Yield Guild Games

March 16th, 2023 – Coinscribble / ThunderCore has partnered with Yield Guild Games Southeast Asia (YGG SEA), Southeast Asia’s largest blockchain gaming guild, to launch a developer program that will tap into the growing demand for blockchain-based games and virtual worlds. The partnership is a manifesto of our commitment to bridging the Southeast Asia developer […]

ThunderCore and YGG SEA launch Web3 game developer program for Southeast Asia

March 16th, 2023 – Coinscribble / ThunderCore has partnered with Yield Guild Games Southeast Asia (YGG SEA), Southeast Asia's largest blockchain gaming guild, to launch a developer program that will tap into the growing demand for blockchain-based games and virtual worlds. The partnership is a manifesto of our commitments to bridge the South East Asia developer talent into Web3 and attract global Web3 talent into the region. It’s going to be a game-changer in the Web3 world of  Southeast Asia.
Partnership to boost SEA Web3 gaming development
ThunderCore is a blockchain platform that provides a scalable and fast infrastructure for decentralized applications (DApps). YGG SEA, on the other hand, is a gaming guild that has evolved into a community driven ecosystem player, establishing strong grass roots presence, connecting and engaging a deep relationship with their community members in the SEA market. For developers, YGG SEA’s massive reach in the region and ThunderCore’s strong user retention skills offer the perfect tools  to enter the SEA market as effectively as possible.
The developer program is expected to help YGG SEA open opportunities beyond ‘just playing’ games to its community of gamers & creators within the metaverse; and at the same time, provide go-to-market access for ThunderCore and Blockchain game developers into the region.
As YGG SEA continues to grow its user base in Southeast Asia, YGG SEA has partnered with over 80 games and has more than 175 K community members and deployed more than 20,000 scholarships to date. In line with YGG SEA efforts to be the friendly gateway into the metaverse for ANYONE, YGG SEA provides language specific support on its platform. It has a stellar track record of helping games establish market presence in SEA and features some of the biggest success stories in blockchain gaming to date.
South East Asia is a key market for global economic growth and will be a key driver for Web3 community growth as pioneered in 2021/2022 by Axie Infinity, the region’s home-grown blockchain game.
Thanks to its battle-tested fast and secure infrastructure, ThunderCore is perfectly positioned to support the development of high-performance Dapps required for blockchain gaming. It excels at acquiring and retaining new users, frequently clocking over 100,000 daily active users (DAU) according to DappRadar due to its entertainment-first approach to growing its ecosystem. This proven ecosystem retention mechanism will help developers retain users and build a strong community around their projects in the long term.
Future Plans
With its mission to create the biggest and most sustainable play-to-own (P2O) virtual economy focused on Southeast Asia, the partnership between ThunderCore and YGG SEA is expected to create a more diverse and vibrant game ecosystem in the region.
Roger Hsu, CEO of ThunderCore, had the following to say:

"Our YGG SEA partnership is an important step for ThunderCore as we expand our presence in the SEA market to help grow the blockchain gaming industry and create new opportunities for ourselves as well as developers, investors, and gamers in the region.”

About ThunderCore
ThunderCore is the only platform growing DApp users organically through ecosystem retention, which will be the key driving force behind the real mass adoption of blockchain. Its proof-of-stake (PoS) architecture, EVM compatibility, entertainment-first ethos, and deep developer support provide a battle-tested home for the next generation of crypto innovators across Web3, DeFi, NFTs, GameFi, and the metaverse.
Thanks to its unique PaLa consensus mechanism, ThunderCore can handle 4,000+ TPS with sub-second confirmation times and ultra-low gas fees kept at a fraction of a cent.
ThunderCore Token (TT), the chain’s popular native asset, can be stored in the feature-rich TT Wallet, together with other supported ecosystem assets.
About YGG SEA
YGG SEA is a gaming guild with a strong community presence in SouthEast Asia. The DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organization) is YGG’s first guild partner (previously called as SubDAO) and its aim is to become the friendly face in onboarding anyone into the metaverse through gaming, education and providing access to  yield earning opportunities in the metaverse.
We believe blockchain technology is here to disrupt many aspects of lives and the biggest  challenge for the entire ecosystem is ease of access. s part of the ecosystem, YGG SEA believes that gamification is the way to onboard the next billion users and that “playing” is everyone’s birthright. T YGG SEA alongside our ecosystem partners like Thundercore and game developers within this program wants to create opportunities for our communities to have a real job and impact within the metaverse. - Irene Umar, Co Founder of YGG SEA.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored press release and is for informational purposes only. It does not reflect the views of Crypto Daily, nor is it intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, or financial advice.

