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Meta plans to wind down NFT initiatives on Facebook, Instagram to focus on other services

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will wind down its non-fungible token operations on both social media services.

Meta AR/VR arm adds to mounting losses for Facebook parent company

Meta’s metaverse division Reality Labs lost US$3.7 billion in the third quarter of this year, bringing its accumulated losses in 2022 to US$9.4 billion.

Instagram, Facebook users in 100 countries can crosspost NFTs: Meta

Instagram and Facebook users in 100 countries can start sharing and crossposting their non-fungible tokens (NFTs) between the two platforms, Meta announced on Thursday.  See related article: China’s ‘Instagram’ gets into virtual fashion with users strutting NFT clothes Fast facts Meta, the operator of the two social media platforms, said the feature is available to […]

Facebook, Instagram explore NFT integration, marketplace: report

Meta’s Facebook and Instagram are exploring plans that would allow non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to be used as profile pictures, according to a report. Fast facts The plans include the showcasing, minting and selling of NFTs, several insiders told Financial Times. Meta staff members are also reportedly discussing the launch of a marketplace to buy and […]

After Facebook’s name change to Meta, Square has now become Block

When Facebook and payments giant Square launched, they were trailblazers in the industry. Now, after Facebook, Square too has changed its name — to Block — in a bid to embrace the future of technology. Fast facts Square CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg have never gotten along. Dorsey has jibed at Zuckerberg […]

Microsoft, Nike embrace metaverse following Facebook’s name change

On the heels of Facebook, or now Meta, Microsoft and Nike are also racing into the metaverse action. Fast facts Microsoft is introducing a more fun working environment experience by announcing 3D avatar and immersive meeting settings, according to media reports. The Verge reported that Microsoft will use artificial intelligence to listen to the creator’s […]

Defiant Facebook, now renamed Meta, goes all in on metaverse strategy as scrutiny tightens

Facebook, now called Meta, is casting off one of the world’s most famous names to retool itself into a metaverse company. Will its $10 billion bet pay off?

Facebook changes its corporate name to Meta to build on metaverse vision

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the social media giant is rebranding its corporate name to Meta as it focuses on building out its metaverse vision of an embodied internet with immersive spaces and experiences where people can digitally connect. Fast facts “The metaverse is the next chapter for the internet and it’s the next chapter […]

U.S. lawmakers urge Facebook to halt Novi’s pilot launch

A group of U.S. lawmakers called on Facebook to halt its cryptocurrency and digital wallet project Novi hours after its pilot launch began on Tuesday, amid the company’s ongoing trust crisis. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tina Smith (D-MN) said the tech giant “cannot be trusted […]

Facebook to create 10,000 jobs in the EU to build its vision for the metaverse

Facebook says it will create 10,000 jobs in the European Union over the next five years to build its highly anticipated metaverse — a digital platform that utilizes technology such as virtual and augmented reality that the company says has the potential to unlock new creative, social and economic opportunities. Fast facts According to a […]

Why Facebook’s Novi wallet could strike gold in SE Asia

Facebook’s Novi is ready to launch. Here’s why the Diem crypto wallet might find an especially warm welcome in places like the Philippines and Malaysia.

Will Facebook’s metaverse future transform how we live online?

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.

Facebook digital currency wallet Novi looks to add staff in Philippines

Facebook’s Novi, a digital wallet designed for its digital currency, Diem, is in hiring mode in the Philippines. Fast facts Facebook’s careers page currently shows five openings in the country for positions dedicated to Novi, including help operations investigator, onboarding coordinator and learning business partner. It has only one other opening in the entire Asia-Pacific […]

Tesla, Facebook and Netflix stock tokens launch on Solana blockchain

Swiss-based Digital Assets AG, a firm focused on the design of tokenized stock infrastructure, has launched over 50 tokenized stocks on the Solana public blockchain.

What’s really behind the Bitcoin market crash? Tether USDT lifts veil on reserves. Facebook-backed Diem going to California.

Other top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: BlockFi’s accidental BTC millionaires. China’s Inner Mongolia asks citizens to report illegal crypto mining.

Facebook reins in crypto ambitions with Diem stablecoin plan

Facebook’s much-anticipated foray into cryptocurrency has got off to a modest start, with the project it is backing confirming that it will launch a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. The social media giant had announced ambitious plans to launch a global digital currency named Libra in partnership with Visa and PayPal in 2019, but […]

5 reasons why CBDCs and Facebook-backed Diem go hand-in-hand

When Diem launches and central banks roll out digital currencies, what role will each play? Here is a look at the world’s financial and payments future.

