NEAR Protocol news: Partnership with Google Cloud

Web3 games and Metaverse projects raised $748M

KSI NFT and crypto investments

Exploring the Bitcoin Motion Trading Bot Scam

Hugo Boss NFT line and Metaverse experience

Ripple’s partnerships to revolutionise carbon markets

Magic Eden NFT marketplace journey

Ethermine switches off servers after Ethereum Merge

Cardano and Samsung team up to tackle climate change

Jay Z invests in cryptopunk NFT and Bitski

UK Crypto License Update

Kim Kardashian Crypto Ad Controversy

Next month marks Hugo Boss's [first](https://imaginary-ones_1.prowly.com/209331-hugo-partners-with-imaginary-ones-to-launch-exclusive-nft-collection) NFT collection and encounter with the Metaverse. The fashion company described its entry into the Metaverse as a crucial milestone in "refreshing" the brand internationally. 

The NFT collection is set to debut in early November 2022 to encourage everyone to connect with and own their emotions, whether happy or sad and should embrace them as such. Freedom in expressing emotion can significantly improve mental health and overall well-being in the opinion of their project partner, Imaginary Ones. 

## Hugo Boss NFT collection  

Embrace Your Emotions (EYE) will be the collection's title, featuring 1,001 NTFs with 3D animations. Each will feature one of six different characters—five symbolising joy, sadness, fear, anger, and love, which are all human emotions. A sixth extraordinary character will mix all five emotions to commemorate National Health Day on October 10. 

This evidence-based mental health programme is currently offered to over 85,000 teens in 16 countries, allowing young teens aged 13 to 17 to learn about and explore the issue of mental health.

An allowlist will grant access to the HUGO x Imaginary Ones EYE collection and the ability to purchase the NFTs. Customers who buy a unique "phygital" T-shirt will be assigned 500 of the 1,000 allowlist places available. There will be 500 limited-edition T-shirts with a QR code connecting users to a Snapchat Lens to create a distinctive augmented reality effect. 

From October 4 onwards, the remaining 500 allowlist slots will be granted to existing holders of the Imaginary Ones' [genesis NFT collection](/news/article/meta-facebook-nft) and through various activities on the Imaginary Ones' Twitter and Discord platforms.

## Further rewards for Hugo Boss NFT collection holders

Holders of the EYE [NFT](/news/article/jay-z-cryptopunks-nft) will enjoy a 10% discount valid for ten months at all Hugo Boss outlets globally. Furthermore, all holders will have access to Imaginary Ones' staking ecosystem, which provides holders with a set of HUGO x 10 products, including wearables, experiences, and other content.  








Wardell Stephen Curry II, born March 14, 1988, is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time and the most excellent shooter in NBA history. He is credited with revolutionizing the sport by inspiring teams and players to shoot more three-pointers.

## Stephen Curry bought Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT

Stephen Curry recently paid 55 ETH ($180,000) for a [Bored Ape](/news/article/how-to-buy-monkey-nft) Yacht Club NFT.

His Bored Ape #7990 NFT depicts a blue-fur ape dressed in a brown tweed suit and sporting green zombie eyes. Currently, his (username SC30) Bored Ape is being bid on for 39.61 ETH ($125,700), significantly less than he paid.
 
## Stephen Curry's Partnership with Under Armour

Under Armour, a sportswear company based in the United States, has [announced](https://lab.currybrand.com/currycounter) that they will release NFTs to commemorate every three-point shot made by NBA star Stephen Curry during the current playoffs.

The Stephen Curry NFTs will be given out to fans on a first-come, first-served basis. It will include 'serums,’ kept in digital wallets that allow owners to customize their avatars' appearance.

For every three-pointer Curry makes in a playoff game, the most active Golden State Warriors fans can collect three free digital Basketballs. It will be released under the Curry Brand.

## How can a user get NFTs released by Under Armour?

Before proceeding to the 'Reserve an NF3 Basketball' option, fans must first link their MetaMask wallet to the website. When a Basketball is available for reservation, Steph's fans can click 'Agree to Terms & Conditions and then 'Reserve.'

Users must then scroll down to the 'NF3 Basketball Winners' section to determine whether or not they have successfully reserved a Basketball. After verification, they should scroll down to 'NF3 Counter' and select 'Claim' one hour after the game.