ThunderCore and YGG SEA Launch Web3 Gaming Developer Program for Southeast Asia


                    
                    Clara Bullrich helps run a $54B investment fund, a women-only DAO and she founded a gaming guild to teach gamers in Latin America play to earn.
                    Clara Bullrich must have cloned herself or possibly invoked dark forces that shouldnt be meddled with. Somehow, shes managed to cram about four careers into one life.Her main gig is leading her own financial entity, AlTi, managing a whopping investment fund, which grew to $54 billion under management following a recent merger. Thats a big enough job in itself.A member of Women in Blockchain, she also runs a women-only DAO, Komorebi, that concentrates on funding female and non-gender-specific projects.Ive seen in crypto that theres very few women, and I really want to push that as much as I can, she says. For me, its always important to have skin in the game.And if that wasnt enough, shes also the founder of a gaming guild, Ola Guild Games (OlaGG), that hopes to upskill the quarter of a billion mobile gamers in Latin America so they can boost their incomes using play-to-earn blockchain games. She tells Magazine she feels lucky to have been involved with cryptocurrencies, DAOs and the metaverse at this early stage.My sons are nine and 11 and will live through the entire cycle of what blockchain and crypto are creating right now. And I feel super hopeful around that.Hailing from Argentina, after studying in the United States and Ireland, she worked for a short time for the Spanish Santander bank in the United States. She didnt stay there long. Laboring in the stuffy, conventional world of traditional finance clearly does not float her boat. Her favorite word is disruptive.Bitcoin is just money supported by math. I came across it about seven years ago. At first, I was very uncomfortable with that, then I thought: The big disruptions are the ones you should walk towards.      Read also                                                                              Features                            Banking The Unbanked? How I Taught A Total Stranger In Kenya About Bitcoin                                                                                                                    Features                            Are You Independent Yet? Financial Self-Sovereignty and the Decentralized Exchange                                            Disruptive innovationAfter a short stint at Santander, she was headhunted by an Argentine tech company called Collective Mind, which grew rapidly. Then in 2000, she started a family office business for high-net-worth clients under the umbrella of Guggenheim Partners. In those days, family offices werent as prevalent as today.Over 23 years, she expanded her operations from Latin America to other parts of the world. Three years ago, this fund management business became Alvarium Investment Advisors, managing over $20 billion in investments, then recently merged with two other companies to form Alvarium Tiedemann Holdings, AlTi, with over $54 billion under management.Bullrich had some challenges persuading her clients to invest in disruptive technology, including Bitcoin, but first, she had to persuade her colleagues of the merits of investing in progress rather than simple money-making schemes. My discussions with my partners were very much around: We should be investing in tech with tech expertise, not financial expertise. Her intention was to back technology that would have beneficial effects in the longer term, rather than simply looking at a financial balance sheet.She set up the Digital Assets Committee at Alvarium Tiedemann in 2019.What you have to realize is that most people there are traditional investors, so the idea of crypto, blockchain, Web3, digital assets  these were really foreign to them. She continues, And so being able to start that committee has allowed me to educate traditional investors about the potential of digital assets and blockchain technology. She continues, I wanted to create that level of expertise to be able to understand trends, why certain disruptions make more sense than others.She feels the mindset required is more technological and over a longer time span than in conventional finance. This led, in 2016, to her second company, which is called The Venture City.The Venture City is an accelerator to nurture innovative projects. Source: Venture CityThe Venture City is an accelerator to nurture innovative projects, so it has the financial backing, expertise and support to reach its potential.A major impetus behind TVC is to improve access to financial products and services. In some Latin American countries, up to 60%70% of people do not have bank accounts, restricting their ability to improve their situation. Bullrich sees TVCs investments as a means of combining technology and financial expertise with a beneficial social product.We have already 100 companies who passed through the accelerator, and were actually starting Fund 3. So, we did Fund 1 with $52 million, Fund 2 with $75 [million], and were going in 2023 with the launch of Fund 3. It was an amazing experience. Because very early on, we were talking about community and creating a lot of events and educational sessions around the products.Here are some examples of the many projects The Venture City has invested in:Sturdy Exchange: Sturdy.Exchange is an NFT-based Web3 token in the Flow ecosystem. It aims to decentralize music distribution. It is a platform for artists, musicians and entertainers to reach their audiences with a new form of ownership and utility using NFTs. Belo: A wallet app that uses Argentine pesos and crypto with a DeFi yield platform built in so users can receive regular returns. It aims to be