NFTs and Blockchain Making Waves in Sports and Entertainment

Wake up, Degenerates!

It’s a new day and the crypto world is buzzing with excitement. Not only are investors pouring in money left and right, but we’ve got a jam-packed week filled with funding rounds to keep an eye on.

And if that wasn’t enough, someone even projected the Bitcoin logo onto Berlin’s TV tower over the weekend.

It’s a sign, folks — the crypto market is making a comeback and it’s time to get in on the action!

• ⛳️ NFT Tech partners with top-tier golf championships to bring innovative web3 and live sports data experiences to fans.

• ✏️ Doodles is pushing harder into original content by acquiring the renowned transatlantic animation studio Golden Wolf, known for the hit animated series Rick & Morty.

• 🕹️ Blockchain gaming is facing a crucial point in its development; developers finally understand that to survive, they need to focus on the gaming aspects of their products.

• 🖥️ Floor, an NFT management application, has acquired WGMI.io, an NFT data platform, to expand its user experience by providing data to help educate traders on their assets, price floors, and trading volumes.

• 💸 We also have a list of 11 funding rounds 🤯

Combining Web3 and Live Sports Data for Enhanced Fan Engagement

• NFT Technologies Inc. (NFT Tech) is announcing a strategic focus on golf and collaborating with some of the world’s most iconic golf championships.

• The collaboration will include digital collectibles, metaverse experiences, and digital experiences that provide new and exciting ways for golf fans worldwide to engage with the sport. It will combine real-time data and sports analytics with digital memberships and blockchain-based rewards.

• NFT Tech’s products blend the excitement of fantasy leagues with real-world game data, creating a unique digital experience that immerses players in the world of sports and fuels their passion for watching more games through the performance of their virtual teams.

• Read more about it here.

Doodles Acquires Rick & Morty Content Producer

• Web3 media and entertainment firm Doodles is set to acquire transatlantic animation studio Golden Wolf, known for producing ancillary content for the Adult Swim animated series Rick & Morty.

• Doodles began as a series of digital collectibles based on characters created by artist Burnt Toast and has now grown into a franchise of animation, gaming, merchandise, music, and live events.

• This acquisition will allow Doodles to push harder into original content, with Golden Wolf’s CEO and Founder, Ingi Erlingsson, becoming Doodles’ Chief Content Officer.

• Doodles will also launch a joint venture with creative studio Psyop, which will aim to “reinvent storytelling and the tools used to make them a reality,” using advancements in AI and blockchain technology to create tools and techniques for brands, filmmakers and producers.

• Read more about it here.

Oath of Peak: A Fun-Fueled Journey into the World of Web3 Gaming

• GameFi (or Web3 gaming), a popular entry point for newcomers to the crypto world, has commenced a new era: developers are shifting their priorities to focus more on enhancing gameplay and providing a fun experience for players rather than solely focusing on profits.

• A recent survey by the Blockchain Game Alliance found that the importance of “play-to-earn” gaming has decreased by two-thirds between 2021 and 2022.

• Yeeha Games is shaking things up with the launch of Oath of Peak, a free-to-play MMORPG that appeals to the GameFi community and traditional gamers.

• The game immerses players in a colorful island from Asian mythology. It allows players to choose from five different character classes, each with unique abilities and playstyle.

• The game features a variety of quests and challenges for players to complete and the ability to catch and level up creatures similar to the popular game Pokemon.

• The developers behind Oath of Peak have invested over $20m in creating the immersive world and fine-tuning the gameplay elements to make it accessible to players regardless of their understanding of NFTs, crypto, or blockchain technology.

• Read more about it here.

NFT Management Application Floor Expands User Experience by Acquiring Data Platform WGMI.io

• NFT management application Floor has acquired WGMI.io, an NFT data platform.

• The move will make the Floor user experience more expansive by showcasing data to help educate traders. Users will be able to view not only their assets but also associated price floors and trading volumes.

• The Floor iOS and Android apps are currently in a closed beta test for a small community of token holders.

• Last June, Floor raised $8 million in a Series A round led by 6th Man Ventures, the investment firm led by Mike Dudas, founder of crypto publication The Block.

• Currently, Floor supports data from collections minted on Ethereum and Polygon and plans to incorporate more chains.

• Read more about it here.

• Big Fail. Porsche’s recent debut of their Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collection was met with backlash from the community. It serves as a reminder for companies to build a Web3 strategy with community input at the forefront. This article explores how Porsche’s NFT debut went wrong and what other companies can learn from it. (Read here)

• Pretty cool. Want to learn how a Swiss private bank uses blockchain technology to tokenize its shares? Find out how they partner with a digital asset firm to manage the process and attract more investors. (Read here)

• RIP Fiat. Discover how Latin America’s high inflation rate drives more people towards stablecoin adoption and how industry leaders predict the usage to increase in 2023 with new products to come into the market. (Read here)

• Tribes | $3.3m pre-seed: the Web3-native messaging and group wallet app lets people co-own and manage digital assets while communicating directly through the wallet rather than through an outside messaging service such as Discord or Twitter. (link)

• Parfin | $15m seed: modular platform for secure digital asset custody, trading and management with secure and robust infrastructure. (link)

• Plai Labs | $32m seed: building the next generation of social platforms through entertainment, social engagement and digital ownership. (link)

• Syky | $9.5m series A: Web3 platform designed to elevate emerging fashion designers. (link)

• Carry1st | $27m: enriching mobile games and content apps for African consumers. (link)

• Intella X | $12m: exclusive service protocols never attempted on any blockchain gaming platform. (link)

• Nillion | $20m: first fully decentralized, trustless, and permissionless NMC (Nil Message Compute) network for web3. (link)

• Neopets Metaverse | $4m: modernised 3D remake of the classic Neopets game, brimming with new adventures, characters, and opportunities in the Neopian world. (link)

• Blockstream | $125m: global leader in bitcoin and timechain technology (link)

• Asset Reality | $4.9m: world’s first end-to-end SaaS solution for complex asset recovery like cryptocurrencies, NFTs or digital assets. (link)

• QuickNode | $60m series B: the most performant end-to-end development platform for Web3 builders (link)