The reserve button will be activated when Curry makes a three-pointer in the Playoffs. Pressing Reserve does not guarantee NF3 Basketball. The first person to click 'Reserve' will secure an [NFT](/news/article/free-nfts), but they must pay the gas fee.
If a user has successfully reserved a Basketball NFT, they cannot book another one until the next game. 

## Stephen Curry 2974 NFT collection

Offered in collaboration with the 2974 Collection, this is a special "Birthday Game" [2974 Collection NFT](https://www.2974sc.com/) commemorating Stephen Curry's impressive performance against the New York Knicks on March 14, 2015. Steph's 27th birthday also doubles as an invitation to his exclusive, upcoming birthday celebration, where, among other things, the winner will receive an opportunity to play basketball with the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player.

Curry's historic three-pointer inspired the development of his famous 2974 Collection, which was named one of five finalists in the NFT NYC Awards' Most Impactful for Charity category. It's worth noting that Curry donates 100% of the 2974 Collection NFT profits to charity, specifically his Foundation [eatlearnplay.org](https://www.eatlearnplay.org/).

This historic NFT is a thrilling remembrance of the future Hall of Famer and Golden State Warriors icon, appearing in his sixth NBA Finals since 2014-15.

Exclusive merchandise, game trivia giveaways, autographs, memorabilia, and more are available to all 2974 Collection NFT holders. Curry has also participated in video sessions on the Discord channel for the 2974 Collection.

Stephen Curry's involvement in the [NFT](/news/article/nft-land) market will make other sports professionals dive into this space. This would also encourage many different companies to embrace blockchain technology and launch new NFTs in partnership with other celebrities. 



Stephen Curry NFT involvements

Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ Olatunji", better known as KSI, is a British rapper and YouTuber. He began gaining followers in 2009 when he launched his youtube channel and began posting video commentary on the FIFA video game series. 

After 12 years, the 28-year-old artist now has over 37 million subscribers. He's been named to the Sunday Times' Top 100 UK Influencers' and Tubular Labs' 'UK's Most Influential YouTube Creators' lists, and his channels have received over 8.5 billion views.

## KSI NFT investments

KSI has joined the Bored Ape Yacht Club after purchasing a [Bored Ape](/news/article/bored-ape-nft) and kennel club dog.

In his [Twitter post](https://twitter.com/ksi/status/1429770910794403840?lang=en), he tweeted: " I've given in and bought an NFT. A Bored Ape Yacht Club"

![ksi 1.png](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod-monitalks-media/ksi_1_c44c15d60e.png)

KSI holds the Bored Ape #2105. The NFT is a five-trait, bored-looking, unshaven mouth, golden brown fur ape dressed in a prison jumpsuit. KSI purchased the NFT for 25.4169 ETH, or about USD 83,875.

The following day, he tweeted: "I've paid over $23000 for a glowing dog."

He also bought glowing dog #2144 from the Bored Ape Kennel Club. BAKC golden dog is a radioactive fur puppy wearing a purple headband and a BAYC life preserver.

![ksi 2.png](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod-monitalks-media/ksi_2_c16f5a1460.png)

## KSI crypto investments

The British rapper had a hard time with crypto. He lost around $2.8 million in the [Terra Luna crash](/news/article/terra-usd). The rapper claimed he purchased 100,000 Terra coins when the price dropped and had decided to hold them for a long time. But, with the [Luna crash](/news/article/terra-luna-collapse), he lost almost his entire value of his Luna investment. 

Before this, the rapper also claimed that he lost around 2 million pounds in crypto investments around Nov-Dec 2020, hoping to get good returns.

Crypto is a volatile space. It's always advised to conduct in-depth research before investing in the cryptocurrency market. 




The Financial Conduct Authority ([FCA](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-establishes-temporary-registration-regime-cryptoasset-businesses)), responsible for cryptocurrency regulation in the UK, has closed its TRR program. The TRR, or Temporary Registration Regime, was a scheme that allowed digital asset firms to get an interim UK [crypto license](/news/tag/crypto-legal-news). 

Through it, the firms could start their operations in the country while they wait for complete registration. 

However, now the FCA has ended the temporary licensing program for the companies. This step was taken after the digital banking platform [Revolut](/news/article/revolut-news-approved-eea) acquired FCA registration. The company was the last among five waiting for the regulators' approval. As it secured the authorisation, regulators shut down the program.

