Tag: NFT

Singapore – Play to earn board game Monopolon announces strategic partnership with IKONIC, an NFT marketplace for Esports. Monopolon and IKONIC will strive to work together to create a better web 3 world and maximise blockchain technology. 

IKONIC is a dedicated marketplace for Esports. Its aim is to bring forth a revolution for gamers. It is a full-service NFT marketplace where the pro-players, gamers, and teams can create digital items on their own. Players can create their unique NFTs easily here. Thus, they will be listed and ready to trade on IKONIC’S marketplace. IKONIC has its own unique $IKONIC token, which is the key to unlocking rewards for players. Users can get a discount and some special bonuses while using this token.

Monopolon is the virtual manifestation of our childhood board game Monopoly. It combines PVP (Player Vs Player) and PVE (Player vs Environment) game mode. It is a pentagon-shaped battlefield where the players would roll dice and move their characters. There are many ways to earn from the game. Besides, a lot of excitement is waiting for you in every sphere of the game.

The CEO of Monopolon, Manfred NG, said, “It is an honour to be partnering with IKONIC. We are very happy to have them on board. Basically, we can promote our Monopolon’s gaming moments on their website.” 

IKONIC aims to maximise blockchain technology and to increase the financial freedom of gamers by increasing their numbers and making a profit from their gameplay. Monopolon, on the other hand, is futuristic in the gamefi project. Players could create their metaverse with virtual buildings and land. It is a DeFi board game built on the BSC blockchain. Monopolon needs its own NFT to play the game.

The partnership of Monopolon and IKONIC is a cross-pollination of each other’s communities. IKONIC is already partnered with 30 NFT and gamefi projects which makes Monopolon trusted by many other communities and projects. Thus, Monopolon is set to receive more exposure in which investors could be interested in.

Sydney, Australia – Tech company Yahoo has announced the launch of an integrated campaign with their art curator project Future Art to release an explainer series about the concept and implications of Web3 technology.

As part of the integrated campaign, Yahoo has collaborated with crypto artists – Em!, Serwah Attafuah, and Coldie – to create and promote original NFT artworks for a series called ‘Future Shock’. In addition, Yahoo Creative Studios has built custom WebAR extensions of these NFTs through their immersive platform. By simply scanning a QR code, users can interact and explore the works in augmented reality wherever they are. 

Yahoo’s Head of Innovation & Yahoo Creative Studios, Zoe Cocker, explains how this campaign peeks into the future of digital advertising.

“Future Shock celebrates the changing face of the internet which is fundamentally what our industry is based upon. Yahoo has long been at the forefront of innovation and we’re committed to helping our partners navigate this new space,” Cocker said.

She added, “This project explores the intersection of art, culture and commerce that we’re seeing emerge in Web3. The creator economy is on the rise and raising huge opportunities for artists, many industries are facing disruption, and new communities are emerging as the internet evolves. There’s never been a more exciting time for advertisers to connect with consumers in an immersive way to offer real value.”

The NFT artworks will be on show at the ‘Future Art is Vivid’ event at Home The Venue on 27 May. Organised by Future Art as part of Vivid’s opening night, the event will showcase original artworks from 24 of the world’s leading crypto-artists. Guests will be able to interact with the works and the stories behind them, plus experience immersive shows, live music, theatrical performances, AR/VR lounges, and cocktail bars. 

Future Art is the brainchild of Sydney-based crypto art curators Sats Moon and Potbelleez Producer and DJ Dave Goode, two pioneers of the Australian digital art scene.

Moon commented, “Future Art is Vivid has been curated as a multi-sensory journey to remodel your experience of contemporary art. We’re so excited to be bringing the very best international crypto-artists onto the Australian stage. Digital art has boomed into a multi-billion-dollar global market. There’s no doubt this is the way of the future.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – KFC Malaysia has announced its collaboration with three popular Malaysian NFT artists, a project that is inspired by the brand’s Original KFC Moments which will launch 11 unique NFTs. The NFTs were produced by artists Wilson Ng, Book of Lai, and Arif Rafhan Othman for Entropia, part of Accenture Song, in honour of KFC’s secret recipe.

