Backpack’s founders, who are building a crypto exchange and wallet, have experienced strong growth since launching in 2022. But the road wasn’t easy. FTX co-led Backpack’s $20 million strategic investment round in September 2022. Less than two months later, in November 2022, FTX collapsed. “We lost 80% of the operating capital on FTX. We spent […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Starbucks launched Starbucks Odyssey in 2022 as its initial foray into the web3 world. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Zora, an NFT-based social network platform, is continuing its expansion beyond the crypto-sphere into the hot artificial intelligence market, Dee Goens, the startups’ co-founder, said on Chain Reaction. Not to be confused with Sora, the text-to-video tool offered by OpenAI, Zora aims to help creators, brands and artists better monetize their content through NFTs. Last […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

The NFT sector has not yet returned to the glory of its 2022 heyday, but that hasn’t stopped the evolution of the tech. For instance, OpenSea has partnered with the music and arts festival conglomerate Coachella to release three NFT collections that offer both virtual and tangible real-life VIP experiences and merchandise. The partnership will […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

The NFT space may be down substantially from all-time highs, but brands and loyalty programs looking to reach fans in new ways can still find value, said Steve Kaczynski, co-author of the book “The Everything Token” and community lead for Starbucks Odyssey. “Brand anchors” to gated areas like reward programs are something that companies will […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

NFTs don’t always get taken very seriously, particularly now that AI and content creators are hogging the spotlight, but not everyone is so quick to discount crypto’s oft-derided younger sibling. According to Animoca Brands’ chairman and co-founder, Yat Siu, the growing influence of artificial intelligence and content is exactly why there is a growing need […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

While some brands moved away from web3 in 2023 during a long crypto winter, Puma stayed the course and its head of emerging technology Ivan Dashkov told TechCrunch+ it has no intentions of leaving. After two years working with web3, Puma’s tech revenues remain modest, but the sportswear manufacturer intends to be ready for a more […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

NFTs get a lot of heat, but there’s a widespread belief in the industry that there’s ample value underlying the concept and the various use cases it brings. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Founders of Rario, the cricket NFT startup in which India’s Dream11 led a $120 million funding round last year, are leaving the two-year-old firm, people familiar with the matter said. Ankit Wadhwa, who serves as Rario CEO, and Sunny Bhanot, Rario CTO, are being pushed out as investors at the startup, including largest backer Dream11 ..read more

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is suing a non-fungible token project, marking the first time the authority has taken enforcement action against a company for selling unregistered NFTs. Impact Theory, a Los Angeles-based media company, “encouraged potential investors to view the purchase of Founder’s Key [the company’s NFT project] as an investment into the ..read more