## UK crypto license TRR initiative

The British regulators took the initiative of interim authorisation in 2020. At that time, it was for the virtual asset firms already providing their services in the country. More than 100 cryptocurrency-related firms entered this scheme to acquire the regulatory body's approval. However, it only deemed 38 among them to be following the [regulations](/news/tag/regulation).  

The program would have been shut down earlier as the British regulatory body announced March 31 as the deadline for complete approval. However, a few companies, including Revolut, got an extension to secure the approval. 

Five digital asset firms were still working in the country in early April without complete authorisation. Besides Revolut, [CEX.io](https://cex.io/), [GlobalBlock](https://www.globalblock.eu/), [Copper.co](https://copper.co/), and [Moneybrain](https://www.moneybrain.com/) were the remaining companies. All these four companies were denied authorisation or withdrew themselves by the end of June. 

On the other hand, Revolut remained the last company on the list. It secured registration in September, marking the TRR program’s end for a license. 

British regulators are known for their absolute measures for [anti-money laundering regulations](/news/article/crypto-aml). That’s why cryptocurrency firms do not get registered easily in the country. With the closing of TRR licensing, they have ensured that non-registered companies [do not operate](/news/article/ftx-uk-ban) in the country.


Web3 games and Metaverse projects have taken the industry by storm. Some of the games driving the rise of blockchain gaming include Axie Infinity, Splinterlands, Alien Worlds, Crazy Defense Heroes, Sky Mavis, and The Sandbox. Not only have these games enabled players all over the world to make money, but they have also introduced innovative mechanics and partnerships.
 
Similarly, Metaverse projects have piqued people's interest by introducing ingenious ways for users to interact with one another in 3D space.

As per a report released by the data acquisition and analysis company DappRadar, [Web3-based games and Metaverse projects have raised $748 million](https://beat.10ztalk.com/2022/09/12/web3-games-and-metaverse-projects-raised-748-million-in-august-report/) since August 1, 2022. 

Axie Infinity, one of the most popular games in the field, has surpassed $4 billion in all-time NFT sales, with approximately 36,000 new daily players joining in the last three months.

Despite the ongoing market downturn, blockchain-based games continue to garner attention. According to DappRadar, companies in that field and Metaverse projects have raised approximately $748 million since the beginning of August. This is a 135% increase over July but a 16% decrease from June's figures.

Gabriel Leydon, the founder of Machine Zone, made one of the largest investments of $200 million in Web3 games.
Temasek, a Singaporean investment firm, led the latest $100 million funding round for Animoca Brands to increase the company's exposure in the sector. 

Xterio, a cross-platform publisher and developer of high-quality mobile and web3 games secured a $40 million fundraising round. 

Last year, the gaming space raised around $4 billion. This figure has already been surpassed in 2022, with investments totalling around $7 billion. If current trends continue, the figure is expected to reach $10.2 billion by 2022.

## DappRadar July report

At the end of July this year, the firm determined that blockchain games and Metaverse projects appear to be faring much better than other industry segments during the crypto winter. 

According to the report, unique active wallets (UAWs) decreased by 7% in Q2 compared to the previous quarter. This meant that people were still interacting with blockchain decentralised applications at nearly the same rate as before the [Terra collapse](/news/article/terra-luna-collapse).
 
 



[Ripple has partnered with Thallo](https://beat.10ztalk.com/2022/10/05/ripple-partnership-for-a-carbon-credit-marketplace/) to create a blockchain-based carbon credit marketplace.

Climate Collective and Thallo have joined forces to create a Web3-based marketplace that will use the [XRP](/news/article/ripple-price-prediction) Ledger to ensure the immutability of information and increase transparency and efficiency.

![ripplr.png](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod-monitalks-media/ripplr_0b21900a47.png)

## What is a carbon credit? 

The right to discharge one ton of CO2 or an equivalent amount of other greenhouse gases (tCO2e) into the atmosphere is effectively represented by the term "carbon credit."

The primary goal of establishing these credits is to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sectors to lessen the consequences of global warming.

Companies that release too much CO2 into the atmosphere have long been compelled to purchase these credits from other businesses that produce energy without releasing harmful carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

## Ripple-Thallo partnership

Thallo hopes to democratise the carbon credit market by enabling direct matching between buyers and sellers.
By facilitating the direct matching between high-quality buyers and sellers, it seeks to address issues with conventional markets, particularly liquidity and price data opacity.