April Toh, principal at Entropia, part of Accenture Song, said that it’s an exciting space for brands such as KFC to build loyalty and connect with consumers in new ways. 

“Our team’s first drop for the nation’s favourite fried chicken brand represents KFC’s stature among Malaysians, emphasising its original flavours and iconic moments, and we’re pleased with the results. This NFT collection has connected and resonated with fans; we look forward to exploring more in our future campaigns,” Toh said. 

NFTs have been rising in popularity as the digital world further realises web 3.0. NFTs represent ownership of unique cryptocurrency tokens and can be anything digital, including art, GIFs, music, video game goods, and even Elon Musk’s tweets. They are also not interchangeable with other items due to their unique properties.

Chan May Ling, CMO of KFC Malaysia, shared, “As an industry leader, KFC Malaysia always strives to be at the forefront of the latest in technology and innovation. Like NFTs, our brand is original, unique, distinct, and irreplaceable, thus, venturing into the world of these non-replicable digital assets is one of the great ways to further express our brand identity: ‘inspired by Malaysians, made by Malaysians for Malaysians’. And the Entropia team has been instrumental in our growth in this space. 

Ling added, “One of the biggest benefits is that the campaign also allows us to further champion local artists and original art, and relive those Finger-Lickin’ Good moments via their original NFTs – all created with fans in mind.”

Leading the campaign ideation and execution Zaheer Kaisar and Lim Min Tze, creative directors at Entropia, part of Accenture Song, commented, “NFTs offer brands a whole new world of creative possibilities. The challenge for KFC was to create something meaningful that could benefit both artists and fans. You’re not just asking people to watch your ad or click follow, or comment anymore, you’re asking them to fork out real money. In that way, NFTs are not mere marketing tools. They’re products. And that’s what makes them unique.

“Beyond that, our successful campaign concept hails from the relentless spirit, hunger to succeed and drive of a robust client-agency team from diverse backgrounds and talents,” They added.

Consumers and fans will be able to get their hands on KFC’s 8 NFTs on OpenSea – the world’s first and largest digital marketplace for buying, selling, trading, and discovering crypto-collectables and NFTs – from 10 May 2022 at 1 pm.

Meanwhile, consumers also stand a chance to win the remaining 3 NFTs by participating in a social contest on KFC’s Instagram page @kfcmalaysia. Holders of these NFTs will also get monthly perks on KFC Delivery until 01 June 2023.

Singapore – Up until today, many couples are still denied the right to marry due to their relationships. These include couples of inter-racial, inter-caste, inter-faith and same-gender relationships, many of which are still unacceptable in the eyes of key institutions. Closeup has launched a new campaign, ‘Closeup City Hall of Love’, that aims to make a stride on this front. 

Closeup has entered the metaverse and invites couples to break free from real-world constraints to celebrate their union in Decentraland, a 3D virtual world powered by blockchain technology.

‘Closeup City Hall of Love’ is an immersive virtual experience where diverse couples can ‘mint’ their very own NFT marriage certificate and immortalise their love on the blockchain forever. They can create their avatars, explore, and interact with their very own wedding officiant in the space. The experience will include a proposal and end with the minting of their NFT certificate, that can be celebrated by friends and family.

“Our foray into the Metaverse with Closeup City Hall of Love is another initiative to build safe spaces that celebrate equality and inclusion and inspire people to act on their mutual attraction, free from self-doubt and judgement, so they can experience closeness on their terms,” said Gaurav Datta, global brand VP of Closeup.

Closeup has always spotlighted ‘closeness’ and diversity as its top brand values. The brand has already given an NFT marriage certificate to the first couple in the initiative. 

Details are available on Closeup’s ‘Love for all’ website (loveforall.info).

