Tom Farren

More Than 'Frens': How Two Family-Run NFT Projects Found Success in a Volatile Industry

The notion of separating work and personal life has long been ingrained in traditional business culture. Never mix business with pleasure, claims the old adage. Establishing well-defined boundaries to foster a healthy work/life balance is viewed as a milestone of success. However, the internet has made the world a smaller place, connecting humans more than ever before. We are digitally closer, but physically further apart; a paradox of isolation. And the rise of remote working and a changing wor

Reddit Just Dropped Thousands More NFTs on Polygon From Over 100 Artists

Major online message board platform Reddit launched its third-generation (Gen 3) NFT collection today, significantly expanding the number of artistic collaborators while turning its focus towards the theme of future realities. Previous collections began releasing on Ethereum scaling network Polygon in June 2022, depicting the platform’s alien mascot Snoo in various styles and themes. Over the following months, Reddit released Halloween-themed avatars and Super Bowl tie-ins, generating significan

Ethereum is the second-largest crypto by market cap. Image: Shutterstock

How the Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade Could Impact the Price of ETH

Ethereum will conclude its two-year transition to proof of stake this week with the launch of the Shanghai upgrade on April 12. The move will introduce a number of technical improvements to the network, but most Ethereum traders only care about one thing: staking withdrawals. With more than 18 million ETH—worth roughly $34 billion—locked up on the Ethereum network set to finally become available to validators, investors are understandably uneasy about what this might mean for the price of the se

Staked Ethereum Withdrawals Could Take Weeks After Shanghai Upgrade: Analyst

Ethereum shifted to a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake model in September, but there’s still one upgrade that needs to be completed to let users unstake their ETH from the network. It's coming up next week—but the process could ultimately take weeks to complete, an analyst at crypto data platform Nansen told Decrypt. Following September's merge event, Ethereum's transition will conclude with the launch of the Shanghai upgrade on April 12, which is paired with another upgrade called Capella.

Elon Musk and Twitter. Image: Shutterstock

Twitter Killing Legacy Blue Checks Is a 'Wake-Up Call to the Dangers of Centralized Social Media': CyberConnect CEO

On April 1, Twitter will carry through with new owner Elon Musk’s threat to remove existing verification checkmarks from legacy accounts on the platform—part of a push to make users and brands pay for the feature through the Twitter Blue subscription service. The long-expected move has drawn widely negative comments from users who see it not as a way to democratize verification on the platform, as Musk and his supporters have suggested, but rather a move that will nullify the whole point of veri

At Least $37M Worth of y00ts NFTs Migrate to Polygon From Solana in One Day

Solana profile picture (PFP) collection y00ts is the most prominent NFT project to date to migrate from one chain to another—and early data suggests the community of holders is supporting the move, with nearly 77% of the NFTs already migrated to Polygon since the late Monday launch. DeLabs, the Web3 startup behind both y00ts and the even more valuable DeGods project on Solana, announced in December that both collections would undergo the process of “bridging” to a new blockchain in the coming mo

Sony's Latest NFT Patent Push Suggests Web3 Path for PlayStation

No video game console maker has publicly embraced NFTs to date, but tech giant Sony—the firm behind the massively popular PlayStation brand—continues making moves behind the scenes, as revealed by its latest NFT-related patent application. The application, submitted in September 2021 in the United States and published last week, outlines Sony’s intentions to create standardized digital infrastructure that would allow gamers to own and transfer digital NFT assets across various video game platfor

Ethereum Metaverse Game The Sandbox to Launch LAND Sale With Playboy, Tony Hawk, Snoop Dogg

The Sandbox, an Ethereum-based metaverse game, is kicking off its three-part LAND sale on Thursday in collaboration with popular brands like Tony Hawk, Snoop Dog, and Playboy, among others, the platform told Decrypt. The Sandbox is a crypto-powered game akin to Roblox or Minecraft, but which harnesses blockchain technology to provide users with ownership of in-game assets via NFTs and the ability to trade virtual land on marketplaces such as OpenSea. The upcoming sale will auction 1,967 LANDs—

The FIFA World Cup 2022 had many crypto elements. Image: Shutterstock.

Adidas' Bored Ape NFT Makes Appearance With Messi, Benzema in New World Cup Trailer

Adidas continues its long tradition with the FIFA World Cup, this time with a crypto twist. The sports brand included its Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) character named Indigo Herz in a recent promotional trailer published alongside footballing superstars like Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema. Herz was depicted on a cereal box of “Indigoooooals” with the message that Benzema eats goals for breakfast. The video trailer was narrated by British rap icon Stormzy, who made a cameo appearance at the end as

Success of the Open Metaverse Comes Down to User Experience: Sandbox CEO

Since the launch of the Open Metaverse Alliance (OMA3), 50 members have registered for the not-for-profit organization, according to Sebastien Borget, co-founder of The Sandbox, and Sarojini McKenna, co-founder and CEO of Dacoco. Borget also gave Decrypt an update on its “Alpha Season” metaverse experience. Borget and Dacoco were speaking at a press conference at WebSummit in Lisbon this week about the new consortium of Web3 firms dedicated to protecting the interoperability of the metaverse. F

