November has started with big announcements from the Solana ecosystems annual gathering, new turning points of Twitter’s fate in the hands of Elon Musk and some interesting news from the Web3 gaming sphere. 

What else is happening around Web3 and NFTs? Let’s dive in!

Market Updates and Conditions

Bitcoin (BTC) has moved down during the last seven days, as its price this morning (November 11) was 17,281.40 USD. Last Friday it was worth 20,000 USD and more. 

Source. 

Ethereum’s (ETH) price has also dropped quite a bit since last Friday when it reached 1,500 USD. In the morning of November 11, the price of ETH was 1,275.71 USD. 

Source.  

Arweave (AR) price on Friday was 10.03 USD which is a big drop since last week when it’s price reached 15 USD and more. You can see the drop in the graph below. 

Source. 

What’s happening in Web3? 

Twitter Will Stay Web2, Experts Say

Despite Elon Musk’s recent takeover of Twitter and several opinions that this might hasten it’s transformation to Web3, Stani Kulechov, CEO of Aave, believes that Twitter won’t be on the blockchain anytime soon as he told on Decrypt’s podcast. What he also believes, is that Web3 social media will be less of an update of Web2 and more of an interoperable network of new platforms. 

Japan’s Largest Mobile Operator To Accelerate The Web3 Adoption 

NTT Docomo is Japan’s largest mobile operator and it has partnered with multichain smart contract platform Astar Network to accelerate the Web3 implementation in the country.  The joint effort will take the form of a consortium, which would give individuals and corporations the ability to utilise tokens for governance. 

They have also specifically agreed to: 

• pursue sustainable development by researching case studies for environmental issues in Web3, 
• try to eliminate technology gaps on the road to wider Web3 adoption by educating people 
• provide opportunities for engineers and business leaders to learn and gain practical experience.

The Digital Agency of Japan Launches DAO to Explore DAOs and Web3 

Those were not the only Web3 news from Japan this week, as The Digital Agency of Japan, aimed at harmonising nationwide initiatives related to digital transformation, has launched a research decentralised autonomous organization, or DAO, targeting Web3. It had established a DAO in an effort to explore the “functions and roles” of DAOs, and it would consider the benefits and challenges of granting the DAO legal status in Japan. 

Web3 Browser Opera Has Launched NFT Analytics Tool 

Opera has launched DegenKnows, a new non-fungible token (NFT) analytics, tracking and exploration tool that includes on and off-chain analytics to help users navigate NFT projects and gain access to insights from the social media community and sources, including Twitter and Discord. 

Probably the most valuable feature of the new tool is a “Smart Filter” function. With this feature, DegenKnows claims to help users filter out wash trade, airdrop, transfer and scam projects.

Solana’s Breakpoint Announcements: Google Partnership Unveiled 

Solana Breakpoint is a four-day conference scheduled from Nov. 4 to Nov. 7. During the ecosystem’s annual gathering, Solana unveiled several launch announcements as it prepares to go mainstream. As Cointelegraph informs, there are some of the news: 

• Solana partners with GoogleCloud – Google Cloud’s Blockchain Node Engine, which was first announced on Oct. 27, will feature on the Solana chain from 2023

Did you think we only had one announcement? Think again.

Google Cloud is working with @solana to bring Blockchain Node Engine to the Solana chain next year, so it will be easy for anyone to launch a dedicated Solana node in the cloud ↓ https://t.co/CzrM90fQpp

— Google Cloud (@googlecloud) November 5, 2022

• Solana smartphones will be available for pre-order in early 2023
• QR Code giveaways and GeoNFTs for Solana Store were presented during the conference
• The launch of the Solana App Store that promises to do away with charges, revenues and fees 

Polkadot DOT Token Has Morphed Into Software

Web3 Foundation, the company responsible for Polkadot and Kusama, has announced that Polkadot native token DOT is now software and no longer a security. 

Polkadot's native token (DOT), initially offered, sold and delivered to purchasers as a security, has morphed and no longer is a security. It is software. https://t.co/uv8wc1DbNb

— Polkadot (@Polkadot) November 4, 2022

What does that mean? The SEC has repeatedly argued that most crypto assets would qualify as securities under current laws. Since 2019, the Web3 Foundation has prioritised compliance and obeyed all US securities laws regarding issuing its native token and treatment of purchasers. 