Ripples' XRP Ledger is a decentralised public blockchain already carbon-neutral, and the company's focus is to integrate its protocol as a database tool to expand green energy projects.

In alignment with Ripple's commitment to supporting carbon neutrality in the cryptocurrency industry, Thallo is working to contribute to the market to increase liquidity, scalability, and price accessibility. 

Along with [Ripple](/news/article/xrp-court-case-update), [VenTree Innovations](https://ventreeinnovations.com/), InPlanet, BioFix, and TrendCO2e are the other founding partners of the new platform. The Carbon Business Council and Crypto Climate Accord are signed as the project's integrity partners. [Chainlink](/news/article/chainlink-news), Aklimate, and Celo Foundation are three of the 14 innovation partners of the Thallo.

Climate change issues have been a top concern for leading nations. For the first time in 2021, voluntary carbon credit markets had a total market capitalisation of almost $2 billion and are forecast to rise to $150 billion in the following eight years. Many private businesses and organisations, both large and small, have committed to achieving several notably ambitious climate goals. Carbon credits will be in high demand to support these goals.
 

 
 



The use of cryptocurrency trading bots has proliferated widely by experienced and novice crypto traders. Like a trading bot on a traditional financial market, crypto trading bots are used to execute potentially profitable trades automatically.

As these platforms are so common in the cryptocurrency industry, many cryptocurrency trading bot scams exist. However, numerous websites have verified that the one we are discussing today: The Bitcoin Motion trading bot, is a scam you must avoid at all costs. 

The scam works by luring people with promises of easy returns on Bitcoin for a simple fee of $250. They claim that investors have a dedicated account manager on call that they can reach and can withdraw at any time. This was proven to be fake. Luckily, helpful websites exist created by teams of people who care about informing the general public about crypto trading bot scams. 

One way to find out about scam crypto trading bots like Bitcoin Motion is [Scam Crypto Robots](https://scamcryptorobots.com/bitcoin-motion-review-scam/). According to this website, Bitcoin Motion trading bot users reported being unable to withdraw their money from a broker entitled “Coin Central Invest”, a registered business in Sophia, Bulgaria. Shady doesn’t even begin to describe it. 

This Bitcoin Motion scam has even gone so far as to use the names of celebrities like Elon Musk and create fake videos of him “endorsing” it. 

According to the Scam Crypto Bots site, all five of the Bitcoin Motion websites it found were discovered to be fake scams. 

However, after all this, it begs the question…

## Do real crypto trading bots exist? 

There are multiple ways to recognize a fake or scam crypto trading bot. 

1. They promise guaranteed returns
Markets are unpredictable. Therefore, how can anyone promise guaranteed returns? Advertising such promises are illegal in traditional financial markets.

2. Free
Rarely is a proper trading algorithm going to be free. The best one can hope for is a simulation or demo from a real trusted brokerage. 

3. Disclosure 
Who are the people behind the company? Who developed the bot? Is the info available on their software? Do they have any documentation or whitepaper of their procedure? 

Bitcoin Motion has been proven to be a scam and is re-used on a white-label basis by multiple shady agencies. Be aware, and protect your money. 

Be very careful when looking to trade cryptocurrency online. Reliable blue chip exchanges like [Coinbase](https://www.coinbase.com) are secure and are your best bet when investing in crypto. Real crypto trading bots do exist, such as Pionex. Such companies undergo heavy scrutiny, and a good way is to read the many reviews online. 

The basic steps you can take to protect yourself from crypto fraud are first to ensure the following:

1. Is my wallet protected?
Is your wallet legitimate in the first place? Also, if any company or individual asks for your wallet key to participate in an investment opportunity, it is probably a scam. Never give away your private crypto wallet key.

2. Watch your wallet
Makes sure you are constantly watching for strange transactions or security alerts from your wallet. If it’s your first time using a crypto wallet, only transfer a small amount of money as a test. 

3. Don’t rush! 
Take your time learning the world of crypto and read up on the legitimacy of any project you are interested in. Do your due diligence, and never believe anyone promising free money.

Ultimately, if something looks shady in the cryptocurrency world, it probably is. 

At best, the Bitcoin motion scam will take your $250. At worst, scammers will steal your financial records or identity. 



