Meta has been working since the beginning of the year to immerse itself in NFTs, the beta testing began in the United States with a group of content creators last May, and then opened to the public in some countries in June.

Since opening, Brazil leads the list of countries with the largest number of users with NFTs, followed by Mexico, and Argentina in third place, according to Statista.

With this new step, a total of 100 countries now have access to the NFT features...

The plan will eventually end with all 251 million users able to participate.

As part of the launch, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared an NFT version of this childhood photo on Instagram..

The next step is to make the platform fully compatible with the rest of the crypto/nft world...

This means supporting popular wallets people are already using - MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, and Dapper Wallet support is coming soon. Meta has stated that there are no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on Instagram.

All NFT's minted on the platform will end up on the Ethereum or Polygon blockchain, and they will be adding Flow and Solana soon.

Did We Underestimate Mark Zuckerberg?

To be fair, the crypto world has valid reasons to be skeptical anytime Facebook starts hyping up their plans for the future.

"Disaster" sums up Facebook's first venture into crypto with a coin called 'Libra'. Behind that coin was an aggressive plan that would bring together powerful organizations and companies from around the world of traditional and corporate finance, with the goal of basically taking over the crypto world in one giant leap.

This alliance of companies and organizations that would govern the coin was called the Libra Association, but their plans were so aggressive that governments began fearing that their influence could end up going beyond crypto, reaching their currencies too.

At the time, Governments Around the World Were Focusing on Facebook...

US Senators summoned Facebook executives to Washington, DC where they questioned their intent and long term goals with Libra Coin - it ended with politicians from both major parties swearing they'd never allow Facebook's vision to become reality.

The Trump administration said they were "uncomfortable" with the whole thing, and in a rare moment, Democrats agreed, with one Democratic senator labeling Facebook "delusional" for ever thinking it could happen.

But Does Zuckerberg take 'no' for an answer? No.

Of course, Zuckerberg couldn't help but to take one last shot at making it happen.  This time they would avoid making headlines, hoping to quietly glide through required regulatory processes in the countries they wanted to operate in.

So first, they changed the project's name to 'Diem Coin', which would be managed by the 'Diem Foundation'.  But instead of the fresh start they hoped this would bring them, they quickly learned that the name change didn't fool anyone, people were actually paying attention, and politicians were still telling them "no."

While they never got to use it, they did create a blockchain protocol of their own, a custom wallet and various other tools and assets, they were ready to go big - in the end, they managed to sell everything they built to a company called Silverware for $200 million according to the Wall Street Journal.

The news about the sell, from 8 months ago, is still the most recent update on the website for Diem Coin. 

Fast Forward To Today - Facebook Hasn't Made the Same Mistakes Twice...

Now it's starting to look like Zuckerberg may have built a legitimate platform, focusing on becoming part of the NFT world, not plotting to overtake it.

There's potential for Facebook to become a major player in the NFT market - do you agree? Tweet us your thoughts @TheCryptoPress and we may add them to this article!

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

While sales of NFTs have slowed, they're far from dead.  The amount of NFT based transactions still happening in the current down market is proving to investors and businesses that NFTs are here to stay.  Platforms like Twitter and Instagram implementing them provides more evidence for this claim. 

What is almost completely gone is part of the NFT world, the stupid part where we saw this thing sell for $7 million. Most suspected this was a temporary phase that could only happen with something that was both new and exploding in popularity - they were right.

But many are still saying the NFT world still has huge room for growth, and there may be some truth here.

The argument that NFT's have just begun revolve around virtual reality (aka the Metaverse) as any object in a virtual world can become your tradeable and sellable property if turned in to an NFT. 

Brands like Nike believe the people wearing their shoes in the real world may want to be seen wearing them in the virtual world as well - same goes for those who line up outside of shoe stores in the middle of the night to be among the first there when it opens, and pay 2 to 3 times more for a 'limited edition' sneaker.

Sneakers that they don't need to buy the materials to make, pay for the labor to assemble, or ship from one location to another to sell - this is the dream that has major brands drooling. 

This is the thinking behind valuing NFTs.com at the selling price of $15 million...

An 'undisclosed buyer' finalized the purchase through Domainer, a domain marketplace operated by GoDaddy, with Escrow.com facilitating the transfer of funds. 

“It was a pleasure working with all parties involved at NFTS.com, an incredible opportunity for the buyer to acquire one of the best possible .coms, if not the best, in the entire web space3,” said Matt Holden of Domainer

For some perspective, Crypto.com sold for $3 million less.

Buyer Most Likely a Company...

With a price-tag this large odds are a company is behind the purchase.