Mumbai, India – Blockchain technology firm Xfinite Ventures and influencer marketing agency MAD Influence have entered into a strategic partnership to help influencers and fans enter the Web 3.0 economy, including NFTs and the metaverse.

The Web3 economy refers to the iteration of the world wide web based on blockchain technology, which incorporates concepts such as decentralisation and token-based economics.

In the coming months, Xfinite and MAD Influence aim to provide a platform for influencers to transition to creator first digital communities in the metaverse, spread awareness about the potential for blockchain applications like NFTs in everyday life, and help fans gain exclusive access to their favourite personalities.

Speaking on the partnership, Swaneet Singh, CEO of Xfinite and Mzaalo, said, “The future of the digital economy will be built on the content, commerce, and community model. Creators and their fans are at the centre of this. In that regard, we’re very excited to partner with MAD Influence to make this future a reality. With their expertise and ecosystem of creators, we want to show what blockchain-powered tools can do.”

Meanwhile, Gautam Madhavan, founder at MAD Influence, commented, “We are really excited to partner with Xfinite on this new journey. With their expertise of the blockchain universe and our expertise in the Influencer universe – I’m sure we will be opening up a new economy for this market. NFTs and Metaverse not only will benefit our influencers but also to the brand ecosystem that are associated with us.”

Xfinite’s soon to be launched NFT marketplace, MzaaloNFT will connect consumers and NFT collectors to native and globally acclaimed artists, celebrities, athletes, millions of digital collectables, and more. The ecosystem is powered by the Xfinite Entertainment Token (XET) built on the Algorand blockchain.

Hong Kong – The South China Morning Post (SCMP) has announced the launch of its inaugural NFT collection called ‘1997 Premium Series’, which gives Hongkongers, history buffs and NFT enthusiasts the opportunity to own a piece of history–all from Hong Kong’s historic year of 1997.

The year 1997 has been a pivotal year for Hong Kong, primarily because of the British handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese authorities on July 1, 1997. Other notable events in 1997 that shaped Hong Kong’s history include the Asian financial crisis, the deaths of Deng Xiaoping and Princess Diana, the Avian flu outbreak, among others.

The first drop of the NFTs will release more than 1,300 unique mystery boxes, with each box containing five random NFTs of the Post’s front pages from 1 January to 1 July 1997. An upcoming second drop will release a further 1,300 boxes covering 1 July to 31 December 1997.

As part of the NFT release, SCMP has named portto, the company behind Blocto, as its exclusive wallet partner for the ‘1997 Premium Series.’

For Gary Liu, CEO at SCMP, the publication has witnessed many historic moments as Hong Kong’s newspaper of record and the launch of the ‘1997 Premium Series’ is significant as the city marks the 25th anniversary of the handover this year.

“ARTIFACTs by SCMP brings together collectors and history enthusiasts, and we’ve been delighted by the growth and enthusiasm of our community in the lead-up to the launch. We look forward to releasing more of the Post’s 118-year-old media archives as NFTs as well as partnering with other guardians of history to preserve historical assets on the blockchain,” Liu said.

Meanwhile, Hsuan Lee, CEO of portto, commented, “Blocto has a lot of experience in the deep blockchain having cooperated with large enterprises, from Vault by CNN, MotoGP Ignition and the South China Morning Post. We have been continuously focusing on co-creating an easy-to-use experience that is intuitive to both users and the companies we work with.”

The new NFT launch by SCMP is part of ‘ARTIFACTs by SCMP’, the first NFT collection released using the ARTIFACT metadata standard, serving as the foundation upon which history can be discovered, connected, and collected on the blockchain. The project aims to seed a community of collectors and eventually produce an ecosystem around the preservation of historical accounts and assets.

Singapore – A third of Singaporeans think cash will be the best performing investment in 2022, making it the top pick ahead of stocks, property, and cryptocurrency, according to a report by comparison platform Finder.

About 1,136 Singaporean adults and 39,573 adults globally were surveyed in December 2021, and against the global data, it was found that Singaporeans are the second most likely to back cash out of 26 countries. Only the United States ranks higher at 34%.

