Now onto the biggest stories of the day.
1. Tony Hawk is building a Skatepark in the Metaverse.
Professional skateboarding icon Tony Hawk is teaming up with metaverse company The
Sandbox and NFT platform Autograph, to build the world's biggest skatepark in the
metaverse.
The Sandbox announced the new partnership in a Medium post saying,
“Through the partnership, Tony Hawk Inc. and The Sandbox will collaborate on
Tony Hawk’s 6x6 LAND to build the largest virtual skatepark ever made.”
As part of the partnership, Autograph - the NFT company co-founded by NFL
Quarterback Tom Brady - will create NFT avatars based on Tony Hawk and his most
iconic skateboards, equipment, and apparel.
The Sandbox will make these NFTs compatible with the new metaverse skatepark,
“turning Autograph’s high-fidelity avatars into 3D voxel versions with in-game
functionality and experiences”.
Tony Hawk says of the new partnership,
“I have been a fan of new technology all of my life… so I am fascinated by the
metaverse, and excited to bring our culture into the virtual landscape of The
Sandbox,”
Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox echoed Hawks’ sentiments,
“There’s no better way to bring skateboarding culture to The Sandbox than by
following the example of the greatest skateboarder of all time.”
Sandbox ($SAND) is up 1.6% since the announcement was made and is currently
trading at $1.12.
2. Hot Topic is set to make a splash in the world of Web3.
The national retailer Hot Topic is teaming up with web3 animation studio Toonstar,
according to a press release.
Toonstar are the co-producers of the Web3 animated series The Gimmicks,, along with
Mila Kunis’ digital studio, Sixth Wall.
As per the agreement, Toonstar will start producing “NFTs and other digital activations”
for Hot Topic, including NFT sales that can be redeemed for physical merch in-store,
and Web3 projects with The Gimmicks.
John Attanasio, CEO, and co-founder of Toonstar says of the new partnership,
“We’re on a mission to bring Web3 into the mainstream, and there is no better
partner to make this happen with than Hot Topic. Entering the retail market is a
huge leap forward for Web3 adoption. And with this partnership, buying an NFT
will now be as easy as buying a t-shirt, opening the door to millions of new
creators and owners.”
Hot Topic has more than 800 retail stores across the country, and over 11 million
community members worldwide.
Steve Vranes, CEO of Hot Topic says of the partnership,
“Together [with Toonstar] we look forward to building the most innovative and
engaging fan-based digital products and communities in a Web3 environment.”
Hot Topic will officially launch the collaboration at San Diego Comic-Con on July 21.
3. A United Nations policy brief says the benefits of cryptocurrencies are
“overshadowed” by the risks, particularly in developing countries.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recently
published a policy brief titled “All That Glitters Is Not Gold”.
The UNCTAD document states that during the pandemic, global cryptocurrency use
increased at an “unprecedented rate”, in particular in developing nations - and warns of
the “considerable risks” that cryptocurrencies may have on “monetary policy” and
“macroeconomic stability”.
The document offers several policy recommendations that developing nations should
consider implementing, including the mandatory registration of all crypto wallets, a ban
on advertisements related to cryptocurrencies, and a safe public payment system
“adapted to the digital era”.
Rohan Grey, a law professor at the Willamette University College of Law told Decrypt,
“The [crypto] ecosystem is not fully ripe and mature. Allowing [the industry] to
aggressively market itself would be like having a new kind of drug that hasn't
gone through the FDA process trumpeting itself as solving cancer.”
The policy brief notes that 41 countries have launched regulatory responses to
cryptocurrencies as of November 2021 - compared with only 15 countries in 2018.
It also lists nine “developing” countries that have outright banned cryptocurrencies,
including Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Qatar, and Tunisia.
Penelope Hawkins, an economist, and senior economic affairs officer at UNCTAD told
Decrypt,
“This is not about approving or disapproving [of crypto] but pointing out that there
are social risks and costs associated with cryptocurrency. This is a recommendation that applies to any speculative or high-risk financial products
where returns are uncertain.”
The United Nations has a history of using digital assets to promote its different
initiatives. In February, the UN launched Boss Beauties, an NFT collection to mark
International Women’s Day and in 2021 they backed an NFT competition called
Climate4Art.
4. StarkWare confirms the StarkNet token is coming.
StarkNet, an Ethereum layer-two (L2) scaling solution, confirmed in a Medium post on
Wednesday (July 13) that the long-time token rumors were true.
The post confirms that the StarkNet Token will “advance the decentralization of the
network” and will be required for “(i) governance, (ii) payment of transaction fees on
StarkNet, and (iii) participation in StarkNet’s consensus mechanism”.
The StarkNet team minted an initial 10 Billion tokens for core contributors of the
StarkNet ecosystem with more tokens to be minted in the future.
StarkNet says that the token model emphasizes compensating “developers” and
“StarkNet operators” for their contributions to the network.
The new token will go on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token with an
expected launch date of September 2022.
According to L2Beat, an analytics and research website that tracks Ethereum layer-two
scaling projects, StarkNet is ranked 16th with $621 thousand TVL - (Total Value Locked
in the platform).
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