Facebook-backed Diem, now close to launch, is propelling crypto into the mainstream

Formerly named Libra, the Diem stablecoin is now awaiting regulatory approval, writes Ilia Maksimenka of PlasmaPay. What are Diem’s odds of success?

As China’s DCEP approaches launch, Facebook’s Libra pivots

This week has been one where big changes came fast and furious on the opposite sides of the central bank digital currency world.  First, alleged screenshots of a mockup of the People’s Bank of China central bank digital currency’s mobile app were published, giving the public a taste of the apparent functionality of the platform […]

Ep. 6 | New blockchain arsenal to fight Covid-19, Zoom cancels Facebook, coronavirus wipes out Digital Farms, and more

Other top headlines from around the world: Microsoft wants to power mining with brain waves. Crypto exchanges Huobi and OKEx under fire. China shifts to digitally sweep ancestral graves.

Will China’s digital currency or Facebook’s Libra challenge Ripple’s cross-border money transfers?

As China, Singapore, Canada and other countries develop digital currencies in part to facilitate cross-border transactions, Ripple’s managing director of South Asia and EMEA Navin Gupta said these currencies would primarily only be used domestically.

Facebook’s Libra will push regulators to take a stance, says R3 chief David E. Rutter

And that’s a good thing for legitimizing blockchain and paving the way to tokenize real assets across industries, the enterprise blockchain creator said at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2019.

Opinion | What Other Big Companies Might Follow Facebook In Adopting Cryptos?

Facebook executives announced not long ago that they would launch their own cryptocurrency, Libra, next year. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has likened his vision for the ease of peer-to-peer cash transfers to sending photos, and now it seems as if the company may be able to bring that vision to life with cryptocurrency. And beyond […]

Facebook’s Libra Gets a Timely ‘Like’ From Japan

Facebook just did the unthinkable in the Donald Trump era: give America’s Republicans and Democrats something on which to agree. Same with the Group of Seven nations taking a dim view of the social media giant minting its own money. US President Trump declared that Libra, Facebook’s proposed virtual currency, “will have little standing or […]

Facebook’s Libra Gets Rough Reception From U.S. Congress

Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency faced strong political headwinds from U.S. lawmakers. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, demanded Facebook stop development of Libra, the cryptocurrency the company unveiled on Tuesday. “Given the company’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a […]

Facebook Unveils Libra – A Cryptocurrency With Big Goals

Facebook today unveiled its long rumored cryptocurrency, which will be known as Libra, and you won’t need a Facebook account to use it. That’s because Facebook says it wants to help those without bank accounts. “Libra holds the potential to provide billions of people around the world with access to a more inclusive, more open […]

Facebook’s Foray Into Crypto: How It All Began

Adding Blockchain Faces to Facebook: the Acquihire of Chainspace Facebook hired the founding team of Chainspace in Feburary 2019. Chainspace is a blockchain startup developing new technology to scale and speed up the execution of smart contracts on the Ethereum platform. The social media giant seems to be more interested in acquiring Chainspace’s talent than […]

Facebook to Launch Cryptocurrency?

Reports say Facebook will announce its rumored cryptocurrency sometime in June, and will allow employees working on the project to take their salary in it. Facebook appointed former PayPal executive David Marcus last year to explore opportunities with blockchain. Insiders say Marcus has focused on a digital currency, which users will be able to store, […]

Blockchain’s “Voice” Takes on Facebook

Move over Facebook, a new kid is on the block. Voice, a new blockchain-based social media platform, will launch promising users more control over their posts and photos. “The truth is, current social media platforms are designed to use their users,” said Brendan Blumer, CEO of Block.one.  “By design, they run by auctioning our information […]

What asset tokenization will look like in 2024 and beyond

Tokenization is on the rise not only in the private sector. In Asia, governments are leading the charge to use this technology for the greater public good.

Why a16z chose London for its first non-US office

Silicon Valley venture giant Andreessen Horowitz plants flag in London: fuels UK’s ascent as a Web3 innovator.

How blockchain can fortify children’s online safety

Colossal failures in online age verification have opened the floodgates for kids to access harmful content and become ‘friends’ with adult strangers. Can encrypted decentralized IDs put a stop to all that?