an accessible cryptocurrency introduction.Gamer Safe: This is an app to make online multiplayer gaming safer and more pleasant, by removing cheaters, fake and duplicated accounts, and policing toxicity and dishonesty in games. Women in BlockchainShe joined Women in Blockchain (WiB) last year and hopes to develop womens skills, opportunities and aspirations in the cryptocurrency sector.We are providing that platform where women can meet and be part of those conversations and move forward in terms of education, she says. We can become connectors of people needing a certain kind of expertise and people with that expertise can link up with those who need it.So, WiBs a completely different animal from my Venture City, which is doing that deep dive looking for companies and deciding what companies the fund is going to invest in.Komorebi is a DAO aimed at improving the representation of female and non-binary crypto folk. Source: KomorebiDiversity in DAOsKomorebi is a poetic, almost untranslatable, Japanese expression that describes sunlight filtering through trees. It is also a DAO on the Syndicate Protocol, dedicated to increasing diversity and breaking down barriers to entry in the blockchain space.The thought process behind this was that women-led startups receive only 2.3% of venture funding but perform 63% better than investments with all-male founding teams, according to Venture Capital firm First Round.      Read also                                                                              Features                            Why Animism Gives Japanese Characters a NiFTy Head Start on the Blockchain                                                                                                                    Features                            William Shatner Tokenizes his Favorite Memories on the WAX Blockchain                                            My involvement with Komorebi allows me to support and amplify the voices of women in tech and finance. Im grateful I didnt have as many hurdles of being a woman in finance, but I encountered them more in technology. So, whats crucial for me here is being able to find an opportunity to help women find their voice in blockchain and crypto.She says adding more diversity to the crypto and blockchain world is a win-win for everyone.Im not saying womens voices should be dominant over men; its not one or the other. What I truly believe is having diverse perspectives and experiences in decision-making leads to better outcomes, and my role is to provide an additional platform for women to showcase their passion, their vision.When Bullrich finds a project that interests her team, she brings it to the DAO and everyone votes on whether to back it or not. The DAO is a very interesting angle for allowing people to be part of something bigger, rather than just putting money into it.Final boss: Making a living in a poor country with P2EYield and Ola Guild Games: These are DAOs. Yield Guild Games (YGG) was founded by Gabby Dizon and Beryl Li in 2018 to involve Filipino players in gaming and cryptocurrency. The players can supplement their incomes with P2E winnings. OlaGG is a subDAO, which expands the successful concept geographically to the Hispanic market: Spain, Latin America outside Brazil and Hispanics in the United States.The idea of Ola Guild Games is to create social and financial inclusion for the Hispanic Community through gaming. Its main platform is Axie Infinity, but there are options to engage with other P2E game systems as well. The concept took off in the Philippines during the pandemic, with users supplementing their tightened budgets or even multiples of the average wage with P2E gaming.It seems like a good fit as one-third of Hispanic speakers income is $1.90 per day, which the United Nations defines as extreme poverty. Nearly half have no access to banking or financial products. However, more than 58% of the population in Latin America play mobile games, which equates to a user base of over 273 million people.So, the idea of Ola is how can we engage with people, teach them, educate them on these new tools for Web3  to really create that financial inclusion. It might be through games, and that will be play-to-earn.  TORNEOS DUROS por @DUR4ZN1LL0 Quin ser el mas duro de Lunacia?Bienvenido a los torneos semanales de comunidad de  @AxieInfinity @AxieInfinity_ES  en @OLAGuildGames.  Primer Torneo: Sbado 11 de MarzoSe van a poder inscribir aqu: https://t.co/4QSEGbcIUp pic.twitter.com/abA24mB8H2— OLA Guild Games (@OLAGuildGames) March 2, 2023The Guild is also creating educational programs  learn-to-earn  where users receive payment for educational achievements with the intention of having an employment structure, for example, in games development, to move on to when trained.Conventional western aid purveyors will probably have heart attacks when they find developing countries blockchain-gaming their way up the development ladder, instead of subsisting on aid packages with strings attached.While it does have a huge and clearly defined audience, the project is still in its early stages.Co-founding Ola and working with my team in Latin America represents my desire to give back and provide opportunities in a market that does not have access to the same resources as we have here in the U.S., she says. I want to provide all that education Im seeing here on Web3, structuring DAOs, and help them adopt those technologies and bring it to life. Its not just a nice to have, its a must-have for Latin America.By sharing my experiences and knowledge of Web3 and decentralized organizations, I hope to bring positive change to my home country [Argentina].    Subscribe    The most engaging reads in blockchain. Delivered once a        week.         Email addressSUBSCRIBE    

