Puma launches metaverse space Black Station for displaying NFTs
Puma has entered the metaverse by launching an interactive space titled Black Station to showcase limited edition non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on its sneakers.
The NFTs on display were created by the German athletic brand’s “Futrograde” collection. They will be on display as part of the New York Fashion Week, and buyers can redeem these NFTs as physical sneakers, according to Puma.
Asia banking giant DBS jumps into The Sandbox metaverse
DBS Bank Ltd., the largest lender in Southeast Asia, said it has partnered with The Sandbox, a blockchain-based metaverse gaming platform, to build new services for clients in the 3D virtual world that uses digital avatars. DBS said it will buy land in the metaverse to create the ‘DBS BetterWorld’ and build a virtual community.
DBS is the first company in Singapore to sign a partnership with The Sandbox, a unit of Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, and the first bank in the city-state to enter the metaverse, DBS said in a statement.
SEBA Bank to provide Ethereum staking services to institutions
Swiss digital asset banking platform SEBA Bank announced that it has launched an Ethereum staking service for institutions that want to earn yields from staking on the Ethereum network.
According to the firm, the move is a response to the growing institutional demand for decentralized finance (DeFi) services.
GuildFi becomes official AWS Activate Provider
On Sep.9, GuildFi announced becoming an official AWS Activate Provider to enhance its incubator and partner programs and add further value to GuildFi partners, helping them build the best products possible.
Through AWS Activate, partners and incubated projects will have the opportunity to build their applications or infrastructure with one of the most advanced and trusted tools in the market, ensuring that their products will meet the high standards of the blockchain community.
Increase in wallets with 1,000 ETH or more indicates bullish sentiment as Merge approaches
The number of ETH wallets holding over 1,000 ETH surges to a 15-month high as Ethereum Merge approaches.
This could be a bullish sign for ETH that investors expect a price rally after the Merge that started on Sep. 7 and is expected to be completed around Sep. 15. The last similar surge in wallet addresses happened around May 2021.
BNB Chain announces zero-knowledge proof scaling technology
Binance’s Layer 1 BNB chain has announced its own zero-knowledge (ZK) proof scaling technology, which it coined zkBNB. The goal of zkBNB is to maintain security from its base layer, while utilizing ZK SNARKs for faster transactions per second (TPS), finality, lower transaction costs.
zkBNB Testnet went live on September 2nd, allowing developers to begin interacting with the code, and start building applications.
5 new assets on ONUS
$GF – A Web3 ecosystem that connects games, NFTs and communities.
$SAO – a platform designed to scale and expand linear content to a non-linear content engagement experience.
$XETA – An EVM-based blockchain infrastructure custom-built for the Metaverse.
$MBX – A blockchain game ecosystem built on Klaytn mainnet developed by Netmarble.
$XCAD – A tokenization platform for Creators.
Algorand upgrade could increase speed and cross-chain transaction capability
Algorand, a proof of stake Layer 1, has announced a new upgrade to its protocol that could boost its transactions per second (TPS) and cross-chain communication security via state proofs.
Algorand’s state proofs are an interoperability standard that aims to securely connect Algorand to other blockchains and boost TPS. State proofs provide an interface any proof of stake blockchain can use for cross-chain communication and transactions. Algorand claims this upgrade increases the network TPS from 1,200 to 6,000.
GameStop partners with crypto exchange FTX.US to boost digital asset adoption
Video game firm GameStop (GME) is partnering with Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX.US to promote interaction between the gaming and crypto community.
According to Financial Times, the two companies will promote e-commerce and marketing initiatives, while certain GameStop retail stores will carry FTX gift cards. GameStop is also being given the label of FTX’s “preferred” retail partner in the U.S.
Avalanche DeFi staking platform suffers flash loan attack
Avalanche-based DeFi staking platform – Nereus Finance – suffered a flash loan arbitrage attack. On-chain data from Snowtrace revealed that the attacker launched the exploit with a $51 million flash loan.
These funds were then used to execute a flash loan attack that manipulated token pricing on the staking platform. While the entity behind the attack did pay back the $51 million loan, they still had $370,000 in USDC stablecoin after the completion of the arbitrage trade.