The next most popular picks are stocks and property (17% each), followed by cryptocurrency (15%), bonds (7%), NFTs (6%), and commodities (3%).

Finder’s Investment Editor Kylie Purcell said Singaporeans are likely seeing security in cash.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the market at the moment and cash is seen as a safe investment, but people need to consider the inflation-adjusted return. In October inflation rose considerably, with Singapore recording its biggest increase to core inflation in three years,” Purcell said.

“$100 dollars today may only be worth $80 down the track so consumers should be thinking about how they can inflation-proof their portfolios while maintaining liquidity should they need the cash,” Purcell adds.

However, Purcell says that with the MAS tightening its monetary policy, it could be good news for cash savers.

“When central banks look to raise interest rates, it’s typically good news for cash savers, and bad news for other investments like stocks,” Purcell concludes.

Manila, Philippines – GuildFi, a Web3 ecosystem of games, NFTs, and communities has announced its biggest project investment, committing $880,000 into Foonie Magus, the company behind Apeiron, the play-to-earn (P2E) god-game built with NFTs.

GuildFi invested the funds to acquire an Omega Class Major Constellation NFT pack in Apeiron, which includes a slew of in-game assets such as playable Planet NFTs, customized GuildFi NFTs, Star (Land) NFTs, and Tokens. The GuildFi Constellation will be one of the largest constellations in the Apeiron game, with 13 Star (Land) NFTs.

In-game, Apeiron’s players will take on the role of Godlings, newborn gods with the capacity to manipulate the elements to cast miracles such as rain and fire to assist chubby denizens- the Doods – in resolving daily problems and forming their own society. Planets, Stars, and Relics are all ways for players to acquire NFTs, and planets can be “bred” together to create new and unique planet NFTs. Apeiron seeks to revolutionize the deflationary nature of P2E economies by combining deep game mechanics by merging deep game mechanics with a novel Tri-Token powered economy.

Frank Cheng, CEO of Foonie Magus, shared, “The core of Apeiron was always meant to focus on gameplay and stories from the start, so it felt a little lonely when everyone was so focused on the Earn element of blockchain games as opposed to the Play element. Then I met Guildfi, and as I talked with their versatile and dynamic team, who are all passionate gamers themselves, their fervour and passion for Apeiron’s gameplay were energizing! And I even presented my idea of Play-and-Earn to them: little did I know, they reached the same conclusion as well, totally independently.” 

Cheng added, “When founders’ dreams combine, you know you’ve found the best partner you could look for. And that gave us the courage to officially champion the play-and-earn discourse early amidst the dawn of the Metaverse.”

Gazinpoj Techahuasingh, co-founder and head of business development at Guildfi, believes that Apeiron can be the herald for play-and-earn games on the blockchain.

Techahuasingh commented, “Our excitement and faith in Apeiron’s vision, team and gameplay is reflected in the investment we have made in the game. With Apeiron, GuildFi has made its largest investment yet. While this may show a steady growth of GuildFi’s game and metaverse investments, we believe it reflects more on the potential that Apeiron game has. Apeiron is proof of concept that blockchain games aren’t just about earning – they’re about having fun as well. It’s the type of game that we ourselves want to play! All of us here are excited to be able to dive into the godiverse.”

The 1st Apeiron Planet NFT Presale is scheduled at the end of Q1 2022, with the game planned to launch late 2022.

Thailand – Parent real-estate developer Siam Piwat in Thailand and one of its top lifestyle destinations, ICONSIAM, have partnered to bring the ‘Thailand Digital Arts Festival 2022’; a digital art event that features physical artworks categorized by artistic techniques and skill level, as well as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT). 

The exhibit, which has opened on 5 March and to run until 20 March, will allow attendees to appreciate the masterpieces of their favourite artists from both the digital and physical world, and will enable them to view the unique techniques of over 140 artists through more than 1,400 artworks. 