Pharrell Williams 'Integral' to Ethereum NFT Project Doodles, Says CEO

Naming famed musician and producer Pharrell Williams as the chief brand officer of Ethereum NFT project Doodles might have seemed like a stunt to some observers. However, the company’s CEO claims that Williams is actually key to the project’s growing mainstream push. At WebSummit in Lisbon today, Doodles CEO Julian Holguin spoke on the subject and others during an onstage discussion with Katelin Holloway, founding partner at VC firm Seven Seven Six and member of the Doodles board, alongside Will

Yuga Labs Is Hiring the ‘Best and Brightest’ to Build the Next Internet, CEO Says

Nicole Muniz, CEO Yuga Labs, spoke on center stage at Lisbon’s annual technology conference WebSummit on Thursday, addressing the importance of security and safety of digital assets, the potential of IP rights, and the origins of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). When challenged on the distinction between an NFT and a typical JPEG image perpetually shared across the internet, Muniz said the NFT conveys “the rights and the fact that you have true ownership of that asset.” Yuga Labs’ collections B

Fan Tokens Are More Utility Driven Than NFTs, Says Socios CEO

Alexandre Dreyfus isn’t a sports fanatic, nor does he play sports. The self-confessed “geeky tech guy” is nonetheless committed to enhancing the sports fan experience with Web3. The CEO of sports fan token platform Socios sat down with Decrypt at WebSummit in Lisbon to discuss the progress of their three-month old strategic technology partnership with FC Barcelona, the nuances and potentials of fan tokens, as well as next month’s Men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Socios x Barca Socios penned a $10

Web3 Is ‘Years Away’ from Matching Web2, Says Protocol Labs CEO

Juan Benet at Web Summit. Photo: Tom Farren. Juan Benet, CEO and founder at Protocol Labs, spoke candidly at WebSummit in Lisbon about the future challenges that the technology sector—specifically Web3—faces in relation to scaling infrastructure and computational power. Addressing the standing-room audience from the Filecoin stand, Benet said that the latest iteration of technological progression focused on the areas of access, anonymity and verifiability. “Over the last 80 years, the scale of

The FTX Arena, home of the Miami Heat. Image: Shutterstock

Chain Follows NFL Patriots Deal With Miami Heat Web3 Partnership

Blockchain infrastructure company Chain has entered into an undisclosed-sum advertising and promotional partnership deal with NBA team the Miami Heat to become their “official Web3 and blockchain infrastructure partner.” According to a press release shared with Decrypt, Chain and the Miami Heat intend to collaborate with the ambition of “bridging the gap between the sports industry and Web3 technology” for the audiences of both brands. The tie-up will also see Chain’s logo added to the Miami Hea

Facebook, Instagram Users in US Can Now Share Ethereum, Flow and Polygon NFTs

Continuing its recent rollout, tech giant Meta announced today that its NFT collectables support is now available to all Facebook and Instagram users within the United States. Meta first began enabling NFT support on its platforms in May with Instagram, and then added Facebook support in June. In both cases, the firm started with a limited number of users, but has gradually expanded the pool over time. Now anyone in the U.S. can showcase their NFTs, joining users in some 100 other countries acro

Crypto.com Targeted in Latest Round of Lazarus Group's Fake Job Scams

Crypto exchange Crypto.com is the latest target of a fraudulent job advertisement scheme by the North Korean-linked hacker group Lazarus. The malware attack encourages members of the crypto community to download a PDF document showcasing the open vacancies at Crypto.com including a Singapore-based Art Director role, among others, according to a report from cyber security firm Sentinel One. When the interested candidate proceeds to download the PDF job description, they unknowingly fall victim

Robinhood is a popular crypto and stock trading app. Image: Shutterstock

Robinhood Taps Polygon Over Ethereum for Its Web3 Wallet Beta Launch

Robinhood announced the launch of its beta Web3 wallet, giving 10,000 waitlisted customers the ability to participate in the wallet’s testing phase. The application, which is solely available on Apple mobile devices, will let users trade crypto with reportedly “no network fees,” as well as earn yield by connecting with other decentralized applications (dApps). Robinhood Crypto's CTO and general manager Johann Kerbrat said that the "Robinhood Wallet strips away some of the complexities of web3 to

NFT Software Company Chain Inks Four-Year Deal With New England Patriots

Web3 software firm Chain has entered into a four-year marketing deal with Kraft Sports + Entertainment, a sporting subsidiary of Kraft Group, to serve as the “official blockchain and Web3 sponsor” for the New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium, and Patriot Place. Chain and Kraft Sports + Entertainment will work together to develop “state-of-the-art Web3 experiences” for Patriots and Revolution fans, according to a press release. Chain CEO Deepak Thapliyal told Decrypt th

Zilliqa to Launch Web3 Games Console In Early 2023

Layer-1 blockchain Zilliqa is preparing to dive into the world of Web3 gaming, with the launch of a hardware console and gaming hub. A prototype version of the console was unveiled today, showcasing a sleek design with an array of ports including HDMI, Ethernet and USB-C and USB 3.0 connections. Full specifications for the console remain under wraps, though Zilliqa touts its user-friendliness, with Web3 capabilities including a crypto wallet and mining integrated to "hide the complexity of Web3

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Stories by Tom Farren