Web2 social media is in a race to the bottom. Web3 can do better

Platforms like Facebook, Reddit and the hot mess formerly known as Twitter are alienating users like never before. ‘Web3 doesn’t let you be a dick and get away with it,’ writes Joonatan Lintala, CEO of Phaver.

Philippines’ Coins.ph may have lost US$6 million worth of XRP in hack: The Block

Coins.ph, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the Philippines with millions of users, appeared to have lost 12.2 million XRP tokens, The Block reported on Friday.

Digital frontiers: Alex Tapscott on Web3, AI, and banking’s new dance

From tech monopolies to the synergy of AI and blockchain, Alex Tapscott, author of “Web3: Charting the Internet’s Next Economic and Cultural Frontier,” dissects the trajectories of the digital landscape.

Binance users in Hong Kong hooked by US$450,000 phishing attacks

The Hong Kong police warned on Monday that 11 Hong Kong-based Binance users lost over US$446,000 (HK$3.5 million) in cryptocurrencies to phishing text messages in the last two weeks. See related article: Gitcoin error sends US$460,000 to digital void Fast Facts See related article: CMCC Global raises US$100 mln to launch Hong Kong Web3 fund

Silver Lining? Google Cloud’s head of Web3 talks Big Tech possibilities for the blockchain

At the Token 2049 crypto conference in Singapore held Sept. 13 to 14, Google Cloud’s James Tromans spoke to Forkast about a possible marriage between Webs 2 and 3.

South Korea’s Kakao, Com2Us wind down metaverse units

South Korea’s top internet company Kakao and leading game developer Com2uS are sizing down their metaverse teams after large losses.

Friend.tech a surprise hit among crypto investors at Token2049 as they urge ecosystem expansion

Funders see the novel social media network as emblematic of an abundance of opportunity in crypto and DeFi amid infrastructure gaps and increased integration with real-world assets

Who’s who in the Sam Bankman-Fried trial?

FTX’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, faces DOJ scrutiny with seven charges. Here are the six key figures in the coming crypto courtroom showdown.

Investing in a Monet painting is no longer just for the super-rich, thanks to blockchain

The gates are opening for ordinary investors to buy into real-world assets like rare art and fancy real estate. But regulations and compliance hurdles remain.

The rise and continuing fall of Sam Bankman-Fried: A step-by-step guide to his case so far

The 9 key pieces of information you need to know ahead of the FTX founder’s first trial on Oct. 2

Welcome to 2030: I own everything, and life’s actually pretty good

Here’s a look at a future where Web3 technology will allow us to have ownership stakes in all things and avoid a subscription-based consumerist hellscape.

First aid kits, boots and batteries — how small but significant crypto funds are used in global conflicts

As war rages in eastern Europe, this first installment in a two-part series looks at the growing use of crypto funding in global conflicts, focusing on the small but significant provision of supplies to pro-Russian mercenary groups in Ukraine.
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Kenya suspends Worldcoin over security concerns

The Republic of Kenya has suspended Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project co-founded in 2019 by OpenAI chief Sam Altman, while the country’s security and data protection services look into the authenticity and legality of the project, the Ministry of the Interior and National Administration said on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

Tokenization makes the world a better place, and Asia is paving the way: Opinion

Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Thailand have regulations supporting the growth of tokenization, showing the world the benefits of fractionalizing assets.
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Charting the digital continent — East Asia’s real-world race to build the metaverse

South Korea, China, Japan — East Asia’s three industrial powerhouses are taking their economic rivalry to the virtual world. Each is developing a domestic metaverse in a race to become the region’s industry leader. This first account in a three-part series takes a look at what’s happening in South Korea.

In battle to be Asia’s crypto hub, which city will emerge victorious?

Top blockchain and crypto news: Asia’s crypto hub race. Is US debt ceiling fight a boon or a bane for crypto? China’s red carpet for metaverse investment.

Only 4% of South Koreans use metaverses, survey reveals

Only 4.2% of South Korean citizens have said that they regularly use metaverse services, a recent survey results show.

How many of today’s AI darlings will end up in the dot-com and crypto sewage?

For every PayPal or Google, countless other startups from the bubble days of yore took investor money down the toilet, writes Naveen Agnihotri. What makes this AI boom any different?

Tokenization is changing the world, from finance to art

Fractionalizing assets on the blockchain opens up investment opportunities for the public and the capital market’s access to liquidity, writes Bob Ras. Here’s what’s holding it back.

