Web3

A closer look at Unstoppable Domains’ .com integration

Unstoppable Domains recently integrated .com domains into its platform. What implications could this move have?

Unstoppable Domains — a prominent provider of Web3 domains — recently expanded its offerings by incorporating traditional “.com” addresses.

This move marks the first instance of merging conventional Web2 domains with the evolving Web3 domain space. This integration aims to seamlessly connect the existing web infrastructure with the new, allowing users to engage with both types of domains on a single platform.

Integrating .com domains with blockchain technology goes beyond a technical achievement; it’s an effort to enhance user adoption and streamline the overall user experience.

Improbable sells gaming venture for $97M, shares 2024 metaverse predictions

The metaverse developer Improbable sold its gaming venture, The Multiplayer Group, as a part of its venture strategy for 2024.

Metaverse technology company Improbable announced in an end-of-the-year statement on Dec. 18 that it had sold its gaming venture, The Multiplayer Group (MPG), to Keywords Studios for £76.5 million ($97.1 million).

Herman Narula, co-founder and CEO of Improbable, called Keywords “a like-minded business partner” and said he was delighted to see MPG embark on a new chapter. Keywords works with large names in the gaming industry, such as Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Zenimax, Epic Games and 2K.

Narula said this deal is a part of its venture strategy for 2024. Improbable originally acquired MPG in 2019 for around £30 million.

Immutable’s zkEVM to eliminate Web3 gaming gas fees

Immutable’s blockchain protocol will allow the game studio to cut out gas fees for users, which are widely cited as a significant barrier to Web3 gaming adoption.

Web3 gaming firm Immutable is set to completely cut out gas fee payments for gamers when its proprietary zero-knowledge proof-based (ZK-proofs) scaling platform goes live in early 2024.

Immutable zkEVM provides the technology for blockchain-based game developers to remove transaction fees from end users, which is touted to create a “frictionless onboarding” experience for gamers.

Web3 games built on blockchain protocols typically require gamers to pay the gas fees paid to network validators for processing transactions. Before the advent of layer-2 scaling protocols, Ethereum-based decentralized applications (DApps) and services relied solely on validators and miners pre-Merge to process smart contract operations and their associated transactions.

Animoca Brands to focus on creator economy, interoperability in 2024

CEO Robby Yung outlines the company’s focus on gaming and adjacent sectors to drive Web3 adoption, leveraging NFTs and interoperability.

Animoca Brands’s CEO Robby Yung has affirmed the company’s commitment to supporting the creator economy and advancing Web3 mass adoption through its 2024 initiatives.

Speaking at the 12th Global Blockchain Congress in Dubai to Cointelegraph, Yung highlighted gaming as a primary driver for Web3 adoption, while also exploring education and other sectors to empower creators with efficient infrastructure and network effects.

He emphasized the role of publisher nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in enabling content creators to monetize their work in a decentralized, equitable, and lucrative environment, and cited the example of Animoca’s ed-tech subsidiary TinyTap, which integrates co-publishing rights for educational content. This approach, Yung believes, will allow educators to distribute content directly to students, enhancing peer-to-peer relationships.

Immutable expands Web3 gaming payment options with Transak integration

Immutable deploys Transak’s functionality into its zkEVM gaming development infrastructure, powering in-game cryptocurrency and fiat payment methods.

Web3 gaming firm Immutable is set to integrate Transak as the sole payment service provider for its Immutable zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM). The service is set to directly power fiat and Web3-based payments in gaming environments.

Transak’s service will be integrated into Immutable Checkout and Immutable Passport. The former acts as Immutable’s all-in-one transaction infrastructure for games and provides a configurable interface for game developers to integrate various payment options.

Transak’s on-ramp, off-ramp and nonfungible token (NFT) payment service allows fiat payments through credit and debit cards, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Transak marketing head Harshit Gangwar told Cointelegraph that the payment rail will power in-game transactions for digital assets:

Chainlink Labs enters into a strategic collaboration with Cointelegraph Accelerator to support Web3 startups

Cointelegraph Accelerator is excited to announce a strategic collaboration with Chainlink Labs, the primary contributing developer of the industry-standard decentralized computing platform Chainlink.