With brands like the NBA, NFL, Visa, Coca-Cola, Dolce & Gabanna, Tommy Hilfiger, EA Games, Ubisoft, Gamestop, Nike, Adidas and so many looking to make their mark in the NFT space, there's a lot of cash flowing behind the scenes. 

Chainalysis estimated institutional investors accounted for 33% of all NFT related transactions in their report on Web3 earlier this year.

Waiting For The Mystery Buyer to Show themselves...

Now the NFT industry is waiting to learn who the buyer was, until then, all they can do is speculate.

Will NFT marketplaces have some new competition?  Whoever the buyer is, they have the funds needed to be a potential threat.

Could a single clothing or gaming company have snatched it up to use as a place to feature their NFTs exclusively?

Or, this could come to the most anticlimactic, but very possible ending of them all - someone from the domain industry who believes they can sit on for awhile and make a few million selling it again - perhaps just waiting for the market to recover from this most recent downturn. In other words... just HODLing it.

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

In a move that is set to bring sustainable digitized art and creativity into the blockchain-based virtual world, MetaBlaze is preparing to launch its high-quality, character based MetaGoblin NFT Collection on OpenSea. The collection features traditional fantasy-themed Goblins-propelled into the Metaverse.

MetaBlaze®, a new Blockchain Gaming Company, is gearing up for the official launch of its intricately detailed, utility-packed MetaGoblin NFT collection set to list on the OpenSea NFT Marketplace in the coming weeks. The NFT project is inspired by in-game mystical creatures from a Player-versus-Player, Play-to-Earn game currently in development by the blockchain gaming firm, MetaBlaze.

Following the OpenSea listing, MetaGoblin NFTs will also be listed on uber-popular rarity ranking websites such as Rarity Tools, a trusted platform that provides users convenient means to check the rarity rankings of NFTs. MetaBlaze is excited to offer such a unique and innovative project to the NFT space and looks forward to seeing MetaGoblins take flight in the coming weeks.

MetaGoblins are one-of-a-kind digital beings that exist on the Ethereum blockchain. Each MetaGoblin NFT has distinct characteristics, making it a truly unique collectible. The collection brings a total supply of 10,000 NFTs, with 398 hand-created, 3D traits.

MetaGoblin NFTs are the first playable characters in the MetaBlaze Metaverse – an immersive, utility-driven, rewards-generating, strategy-based gaming platform. These MetaGoblins (and other MetaBlaze Series NFTs) can be used to participate in unique Play-to-Earn games, contests, competitions, and more. Each MetaGoblin is unique – not just in appearance and story, but in its underlying meta-data attributes. If you're looking for a captivating tale that unveils the origin of the MetaGoblins, check out the intro video shared on the official MetaBlaze YouTube channel.

NFTs Need More Sustainability & MetaBlaze Is Bringing It.

MetaBlaze is on a mission to create more value in the NFT world by building a robust ecosystem around the MetaGoblin NFTs. With a focus on sustainability and scalability, MetaGoblin NFTs integrate within MetaBlaze's Web 3 ecosystem, including gaming, staking, and rewards. MetaBlaze brings a unique gaming model with sound in-game economics built around solid fundamentals.

MetaBlaze is paving the way for sustainable growth in the NFT space by creating a diverse ecosystem built around sound fundamentals. In addition to MetaGoblin NFTs, MetaBlaze (MBLZ) tokens will be minted and used as the native currency within the multi-layered ecosystem. MBLZ will also power the staking and rewards mechanisms, providing users an additional layer of utility.

MetaGoblin NFT Mint on OpenSea NFT Marketplace

The MetaGoblins are coming to the world's largest NFT Marketplace, OpenSea. An official date is expected to be announced within the next two weeks. In preparation for their big debut, MetaBlaze is giving early access to the NFTs before the official OpenSea listing, allowing users to acquire a MetaGoblin NFT before anyone else. All fees related to NFT minting will be paid for by MetaBlaze, and the NFTs will be airdropped to rightful owners on the official release day. To learn more or buy a MetaGoblin NFT during the ongoing presale, visit https://MetaGoblin.io.

MetaBlaze is a Web 3 company using $MBLZ to power its multi-layered Metaverse. Built on the Binance Smart Chain, MetaBlaze merges popular elements of GameFi and DeFi to create a synergistic, and sustainable ecosystem.

CONTACT:
Michelle German
info@metablazetoken.com

--------------
Information Provided via Press Release
The Global Crypto Press Association | Crypto Press Release Distribution

As two major brands, this is a landmark partnership for the development of Web3 gaming and will bring Polygon’s Supernet technology to BoomLand players. First to launch from BoomLand’s roster of Web3 games will be ‘Hunters On-Chain,’ a Play And Earn mobile game, supported by an NFT lending and borrowing marketplace to support the “free-to-play” model.