[Kim Kardashian has been fined $1.26 million](https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2022/10/03/kim-kardashian-fined-for-cryptocurrency-promotion-heres-what-it-means-for-crypto/?sh=d7cef2e39356) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for not disclosing that she received payment for an ad about crypto token EthereumMax on her social media accounts.

This might indicate that the SEC plans to impose more restrictions on the cryptocurrency industry.
Unexpectedly, Kim Kardashian was penalised by the SEC for allegedly participating in this cryptocurrency "pump and dump" scheme. 

## Kim Kardashian barred from endorsing cryptocurrencies for three years

This became a legal issue because the Kim Kardashian crypto ad was a planned marketing strategy. One more surprising factor is that the lengthy list of influencers endorsing cryptocurrencies has been condensed.

Since it may cause additional problems for other celebrities who have supported cryptocurrency or wish to do so in the future, this story has attracted much media attention.

The $1.26 million amount accounts for the $250,000 she received for the marketing and interest and a $1 million penalty. She also consented to refrain from promoting cryptocurrency assets for three years while helping with the current inquiry. 

The crypto industry is facing a strong bear market. There is a fear that we could see more legal disputes and litigation in the future, ultimately leading to more blood baths in the crypto space.

## A long list of celebrities has faced similar controversies

[Elon Musk has been sued for $258 billion](/news/article/elon-musk-dogecoin) over allegations that he created a pyramid scheme to market Dogecoin. Also, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and DJ Khaled have been charged with promoting initial coin offerings (ICOs) without letting their followers know they had been paid to do so.

## What does this controversy mean for the Bitcoin and crypto industry?

The SEC released a video advising the public to exercise caution when following investment advice from well-known people and social media influencers.

Other celebrities and influencers could also avoid advertising ICOs due to the Kim Kardashian crypto ad controversy, which could somewhat mean lower exposure to new coins.

However, this news doesn't mean anything to Bitcoin prices and other crypto coins. But we could soon see more [regulations from the SEC](/news/article/us-sec-regulation).


Etheremine, Ethereum’s largest mining service provider by computing power, switched off its servers on September 15th, 2022, after Ethereum transitioned from a proof of work to a proof of stake consensus mechanism.

The mining service has been in operation for seven years and mined 3,271,518 blocks and 9,836,656 Ether, announced on its Twitter page and [official website](https://ethermine.org/announcement). Its users would no longer be able to connect their miners to the Ethereum pool.

## The Merge

Ethereum’s transition to [proof of stake (PoS)](/news/article/pos-vs-pow), dubbed the [Merge](/news/article/ethereum-the-merge), was a highly anticipated event that had been in the works for a while. The Merge replaced miners with validators. The network now relies on validators to validate transactions and security.
Before the Merge, Ether mining had developed into a multi-billion industry. More than a million people across the globe with mining equipment worth over $10 billion had at a particular time mined Ether.

The process involved miners competing to solve complex mathematical problems to earn the block rewards. Only the first miner to solve the computational problems got the rewards. 

The need for expensive mining hardware and more computational power grew as the process became more competitive. It is this need that led to the existence of mining pools like Etheremine. 

The service aggregates computing power from a group of miners to increase the probability of winning Ether. The reward would then be distributed among miners based on their contribution. The pools charged some fees for their services.

## Staking Service

In anticipation of the Merge, in August 2022, Etheremine launched a staking pool for its users. The new service offered via BitFly enabled users to stake their Ether and earn interest on their deposits. 

Unlike other platforms, Ethermine allows users to invest as little as 0.1ETH and earn yields for lending. However, in terms of the service fees, the lower a user’s holding, the higher the fees.

The platform allows those who wish to participate in ETH staking and earn but don’t have the required 32ETH. 

Before its [Ethermine Staking](https://staking.ethermine.org/) service, the platform debuted [Ethpool](https://ethpool.org/), a solo staking platform that requires users to have at least 32ETH. At the time of writing, the platform has 469 validators and guarantees 5.5% APR.

It is worth noting that those who participate in ETH staking will not be able to withdraw their earnings until the Shanghai Upgrade, another major upgrade to the Ether network. However, a precise date for the Shanghai upgrade is yet to be determined.

Also, the Merge, though a highly anticipated event, was not a welcomed network upgrade for all ETH holders. A few coin holders wished to continue using the network as a proof of work mechanism. Ethermine has no plans to support the planned PoW forks.