$54B fund partner runs women-only DAO, LatAm blockchain gaming guild

March 2023 is set to see a flood of tokens enter the market, with 18 projects scheduling their unlocks during the month. The wave of unlocks will see $640 Million worth of tokens set to enter the market.
Just the first day of March will see $224 million worth of tokens enter the market, accounting for nearly 34% of the unlocks scheduled.
Tokens To Flood The Market
Data from Token Unlocks has shown that 18 projects have scheduled their token unlocks for the month of March. This unlocking spree will see nearly $650 million worth of tokens flood the market. Out of the 18, six projects will unlock their tokens on the 1st of March, accounting for nearly $225 million of the $650 million estimated to be unlocked on the 1st of March will see Euler (EUL), Acala (ACA, Hedera (HBAR), 1inch (1INCH), Stepn (GMT), and Galxe (GAL) unlock their tokens.
The Hedera (HBAR) unlock is set to be the largest token unlock during the month, with the protocol set to release 3 million HBAR tokens worth over $218 million. Euler (EUL) will be unlocking $201,600 worth of EUL tokens each day until the total value of tokens released reaches $885,368. GMT will take a similar approach, releasing $221,932 worth of tokens every day.
1INCH, ACA, and GAL will release $37,128, $4.2 million, and $1.1 million worth of tokens, respectively.
Other Unlocks During The Month
Other projects that have scheduled unlocks during the month are Nym (NYM) which will be unlocking $1.3 million worth of tokens on the 3rd of March. This accounts for 0.5% of the token’s total supply. The 8th of March will see Tornado Cash (TORN) release 175,000 tokens worth $1.4 million. Moonbeam (GLMR), Aptos (APT), dYdX (DYDX), Sweat Economy (SWEAT), and BitDAO (BIT) have scheduled their unlocks for March 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th, respectively.
GLMR will be releasing $89,000 worth of tokens every day until the total value of tokens released hits $4.27 million. SWEAT will undergo a cliff unlock, releasing $72,900 each day until the value reaches $1.5 million. Aptos (APT), dYdX (DYDX), and BitDAO (BIT) will be releasing $54.8 million, $19.6 million, and $109 million, respectively. Other protocols include ApeCoin (APE), Stargate Finance (STG), LooksRare (LOOKS), Immutable X (IMX), and Yield Guild Games (TGG).
ApeCoin To Unlock $205 Million Worth Of Tokens
ApeCoin had already released 7.3 million APE tokens into the market on the 16th of February, which was around 0.7% of the total APE supply. Following the release, the price of the token dropped by 10%. The next token unlock has been scheduled for the 17th of March and will see 40.6 million APE tokens, worth around $215 million, released into the market. This represents 4% of the total supply, with market watchers predicting a more considerable impact on the token’s price. ApeCoin has stated that it will continue to release tokens into the market each month until March 2026.
Meanwhile, BitDAO, which had unlocked $106 million worth of tokens on the 14th of February, saw the price of the BIT token hold despite the increased supply. With the next unlock scheduled for the 15th of March, with the protocol set to release 187 million BIT tokens.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Almost $650M Worth Of Token Unlocks Tabled For March

With Bitcoin at an interesting crossroads this week, it is imperative to look at all the contributing factors that could influence the market’s trajectory, especially the launch of a new Ethereum Layer-2 network. Let’s find out more. 
Bitcoin 
Bitcoin is facing fortress resistance made up of the 200 weekly MA and the last high reached in August 2022.
Bitcoin saw a sell-off this week after it managed to touch resistance, resulting in traders wondering if the crypto has hit its top for now or if it will have another upward surge soon. 
Ethereum
Crypto exchange Coinbase announced the launch of Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network that is designed to be a low-cost, secure, developer-friendly environment.
DeFi
Following a partnership announcement with Microsoft, the DeFi protocol Ankr swiftly reached over $1.5 billion in 24-hour trading volume, with its token sailing past $0.06 in hours.
Altcoins
The Solana-themed retail storefronts called Solana Spaces have announced that they are closing their brick-and-mortar storefronts in New York City and Miami. 
The Klaytn Foundation has unveiled its plans to introduce a new governance system to provide opportunities for community involvement on the Klaytn platform
TON validators are set to vote on a proposal that could adjust the supply of Toncoin by freezing 1 billion tokens for the next 48 months before eventually unfreezing it. 
Recently uncovered documents have claimed that the infamous Crypto Queen, i.e., Ruja Ignatova, has been dead for five years. 
The Bank of England has published a technology working paper laying out its ideas for a future digital pound that will respect user privacy. 
Business 
Binance Australia has announced that it has closed the derivatives trading accounts of some wholesale investors in Australia. 
Payments giant Mastercard has partnered with Immersive to allow users to make crypto payments in the digital, physical, and metaverse worlds.
Ethereum Layer-2, scaling solution Polygon, has announced that it has laid off around 20% of its existing workforce as part of a wider company restructuring.
Crypto hedge fund Galois Capital has been forced to shut down after it was revealed that half of its assets were trapped on the FTX crypto exchange. 
Despite regulatory changes, the Huobi crypto exchange is relocating its Asia headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong. 
Regulation
The IMF put out a press release on Thursday detailing the points of a paper called “Elements of Effective Policies for Crypto Assets.”
Dapper Labs could be forced to face a lawsuit filed by the SEC which alleges that the NBA Top Shots NFTs could be securities. 
NFT
Three Arrows Capital liquidator Teneo has announced that they would be selling the bankrupt firm’s prized NFTs to help recoup the over $3.6 billion owed to creditors. 
The WazirX NFT marketplace, which was launched two years ago, has been shut down due to uncertain market conditions. 
DWF Labs and a16z have taken the lead in a $13.8m token purchase from the treasury of blockchain gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG).
Bored Ape NFT creators Yuga Labs had to remove the logo for Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) over intellectual property issues. 
Web3
The music streaming service Spotify is working with different digital asset companies to test NFT-enabled playlists for token holders. 
Polygon blockchain explorer PolygonScan recently went into a brief halt, caused by a sync error on the Polygon mainnet.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. 

Crypto Weekly Roundup: Coinbase Launches Base And Other News

YGG piqued investors' interest after securing $13.8 million from crypto VC firms, recording a 34% gain. 
Continue reading at DailyCoin.

