Search results: entertainment

Hollywood executive producer Niels Juul, who produced “The Irishman,” has founded a new startup called NFT Studios, in hopes of fully funding a film with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Fast facts The startup’s first film, “A Wing and a Prayer,” will be based on the true story of Brian Milton, the first man to fly around […]

Distinguished names in South Korean industry have invested in Hashed Venture Fund II to promote the Web3 ecosystem.

The firm behind legendary sci-fi series Star Trek, Roddenberry Entertainment, has immortalized a key moment in entertainment history — in a way that may in time become an equally iconic moment in blockchain history. Gene Roddenberry’s signature on the first contract between himself and Lucille Ball’s Desilu Productions, which made Star Trek a reality, has […]

Shiba Inu and Luna on a tear, also K-pop bets on digital assets

The impresario behind superstars BTOB and (G)I-DLE tells Forkast.News there’s ‘no upper limit’ to how much Cube will invest in NFTs and a metaverse for concerts.

South Korea-based Naver Z Corporation — the operator of metaverse platform Zepeto — raised 223.5 billion Korean won, or about US$189 million in a Series B round, which included investments from SoftBank, Mirae Asset and three of K-pop’s largest talent agencies. Fast facts Japan’s SoftBank led the funding round by investing about US$148 million in Naver […]

Dunamu, the operator of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, launched a beta service of “Upbit NFT,” an NFT (non-fungible token) trading platform, while another K-pop agency, FNC Entertainment, plans to launch its first NFT collection. Fast facts Upbit NFT consists of two sections, Drops and Marketplace. Drops is where NFTs will be put up for […]

As interest in the metaverse continues to gain pace, big names in entertainment including Snoop Dogg, deadmau5 and Shaun Neff have joined leading crypto VC firm Outlier Ventures to invest and advise start-ups to accelerate the Open Metaverse. Fast facts Since launching its Base Camp Accelerator in 2019, Outlier Ventures has helped raise over US$250 […]

A ticket to the metaverse is highly coveted in South Korea, whether it’s by an individual, a public company or a city government.

NetEase, a Chinese video gaming company, said on a Q3 earnings call the company “will be one of the fastest runners in the metaverse space.” Fast facts Margaret Shi, investor relations director at NetEase, said the company has been “technologically ready” for the metaverse and knows how to accumulate metaverse-related technology. With gaming making up […]

Circle invests in JYPC meanwhile Baby Shark NFTs announced

South Korean financial companies bring investors results a month after their metaverse exchange-traded funds were listed, with one fund gathering nearly $170M in net asset value.

The maker of the catchy children’s song and dance video of Pinkfong Baby Shark is launching NFTs (non-fungible tokens) of its globally beloved characters with upgraded design and music. Fast facts SmartStudy, a South Korean educational entertainment company and the creator of the Pinkfong Baby Shark, announced a partnership with MakersPlace, a digital art marketplace. […]

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming unicorn, announced today that it has teamed up with Cube Entertainment, a major K-pop entertainment agency, to form a joint venture dedicated to building a music metaverse and issuing non-fungible tokens (NFTs), joining a slew of K-pop labels to make forays into the NFT and metaverse space. Fast […]

Charities are just beginning to explore the potential of NFTs, writes Billy Sebell of XinFin Network. Here’s how NFTs can help raise big money beyond artwork auctions.

In a 48-second, computer-generated 3D animation, ROK uses a decentralized format to offer an ironic take on China’s internet giants crowding to host the shopping holiday.

Signaling increased confidence in the future of digital assets, cryptocurrency investment products saw institutional investment inflows of US$174 million last week — the 12th consecutive week of inflows — bringing year-to-date inflows to a record US$8.9 billion, according to digital assets manager CoinShares. Fast facts Institutional investment into crypto products have surged this year with […]

BTS’ label dreams bigger than just dominating the K-pop world — they want to digitize the IP even more.

Altair upgrade goes live, also Hybe and Dunamu consider NFT venture.

South Korean mobile game developer Netmarble to create a virtual K-pop idol group under partnership with internet giant Kakao group using meta-human technologies.

New virtual worlds are full of opportunities, writes Sandra Helou of Zilliqa. But what if real-world problems get magnified in the metaverse?