According to CoinTelegraph, the entity supporting research and development of Polkadot, as well as overseeing fundraising efforts for the blockchain, has argued that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should not consider DOT a security under its regulatory purview. The Web3 Foundation’s chief legal officer, Daniel Schoenberger, said Polkadot’s native token had “morphed” and was “software” rather than a security.

Eterlast Raised €4.5 Million To Launch New Web3 Era In Global Sports

The startup Eterlast that is rooting in London and Barcelona, is aiming to create a new way for fans to engage with sports, teams and players through NFTs, blockchain games and immersive experiences, EU Startups wrote on November 8. How exactly? 

As Tech.Eu informed on the same day, Eterlast has announced that it has scored €4.6 million of seed funds, aimed at bringing NFT digital collectibles so that fans can license and own matches, highlights and clips that define sporting history.  

The funding was led by Supernode Global, which is the lead investor for NFTs as applied to sports – first of all, boxing.

Gaming Giant NCSoft Invests $15 Million in Mysten Labs 

South Korean gaming giant NCSoft has invested $15 million in Mysten Labs as part of a previously announced $300 million funding round. The money will go to develop the Sui Layer 1 blockchain to serve as infrastructure for Web3 games and other projects. 

NCSoft will become a strategic partner with Mysten Labs and they will explore future collaborations to create even more engaging digital entertainment experiences.

Mythical Games Lays Off 10 Percent Of Its Employees

Some bad news for about 320 people working in Web3 gaming studio Mythical Games. The company had to lay off about 1/10 of its employees due to the economic downturn, likely exacerbated by the harsh crypto winter, which the company cited as the reason for the layoffs. 

NFT news

OpenSea Reveals Its Plans Concerning NFT Royalties 

On November 6, Decrypt wrote that the NFT marketplace OpenSea has finally shared its plans regarding NFT creator royalties, amid a growing trend of rival marketplaces not honouring them. 

As the CoinDesk described, the on-chain tool will blacklist collections from being resold on marketplaces that don’t enforce royalties and will only apply to new collections listed on the platform. 

OpenSea told that it is still considering what to do about existing NFT projects until December 8. After that date, the marketplace will make a decision — which could ultimately include making royalty fee payments optional for traders, as some other marketplaces have done. 

Actually, the update followed few days later on Twitter: 

UPDATE: We will continue to enforce creator fees on all existing collections.
🧵⬇️

— OpenSea (@opensea) November 9, 2022

The original announcement was received well by the NFT-sphere as a creator-friendly alternative to ditching royalties altogether, as said in CoinDesk article, as the NFT industry has seen more losers of the royalty debate than winners since the trend to move away from royalties began in August. When creator royalty fees aren’t required, many traders opt not to pay them, simple as that. 

Prices for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs Are Falling  

Popular Ethereum project the Bored Ape Yacht Club is seeing sinking prices as ETH falls. According to data from NFT Price Floor, the cheapest available Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT on the market (i.e. the “floor price”) is listed for 57.5 ETH (or about 76,400 USD) , making it 82% less than at the collection’s peak in April, Decrypt wrote on November 11, describing it as panic sell. 

Japanese Messaging App Line Launches Its Own NFT Marketplace

This week Japan is absolutely in the spotlight in everything Web3 and NFT related! Japanese messaging app Line’s NFT unit LineNext has launched a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace on the NFT platform DOSI, which allows users to buy and sell NFTs globally, excluding Japan. 

LG Is Hiring Web3 CTOs To Make NFT Push 

LG Electronics has announced it wants to hire two new Chief Technical Officers (CTOs) to lead its Web3 and blockchain technology operations and it is highly “likely” that the new hires would be tasked with leading the firm’s expansion into the non-fungible token (NFT) sector. Read more on CryptoNews. 

NFT Whimsicality of The Week – NFT Lobsters! 

We heard of NFT underwear, NFT yachts and NFT-what-nots, and this week is no exception as you can buy an NFT and get a Maine lobster or other seafood shipped to your home! NFT startup OneOf announced on November 8  that it has partnered with online seafood delivery service Get Maine Lobster to create an NFT-based membership club. So yes, joining the club entitles paying members to receive deliveries of fresh seafood direct from Maine, including lobster. 

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