Yield Guild Games (YGG) Price Gains 34%: Secures $13.8 Million From Web3 VC Firms

DWF Labs, the investment arm of cryptocurrency trading platform Digital Wave Finance (DWF), has taken the lead along with Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z Crypto fund in a $13.8m token purchase from the treasury of blockchain gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG).
Galaxy Interactive, Sangha Capital Fund, Sanctor Capital, and angel investor David Lee also participated in the round. YGG did not disclose how many tokens it sold but they are estimated to account for at least 35% of the total $25mn asset value held in its treasury as of November 2022.
Founded in 2018 by gaming industry veteran Gabby Dizon and fintech entrepreneur Beryl Li, YGG coordinates players of blockchain-based play-to-earn (P2E) games around the world to help each other onboard and earn cryptocurrency-based rewards. YGG also invests in gaming non-fungible tokens (NFTs), such as in-game items and virtual land, that it rents to members to use in their gameplay to generate profits or yield.
Dizon co-founded YGG after he started lending his own Axie Infinity NFTs to other players who could not afford to buy their own to enter the game. YGG has since become the biggest in-game asset manager and investor in the popular P2E game.
YGG incorporated in Switzerland in 2022 to adopt a flexible, non-profit legal structure as part of its move towards decentralization, providing validity for YGG token holders as members of the association with the power to vote on governance.

“The token purchase signals the confidence of our partners in YGG’s mission of empowering gamers through web3 gaming,” said YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon. “The purchase will support the progress of the guild’s initiatives as it aims to provide the web3 community with valuable products and experiences.

YGG will use the funds to develop its soulbound reputation token (SBT), which will become a major part of its ecosystem platform. SBT tokens are linked to a user’s crypto wallet permanently. YGG carried out a test launch of the tokens last year as in-game rewards and plans to launch an upgraded version of its web app in March. Creators will receive SBT tokens as rewards for completing certain tasks or quests.
“We have committed to support YGG as part of our vision towards a blockchain-based economy through web3,” said Andrei Grachev, Managing Partner at DWF Labs.
As a multi-stage web3 multi-product ecosystem, DWF Labs provides arrange of services including consulting, cybersecurity, smart contract audit process, debt financing, and treasury management. It also provides trading solutions such as token listing, over the counter (OTC) trading, and liquidity support for clients through its partners in different verticals.
DWF Labs has supported more than 50 web3 projects and collaborates with top cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and ByBit.

“We believe that blockchain has the potential to transform the gaming industry by enabling players to own their own assets and earn rewards,” Grachev added. 

“Through YGG’s partnerships with NFT games and ecosystems like Axie Infinity, The Sandbox and League of Kingdoms, the guild is at the forefront of blockchain-based game economies. Our goal is to support YGG and help the guild expand its offerings such as the Guild Advancement Program to connect even more players and provide them with an opportunity to participate in a decentralized gaming ecosystem and get rewarded from their gaming activities.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

a16z and DWF Labs lead $13.8m YGG funding round


                    
                    The panel included the CEO of Circle, Finland's Minister of Transport, and other industry personalities.
                    In a wide-ranging discussion, a panel of blockchain industry personalities at the World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded that the economy will become increasingly tokenized in the future. Carbon credits, housing, electricity, government bonds, forex, and other real-world assets will be traded on the blockchain, according to the panel.The event, titled Tokenized Economies, Coming Alive, featured Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, Bitkub Capital CEO Jirayut Srupsrisopa (also known as “Topp”), Finland Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harraka, and Yield Guild Games Co-Founder Beryl Li.According to Topp, the Thai central bank will be implementing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the Thai Baht wholesale market in the first quarter of 2023. The government is currently working with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to handle remittances between the two countries using the new currency.He also said that the Thai government is working on an “investment token” license, separate from the current crypto license, that will allow entrepreneurs to “tokenize all kinds of values” including government bonds, carbon credit trading, FX, electricity units, and other assets. Topp explained that this means “tokenization will be the foundation of the digital economy going forward.”Timo Harakka said that self-custody of data will be an important issue moving forward. According to him, an association in Finland was created in 2014 called “MyData.org” that intended to allow users to exercise ownership and control over their data. However, most of society is still currently focused on “privacy” instead of data ownership, so projects such as these have yet to gain as much traction as they otherwise could.Related: Crypto technology will shift toward ‘steadier hands’ in 2023: Circle CSOOne questioner at the event asked what the participants thought was the most exciting thing they expect to be tokenized next. Jeremy Allaire responded by saying that he thought many brands desired to turn their proprietary loyalty points systems into blockchain applications, making them into an “open loop system” instead of a “closed loop system” that could be interoperable with systems used by other brands.All of the participants were generally optimistic about the future of tokenized assets. But they also seemed to agree that clearer government regulations and better user interfaces will be needed to make the tokenized economy a reality.