How ChatGPT is propelling memecoins to a new stratosphere

Thanks to generative AI, a struggling artist with no coding skills created tokens now worth $70 million. What does this mean for the rest of the crypto world?

Bitcoin gains after week of bank turbulence, Ether dips, U.S. equity futures lose steam

Bitcoin rose on Friday morning in Asia amid worries about U.S. banks and a possible recession. Ether edged lower. along with most other top 10 tokens.

Meta’s Zuckerberg says he is keeping focus on metaverse development despite losses

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the social media giant is not moving away from its metaverse focus despite reporting repeated losses in the billions of dollars at its division dedicated to developing the virtual reality online world. 

US response to crypto is like ‘deer caught in headlights,’ says ex-CFTC chair

Christopher Giancarlo, the former chair of the CFTC, said the U.S. is resisting cryptocurrency innovation due to its threat to vested interests in the financial system.

Until Web3 offers a better user experience, the masses will stay away

People won’t want to bother with a new technology if it’s painful to use, even if they’re aware of the potential benefits, writes Toby Rush of Redeem.

AI has taken over crypto’s share of VC funding, says Mysten Labs founder

Crypto’s share of venture capital money is now going to artificial intelligence, says Mysten Labs founder, Evan Cheng.

France to develop local metaverses against global giants

The French government announced a public consultation on “virtual immersive universes,” or the metaverse.

Meta says new focus on generative AI could boost metaverse development: Nikkei

Meta is investing heavily in artificial intelligence and this will benefit its metaverse businesses, Meta’s Andrew Bosworth told Nikkei Asia.

Walt Disney reportedly scraps metaverse plans

Entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney Co. has reportedly scrapped its metaverse plans as part of its decision to lay off 7,000 employees and reduce US$5.5 billion in expenses. 

Crypto Layoffs

Thousands of people have lost jobs in the tech industry, how is crypto faring?

Enterprise software giant Salesforce partners with Polygon for NFT-based loyalty programs

Salesforce has partnered with Polygon Labs to help its clients develop non-fungible token (NFT) based loyalty programs on the Polygon blockchain.

Anchorage Digital lays off 20% of staff amid low NFT demand, says bank unit not affected

Digital asset platform Anchorage Digital will lay off 75 employees as it restructures to meet regulation challenges.

Circle’s USDC stablecoin regains parity as regulators act to stop bank run risk

Circle said its $3.3 billion of USDC cash reserves at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank will be available Monday after regulators stepped in to backstop deposits.

Meta working on a decentralized social media app: Moneycontrol

Meta Platforms, the parent company of the social media applications Facebook and Instagram, is exploring a decentralized text-based Twitter alternative.

What Web3 must do if it wants to attract 1 billion users

Web3 is growing more rapidly than the early internet, writes Ken Timsit of Cronos Labs. But to achieve mainstream success, the following issues must be addressed.

Tencent confirms ‘personnel reshuffle’ at metaverse unit, denies team being disbanded

China technology giant Tencent said its reshuffling staff in its metaverse unit, but denied it was being disbanded, as reported by local media.

Web3 isn’t just about money, it’s about equality and transparency, says Mysten Labs co-founder

Investors may view Web3 through the lens of financial opportunities and revenue, but that misses the point of trying to build a fairer and more transparent infrastructure, with content creators at the forefront, says Mysten Labs co-founder Evan Cheng
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Meta’s metaverse division Reality Labs posts wider loss of $13.7 billion in 2022

Meta Platforms Inc., the former Facebook, said losses at its Reality Labs division developing virtual reality technologies widened last year, but the company’s Q4 earnings beat expectations and it projected overall stronger growth into 2023, according to its earnings report released Wednesday.

Blockchain gets religion? Taiwan temple mints NFTs of local sea goddess

A centuries old Taiwan temple dedicated to a popular goddess has latched onto non-fungible tokens or NFTs as a means for worshippers to get access to pilgrimages and other events.

Time for reflection: How will FTX’s implosion impact crypto regulation?

This year’s cascade of crypto collapses should be a wake-up call to regulators, says the Independent Community Bankers of America’s Brian Laverdure.

Web 3.0 firms must ‘keep costs low,’ improve efficiency to navigate downturns, says Rotten Tomatoes cofounder

Patrick Lee, who cofounded Rotten Tomatoes and PKO Investments, says the US$35 million investment company has slowed Web 3.0 investments significantly.