A huge week for NFTs, as Coinbase makes their official entry. The powerhouse crypto exchange has opened up a waitlist and generated substantial buzz and NFTs continue to find their footing in the emerging ‘digital collectables and community’ landscape.
Meanwhile, in tech and gaming, Epic Games has open arms as well – but Steam, not so much. Speaking of media, ViacomCBS is exploring NFTs for it’s massive catalogue of media brands.
Let’s take a look at these stories and more with the past week’s NFT action.
This Week’s Non-Fungible Token News
Coinbase Cracks The NFT Nut
Look out, OpenSea? Coinbase is one of the most notable names in crypto and could just be looking to give the leading NFT exchange a run for their money. Earlier in the week, the exchange announced ‘Coinbase NFT,‘ challenging the likes of OpenSea and Rarible, as well as fellow exchanges playing in the NFT space, like Gemini and FTX.
Coinbase has opened up a waitlist for the new platform, and has already generated over 1M users who have signed up.
Gaming: Valve’s Gaming Platform Steam Says No Thanks, While Epic Games Has Open Arms
Steam is one of the largest and longest-running video game platforms in the industry. Video game developer Valve runs the platform, and recently updated Steam guidelines that state that the platform would no longer support and publish “applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs.”
Valve is the creator of powerhouse titles like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, however centralization is key to Valve’s ecosystem. While the company has yet to release an official statement on the matter, our team at Bitcoinist believes that the concern lies largely around the legal aspects of NFTs and crypto-related games, which could put the standing of Valve’s marketplace goods and games at risk.
In the meantime, Valve competitor Epic Games, owners and creators of powerhouse software and games like the Unreal Engine, Rocket League, and Fortnite, has taken a different stance. CEO and co-founder Tim Sweeney tweeted this week that the company will “welcome games that make use of blockchain tech,” adding that blockchain technology inherently offers utility in gaming.
Last month, Sweeney stated that the company “wasn’t touching NFTs,” however it’s likely that Sweeney sees a competitive advantage opportunity and would like to keep the crypto door open should the right opportunity present itself.
Visa Investing In NFT Creators
Visa is building out an ‘artist-first’ program for NFTs to empower creatives. As our team at Bitcoinist covered in recent days, Visa has partnered with former MLB player Micah Johnson for the program. The new NFT initiative will have a focus on creators and small businesses.
The program will include consulting services and network opportunities for a select group of creators. According to the company’s Head of Crypto Cuy Sheffield, the company sees the current NFT landscape as “the beginning of a digital renaissance in the world of art and content creation.”
Related Reading | Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, And Solana Are Posting Major Gains In The Market
Coinbase has generally been beaten down since going public on the NASDAQ earlier in the year. Could the latest announcement of Coinbase NFT signal an upswing in the firm's stock price? | Source: NASDAQ: COIN on TradingView.com
NFTs In Your Happy Meal?
McDonald’s China celebrated their 31st anniversary in style this week. The fast food giant announced their first-ever NFT along with a new headquarters office in Shanghai this week.
McDonald’s will release the “Big Mac Cube” NFT, inspired by the new headquarters building.
The company joins a growing rank of food and beverage firms to get their feet wet in NFTs, including fast food chains like Burger King and Taco Bell, and beverage brands like Budweiser and most recently, Bacardi.
Could ViacomCBS Be The Next Firm To Take IP To NFTs?
ViacomCBS has partnered up with NFT start-up Recur this week. The move will likely signal some iconic IP and media franchises that could be making their way to the wild world of digital collectibles next year.
ViacomCBS is the conglomerate of legacy media brands like CBS, MTV, Showtime, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and more. Recur is currently building NFTU.com, and aims to standardize NFT royalties across various blockchains.
Interested in a Spongebob Squarepants NFT? You might just have a shot in the coming year courtesy of this partnership, so stay tuned. The dedicated ViacomCBS platform, whitelabeled from Recur, is expected to launch in the spring of 2022.
Related Reading | Under The Radar NFT Marketplaces To Keep Your Eye On
Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.com