This week in the ➡️ #Metaverse — Issue #11
A weekly roundup of what’s happening in the digital land(scape). Metaverse ethics, governance and interesting trends from crypto, gaming, AI and regulation.
What’s going on:
Metaverse visionary Neal Stephenson is building a blockchain to uplift creators — cointelegraph.com
“I worry about things that are not directly related to blockchain and the Metaverse. I worry about climate change and about social fragmentation.”
Facebook’s Metaverse “Will Misfire”: Vitalik Buterin — Crypto Briefing — cryptobriefing.com
Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin believes the Metaverse “is going to happen,” but he doesn’t think corporations will successfully build it.
A New VR Experience Takes You Into a Museum of Stolen Masterpieces — hyperallergic.com
The “Stolen Art Gallery” features five works by Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Manet, Cézanne, and van Gogh, long lost to public view but fully visible in the metaverse.
The U.S. Army, not Meta, is building the metaverse | VentureBeat — venturebeat.com
The metaverse: How U.S. Army practices (not those of Meta) offer a framework for a large-scale, open-source digital world..
A Stanford Graduate Raises $2M To Plug Privacy Into The Right Web3 Socket — www.forbes.com
As Web3 and cryptocurrency applications mature and grow in user adoption, the privacy concerns around sharing your wallet address persist. Socket, founded by Stanford graduate Eva Zhang in 2022, is a Web3 privacy infrastructure for social interactions via crypto applications.
The WTF award of the week goes to…
The Dune bible crypto collective wants to sell its Dune bible — The Verge — www.theverge.com
Spice DAO, a cryptocurrency decentralized autonomous organization (or DAO) built around a script bible for Alejandro Jodorowsky’s never-made adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, is planning a radical shift in direction.
Gaming news:
Gaming vets promise to make blockchain games fun and sustainable — TechCrunch — techcrunch.com
The runaway success of Axie Infinity and StepN has convinced a flurry of entrepreneurs that web3 gaming, where the ownership of in-game assets is in the hands of users via blockchain adoption rather than a centralized platform, is the future. Some of the biggest hits in the space to date reward users with tokens that […]
NFTLand:
Amazon vet flips NFT model on its head, creates a climate friendly marketplace for digital art sales — GeekWire — www.geekwire.com
Well before cryptocurrencies and NFTs began to fizzle this spring, Carly Rector was already sour on their use for digital art sales. Rector, who is herself a digital artist and… Read More
What are Dynamic NFTs? The ‘Living’ Tokens That Change Over Time — Decrypt
decrypt.co
Dynamic NFTs, also known as Living NFTs, use smart contracts to change based on external data sources. Here’s how they work.
Netgear Joins SuperRare DAO to Develop NFT Art Licensing Model — Blockworks — blockworks.co
Collaboration includes showcasing curated SuperRare NFT collections on Meural smart frames
All my apes gone: Legal disputes at the intersection of IP and NFTs — TechCrunch — techcrunch.com
NFTs are no different than old-school physical assets in one important way: They’re governed by a legal framework which, in many respects, is rooted in the 20th century.
For Science!!!
VR Malware Lets Hackers Into Your Headset — VRScout — vrscout.com
Hackers have developed a new form of VR malware for Android-based headsets that lets them record your headset screen.
Meme corner:
Ending nugget:
Each of these uses of NFTs and other blockchain technologies creates digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion, which does not align with Minecraft values of creative inclusion and playing together. NFTs are not inclusive of all our community and create a scenario of the haves and the have-nots.
The speculative pricing and investment mentality around NFTs takes the focus away from playing the game and encourages profiteering, which we think is inconsistent with the long-term joy and success of our players.
MINECRAFT AND NFTS, An early look at our upcoming guidelines