WEF panel discusses the coming tokenized economy


                    
                    
                    2022 was the year the wheels fell off the metaverse bandwagon, which had been the most hyped narrative as the year began. By far the worst-performing sector in blockchain, the average drawdown was 89%.Even Facebooks grand plans to dominate the metaverse are in disarray; its losing more than $1 billion a month, while the flagship Horizon Worlds attracts fewer than 200,000 users per month. But amid all the gloom, there are still miles of runway left from unprecedented fundraising and signs from The Sandbox, play-to-earn games and niche metaverse platforms that 2023 will be much more productive.Sbastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder of The Sandbox, has been on the road a lot lately visiting the companys new offices. He speaks from Argentina when we talk just before Christmas about the performance of metaverse platforms in 2022. Many pundits say its been a mixed year at best for adoption, pointing to DappRadar statistics that appeared to indicate daily average visitors to The Sandbox were as low as 500, with just 50 people wandering about Decentraland. However, both companies actively pushed back on these stats, claiming the figures only reflected the number of daily users who made a transaction  not the number of daily visitors overall.Borget is dismissive of the low figures quoted and says there are on average 30,000 visitors every day to the metaverse platform. He expects a surge in user numbers when the platform goes mobile later this year. That will make a big difference. 30,000 is still a small number when compared to Facebook for example, he says. But when you enter The Sandbox, you see people running around  it is full.The Sandbox Alpha Season 3 has claimed 17 million visits since Aug. 24, a threefold increase over Season 2. Thats even more astonishing when you consider the word Alpha means its still in the earlier stages of development.So, while 2022 was definitely the year that the word metaverse became a household name  and was narrowly beaten to the Oxford Dictionarys word of the year by goblin mode  theres hope that 2023 will see it gain wider adoption. McKinsey Global revealed that investors had tipped $120 billion into developing metaverse tech by June, and even though funding subsequently fell off a cliff, thats a lot of runway to produce the goods in 2023.Iceland in The SandboxThe Sandbox is one of the metaverse OGs, founded four years ago, hosting impressive land sales topping $530 million, and attracting big names, such as SnoopDogg.Borget points out that staffing has doubled over the previous year, and the project has a financial runway of at least five years. The big push to attract more users is coming from design studios and builders who are using their digital land to create experiences.There are 230 studios currently building on Sandbox, and that is only the beginning. We also see cultural experiences becoming popular when different nationalities have created a home from home in the metaverse, says Borget.Can metaverse replace the real world?Upland, also founded four years ago, is a virtual property trading game mapped to the real world on the EOS blockchain platform and is often described as Monopoly on the blockchain. The Sandbox and Upland are both parts of the Open Metaverse Alliance, which is chaired by Upland co-founder and CEO Dirk Lueth.When we founded Upland in 2018, very few people had even heard of the word metaverse, says Lueth, noting that these days, the future is at least envisioned  Id call that progress. Upland partnered with FIFA World Cup to offer an online games element for fans. Source: UplandHe says the high point is the attention from non-crypto native audiences and brands. $2 billion has been spent on virtual land across metaverse platforms in the past 12 months as people and companies race to get a foothold in this new virtual territory. At Upland, we are proud to have the largest number of unique landowners [more than 290,000] who come to socialize, create value, and build communities, says Lueth.There is a core segment of users who are creators or meta-entrepreneurs who are building their own businesses in the metaverse. Artists can create decor items and sell them to other users, while others have opened shops for secondary sales of NFTs. One of the big factors drawing users in, and keeping them engaged, are the virtual communities that are emerging. In Upland, they are called nodes. We also find that users who are part of communities tend to stay more, and much of their activity is around building their communities.Some of them have game nights, create charity fundraising events together, make governance decisions about what to build in their neighborhoods, and even elect representatives. Some communities are formed around similar interests  like racing, which is a feature in Upland. Theyve created racing leagues, are building their neighborhood tracks and creating digital assets for rewards, says Lueth.Digital goods as the killer appDigital ownership is often touted as the breakthrough factor for mass adoption along with the interoperability of assets across platforms. However, Alien Worlds chief marketing officer Kevin Rose points out that a lightsaber from one world would not necessarily translate into a medieval tournament. It doesnt always make sense, he argues.Different land types are available from Alien Worlds. Source: Alien WorldsAlien Worlds is an NFT-driven game in which users collect and trade unique digital items minted primarily on the Wax blockchain. Players compete to earn Alien Worlds in-game token, Trilium (TLM), which is needed to control one of the six rival DAOs.Marja Konttinen, marketing director of the Decentraland Foundation, puts forward a compelling case for digital ownership in a different context: fashion. Decentraland is a 3D virtual world browser-based platform that opened to the public in February 2020.Lets look at one use case for the metaverse where ownership will be fundamental: fashion. If you dont have a wallet to log in, it will be hard for you to experience digital fashion at its finest because you cant claim any wearables to add to your wardrobe, says Konttinen.      Read also                                                                              Features                            Forced Creativity: Why Bitcoin Thrives in Former Socialist States                                                                                                                    Features                            Unlocking Cultural Markets with Blockchain: Web3 Brands and the Decentralized Renaissance                                            Others are banking on a combination of community with the appeal of new experiences made possible through fast-developing technology. Unlike most other metaverse platforms, which are still accessed via screens, Somnium Space is an immersive virtual reality-based metaverse built on the Ethereum blockchain. It launched in 2017. Interviewing its founder and CEO Artur Sychov entails a chat with his avatar.Somnium Space is creating its own custom VR headsets. Since Sychov spends as many as several hours each day in his, he is well placed to provide feedback on comfort and features.Artur Sychov, founder of Somnium Space in his headset. Source: Somnium SpaceCompared with some of the bigger names, Somnium Space is still scaling up. There have been more than 250,000 downloads so far, which translates into 80150 daily visitors in VR and another 1,0002,000 users on the screen-based web client.Immersive is what Somnium Space is all about, and visitors can compete in sports, attend discos, and actively participate in whatevers going on.Since its VR, if I am kayaking, then I am moving my arms and it is tiring  same as in real life, says Sychov.Thats the power of VR  if Im dancing, then Im dancing not just hitting a button that causes my avatar to move. People understand that you are actually present with them  at social events or meetings.Sychov views the future of metaverse platforms, such as Somnium Space, as dependent on the people they attract and their ownership. He says that 90% of landowners on the platform have bought their land to build on it, giving the platform stickiness and keeping the owners coming back from more.Sychov has augmented the land with a new concept of worlds. Entry is via a stargate, and inside these new worlds, there is no limit to the space, building or action. He shows me how his avatar steps inside a gate to a world and immediately is in a new space. Individuals and companies are buying these worlds  its all about building, he says, echoing Borgets excitement over the increased activity by design studios over in The Sandbox. It might still be crypto winter, but thats when the builders emerge. Great minds think alike:Keep building, lads. Don't get distracted.