Paris Hilton and The Sandbox NFTs, Binance Slams Reuters, Square Enix Joins BGA

These are the stories that shape Web3.

Top Stories

• Paris Hilton: Metaverse platform The Sandbox and media company 11:11 Media have teamed up to launch the Paris Hilton avatar NFT collection featuring the popular Hilton Hotel heiress. NFT holders will receive a free VIP ticket to the upcoming ‘Paris: Live in Concert’ (NFTE).

• Renault Korea: French automobile giant Renault’s Korean unit has launched a campaign that allows participants to design an SM6 Sedan using an artificial intelligence (AI) tool and then minting the images as NFTs (KH).

• Sorare: Web3 fantasy sports game Sorare is currently working with the French National Gaming Authority (ANJ) to create a regulatory framework that will enable the company to legally onboard France-based soccer players (CD).

• Binance: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance refutes reports made by Reuters that the company commingled customer funds. Pushing back, Binance blasted the news agency for publishing “1,000 words of conspiracy theories with zero evidence” (TB).

• Square Enix, the creators behind renowned titles such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts, has joined the Blockchain Gaming Alliance, an organization committed to support Web3 gaming projects and communities (TW).

Web3 Games

• Legend of Aurum Draconis, a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) on the Avalanche network, has announced its ‘$DCAR Burn Battle. Kicking off on the 25th of May, the competition will allow participants to burn $DCAR tokens for a chance to win NFTs and allowlist spots (TW).

• Metalands: Massively multiplayer online (MMO) shooter game Metalands recently launched its first PvP testing which will enable the developers to fix the bugs and polish the project (TW). 

• Arena of Faith: Multiplayer online battle royale (MOBA) game Arena of Faith has secured $1.75 million in a seed funding round led by Chain Hill Capital. The project aims to establish a decentralized tournament system for MOBA esports (YF).

• BoomLand: Web3 game publisher BoomLand, the maker of RPG title Hunters On-Chain, has closed a $1 million pre-seed round with backing from Game7, Magic Eden, and Polygon, among others (CT).

• PokerGO/Gala Games: Over-the-top content platform PokerGO and blockchain entertainment company Gala Games is launching ‘PokerGO Play,’ a poker platform that employs Web3 elements (PRN).

• Immutable/MetaStudio: Portuguese game studio MetaStudio has partnered with ImmutableX developer Immutable to leverage the latter’s Ethereum layer-2 (L2) blockchain infrastructure and upcoming passport feature, among others (FF).

NFT News

• SuperRare: NFT marketplace SuperRare is kicking off on the first of June, a two-month digital art exhibition called ‘SuperRare at the Seaport’ event at the 0x.17 Gallery in New York City’s Seaport (NFTN).

• Cosmos: Blockchain ecosystem Cosmos has integrated the ICS-721 standard for interoperability which will enable users to transfer their NFTs across various networks without the need for a bridging protocol (NFTG).

• LabDAO, a research-focused decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), has raised $3.6 million to support initiatives for open-source drug discovery and NFT data ownership (BT).

• PBA: The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) has launched its PBA League Bowler Certification (LBC). Built on the Avalanche blockchain, the program enables members to gain various digital awards (NFTN).

• NFTrade/Rarimo: NFT marketplace NFTrade has formed a partnership with interoperability protocol Rarimo to allow users to purchase assets across Avalanche, Ethereum, Polygon, and BNB Chain (YF).

Into the Metaverse

• TCG World: Virtual world-based comedy brand $JOKE has teamed up with open-world platform TCG World to launch ‘Roasted,’ a month-long metaverse comedy festival that will kick off in August (GNW).

• The Sandbox: Metaverse platform The Sandbox has announced the seven partners for the K-Verse ‘Hallyu Rising’ LAND sale, which includes MARBLEX, Channel A, Dalgomz, hypersportsclub, CJ ENM Movie, Studio Dragon, and Renault Korea Motors (TW).

• Gym Street/BitMart: Financial metaverse platform Gym Street has partnered with digital assets trading platform BitMart. The partnership aims to create a virtual experience for Gym Street users within BitMart’s space in the metaverse (FB).

• Decentraland: Virtual world platform Decentraland recently held a 24-hour listening party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of music composer Mike Oldfield’s piece “Tubular Bells” (best-known as horror film The Exorcist’s opening theme) (TW).

DeFi World

• PrimeSmyth: Financial services company PrimeSmyth has introduced a new trading solution that combines blockchain, AI, and DeFi technology to provide clients with decentralized options (YF).

• Num Finance: DeFi protocol Num Finance has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round. The company aims to expand its stablecoin offerings in the Latin American and Middle Eastern regions (CD).

• Okto Wallet: India-made DeFi wallet app Okto Wallet has launched worldwide. The product is a key-less, self-custody Web3 wallet backed by investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Bain Capital and Pantera (BT).

• Pancake Swap: Decentralized exchange (DEX) Pancake Swap is holding its “ultimate beta week” for ‘Pancake Protectors,’ which will feature the platform’s first-ever GameFi integration with free-to-play (F2P) and play-to-earn (P2E) ecosystem MOBOX (TW).