Cointelegraph Accelerator is excited to announce a strategic collaboration with Chainlink Labs, the primary contributing developer of the industry-standard decentralized computing platform Chainlink. This collaboration will align the Cointelegraph Accelerator and Chainlink BUILD programs, helping drive innovation and accelerate the growth of next-gen Web3 projects.

The Cointelegraph Accelerator is a global program that supports early-stage and up-and-coming Web3 startups. As part of the collaboration with Chainlink Labs, the Cointelegraph Accelerator will provide Chainlink BUILD projects with marketing support, media strategy, social media playbooks, user acquisition guides, access to the largest industry events, and other benefits that help accelerate their growth.

On the other hand, Chainlink Labs will engage with projects under the wing of the Cointelegraph Accelerator by offering technical support, mentorship and providing access to Chainlink’s decentralized computing platform and expanding their builder communities.

Armenian cultural heritage sites tokenized on Solana blockchain

The initiative “Realm of Historia” is on a mission to tokenize historical sites in Armenia and around the world using the blockchain to preserve cultural heritage for future generations.

The Realm of Historia project recently announced its intentions to make strides in preserving Armenian cultural heritage through leveraging the use of blockchain technology and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

In a departure from conventional methods, this initiative seeks to digitize historical artifacts and physical historical sites, starting with the Realm of Historia: Carahunge X digital asset collection.

Cointelegraph spoke with the two creators of Realm of Historia, Ivan Grantovsky and Ivan Krylov, about how emerging technologies can preserve culture and connect new generations with history.

Web3 can benefit from adopting Web2 optimization: NBX Berlin

User experience remains a barrier to entry for the world of Web3 and industry builders believe the solution lies in onboarding Web2 functionality.

Web3 products and services could benefit from the streamlined user experiences that have been mastered by Web2, according to several industry builders who attended Next Block Expo in Berlin.

Speaking to Cointelegraph at the event, Web3Auth senior cryptography engineer Matthias Geihs said Web3 services continue to be hamstrung by clunky login features and the associated responsibility and technicality of wallet and private key management.

During his presentation, Geihs cited data that suggests 20% of Bitcoin lost by users is a result of poor wallet management. At the same time, many Web3 services suffer significant drop-off rates of potential users at the sign-up stage on their websites and platforms.

Thrash-metal band Megadeth launches NFT collection and metaverse community

The American thrash-metal band Megadeth released a new NFT collection, aiming to connect with its community in both physical and digital reality.

Legendary American thrash metal band Megadeth announced a new nonfungible token (NFT) collection on Dec. 5, allowing fans exclusive access to content and physical experiences.

The band announced the NFTs on social media through a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying the 5,000-piece collection features the band’s digital mascot, Vic Rattlehead.

Web3 firm detects major security flaw in common smart contracts

A security vulnerability potentially affecting hundreds of smart contracts that were pre-built using a commonly used open-source library has been reported by Web3 firm Thirdweb.

Smart contract development firm Thirdweb reported a security vulnerability that potentially “impacts a variety of smart contracts across the Web3 ecosystem.”

On Dec.

Highlighting the vulnerability’s potential to cause massive damage if not rectified immediately, Thirdweb stated:

“The impacted pre-built contracts include but are not limited to DropERC20, ERC721, ERC1155 (all versions), and AirdropERC20.”

Following the proactive warning to Web3 ecosystem, the firm cautioned users who deployed its contracts before Nov.

IMPORTANT

On November 20th, 2023 6pm PST, we became aware of a security vulnerability in a commonly used open-source library in the web3 industry.

This impacts a variety of smart contracts across the web3 ecosystem, including some of thirdweb’s pre-built smart contracts.…

— thirdweb (@thirdweb) December 5, 2023

Thirdweb also advised developers to help users revoke approvals on all affected contracts using revoke.cash, “which will protect your users if you choose not to mitigate the contract,” DefiLlama developer “0xngmi” commented on the request to revoke approvals.

btw this seems important, theyre asking to revoke all approvals to third web contracts (you might have interacted with them without knowing as theyre white-labelled, especially if you do stuff around nfts) https://t.co/T1YU9xnIRb

— 0xngmi (@0xngmi) December 5, 2023

Thirdweb has contacted the maintainers of the open-source library at the root of the vulnerability and contacted other teams potentially impacted by the issue.

It also pledged to increase investment in security measures and double bug bounty payouts from $25,000 to $50,000 while implementing a more rigorous auditing process.