Introduction
Since the crypto and NFT markets are going through a very turbulent phase at the moment, discussions around their potential use cases in real world have gained prominence yet again in general conversations and discourse.
Critics of the crypto and NFT feel bolstered by the sharp fall in prices of most of the digital assets and are questioning the potential use cases of these digital assets in real-world. They even say that most potential use-cases being talked about, are hypothetical and yet to be tested.
However, changes are happening slowly and real-world use cases of crypto and NFT are being implemented, which are set to prove the critics wrong. Last week, a UK judge has given the nod to serve legal documents over the blockchain ledger through an NFT.
A court in the US made a similar move in June and the UK judge’s decision is the first one in Europe. These are baby steps being taken, which will potentially withstand the vagaries of crypto market trends. They will emphasize the potential of blockchain technology, that can be harnessed much beyond the realms of financial markets and cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, while these are positive developments, the attitudes of some countries towards crypto and NFT make the road bumpy for the growth of the blockchain and NFT technologies. China, for instance, has not officially banned cryptocurrency or NFT but has brought in regulations that make trading in those digital assets almost unviable and so, many projects are being shut down. Read on to find out more.
First lawsuit delivered via NFT in the UK
A UK judge has given the go-ahead to serve legal documents – the process of bringing a lawsuit to a person’s attention – over the blockchain ledger through an NFT for the first time. The High Court of England and Wales has allowed the victim of a crypto scam to serve legal proceedings to the anonymous culprits via an NFT. A US court made a similar move to authorize service via an NFT in June.
The UK court’s ruling comes from a case brought by Italian engineer Fabrizio D’Aloia, who is also the founder of an online gambling company. He is suing cryptocurrency exchange Binance Holdings. Poloniex, gate.io, OKX, and Bitkub. This is the first time an NFT will be deployed to deliver legal proceedings.
D’Aloia has alleged that his cryptocurrency assets have been misappropriated by unknown persons operating two crypto wallets. He claimed that a “fraudulent clone online brokerage” coaxed him into depositing about 2.1 million Tether (USDT) and 230,000 USD coins (USDC) into the two wallets.
He was allowed by the court to hold the five exchanges responsible, as they were holding his crypto assets and the court also said the exchanges must take adequate measures to ensure that funds are not transferred while in custody. The service will now take place by airdropping the lawsuit documents via NFT into two wallets that were originally used by A’Aloia and stolen by the fraudsters.
This development paves the way for victims of crypto frauds to sue unknown crooks in the UK, according to legal experts. So far, under UK’s Civil Procedure Laws, one could only serve lawsuits to the involved parties by mail, physical drop-offs at known addresses, fax or any other mode of “electronic communication”.
China’s Tencent shuts down NFT platform
Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings has shut down one of its two NFT platforms, as China’s monetary policies led to dwindling sales of crypto and NFT assets. The other platform, operated by Tencent, is also struggling to survive, amidst the adverse market conditions and the government’s crackdown on the crypto industry.
According to local media reports, Tencent began withdrawing from the NFT market in May, when they moved all top executives working on the NFT marketplace to new departments. China has not officially banned NFT but its recent regulations made NFT less profitable for investors. It prevents secondary sales of NFT, thereby eliminating the potential to generate money from these digital collectibles.
Early this year, NFT saw significant growth in China and several Chinese tech giants launched their own digital collectibles platforms. However, the rising popularity also attracted government attention and the Chinese government cautioned investors to look for frauds involving these NFT.
Soon, many of the tech giants started taking down accounts linked to NFT. The Chinese government is well-known for its anti-crypto stance and has forbidden crypto transactions in China but NFT are not yet subject to the same regulations.
Tokened launches new NFT platform
Tokened.com has launched a new NFT platform, which is now accessible to users across the US and Canada. It is a highly anticipated NFT platform, where users get a change to win some of the world’s most sought after NFT. Tokened aims to revolutionize the NFT space by providing access to hyper-exclusive digital assets, communities and resources, thereby levelling the playing field for all in the space.
The initial website launch includes giveaways from the highly coveted Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC). MAYC is a collection of 20,000 Apes that were created by exposing Bored Apes to a vial of the potent Mutant serum.
Tokened will also be doing free flash giveaways with several other up and coming projects. This will be a great opportunity for smaller projects to get a metaphorical foot in the door and showcase their NFT collection to far more people.
According to the company, the selection process for these giveaways will be quite rigorous, as Tokened takes pride in quality and exclusivity. Tokened also allows participants to enter the market using more traditional payment methods such as debit or credit cards, thereby breaking down a major barrier in the NFT space.
Seracle announces launch of Web 3 NFT
Blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform, Seracle, has announced the launch of Web 3.0 NFT infrastructure for brands and corporates across sectors to help them create their own customized NFT marketplaces.
Seracle offers end-to-end NFT marketplace solutions, including product development, operations and marketing. The NFT infrastructure solution has no geographic boundaries and can develop a platform with suitable payment solutions such as fiat currency or crypto currency, as per the client’s needs.
According to the company, the infrastructure is suitable for companies and brands in sectors such as entertainment, e-commerce, gaming, social media, fashion, sports, art, augmented reality and virtual reality.
A fully customized and branded NFT marketplace can be launched with Seracle infrastructure within a couple of weeks and at a cost that is 80% less than what it would take to launch it through the conventional method. According to Seracle, companies also don’t need to hire any engineering resources to manage the platform.
Rainmaker Games launches cross-chain NFT marketplace for games
Rainmaker Games has announced that it has launched a cross-chain NFT marketplace for blockchain games. With the new marketplace, gamers can explore aggregated top GameFi NFT listings from across Web 3.0, complete with guides, strategies and reviews.
Trading NFT for games became a multi-billion-dollar market in 2021 but the main drawback that remains is that gamers are forced to purchase NFT on platforms that only cater to specific marketplaces and their respective blockchain architecture, such as Solana and Polygon.
Rainmaker’s gamer-focused NFT marketplace integrates with Rainmaker’s game discovery engine, thereby ushering in the next generation of frictionless experience while delivering educational resources.
There are about 100 games that have been set up to launch on the company’s mew launchpad and the company has also partnered with more than 60 games so far. The company said it was tying together dozens of Web 3.0 games in one NFT marketplace and aggregating games across all available blockchains with a focus on the most fun, profitable, secure and developed Web2 games.
A team of 50 gamers and GameFi experts analyze each game on the site, providing a score that gives much-needed transparency to gaming data, the company said. Poorly designed or unpopular games with underperforming NFT are monitored and red-flagged, leaving only the best games for the community.
Conclusion
Notwithstanding the curbs put on crypto and NFT by countries like China and the current shake-up in the crypto and NFT markets, there are smart entrepreneurs and investors who are hopeful of the future of these digital assets and continue to build and launch new projects in the space.
The recent launches of new NFT projects, new NFT marketplaces and NFT marketplace infrastructure are all proofs of their conviction in the sector, as they remain undeterred by the short-term downturn in the crypto markets. The current volatility in the markets is caused by a variety of factors, some of which are beyond the control of even the big players in the crypto and NFT spaces.
On the contrary, some experts in the industry believe that the current market upheaval may pave the way for more better-quality projects in future and may keep speculators with poor quality projects at bay. If that indeed happens, then the short-term pain would lead to long-term gains for the entire ecosystem. Hope you enjoyed reading it. Thank you.
