SEC Issues Wells Notice to Opensea, Alleging NFTs on the Marketplace Are Securities

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a Wells notice to Opensea, signaling potential enforcement action against the NFT marketplace. Opensea’s CEO criticized the SEC’s move, claiming it could negatively impact innovation and creators’ livelihoods. The platform is prepared to contest the action and has committed $5 million to support NFT creators facing … Read more

Tech Industry Leaders Call for AI Labs to Pause Development for Safety, Coinbase CEO Disagrees

This week, 2,600 tech industry moguls and entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk, Gary Marcus, and Steve Wozniak, signed an open letter requesting artificial intelligence (AI) labs to pause research and development for six months. The signatories believe that safety programs and regulations need to be strengthened, as they assert that AI labs are currently in an … Read more

Meta Winding Down Support for NFTs on Facebook, Instagram

U.S. tech giant Meta is giving up on operations with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) amid ongoing turbulence in the crypto space. The company allowed creators to share digital collectibles on its leading social media platforms last year. Meta Platforms Cutting Off Support for Non-Fungible Tokens California-based technology conglomerate Meta is winding down support for digital collectibles … Read more

NFT Creators Investigated in Israel for Alleged Tax Evasion

Israel’s tax authority is after two creators of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) suspected of failing to report almost $2.2 million in revenue. The news of the investigation comes after the recent arrest of a graphic designer from Tel Aviv accused of similar offenses. Thousands of ‘Western Wall NFTs’ Allegedly Sold Without Tax Reporting Israel Tax Authority … Read more

Meta Opens Monetization Options to Users of Horizon Worlds

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is now launching a pilot project that will let users in Horizon Worlds, its VR metaverse platform, monetize their creations. This pilot will allow a number of users to collect payments for access to their created environments, or for virtual items sold in these worlds. Meta will also … Read more

Immutable Raises $200 Million in Temasek-Led Series C, NFT Startup Now Valued at $2.5 Billion

Following the startup’s partnership with Gamestop, the Sydney-based blockchain firm Immutable announced it raised $200 million in a Series C financing round led by Temasek. The company is now valued at $2.5 billion and Immutable plans to use the funds to scale the startup’s gaming studio. Immutable Raises $200 Million, NFT Startup Aims to Bolster … Read more

Video Game Retailer Gamestop Partners With L2 Startup Immutable X, Launches $100 Million NFT Fund

Last May it was discovered that the video game retail giant Gamestop was stepping into the world of non-fungible token (NFT) technology. Nine months later, Gamestop has revealed it is partnering with the layer two (L2) Ethereum scaling project, Immutable X. The two teams have also established a $100 million fund dedicated to NFT creator … Read more

Patreon Considers Allowing Creators to Use Crypto for Monetization

Patreon, the membership platform, is pondering the idea of letting creators in its platform issue their own creator coins. The statement, that constituted a revelation, was offered by Patreon CEO and co-founder Jack Conte and Chief Product Officer Julian Gutman during The Information’s 2021 Creator Economy Summit. This is consistent with a report presented last … Read more