Meta expands its Instagram NFT features to 100 countries

Instagram

After launching a non-fungible token (NFT) pilot on Instagram for American users earlier this year, Meta has announced plans to expand its NFT features to as many as 100 other countries.

The test launch for the NFTs on Instagram went live in May to select creators in the United States.

The planned expansion will let users from the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific to get in on the action.

With the enhanced allowance, users will now be able...

5 August 2022 | Development

Standard Chartered buys into metaverse with The Sandbox partnership

Sandbox

Global banking giant Standard Chartered is following other major competitors journeying into the metaverse by partnering with decentralised gaming platform The Sandbox.

The company’s Hong Kong subsidiary (SCBHK) bought space in The Sandbox’s Mega City district, an area announced in January alongside a number of Hong Kong partners from various sectors.

Led by SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, the partnership will seek...

27 April 2022 | Enterprise

JPMorgan enters the metaverse alongside new report on its potential

Metaverse

JPMorgan is officially the first major bank to enter the metaverse, having opened a lounge in blockchain-based virtual world Decentraland.

That’s right. The United States’ largest bank has a virtual space called the Onyx Lounge fitted with a portrait of Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s CEO, a walk-in presentation on cryptocurrency, and even a roaming tiger.

Named after the bank’s suite of permissioned Ethereum-based services, the Onyx Lounge was revealed alongside a...

16 February 2022 | Banking

Feature: Behind the record sales, the NFT space is evolving

As the cryptocurrency market tanks more than £1 trillion from its November all-time high of £2.2 trillion, the NFT world shows no signs of slowing down.

In fact, the most widely used NFT marketplace, OpenSea, had a monthly trading volume of £3.5 billion in January, well surpassing its previous trading record of £2.5 billion in August 2021.

What’s more, the market is seeing major structural changes thanks to the launch of LooksRare, a decentralised NFT...

31 January 2022 | Digital Assets

Walmart exploring its own cryptocurrency and NFT collection

Walmart Store

Retail giant Walmart has filed a number of documents with the US Patent and Trademark Office that suggest it will launch its own cryptocurrency and NFT collection.

The seven new trademarks, which were signed late in December, indicate the retailer plans to make and sell virtual goods from apparel to pet products.

One specific trademark description reads: “Financial services, namely, providing a digital currency and a digital token of value for use by members on an...

17 January 2022 | Digital Assets

Virtual real estate sells for record $2.4m in Decentraland metaverse

Metaverse

A piece of virtual real estate from the online world Decentraland has sold for $2.4 million (£1.8m) worth of cryptocurrency.

That’s right. For the sceptics still denouncing the perceived stupidity of NFTs, the emergence of the metaverse as a world of virtual ownership will have such individuals pulling their hair out.

Decentraland is an online virtual world where players can purchase land, explore, create, sell assets, and interact with others.

This sale of...

25 November 2021 | Cryptocurrency

Gemini raises $400m as Winklevoss twins gear up metaverse plans

Gemini

Gemini, the New York-based cryptocurrency exchange, has raised $400 million (£298m) through growth equity financing led by Morgan Creek Digital.

This is the first time the company has received external financing from other companies, with private equity firm 10T, blockchain investor ParaFi, and even the Commonwealth Bank of Australia getting involved.

Gemini, which was launched by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in 2015, now sits at a $7.1 billion (£5.28bn)...

22 November 2021 | Cryptocurrency