Bitcoin hits all-time high, also Lotte World opens in metaverse

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming, metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) company, has closed a capital raise for US$65 million at a pre-money valuation of US$2.2 billion, according to a company statement. Fast facts Investors in the round included Liberty City Ventures, Ubisoft Entertainment, Sequoia China, Dragonfly Capital, Token Bay Capital and Justin Sun, […]

Conglomerates including Samsung continue to invest in blockchain and crypto startups despite a government crackdown on the industry.

An NFT art exhibition demonstrates how digital tokens can be used to promote United Nations sustainability goals.

Singers and musicians are embracing non-fungible tokens, but will their non-crypto active fans buy it?

South Korea’s finance minister says that while income from virtual asset transactions will be taxed starting Jan. 1, 2022, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are not to be taxed yet. Fast facts At the National Assembly’s annual review on Wednesday, Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki said the government plans to start taxing virtual asset gains […]

Although scarcely the size of a human palm, Mr. Goxx is earning big returns in the virtual currency market, raking in a 16% return as of Tuesday.

NH Nonghyup is the third bank in South Korea to invest in a virtual asset custody service while they are prohibited from running their own.

China fallout hits mining meanwhile Korea digital custody competition heats up

Marquee investors like Softbank and Andreessen Horowitz are heaping love on Sorare and Dapper Labs. What does this mean for the future of the non-fungible tokens sector?

The property market is increasingly expensive and out of reach for today’s younger generation. Digital land sales may hit home with some buyers.

As Cardano’s Alonzo upgrade goes live, founder Charles Hoskinson of IOHK calls DeFi a ‘bubble.’ How does he think the regulation that is sure to come will reshape DeFi in the future?

Why is Axie Infinity so popular, and what is the potential of play-to-earn gaming? Two venture capitalists share insights on Asia’s special place as GameFi’s hub.

A Canadian-American citizen, who laundered tens of millions of dollars for cybercriminals including North Korea’s military intelligence agency hackers, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Fast facts Ghaleb Alaumary, 36, pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2020 and has been asked to pay US$30 million in restitution […]

The American football league’s 32 teams cannot sell NFTs or accept backing from crypto trading firms — at least for now.

TokenSociety.io, a non-fungible token minting platform and marketplace for the entertainment industry, has completed its first NFT Drop for the pilot episode of “Men of the House,” a situation comedy TV series, the company announced today. Fast facts The pilot episode of “Men of the House” is completely financed through the sale of its NFTs […]

NFTs, metaverses and ‘play-to-earn’ are upending gaming’s traditional revenue model. Shreyansh Singh of Polygon explains blockchain gaming’s business potential.

Prominent Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan will release his own non-fungible token collection later this year. Fast facts The NFTs will be rolled out on BeyondLife.club, a joint venture between Indian film production company Rhiti Entertainment and Guardian Link, a decentralized legitimacy protocol for NFT exchanges. BeyondLife.club allows users to buy NFTs with credit cards or […]

The9 launches NFT platform meanwhile HK SFC issues crypto warning

The9 Ltd., a Chinese gaming company that pivoted earlier this year to cryptocurrency mining, unveils plans to get into non-fungible token business, reflecting the company’s ambition to ramp up its blockchain-based operation. Fast facts Nasdaq-listed The9 has announced that its Singapore-based subsidiary NFTSTAR Singapore Pte. Ltd. will launch a NFT trading and community platform NFTSTAR […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Is another Bitcoin bull run coming soon? Punks rocking NFTs. Why crypto contracts may not be enforceable in China.

CryptoPunks sales volume increased by over 1,100% in the last 24 hours

With play-to-earn crypto games like Axie Infinity continuing to attract users, tax authorities in the Philippines are looking into taxing such blockchain-based game companies as well as the income earned by users on such platforms, according to a report by the Manila Bulletin. Fast facts Philippines’ finance undersecretary Antonette C. Tionko said earnings from these […]

Chinese tech giant Tencent’s music streaming arm, QQ Music, has jumped on the non-fungible token bandwagon and over the weekend sold out its first NFT featuring popular Mando-pop singer Tiger Hu. Fast facts QQ Music, one of China’s major music entertainment platforms, plans to roll out a slew of music NFTs. Over the weekend, all […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: NFT wave buoys OpenSea. Are dollars and sense a lifeline for Tether? Tencent gets a target on its back.

