Hello, the end of October!

In this week’s news, key events are related to Google’s very serious attempts to join the Web3 community offering their tools for developing Web3. Not only that, you can see how the traditional banking as well as financial start-ups, along with global corporations are also adapting Web3 technologies. What else happened around the Web3 and NFTs? 

Dive in with us in the news from the previous week, as usually, starting with the market report for the week. 

Market Updates and Conditions

Bitcoin (BTC) was worth 20,289.47 USD in the morning of October 28th. As you can see in the graph (source of all graphs included), this week has started relatively low with a price of 18,000 USD 7 days ago, but in the next few days it has risen to 20,000.00 USD and more.  

During the week, Ethereum (ETH) also has experienced persistent growth of price, rising from 1,264.00 USD on October 21th, to reach above 1,500.00 USD in the last two days. 

Price of Arweave AR this morning was 10.37 USD after a week when its price range was between 9,88 USD a week ago and above 11.00 USD the previous day. 

What’s Happening in Web3?

Google Launches Blockchain Node Engine 

Latest and biggest news for Web3 developers is the introduction of a node-hosting service – Blockchain Node Engine (BNE) based on Google Cloud. The Node Engine will begin by supporting Ethereum, which is the second biggest blockchain, as the first blockchain and allow developers to fully provision Ethereum nodes. James Tromans, director of cloud Web3, claims that the service is ultimately agnostic and developers can build anything they wish. 

Developing Web3 During The Crypto Winter 

On October 21, Coindesk published an interview with Alchemy Head of Growth Jason Shah who commented on how Web3 developers are doing when Ethereum had a 60% price plunge this year. Actually, Shah said that the use of smart contracts on Ethereum has increased by 40%. 

Ernst & Young Wavespace Expands to Metaverse

The metaverse is clearly going corporate, as told on VentureBeat. Ernst & Young said it will provide EY wavespace experiences in the metaverse to help clients prepare for Web3 and the metaverse. Ernst & Young’s U.S. operation has also established a metaverse lab where technologists build customised metaverse environments for various use cases.

Meta Partners With L’Oreal And Launches Web3 Accelerator

It was announced on October 26 that Meta joins forces with fashion company L’Oréal and French college HEC Paris to support startups developing Web3 technologies, including avatar development. The collaboration is geared toward launching an accelerator program for startups to facilitate creativity in the Metaverse. From November 20, interested startups can file their applications for the program. Meta, L’Oréal, HEC members, and other investors and entrepreneurs will be involved in the selection process. 

Traditional Banking Involves in Web3 

Forkast has published a long and thorough video and article on how Standard Chartered, one of the world’s oldest banks, is adopting Web3 technologies in their work. The story is about Standart Chartered Ventures, a platform founded four years ago to promote innovation in financial technology. Now SC Ventures is currently building infrastructure to allow more institutional adoption in the Web3 space.

Reap Raises 40M For Web3 Payments

Speaking of financial technologies, a Hong Kong based digital payment start-up Reap has raised $40 million in a funding round aimed at developing infrastructure to help facilitate payments between Web3 projects and traditional businesses. The raised money will be used to set up regional hubs throughout Asia, North American and Europe, broaden their team and building Web3 infrastructure. 

Rarible Upgrades to Rarible 2.0 With Web3 Aggregation 

Ethereum-based NFT marketplace Rarible announced its platform upgrade to Rarible 2 on October 20. It is introducing new aggregation tools to showcase NFTs from across the Web3 space and this means users can browse and purchase Ethereum-based digital assets from Rarible, OpenSea, LooksRare, X2Y2 and Sudoswap.

NFT News

NFT Transactions Are Down, But Sales Are Up

According to News on Bitcoin.com, during the last week, non-fungible token (NFT) sales volume has managed to climb 1.9% higher than the week prior with $85 million in NFT sales in seven days. However, the number of NFT buyers slid by 12.63%, and the number of NFT transactions is down 19.19% on October 23, 2022. 

Twitter Allows Tweeters To Buy And Sell NFTs

Twitter will let users display NFT marketplace listings from certain platforms, including a button to let them buy and sell collectibles, which means that you will be able to buy, sell, and display NFTs directly through tweets in partnership with four marketplaces. The integration currently works with marketplaces from Magic Eden, Rarible, Dapper Labs, and Jump.trade.

Now testing: NFT Tweet Tiles ????

Some links to NFTs on @rarible, @MagicEden, @dapperlabs and @Jumptradenft will now show you a larger picture of the NFT alongside details like the title and creator. One more step in our journey to let developers impact the Tweet experience. pic.twitter.com/AkBisciB1i

— Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) October 27, 2022

Apple Changes NFT Rules Again 

Apple is facing new accusations of anti-competitive behaviour after changing the rules on non-fungible token-powered apps and adding more paid-for promotions to the company’s App Store, the Guardian reported on October 25. The changes have softened rules around NFTs and apps can sell them directly, but the use of the technology is strictly limited, so read more on the article here.  

The Outcome of CNN Shutting Down its NFT Marketplace

Two weeks ago we covered how CNN is shutting down its NFT marketplace. Grid has published a deeper analysis on how this event represents the shallow interest of NFT and blockchain as a “quick buck”, but no long-term strategy or interest of building something sustainable. According to the article, experts say that:

The recent NFT slump helps undermine the long-standing notion that it and other Web3 technologies — such as cryptocurrency — are immune to larger financial and economic trends.

Omid Malekan, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School who teaches courses on crypto and blockchain, commented that established companies don’t really understand “the second part of NFTs and collectibles.” 

They’re all about building a community around those and NFTs and collectibles. And building communities takes time and engagement and a lot of investment.

Here’s another insight into the “NFT hype” and its near future. 

OpenSea Revises NFT Rarity Ranking Protocol 

After an NFT investor pointed out several issues surrounding OpenRarity, the new rarity ranking protocol implemented by NFT marketplace OpenSea. A community member argued that the new rarity ranking protocol destroys the market-driven rarity structure for some NFT collections. Days after the feedback, the OPenSea made some revisions to the ranking system and NFT listings now show “rarity rank” instead of just the rank.

Singapore High Court Acknowledges NFT As a Property

Non-fungible tokens can be considered property, the Singapore High Court has said. The judge issued this ruling as an explanation for the injunction he granted in May preventing any potential sale of a Bored Ape NFT. 

First NFT Vending Machine In London!

Remember the first NFT vending machines in Malaysia we covered a few weeks ago? Multichain nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace myNFT has announced it will showcase its first-ever physical NFT vending machine at this year’s NFT.London event scheduled for Nov. 2–4. I personally don’t know why I am so obsessed with NFT vending machines, but I can agree with the platform itself as it hopes to provide an easy and accessible way for people who want to start buying and trading digital assets without needing deep knowledge of the Web3 industry and without owning a digital wallet. 

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