TL;DR Babylon Voice by AI

TL;DR

• Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested in the Bahamas

• Donald Trump dropped an NFT collection

• Madonna and Bieber are mentioned in a lawsuit for promoting Bored Ape NFTs

• Nike’s RTFKT launched a new NFT collection

• Polygon and Warner Music Group will create a Web3 music platform

• MetaMask x PayPal

 in a nutshell

MetaMask partnered with PayPal to allow users to operate with Ether Initially, the service, which enables MetaMask users to buy and transfer ETH via PayPal, will be available only to selected customers in the U.S. starting next week.

A-list celebrities are mentioned in a lawsuit for promoting BAYC NFTs The class action complaint states that celebrity promotions of Bored Ape NFTs from Justin Bieber, Madonna, The Weekend, and others caused investors to purchase the losing investments at inflated prices. The plaintiffs accused Yuga Labs of creating ApeCoin out of thin air

RTFKT has unveiled the Cryptokicks iRL, a "native Web3 sneaker" with auto-lacing, customizable lights, Bluetooth pairing, walk detection, and wireless charging. The Cryptokicks iRL will be sold as NFTs that redeem the physical version, with 19,000 pairs available. Physical sneakers will be authenticated with their digital counterparts using NFC chips. The Cryptokicks iRL was released on December 12 and comes in four colorways. RTFKT has previously released an NFT Cryptokicks collection with Nike and launched the dotSwoosh Web3 platform. The Vision for the future of Web3 fashion..

"There are no boundaries in the metaverse. The people and market will decide if you make it or not." - Benoit Pagotto 

Donald Trump dropped 45k NFTs on Polygon costing $99 each They depict the former president in fantasy costumes and poses. Tokens’ utility includes various experiences with Trump, including a dinner, a zoom call, a dinner in Miami, or a cocktail hour at Mar-a-Lago...

Polygon and Warner Music Group will create a Web3 music platform The LGND Music platform will become a marketplace for artists and fans. It would offer songs as NFTs that listeners could purchase. It will support digital music collections from any blockchain. The launch is planned for next year.

 Following the FTX failure, Telegram plans to build decentralized exchanges that would provide safe crypto trading.

#FTXsaga

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, was taken into custody in the Bahamas on charges of wire fraud and money laundering at the request of the United States government. The Bahamas collaborated with SBF to launch a new crypto coin as FTX collapsed, and allegedly tried to help him gain unauthorized access to FTX systems that are currently being monitored by a US court. Lawyers for FTX are seeking approval from a US bankruptcy court to sell off the company's Japanese and European branches. The collapse of FTX has resulted in realized losses of $9 billion. 

#metaverse  

Why big fashion brands become increasingly interested in the Metaverse, despite the crypto winter

Sotheby’s Institute will launch a Web3 university for brands. The new 8-week virtual program is named ’The Metaversity for Creative Business Leaders’. The program offers case studies from global brands like Tiffany, Nike, and Gucci, and insight from Web3 experts.

The Sandbox started a virtual celebrity LAND sale. Buyers can purchase 695 Standard LANDs and 134 Premium LANDs via a raffle system. 50 ESTATEs and 19 1/1 LANDs will be auctioned off. There will be 3 sale waves at the beginning of 2023. Each wave will offer celebrities’ lands, like Paris Hilton or Snoop Dog.

BMW filed a trademark for the metaverse and NFT initiatives. According to the application, the company intends to offer vehicle, clothing, and footwear NFTs, extended virtual reality environments, and digital stores.

Sony brings metaverse to smartphones via motion trackers. The company presented the Mocopi system which comprises six pucks worn around the user’s body parts. These sensors allow users to capture full-body motion and animate avatars inside metaverse apps on Androids and iPhones. The first launch will be in Japan in Jan 2023

Porsche announced its first NFT collection in Jan 2023, customers will have access to 7,5k NFTs. They can choose the design from three core artwork themes: Performance, Heritage, and Lifestyle. Following its Web3 strategy, the brand plans to integrate blockchain technologies into the workflow.

DJ Deadmau5 will launch a gaming music metaverse. To celebrate the launch of the Elynxir metaverse, Deadmau5 and Richie Hawtin will host an AR scavenger hunt in Miami, Florida. The winners will receive NFTs that grant voting rights to decide how a metaverse artist should evolve.

Meta plans to use Precision Time Protocol for its data centers. The company believes PTP will become the standard for keeping time in computer networks. Zuckerberg states that improving synchronization can significantly enhance performance and help create new products and services in and out of the metaverse

 #grant 

Game7 will fund $100M Web3 gaming startup grand accelerator to support developers building Web3 infrastructure. The winners will get access to mentoring by Game 7. Payments in USDC will be issued upon the completion of certain project milestones

 #fundrising 

NILLION, a network builder, raises $20M to build a decentralized network for data storage. DOGAMÍ, a game raises $14M to develop the first Web3 mobile game for mainstream audiences. FORUM3, a company that helps brands build loyalty programs, raises $10M to help consumer brands to step up their digital game. DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT ASSET, an entertainment company, raises $10M to further accelerate its PlayMining platform development and market expansion. SHIBUYA, a Web3 film distribution service, raises $6.9M to onboard new IPs and creators to the company and scale the engineering team. FENIX GAMES, a Web3 game publisher, raises $150M to acquire, invest and distribute blockchain games. COMMONGROUND, a company specializing in immersive avatars, raises $25M to bring its technology to the metaverse. FLEEK, a startup focusing on CDN improvement, raises $25M to build a Web3 protocol that gains access to storage, hosting, and billing. CYVERS, a cybersecurity startup, raises $8M to provide safety for CeFi, DeFi, and smart contract applications in real time. BURN GHOST, a Web3 gaming startup, raises $3.1M to continue developing easy-to-play games that reward NFT prizes to players. THIRDVERSE, a Web3 games developer, raises $15M to accelerate the development of its Web3 games studio. ONOMY, a Cosmos blockchain-based ecosystem, raises $10M to develop a new DeFi protocol. CARV, a Web3 identity startup, raises $4M to develop a solution that combines Web2 and Web3 gaming data to create unique user IDs. TROPEE, an NFT utility platform, raises $5M to further simplify the process of injecting NFTs with utilities.

#scholarship ETHDenver 

Scholarship: Talent House is launching at ETHDenver, and provides a scholarship for creatives to build and grow their careers, with the ultimate goal of helping them achieve the American Dream. The largest Ethereum hackathon is February 11-14, 2022