If 2022 was any kind of template for gauging what the crypto market might offer for investors going forward, it proved to be terribly difficult to predict. The space saw a brutal shock to the global crypto market capitalization, which fell just over 60% from $2.2 trillion to about $797 billion year to date. It also saw the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, BTC and ETH, fall by 64% and 67%, respectively, during the same time frame, with the concurrent slide in the alt market too. These price drops, combined with the demise of the FTX exchange, were not …

The retail industry is one of the most important sectors of the United States economy. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has left the trillion-dollar retail sector vulnerable to in-store theft. Findings from the National Retail Federation’s 2022 Retail Security Survey show that retail losses from stolen goods increased to $94.5 billion in 2021, up from $90.8 billion in 2020. Some retailers also have to lock away certain products to prevent theft, which may lead to decreased sales due to consumers’ inability to access goods. Retailers look toward blockchain to solve retail theft Given these extreme measures, many innovative retailers have started …

The NFT-focused company was founded by early-stage Facebook and Twitter investor Kevin Rose, and designer Justin Mezzell in February 2022. The company also has the Proof Collective and Oddities NFT collections in its catalog. Announcing the move via Twitter on Jan. 6, Rose suggested that the goal of the deal is to get the Moonbirds brand known on a “global” mainstream scale, as opposed to just being recognized as a big hitter in the Web3 space. “What does UTA bring to the table? They are 1,400 people strong, with divisions in film, television, music, video games, sports, books, branding and …

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace SuperRare has announced a 30% staff-member cut as CEO John Crain explained that the firm mistakenly over-hired during the last bull market. In a Jan. 7 tweet, Crain shared a screenshot of his message to SuperRare’s Slack channel announcing the 30% cut, stating that he had “some tough news to share.” “Startups are a balancing act of managing rapid growth while doing everything possible to conserve limited resources. During the recent bull run, we grew in tandem with the market” he noted, adding that: “In recent months it’s become clear that this aggressive growth was unsustainable: …

The team behind y00ts and DeGods were paid $3m to move their collections off Solana and onto Polygon, according to a January 6 announcement from the company. The statement was made on Discord and copied to Twitter by Frank III, founder of the two projects. Here is a screenshot of our latest @y00tsNFT Discord announcement. pic.twitter.com/qWxjBsexv6 — Frank III (@frankdegods) January 6, 2023 The developers had previously announced on Dec. 27 that the projects would be moving to Polygon. This was widely seen as a possible death blow to the Solana network, as the network was already under pressure due …

The cryptocurrency ecosystem underwent a turbulent year in 2022. Criticism inside and outside of the crypto industry was fueled following the collapse of FTX, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and the Terra ecosystem. A number of losses have been recorded from these events. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis released a report in December of last year, which noted that the depegging of Terra’s stablecoin, Terra USD Classic (USTC), saw weekly-realized losses peak at $20.5 billion. Findings further show that the subsequent collapse of Three Arrows Capital and Celsius in June 2022 saw weekly-realized losses reach $33 billion. While these events may have …

Sovereign identity has been a hot topic in blockchain and cryptocurrency, especially with the rise of the creator economy. Currently, there are two types of digital identities. One is federated and centralized whereby data is in the control of the service provider. Self-sovereign digital identity is often cited as a human right that can reclaim agency using blockchain technology, but what frameworks exist that aid in governing it? On this episode of NFT Steez met Marjorie Hernandez, the co-founder of LUKSO and The Dematerialized to discuss the state of blockchain-based identities and “Universal Profiles.” According to Hernandez, in the future, …

The image-hosting aspect of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) needs major improvements. First, people saw NFTs on FTX breaking after it declared bankruptcy. More recently, NFTs on the marketplace Magic Eden showed some questionable images instead of their actual thumbnails. As the problem continues to persist, Cointelegraph reached out to various industry executives to get their thoughts on how NFT projects can solve the NFT hosting issue. From using dependable blockchains to exploring the storage technologies available in the Web3 space, various executives working in the NFT industry gave their thoughts on how to avoid future problems in NFT image hosting. Samuel …

The developer of a Mutant Ape Yacht Club knock-off collection — Mutant Ape Planet — has been arrested in New York, charged with allegedly “defrauding” investors of $2.9 million in a "rug pull scheme." The arrest took place on Jan. 4 at the John F. International Airport in New York, with homeland security agent Ivan J. Arvelo alleging that French national “Aurelien Michel perpetrated a rug pull scheme” and stole “nearly $3 million from investors for his own personal use," stating: “Purchasers of Mutant Ape Planet NFTs thought they were investing in a trendy new collectible, but they were deceived …

Despite the crypto winter, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) continue to draw interest. This has become apparent as many brands and retailers have started to offer digital NFTs attached to physical products. Known as “phygitals,” these offerings allow real-world products to be tied to digital NFTs. For example, RTFKT — a digital fashion and collectible company — recently launched a project called Cryptokicks iRL. According to sources, RTFKT is creating digitally-designed sneakers backed by a physical product. RTFKT’s official Twitter account recently tweeted that Lace Engine NFT holders will be able to reserve a pair of Cryptokicks iRL, which can then be …

YouTuber Logan Paul has threatened to sue fellow YouTuber and internet detective Coffeezilla for defamation after he accused Paul’s CryptoZoo nonfungible token (NFT) project of being a “scam.” The two have been battling back and forth on both social media and YouTube videos ever since Dec. 17, when Stephen Findeisen — also known as Coffeezilla — launched the first of a three-part video series attacking CryptoZoo and Paul, who was the face of the project. “CryptoZoo was supposed to be a fun blockchain game that can earn you money [...] but millions of dollars of investor money later, things are …

Sports merchandise firm Fanatics is divesting its stake in nonfungible token (NFT) company Candy Digital as confidence in the asset class wanes. On Jan. 4, it was reported that Michael Rubin’s sports company Fanatics was offloading its majority 60% stake in the NFT startup. Fanatics was started in 2011 and has become a known name in sports merchandising and e-commerce, valued at $31 billion. However, the crypto bear market has hit the NFT sector hard in 2022, and Rubin’s firm is seemingly now looking to turn away from “standalone” NFT businesses. The investor group led by Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital will …