BoomLand was founded as a Web3 Gaming Platform, focused on publishing great games in partnership with its initial content provider, BoomBit, one of the fastest-growing mobile gaming studios in the world, with 33 million monthly active users, 200+ games published, and over 1 billion downloads to date.

Opting to build on Polygon’s newly unveiled Supernets network, BoomLand seeks to mitigate congestion issues, remove high gas fees, and reduce latency concerns through an efficient and fast blockchain ecosystem that will run via a Decentralised Publishing Organization (DPO). Using the native $BOOM token, users will be able to contribute to governance functions and decide how the ecosystem evolves.

Hannibal Soares, CEO of BoomLand, commented: “BoomLand is designed to evolve gaming experiences into a Web3 format that fosters a player-first economy. By building on our own dedicated chain, we’re able to abstract the complexities of blockchain while still providing the core benefits such as verifiable digital ownership, secondary markets, and Play And Earn rewards.”

This partnership marks the historic first deployment of a blockchain publishing and gaming ecosystem on the Polygon network via the Supernet infrastructure. Acting as highly customizable sub-chains, Supernets allow developers to deploy decentralized applications via a bespoke configurable network without having to build their own infrastructure.

Steven Bryson-Haynes, VP of Business Development, NFT & Gaming at Polygon Studios, said: “BoomLand will be critical in introducing new, non-blockchain native users to Web3 gaming. We’re incredibly excited to bring them into the budding Supernet ecosystem and eager to see what they can create.”

Polygon Studios is accredited with working with some of the top blockchain-based companies, Web3 and NFT projects, including OpenSea, Decentraland, Sandbox, and Decentral Games, and is home to more than five times more gaming and NFT dApps than any other chain outside of the Ethereum main chain. 

About BoomLand
BoomLand is a cutting edge Blockchain Gaming Platform delivering a new gaming experience. The vision is to create a fresh Web 3.0 Community for players by players, with its own Marketplace and Play And Earn ecosystem that is accessible for all. In BoomLand's Metaverse, players will connect directly with game developers and with one another and help steer the course for the future of the Platform. Fun Blockchain games are finally here!

About Polygon Studios
Polygon Studios aims to be the home of the most popular blockchain projects in the world. The Polygon Studios team is focused on supporting developers building decentralised apps on Polygon by providing Web2 and Web3 teams with a suite of services such as developer support, partnership, strategy, go-to-market, and technical integrations. Polygon Studios supports projects from OpenSea to Prada, from Adidas to Draft Kings and Decentral Games to Ubisoft.

For the latest information about BoomLand go to:

https://www.boomland.io/

https://twitter.com/BoomLandGames 

https://linktr.ee/BoomLandGames 

Watch the Polygon News video here.

In addition to the above features, the standard and premium plans for this product include consulting by the idexo team on concepts for the NFT collection and marketing plan, including special access features of the custom-branded NFT verification portal, and connections to source the artwork. 

This exciting development solves several key challenges facing web3 project owners and brand marketers, including

Finally web3 founders and communities can rely on growth and solve a key pain point facing all projects. 

"We are excited to finally release this update as it will enable us to serve many more clients and partners in a readily scalable way, helping more communities and projects achieve success, " says Greg Marlin, CEO/CTO of idexo, "This is the product of many months work by the team. The origins of the NFT marketing software was our own Early Adopter NFT collection that grew our community from 200 to over 5000 in 2 days. In addition to releasing this update for our clients and partners, idexo will be using this ourselves to launch and manage a major new NFT ecosystem and marketing campaign to further grow our own community. Being able to constantly test these features with our own community and leverage its size to help grow our clients' communities is an added value of idexo."

Projects and brand marketers interested in using this system right away to grow their own communities, can sign-up by getting in touch with the company to schedule a demo. 

About idexo:

Idexo’s mission is to empower creative entrepreneurs to build and grow industry-disrupting web3 projects, in doing so achieving the full promise of decentralized technologies. To achieve that idexo delivers a simplified platform that solves key project pain points, helping partners achieve success in hours what used to take months. Idexo is powered by its native utility token $IDO. 

For More Information:

https://idexo.com
https://twitter.com/idexo_io
https://t.me/idexo_io

Contact: Greg Marlin – cx@idexo.io

--------------
Information Provided via Press Release
The Crypto Press Association | Crypto & NFT Press Release Distribution

Using blockchain and Web3 technology the Scorpio Metaverse Engine connects humans to each other in the virtual world. 