K-pop superstars Brave Girls, Se7en and A.C.E. are among the latest to jump on the non-fungible token bandwagon. Are fans buying it?

Hong Kong artists embrace NFTs. NFT’s to become must-have merchandise for K-Pop fans.  And an Indonesian resort offers NFT timeshares. We’ll have more on that story — and other news shaping the cryptocurrency and blockchain world — in this episode of The Daily Forkast, August 10th. Transcript Welcome to The Daily Forkast, August 10th 2021. […]

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a vision for metaverses — online worlds that one day will replace big parts of our offline lives. But some say that future is already here.

Huobi deregisters Beijing entity while K-drama takes crypto back in time

Top blockchain and crypto news: FTX swells to $18 billion valuation. Etherum and Dogecoin disowned by creators. US pols call for Olympics boycott of e-yuan.

Britain’s financial crimes enforcement agency is set to launch a campaign costing £11 million (US$15.2 million) to warn young people about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.  Fast facts Financial Conduct Authority CEO Nikhil Rathi said social media users aged 18 to 30 would be the target audience. “As with the GameStop episode, more people see investment as […]

Soaring BTC and altcoin prices earlier this year drew in new investors, who now worry about the current slump. Will crypto prices rise again, or are modest valuations here to stay?

China’s central bank has reiterated its ban on cryptocurrency trading and yesterday said it had ordered a company in Beijing suspected of offering software services for crypto trading to shut down as part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown on the crypto industry. Fast facts A Beijing office of the People’s Bank of China and a […]

JYP Entertainment, a South Korean entertainment conglomerate that counts K-pop acts including 2PM and TWICE among its stars, has unveiled a plan to partner with blockchain company Dunamu to set up a non-fungible token platform dedicated to K-pop. Fast facts JYP’s partnership with Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s biggest crypto trading platform, Upbit, will involve […]

With Theta’s new mainnet 3.0, the network aims to be the go-to blockchain-powered content delivery platform for online streaming. Will Theta succeed?

Iranian police have confiscated 7,000 cryptocurrency mining machines from an abandoned factory in western Tehran, the largest batch discovered in recent days.

Other top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: How Dogecoin copycat SHIB coin vaulted into crypto’s top 20. China unveils fingerprint ID for digital yuan.

Welcome to crypto’s latest catwalk. Publisher of Vogue Singapore and a Hong Kong exchange unveil plans to turn up the heat on Asia’s NFT market.

Yat Siu, Greater China’s godfather of CryptoKitties and vintage Atari NFTs, also says gamers are at the forefront of blockchain adoption.

What are you really getting when buying a non-fungible token, and are NFTs worth their eye-watering prices? Forkast.News dissects the latest crypto craze.

Other top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: Ethereum takes up with Amazon, plans gas fee changes. China likely to increase blockchain spending.

From Beeple’s digital art to LeBron James video trading cards, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are transforming the way we create, own and profit from content.

Decentralized apps like DLive are gaining attention since the violent attack on the US Capitol. How will this affect the wider adoption of blockchain DApps?

Other top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: India pushes CBDC and proposes banning crypto. Korea’s DeFi future. How does Bitmain’s drama end?

Who in blockchain is making the world a better place this year, and who deserves nothing under the tree? Santa’s helpers at Forkast.News tell all.

SEC’s crackdown comes as more states permit online gambling, putting a further squeeze on the company once backed by celebrities like Ashton Kutcher.

In the blockchain world, decentralized workplaces are already the norm. As Covid forces more companies to do the same, here are our pro tips for executives and managers.

Other top news: Alibaba to help Cosco deploy blockchain technology for Chinese shipping industry. Fintech investment in Saudi Arabia.

Other top news: Chainlink embraced by China’s blockchain network. Could Justin Sun’s infamy outshine TRON 4.0? Fintech in Thailand and Singapore.

Could robot nurses, drones, facial recognition and other AI artillery help us win the war against Covid-19?

What lies ahead for the global economy, US-China geopolitics, emerging markets and sectors like real estate in the next 5 years? GreaterX’s unique focus group — ‘from farmers to a billionaire’ — offers a crystal ball.