— CZ  Binance (@cz_binance) December 15, 2022Play-to-earn builds the metaverseThe other important development bringing us closer to the metaverse is the play-to-earn phenomenon spear-headed by the blockchain game Axie Infinity. The huge growth during the pandemic, and subsequent sharp decline after, did not dampen the enthusiasm of Yield Guild Games (YGG) for the sector. The Guild brings players together to learn and earn in blockchain-based economies like Axie and rents NFTs to new players so they can get started. It now encompasses more than 80 games in the sector.Co-founder Beryl Li is bullish on the future of the P2E industry and says the bear market is a time to prepare for the good times ahead. Those who recognize the opportunity in Web3 are harnessing the bear market as a time to upskill and further educate themselves, to ensure they are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing skills demand of the decentralized, global digital economy, says Li.The YGG Founders Coin is a transferable limited-edition NFT that gives holders access to special benefits. Source: YGGThe guild has developed educational opportunities, including a partnership with Nas Academy to launch the Web3 Metaversity, which provides opportunities for Guild members to learn crypto-native skills. Less grinding, more funAnother approach to clean up the bad rap of P2E games might be to change the focus of the tasks used to earn coins, says Rania Ajami, co-founder of Metropolis  a 360 curated universe that blends e-commerce, gaming, art and experiences that span both the digital and real world. Instead of money being made from grinding play, she argues that P2E could be reimagined. You could utilize your skills as a digital artist to create unique assets for players, or your abilities in marketing to help a small business grow in the metaverse. Or if you are grinding plays, perhaps those plays can be used as resources to create art or items or animations. Long story short, P2E is a very interesting concept for the metaverse, but only if it is reimagined to provide some sort of greater value in art, business or development of a metaverse world in some way, argues Ajami.Metropolis was launched in June 2022 in one of the toughest bear markets but still sold out two NFT drops, including an initial sale of 5,000 passports at an average of 0.12 ETH each followed by a sale of 450 properties averaging 0.75 ETH each.Water Passport for Metropolis World. Source: Metropolis WorldAjami says users are drawn to Metropolis World because of the immaculate art and the depth of storytelling. Weve created a world where people are excited about living in because theres so much already there as opposed to a blank canvas in which you are expected to do all the heavy lifting yourself if you want to take part, she says.The metaverse is not just about creating a video game. Its building a virtual world with all the depth and functionality of the physical one. People want a digital world that enhances their digital life instead of replacing it, and 2022 proved that again and again.Furthermore, we are seeing more and more traditionally Web2-focused brands moving into the metaverse like Disney, Starbucks and even Time Out, which is featuring metaverse-based content for their users with Metropolis World. We just keep seeing more adoption of Web3 technologies in various ways across just about every industry, Ajami says.Niche virtual realityNew metaverse platforms are also being created around niche sectors, such as design and intellectual property. Zara Zamani, co-founder of Neoki Metaverse, looks to intellectual property as a glue to hold her new community together. Our vision in Neoki is to offer a profoundly immersive design-based metaverse to democratize the design industry, says Zamani. Neoki is a multi-metaverse looking to support designers across sectors.Rising successful metaverses are those focusing on a smooth transition and bridging from Web2 to Web3 not only in tech aspects but also in business models and mentality. This can translate to securing as many IPs as possible now in order to be able to create relatable but extended life experiences for users, she says.    Subscribe    The most engaging reads in blockchain. Delivered once a        week.             Email addressSUBSCRIBE    MetaMetaverse was formed by crypto OG Joel Dietz to provide metaverse as a service. As such, he views the development of the sector continuing in multiple ways from gaming, hanging out with friends, attending events, such as concerts, and shopping, The possibilities are truly endless in what you can do, he says. For example, we have already seen multiple high-profile artists, such as Travis Scott and Ariana Grande, perform virtual shows in the popular online game Fortnite.He also views the role of visual art as being important.Weve seen a rise in virtual art galleries, showcasing mixes of priceless art and NFT collections that people can access, admire and purchase, Dietz says.GN! Poem of the evening: I stepped into the matrix but now must procreate, They call me the butterfly boy,I hope somewhere I have a mate.#aiart #poetry pic.twitter.com/nTEJRGDbVG— JL ITZ (@jdietz) December 20, 2022MegaFUDiverseDecentralands Konttinen perhaps gets why there is so much FUD about metaverses in general. Its been vastly oversold and is tied in users minds to the ambitions of the somewhat unpopular Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.People think that the entire metaverse is one company. Misinformation is spreading about metaverse users, and media companies and competitors running with the erroneous narrative.Its a very good point. Interviewing the founders of diverse metaverses really makes it difficult to pinpoint what metaverse platforms are the best or will succeed in the future. Its like going to the theater or reading a book  what one person likes is very different from anothers taste.Konttinen also wonders about how to create better metrics to measure the success of a platform.I hope we can coalesce around an answer next year of how to measure a user in the metaverse. What is an active user in a virtual world that isnt based on an advertising model of tracking and selling behavioral and demographic information of its uses? Is an active user someone who returns every day? Is it someone who moves more than one parcel? What we do know is that metaverse is such a powerful concept that the worlds biggest social media company is all-in on its development, she says.So, what will the successful metaverse of the future look like? Thats the trillion-dollar question.Dietz points out the estimated global metaverse market size grew from $63 billion in 2021 to over $100 billion in 2022. Considering all the doom and gloom, this is an impressive feat. There are even forecasts the metaverse could be worth well over $1 trillion by 2030.All we know is that the early movers will have an advantage as long as they can build a community and give them reasons to return. And if their communities can make money and grow the platforms economy by helping build the virtual world, then the platform might take on a life of its own and grow organically, tailored to the needs and desires of its users.      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How to resurrect the ‘Metaverse dream’ in 2023


