Weekly Overview: What Happened in GameFi, NFTs, and Metaverse This Week? [October 21–28]
We collect this week’s highlights on NFTs, play-to-earn, and metaverse which are the main topics we hear more and more details about every day.
For those who do not want to miss the most influential news about the industry among dozens of news, we have compiled the top five of the week for you.
Apple Clarifies Its Rules on Crypto and NFTs In Its App Store
According to the update to the App Store instructions on October 24, in-app purchases will now be allowed on NFT platforms. Apps may offer services to sell NFT and related services as long as they use Apple’s in-app purchases.
According to Apple's announcement, apps will not be allowed to show users buttons, external links, and other calls to action when purchasing NFT to circumvent the App Store commission. In addition, applications will be prevented from using mechanisms such as QR codes, crypto money and crypto wallets used to unlock a content or feature within the application. The 30% commission requirement also continues, despite all objections.
Magic Eden had pulled its services from the App Store after Apple’s NFT decision. Other NFT marketplaces have narrowed down their application functionality so that users can only browse and view the NFTs they own.
Following Apple’s latest regulations, the company has also banned the use of crypto for in-app purchases. The company only allowed the use of a “valid payment method” or fiat currency, such as debit or credit cards.
The new rules seem not a problem for local exchanges for now, but it is a matter of curiosity about how platforms such as Binance, Coinbase and OpenSea will react.
Swiss Seba Bank Launches NFT Custody Despite Current Market Negativity
Switzerland-based Seba Bank is closely interested in the cryptocurrency sector despite the general negativity in the market. The bank continues its crypto-focused developments and studies and is moving forward in collaboration with local regulators. With its reliable image in the country, Seba announced its new initiative.
According to the announcement, SEBA Bank’s retail and institutional customers will be able to store tokens of Ethereum-based NFT collections such as Bored Ape and CryptoPunks in the bank’s new custody service.
Seba Bank obtained its banking and securities dealer license in 2019. With the hype of the industry, it became an enterprise-grade digital asset custodian by obtaining the information systems auditor license in 2021 to provide crypto money services.
This new custody initiative means that NFTs can be included in the total assets and managed like other digital assets, thanks to the feature to be integrated into the customers’ bank accounts.
Zug-based Seba Bank is overseen by the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA). In this case, Seba Bank was registered as the first regulated bank to offer NFT custody services.
Secondary Sales Volume of Reddit’s NFT Avatars Exceeds $5 Million
Since the launch of the Reddit NFT collection, there has been a cumulative trading volume of $4.1 million. According to Polygon and Dune Analytics data, transaction volume for Reddit NFT avatars has exceeded $1.5 million in the last 24 hours.
Reddit avatars were created by independent artists and minted via the Polygon blockchain. Users can purchase NFTs through Reddit’s cryptocurrency wallet, Vault. Purchased NFTs can be used as profile pictures on social media accounts. In this context, 3,780 NFTs changed hands in 24 hours. It also broke the record for daily sales of Reddit NFTs.
The base price of the collection is $2,000. The most expensive Reddit NFT sold so far has found buyers at 30 ETH, or $41,739. Then the Seller offered this NFT for sale again at 150 ETH.
After its July debut, 2.9 million Reddit avatar NFTs were minted, while the number of wallets currently holding Reddit NFTs is 2.8 million.
Solana-Killer ‘Aptos’ is Shining Over the Industry
Aptos started to shine in the industry. It’s no coincidence that it’s called “Solana-killer” according to the latest news.
Topaz’s founder, nicknamed 0xclickbait, told Decrypt; Aptos NFT marketplace Topaz has raised $5.46 million in NFT transactions to date since its launch on October 18.
According to Topaz data again, since its launch Tuesday afternoon, Aptos Monkeys alone has generated more than $2.3 million in trading volume (253,000 APT). In contrast, CryptoPunks, currently the best-selling collection on OpenSea, generated 559 ETH, about $800,000, on the last day.
Aptos which is backed by $350 million in VC funds also launched its mainnet last week. The trading volume reported by Topaz shows that it is almost identical to the Solana NFT marketplace Magic Eden on the last day. According to the data, Magic Eden reported 58,100 SOL worth of NFT transactions in the last 24 hours, which is worth $1.8 million. For Topaz, the data for the same period is $1.71 million.
Visa Plans to Create Its Own Cryptocurrency Wallet and More
Finance giant Visa has taken action to launch its own cryptocurrency wallet. According to the plan, it will include trademark applications for crypto transactions, wallets, NFTs and more. The company has also filed applications for software used to audit cryptocurrencies and other blockchain assets.
The firm’s former CEO, Charles Scharf, had previously expressed a positive outlook for the crypto industry last year. Then, Visa bought an NFT which is above from the CryptoPunk collection, on August 2021. They also launched an NFT program last October to support digital assets.
It seems that visa also wants to get involved in the NFT industry as well as establish a regular crypto transaction system.
USPTO licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis tweeted about that on Thursday
“VISA has filed two trademark applications claiming plans for:
- Managing Digital, Virtual, and Cryptocurrency transactions
- Digital currency + Cryptocurrency wallets
- NFTs + Virtual goods
- Providing virtual environments
Recently, Visa has also partnered with global cryptocurrency exchange FTX to make cryptocurrency cards available in 40 countries.
