwise with them because the facts are there for all to see. DeFi-based nonfungible token (NFT) games are pumping to record highs …

Since 2017, dozens of projects have created games that use blockchain and nonfungible token (NFT) technology. The overall vision is inspiring and has attracted a solid base of fans and investors in equal measure. However, the industry is still in its infancy, and we have a long way to go until it achieves mainstream adoption. There are various hurdles on the path to this promised land. Some of the primary barriers are that NFT games have relied too heavily on their money-making traits as the selling point and lag behind traditional games when it comes to engaging game mechanics. But …

Investment firm and development studio Polyient has unveiled a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace with decentralized finance (DeFi) functionality. The marketplace dubbed “PolyientX” is set for a beta release in August on Ethereum, with an official launch targeted for sometime in the fall. The initial launch will feature NFTs from Ape In, a DeFi-enabled NFT collectibles game and Rate Network, a decentralized NFT pricing and rating protocol. According to Polyient, users can stake their NFTs in a vault to earn rewards, describing it as “a unique fee share mechanism where users — not corporate stakeholders — are the beneficiaries of transaction …

The price of Axie Infinity’s native token, AXS, more than doubled in just three days of trading amid speculation that it is going to revolutionalize the blockchain-enabled gaming industry forever. The AXS/USD exchange rate reached a record value of $32.69 on Friday, up 31.28% intraday, and about 131% from its Tuesday low of $14.09. That placed the pair in the list of best-performing digital assets on a year-to-date timeframe; its 2021 gains are now above 5,000%. Axie Infinity’s massive upside moves appeared due to its rising popularity as a play-to-earn gaming service. In detail, the Ethereum-enabled blockchain project is a …

Tyson Fury’s first venture into the NFT market resulted in a single NFT selling for almost $1 million on HoDooi.com — a new platform aiming to become the 'eBay of NFTs'. The auction for ‘Lineal by Tyson Fury’ closed on July 16, and represents one of the top athlete-themed sales in the market to date. The NFT depicts a tokenized illustration of Fury with two championship belts over each shoulder and a crown featuring his nickname “Gypsy King” on the front. The NFT includes real-world bonuses such as a signed five-by-five foot painting of the artwork, signed boxing gloves, and …

Reports have surfaced that French NFT-based soccer trading card game developer Sorare is closing in on a $532 million funding round with a valuation of at least $3.8 billion. According to unnamed sources in Business Insider, the latest funding round is expected to be led by Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank, along with participation from European venture capital firm Atomico. Other backers thought to be in the mix include European investment firm Eurazeo, and Blisce, a fund founded by French entrepreneur Alexandre Mars. Sorare was founded in 2018 and the firm’s NFT-based soccer collectible card game now has 142 licensed teams …

NFTs are the new muse In an exclusive shared with Cointelegraph, celebrity-focused NFT auction platform Cryptograph has announced the launch of an exclusive track from Muse frontman Matt Bellamy in the form of a nonfungible token (NFT). The token will be issued to accompany the launch of Bellamy’s new 10-track solo album, Cryosleep, on July 16, which was recorded on the same guitar Jeff Buckley used for his hit album Grace. The album includes the track “Pray,” which was featured on the Game of Thrones soundtrack. Cryptograph is a platform that is focused on charitable fundraising through NFT auctions from …

A crypto project is vowing to transform the gaming landscape with the help of a brand-new consensus mechanism. Ulti Arena says that proof-of-gaming means that players can earn rewards as they rack up experience on a range of immersive titles. The startup is building a dedicated game client that provides in-depth analytics on a player’s movement, speed and reaction times — enabling them to build on their skills. Better still, Ulti Arena says that it will support some of the most popular games in the industry right now, including Dota 2 and LOL. Its ecosystem is boosted further by an …