Consola.finance has announced the release of its finance and accounting platform with an unparalleled infrastructure for on-chain data, completely revamping how web3 firms approach crypto finance management.
The launch follows after identifying the lack of comprehensive accounting tools to record all transactions, wallet balances, and other on-chain operations. 

Vienna, Austria, 10 January 2023: Consola.finance, announced today the launch of its anticipated end-to-end finance and accounting platform specifically designed for web3 firms. Following the successful pre-seed round September in 2022, closing €1.1 million in funding, the B2B SaaS platform offers an innovative solution for bookkeeping, accounting, and reporting for all blockchain transactional activity. 
The launch follows after identifying the lack of comprehensive tools to unify accounting related processes. At present, there is no benchmark process for crypto bookkeeping, and international accounting standards do not provide any bookkeeping framework. Bookkeeping is a crucial element to the success of all web3 organizations, and despite the millions of crypto transactions active daily across the globe, most crypto bookkeeping is still recorded manually. 
Now more than ever, the recording of trading, staking, or payments is of great importance, and as a result, automated crypto bookkeeping solutions are gaining traction across web3 businesses. 
Consola.finance is committed to providing companies with clarity and control over their crypto finances, and their first product version successfully achieves this goal. With features like transaction and price fetching, fiat valuation, auto-categorization, cost basis calculation, profit and loss calculation, dashboarding, and reporting, the platform provides a solution to streamlining a web3 company’s financial processes. 
Moreover, the platform aims to unify on-chain operations across accounting, payments, and DeFi, enabling organizations to fully leverage the potential of blockchain in a secure, compliant, and efficient manner, offering unprecedented solutions for automated payments, expense, and invoice management. 
Consola.finance worked closely with leading organizations including Rook DAO, Decent DAO, MoonDAO, YGG SEA, Spool DAO, Solid World DAO, Bitpanda, LimeWire, Katana Inu, and many others to build its robust platform.

"We are excited to launch our first product version and offer web3 firms a solution to manage their crypto finances with ease. We have built a completely new on-chain data infrastructure that provides the highest level of quality, and have partnered with leading node providers and auditing firms to ensure the accuracy and reliability of our data.", said Jacob from consola.finance
"Consola.finance is an extremely powerful tool that helps crypto natives like me to better organize, interpret and use the power of my data to make better decisions”, said Matt from Rook DAO.
"Consola.finance takes the manual time-consuming work out of on-chain accounting, freeing up my time to focus on other high-value operations", said Adam from Decent DAO.

Through consola.finance's partnerships with significant node providers, tax advisors and DeFi applications to integrate their solutions, the company successfully closes the gap of companies currently requiring several point solutions to manage, spend, track and report their on-chain finances.
About consola.finance
consola.finance, an EU-based finance and accounting SaaS platform brings clarity and control to companies' crypto finances. consola.finance automates crypto finance processes like bookkeeping and reporting, saving valuable time and reducing the risk of human error.
To try out consola.finance, companies can visit app.consola.finance and sign up. For partnerships, consola.finance can be contacted via partnerships@consola.finance, Twitter or Discord.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored press release and is for informational purposes only. It does not reflect the views of Crypto Daily, nor is it intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, or financial advice.