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 …

A decentralized sharing economy protocol is championing two new projects that are part of its ever-growing ecosystem. TimeCoinProtocol offers an environment where DApps can be built that bring people closer together — and the company is also focused on rolling out services that tap into current trends. One of its new projects is GameTomodachi, which enables enthusiastic gamers to find new players to share their passion with. Not only does this ecosystem offer a powerful way of making new friends, but it also gives users the chance to play games with top YouTubers, VTubers, and professional esports players. During each …

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 DeFi platform has launched a lending and borrowing network that allows nonfungible tokens to be used as collateral. ETNA Network says it is developing a suite of products that are designed to work in an interconnected manner — creating a tangible use case for NFTs in the process. The project’s DeBank also enables those who hold ETNA, the platform’s native cryptocurrency, to access loans on an interest-free basis. Elsewhere, an NFT factory is described as an all-in-one marketplace for crypto collectibles — bringing digital art creators and collectors together while ensuring that tokens can be traded instantly. Beyond the …

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 …

Tokenized Walking Dead Ethereum-based NFT metaverse “The Sandbox” has partnered with Skybound Entertainment to incorporate a Walking Dead game in the virtual world. The Walking Dead is famous thanks to the TV show, however, the story and characters are based on original comics from Skybound Entertainment. The Sandbox is owned by NFT game and property developer Animoca brands, with the firm describing it as “part virtual real-estate, part amusement park.” It already has an impressive list of existing partnerships such as The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, Deadmau5 and CryptoKitties. “The team will give users the possibility to get pieces of …

A blockchain-based platform says that it is the pioneer of DeFi gaming — and is vowing to offer an experience that’s comparable to the mainstream world of consoles. Night Life Crypto says the blockchain gaming sector is lacking in what it provides to players, and claims many of the NFT-based trading card games that have popped up fail to deliver what consumers are used to: Platform and arcade games. To solve this, the project is creating an on-chain only, AAA-type game where users can unlock achievements and get rewarded with nonfungible tokens. These NFTs can be collected and exchanged for …

Every day, we hear of more involvement by big industry players (for example, Epic Games and Roblox) as we creep closer to the Metaverse, a shared persistent virtual environment of interconnected digital experiences. The problem is that none of this matters until netizens are able to truly own digital assets. And it all starts with gaming. Video games make us feel like we can do anything. These virtual worlds of limitless potential allow us to transcend the realities of everyday life as we become heroes. They give us the sense that we are in control of our own destiny. Games …

Distributed ledgers, in the form of blockchain technology, are jostling their way into financial markets, healthcare systems and the global supply chain, but perhaps the most significant disruption has yet to come. In recent months, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have taken the spotlight as a stamp of legitimacy for digital goods, ranging from art to worn-out internet fads. However, the gaming industry is uniquely suited for the integration of NFTs, something already recognized by several notable entities in the gaming industry, particularly Sony, Ubisoft, GameStop and even Sega. If you find this hard to conceive, the analogy of the livable arcade …

Eagle eyed denizens of Crypto Twitter have spotted a mistake in the NFT of the web’s source code famously auctioned at Sotheby’s this week. The auction of “This Changed Everything” on June 30 with a $5.4 million sale and was offered by its inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee. The NFT dubbed consists of four elements: the original source code, an animated visualization of the code, a letter written by Sir Tim reflecting on his creation, and a digital poster of the full code. Despite the sale having a direct connection to Sir Tim, whoever it was that converted the original text …

Triple-A games refer to video games with the biggest budgets — and now, a project is developing a title that is powered by crypto. Aside from the play-to-earn opportunities this creates, with crypto prizes on offer in tournaments, gamers will be able to trade their tokens with others and exchange coveted in-game items with others. The game, which has the working title of Project Quantum, aims to bring AAA into the 21st century. Developers are confident that there will be some big advantages for players, too. Quantum’s founder Fraser Gordon says that gaming has long been a big part of …

One of the original decentralized finance and nonfungible token (DeFi/NFTs) crossover projects is taking a step forward today with the launch of a metaverse litepaper. Aavegotchi — a project that creates upgradeable NFTs backed by yield-bearing positions on lending platform and money market Aave — announced the publication of a litepaper devoted to a gamified metaverse called the “Gotchiverse.” Aavegotchi co-founder Jesse Johnson joked about the sometimes-esoteric features and backstory in the litepaper on a celebratory Twitter Spaces today: “This is not your typical litepaper, it’s got a lot of lore in it [...] We’ve got a bit of a …