Although the Ethereum network has stopped mining, users can continue to use the platform’s other affiliated servers to mine Ergo (ERGO), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Beam (BEAM, and Ravencoin (RVN).



Shawn Corey Carter, better known as Jay Z, is a multi-platinum selling hip hop artist widely regarded as the most influential rapper. He is also considered an extremely successful businessman, having founded several multimillion-dollar corporations, including Rocawear, a clothing firm with more than $700 million in annual sales. He is known for collecting fine art and mentioned artists like Picasso in his songs.

## Jay Z's Cryptopunk Twitter profile picture

[Jay Z's Twitter profile picture](https://twitter.com/sc) has been changed to a CryptoPunk NFT that he bought from OpenSea for $126,000; the punk replicates his iconographic hair. 

![jay z 1.png](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod-monitalks-media/jay_z_1_b82cdaa19e.png)

Jay Z paid 55 ETH for one of the 10,000 CryptoPunks on April 25. This punk has an African American male wearing a gold chain, a feature that few punks have. His Twitter accounts profile picture changed on June 25.

## Jay Z drops his Reasonable Doubt as NFT.

Jay Z collaborated on creating an NFT with Derrick Adams, a multidisciplinary artist and professor at Brooklyn College. Adams' work takes many forms, including painting, collage, sculpture, performance, video, and sound installations. 

Derrick Adams designed an NFT celebrating Jay Z's debut album 'Reasonable Doubt' on its 25th anniversary. The NFT featured captivating imagery and animated elements and was sold at Sotheby's for $139,000. The physical artwork is also owned by Jay Z. A portion of the profit was donated to The Shawn Carter Foundation.

![jay z 2.png](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod-monitalks-media/jay_z_2_311b18b9ca.png)

Derrick Adams created the work in his fragmented style. He was able to animate certain aspects of the piece in the NFT version, such as creating a red glow for the cigar Jay Z is holding, making signature diamond jewellery sparkle, and manipulating the smoke from the cigar to transform into the number 25. The piece incorporates many elements from the original 'Reasonable Doubt' album cover. It also adds a unique twist with advanced animations.

Sotheby auctioned off the piece- one of the leading fine art auction houses, from June 29, 2021, to July 3, 2021, bidding starting at $1,000. The auction took place concurrently in the popular blockchain game-Decentraland's Voltaire Art District.

## Jay Z sued Damon Dash

Jay Z co-founded the record label Roc-A-Fella Records (RAF) with Damon Dash, an entrepreneur who has appeared in films and is a successful record executive.

Jay Z sued Damon Dash for attempting to sell the 'Reasonable Doubt' NFT. Damon Dash holds a small portion of the record label, and his lawyers have stated that he lacks the authority to sell a company asset unilaterally.

Damon Dash attempted to sell the NFT by partnering with the NFT marketplace platform SuperFarm. As a result, RAF lawyers advised SuperFarm to cancel the auction. According to the record label, Dash was still looking for alternative marketplaces to sell the NFT.

As of 2022, Damon Dash and Jay Z have decided to settle their legal cases. Dash is not allowed to "in any way dispose of any property interest in 'Reasonable Doubt,'" even though he is still allowed to sell his one-third ownership in Roc-A-Fella in the future.

## Influence of Jay Z in the NFT space

Jay Z is a well-known musician who has founded numerous profitable businesses. He is also regarded as a wise investor. He is one of the few pop culture figures indulging in the crypto industry. As time passes, more influencers, athletes, and musicians are entering the blockchain world.

Jay Z CryptoPunks Twitter profile photo's continued use is probably making many musicians wonder how NFTs can be applied to the music industry.

As an investor, he has made several significant pre-IPO investments, including Uber. More recently, he invested $19 million into Bitski, a platform for buying and selling NFTs through a secure wallet.

Bitski has the potential to be a powerful NFT marketplace for musicians and record labels looking to sell albums as NFTs. Bitski is also compatible with [blockchain](https://news.monitalks.io/articles/learn-moni/what-is-blockchain)-based games. Other artists and musicians may get influenced by Jay Z NFT investments as he has proved himself to be a successful investor.




Launched on September 17th, 2021, Magic Eden is the largest and most popular NFT marketplace on the Solana blockchain. Its pros are its low transaction costs and no fees for listing NFTs. It also stands out with its usability, community-focused features, and diversity of projects.