Aside from Siam Piwat and ICONSIAM, the event was also developed together with Baandam Museum and also KASIKORN X, creator of Coral platform, a marketplace for Non-Fungible Tokens. 

Mayuree Chaipromprasith, Siam Piwat’s president for corporate affairs and communications, said, “As [a] pioneer in retail of the future, Siam Piwat, under the concept of Co-Creation and Creating Shared Values, has joined forces with top partners from various industries to create a greater commercial ecosystem. The iconic collaboration of Siam Piwat and KASIKORN X through Coral platform creates new digital art experience and promotes Thai Art on the international stages.”

Every week during the event, there would be NFT Special Forum by NFT artists and creators to share their thoughts and experiences on NFT and all aspects of digital arts. In addition, customers who are interested in the event can view samples of the artist’s artworks in the ONESIAM SuperApp. 

Siam Piwat said in a statement, “The boundless connection of digital art spheres does not feature only Thai artists, but also ‘Thainess’, and Thailand to the world. Some artists are already featured in the digital world, while some are just starting. We would feel the never [ending] self-development and [open-mindednes] for new learnings among them. The eagerness to move forward into digital world empowers everyone in art and also other industries to achieve the breakthrough towards upper levels.”

‘Thailand Digital Arts Festival 2022’ (TDAF2022) runs from 5-20 March 2022 at ICONSIAM. 

Just very recently, Siam Piwat has also marked a notable partnership with Malaysia’s Pavilion Group to bring its concept stores Ecotopia, Absolute Siam, and ICONCRAFT to the SEA neighbour.

Sydney, Australia – Immutable, the carbon-neutral and scalable platform for trading NFTs on Ethereum, has secured a Series C funding round of US$200m, which was led by Temasek, with investments from leading blockchain game juggernaut Animoca Brands and technology company Tencent, bringing its valuation to US$2.5b. 

The newly secured fund will be used to fuel Immutable’s plans for global expansion, accelerate the company’s growth by investing in the Immutable X platform, and scale the Immutable Gaming Studio, including its flagship games Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians, as well as hire an additional 200 new employees globally over the next 12 months predominantly in sales, marketing, engineering, and product. 

Moreover, Immutable will also use the funds to scale to meet the increasing demand for its platform and expand into new verticals, support gaming partners, acquire new customers, and explore M&A opportunities.

Immutable said that its Immutable X is built using StarkWare’s StarkEx cutting-edge zero-knowledge proof technology, which rolls up hundreds of thousands of transactions into one while positioning users to safely secure digital assets directly on Ethereum. This enables Immutable to provide game developers and all NFT creators with unparalleled throughput and zero gas fees for trading and minting NFTs in a carbon-neutral environment, empowering them to create billions of low-cost, in-game assets that can easily be bought and sold.

James Ferguson, Immutable’s CEO, shared that the platform is locked in on developing a leading, ambitious, and dependable web3 ecosystem for a new era of creators that desire scalable results in the world’s fastest-growing industry. 

Following the new funding, Immutable has also onboarded four new C-suite executives, namely Gill Findlay, the new chief operating officer, John Boris, the new chief growth officer, and Justin Hulog, the new chief studio officer, as well as Katherine Rau, the new chief people officer.

“Our investment partners understand the power and potential of the Immutable X platform and will play an integral role in this next phase of our growth. We are also excited to welcome new executive team members who will help execute on our aggressive business and growth plans,” said Ferguson. 

The latest funding round was also joined by investors ParaFi Capital, Princeville Capital, Arrington Capital, Mirae Asset, and Liberty Global. Existing investors King River Capital, Prosus Ventures, AirTree Ventures, Declaration Partners, and Fabric Ventures, as well as Possible Ventures, and Alameda Research have all increased their investments.

Earlier this month, Immutable has also partnered with GameStop to launch a new NFT marketplace on the Immutable X platform, which includes a US$100m co-fund between the juggernaut and startup, targeting the advancement of high-impact NFT gaming projects.