SMC completed development of the beta engine this month, and is on track for a Q2 launch of FitnessVR.io, SMC’s first metaverse powered by the Scorpio Metaverse Engine, dedicated to advanced wellness and human connection; they aim to deploy 10 interoperable metaverses within the next 12 months. 

Metaverses built with SMCs patent-pending engine offer flexible interoperability and enhanced user experiences, with customizable avatars able to jump between metaverses using blockchain technology and crypto wallets. Their suite of proprietary tools and integration with leading-edge technologies in the Web3 space allow SMC to help individuals, corporations and organizations build fully customized metaverses. 

Being one of the first-to-market tech companies leading the charge of shaping the Metaverse Web3 space, Scorpio Metaverse Corporation is obtaining patent protection for its technologies, as well as registering other intellectual property rights for its business and technology assets in the United States and internationally. SMC aims to protect the technology, inventions and improvements that are commercially important to the development of its business using the most effective and efficient intellectual property instruments, including patents, trademarks and trade secrets. 

Nav Gupta, Founder & CEO of Scorpio Metaverse Corporation: 

“We’re building the tools to make custom metaverses accessible across the world; our patent-pending process reduces the barrier to entry for great ideas to get built quickly. We are extremely proud to be first-to-market with the creation of our proprietary metaverse engine which is a system and method for creating custom metaverses. Whether you’re a business looking to build an office metaverse or a university looking to have your school built into a metaverse, in the future we believe metaverses will be like websites and you’ll be able to build them using our tools and systems and jump from metaverse to metaverse. Unlike our competition, our primary business is metaverses and we have security and safety at the heart of

our system for end users. Human connections are very important and we believe that with our technology we can help people connect with each other in new, fun and unique ways. I recognize the significant potential this patent holds, as it directly addresses key challenges currently facing the fragmented and disconnected landscape of the metaverse industry.” 

About Scorpio Metaverse Corporation 

Scorpio Metaverse Corporation is an international collective of tech companies at the intersection of Web3, Blockchain, and Gaming. The company initiated activities in 2022 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with subsidiary corporations in Vietnam, India, Dubai and plans for expansion into Africa, Europe, and the United States. 

Scorpio Metaverse Corporation is developing a suite of innovative metaverse-building technologies focused on connecting users and providing world-class, fun and interactive experiences for them in both WebGL, Virtual and Augmented Reality environments. 

To learn more about Scorpio Metaverse Corporation, visit: https://www.scorpiometaverse.io

Contact: marketing@scorpiometaverse.io

--------------
Information Provided via Press Release
The Crypto Press Association | Crypto & NFT Press Release Distribution

With the previous ventures he thought would allow him to worm his way in to the crypto world officially failed and dead, the Zuck is back on crypto's doorstep, and this time the key to get inside comes in the form of an NFT.

The Meta/Facebook CEO appeared on stage during this year's SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, to reveal that his company is  "working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term" he added “I would hope that you know, the clothing that your avatar is wearing in the metaverse, you know, can be basically minted as an NFT and you can take it between your different places."

He also added that minting NFTs would be done within the app as well. 

As far as when we'll see this, Zuck says “There’s like a bunch of technical things that need to get worked out before that’ll really be seamless to happen.”

Apparently there's more, but the Facebook CEO stated that he is "not ready to kind of announce exactly what that’s going to be today".

The announcement has sparked speculation about whose blockchain the NFTs would be deployed on, what payment method will be used to buy them, and whether Instagram will become a new NFT marketplace, competing with Opensea, Rarity, and Nifty Gateway.

Instagram is already a popular place for artists, musicians, and fashion designers to show off their work.

If it became possible to monetize each photograph on a user's Instagram page as an NFT, it would be a big disruptor in a market currently dominated by OpenSea, which uses the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.

The proposed NFT interface for Instagram might be similar to the OpenSea marketplace, where a user can click on an image to see the current price, which is usually in ethereum, as well as the item's selling history, which displays how much it has appreciated or depreciated over time.

Meta has created its own digital wallet, Novi, that allows users to "send and receive money internationally, instantly, securely, with no fees, and which runs on secure blockchain technology" The Novi digital wallet is now in a restricted test phase and will be used to transfer and receive a stablecoin known as the USDP, or Pax Dollar.

Meta is also believed to be working on plans to allow users to use NFTs as profile images on Facebook and Instagram. Profile picture NFTs, often known as PFPs, are by far the most popular type of web3 content.

---------------
Author: Oliver Redding
Seattle Newsdesk  / Breaking Crypto News