In June 2022, the project made headlines when it raised $130 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its valuation to $1.6 billion. The funding round was co-led by Electric Capital and Greylock and included investors like LightSpeed Venture Partners, Paradigm, and Sequoia Capital.

Three months prior, it had raised $27 million in its Series A funding round led by Paradigm, Sequoia, and Solana Ventures.
Its $1.6 billion valuation put it on par with the Series B of OpenSea, another popular and leading NFT marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain.

According to a press release, the money raised will be allocated to expand its primary and secondary marketplaces, look into multichain opportunities, and improve its products, among other things. 

Since its launch, its primary marketplace, Launchpad, has launched over 250 projects, while its secondary marketplace has more than 7,000 listed collections. According to a statement from Solana, the platform’s secondary marketplace is responsible for 92% of NFT volume on Solana.

## Magic Eden expands to Ethereum

True to their word, in August 2022, Magic Eden began its move to Ethereum. It has supported several significant ETH NFT collections, including Bored Ape Yacht Club and Pudgy Penguins.

According to [its CEO and co-founder Jack Lu](https://decrypt.co/110185/magic-eden-ceo-very-natural-to-expand-from-solana-to-ethereum-nfts), going multichain had always been the plan. The company, however, decided to start with Solana because it looked like a frontier ecosystem at the time of its launch in 2021.

Lu admitted that there was worry among the platform’s team about how its SOL-centric audience would react to the announcement of its expansion to Ethereum.

When asked about the platform’s addition of the ETH protocol, Lu said, “For us to move from SOL to ETH, it was very natural.” 
[Ethereum](/coins/eth) is the largest ecosystem in terms of the overall trading volume. It holds most of the highest-value projects and has plenty of users, which are pluses for the marketplace. Lu also added that there is a lot to learn from the blockchain ecosystem.

According to Lu, expanding to Ethereum is only the beginning for Magic Eden. There are plans to expand to many more blockchains in the future.
 



According to the latest [NEAR protocol](https://near.org/) news, the [NEAR Foundation](https://near.foundation/), the company behind the blockchain and dApp platform, announced a [new partnership](https://near.org/blog/near-teams-with-google-cloud-to-accelerate-web3-startups/) with Google Cloud. Google Cloud will provide technical support to NEAR grant recipients as part of this collaboration.

![near.png](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod-monitalks-media/near_38ae2b5e0e.png)

In this new partnership, Google Cloud will provide the infrastructure for the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) node provider to Pagoda, NEAR's Web3 startup platform, allowing developers to deploy code quickly, securely, and seamlessly.

Carlos Arena, director of digital assets at Google Cloud, said in a statement that their company will provide Near developers a "secure, reliable, and sustainable cloud infrastructure on which they can build and scale" and that the company will continue to support "new products and services on blockchain-based platforms."

## NEAR protocol

[Near protocol](/news/article/near-protocol) is a layer 1one blockchain and dApp platform that works on a [proof-of-stake](/news/article/pos-vs-pow) mechanism. It offers developers a platform to create decentralised applications (DApps).

The platform is proud of its approach to blockchain applications, which is user-friendly, and it has grown significantly in the last year.

The protocol is now used in over 800 projects. The NEAR network now has over 20 million accounts, 200 million transactions to date, and 300,000 to 400,000 transactions per day.

## Pagoda

Pagoda is a startup platform, launched in February 2022. It provides [Web3](/articles/learn-moni/web-3.0-crypto) developers on Near with a full-stack toolset for building, launching, and maintaining their Web3 projects or DApps on the blockchain.

The startup platform enables developers to quickly and easily launch DApps on NEAR through a library of pre-audited templates and automatically generated contract user interfaces.

## Google Cloud is getting into the blockchain

In January, Google Cloud established a new digital assets team to support the development and evolution of the blockchain ecosystem. The digital asset team is dedicated to assisting customers in creating, trading, and launching new products on blockchain-based platforms.

The company inked a similar partnership with Binance's smart contract platform [BNB Chain](/news/article/bnb-chain-security-system) in September, allowing startups building products and services on the BNB Chain to also build on Google Cloud's scalable, secure, and open-source infrastructure.

The company has also recently partnered with Fortress Blockchain Technologies, a Web3 infrastructure company, to launch The Fortress Vault, a new NFT database solution built on Google Cloud's infrastructure.
 



The climate crisis is, without a doubt, one of the most significant challenges for humanity. And if we are to tackle it, we need actionable strategies. [Blockchain](/news/article/blockchain-energy-fud) is one solution that can substantially help in combating climate change. Several initiatives have deployed this tech to track institutions' [carbon footprints](/articles/our-news/sustainable-future).

One such initiative is the Cardano Samsung partnership for a massive planting drive. The tech giant [Samsung](https://www.samsung.com/uk/) has launched a new project with Cardano's [Veritree](https://www.veritree.com/) for reforestation, aiming to provide nature-preserving solutions.

Let's learn how this smartphone enterprise is leveraging a crypto-based platform to tackle climate change!

## Cardano Samsung partnership

At the beginning of this year, one of the world's most renowned smartphone manufacturing companies, Samsung, launched a [project](https://news.samsung.com/us/samsung-veritree-plant-millions-trees-fight-climate-change/) to confront climate change. The company joined forces with a plantation management firm, Veritree. The plan of this project is the conservation of forests in Madagascar.

The Veritree platform assists in environmental solutions by leveraging blockchain tech. The Cardano Network powers this platform. That's why Samsung would collaborate with the [ADA token](/news/article/ada-coin-price-prediction) blockchain for its eco-friendly initiative. Together these firms will be working on the reforestation of Madagascar forests with Mangroves.

## Cardano Samsung tree planting drive via Veritree

Veritree is an innovative firm that offers reforestation as a service. Its plantation management system has a verifiable mechanism to bring transparency. The firm aims to plant over 1 billion trees in a decade by assisting different companies in their eco-friendly projects. 

This project is taking place in different regions of the Republic of Madagascar. These regions include Mahabana, Kandrany, and Mariano Mangrove. For this purpose, Mangroves are selected as they can quickly grow in these coastal regions. Veritree set the target of planting 2,000,000 trees in the first quarter of 2022 and has successfully achieved it.

![cardano samsung 1.png](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod-monitalks-media/cardano_samsung_1_18ad489ffc.png)
 
Since a verifiable system is used, anyone can track the stats for this plantation drive. Besides the tree count, it shows the area covered, and the tonnes of CO2 absorbed from the environment due to reforesting. According to their stats, reforestation has covered 200 hectares and reduced approximately 431,225 tonnes of CO2 from the environment.  

## What lies ahead for Cardano and Samsung?

Samsung is a tech giant that primarily deals in smartphones and other electronics. On the other hand, Cardano is a famous blockchain ecosystem that includes various [DeFi](/articles/learn-moni/what-is-a-defi-token) projects. Both of them are quite distinct from each other. Yet, they share one common goal: to thrive in the crypto space and reduce atmospheric carbon emissions. 

The smartphone behemoth has already announced plans to enter the space. Samsung plans to build a [crypto exchange](/news/article/samsung-south-korea-exchange) in South Korea by 2023. It also aims to develop a unique NFT marketplace which consumers can explore through their smart TV. It will be an in-built feature in the company's smart TVs that will supposedly make trading NFT easier; a few reports suggest that the brand might leverage the ADA's blockchain for its marketplace. 

Cardano's network is one of the most popular blockchains. However, it has not yet reached the level of its competitors because of its low price. That's why its plans also involve experimenting with novel ideas like Veritree. 

The protocol recently went through a [hard fork upgrade](/news/article/cardano-hard-fork) to upscale its performance. The network might also seek expansion in African countries. So, it may create an opportunity for this network to work with the tech giant on other projects. 
Not only that, Cardano is planning numerous on-chain and off-chain developments. This may include increasing block size, updating Plutus, and improving nodes.   

## Samsung and blockchain technology

A smartphone manufacturer's name is not common in the crypto world. However, this company is looking to change this trend. The Cardano-Samsung partnership is not the only instance for blockchain use. 

The [Samsung blockchain](https://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/apps/samsung-blockchain/) is already live. It includes a Keystore and wallet that you can use to process your daily transactions. A decentralised crypto exchange is also part of the plans to enter the crypto world, which is planned to roll out in 2023. As the company is looking to capitalise on the crypto market, exposure to Cardano via Veritree can be beneficial.  
 



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