TL;DR#
- Wintermute lost $160 million due to DeFi hacking attacks.
- Jack Daniels has filed patents for NFTs and Metaverse.
- Flipkart is set to jump onto the Metaverse bandwagon.
- AC Milan has collaborated with MonkeyLeague to release an NFT game.
- Universal Studios is planning an NFT scavenger hunt with a Halloween theme.
NFTs are an innovation that not only prove ownership of digital assets but also act as certificates for holders or keys to the underlying material, which may be anything from a piece of music to a piece of art to a piece of real estate. Most luxury labels and brands remain focused on creating NFTs to replicate physical items, but a few projects have started bringing their communities into the metaverse. By 2026, it is expected that the metaverse will have a market share worth $50.37 billion.
Blockchain Hacks#
Wintermute, a global cryptocurrency market maker and algorithmic trading firm, lost $160 million due to DeFi hacking attacks. The root cause of the attack was due to a vulnerability in Profanity, an Ethereum vanity address tool, which allowed for the disclosure of a private key. The attacker made use of this information to execute a privilege function and designate the swap contract as the attacker-controlled one. The team failed to remove the address as an admin from their vault. Due to an internal error, a wrong function was called, and the team blacklisted the router instead of the operator. The hacker created a helper contract, deposited stable coin into Curve to avoid blacklisting, and figured out the vulnerability in a closed sourced vault contract. The hacker's wallet held approximately $9 million in Ether (ETH) and $37.5 million in other ERC-20 tokens. We have also covered the details of the exploit in this blog post.
OpenSea, the digital marketplace for cryptocurrency collectibles and NFTs, has announced a new initiative to make it easier for creators to create and distribute NFTs on its platform. Creators will be able to launch their NFT collections on their own customizable and dedicated drop pages as part of this new immersive initiative, which the company hopes will allow for greater visibility and discoverability on the marketplace's new homepage. Creators will now be able to share images and videos, provide team highlights, outline roadmaps, and more via the customizable drop pages. SeaDrop, a new secure open source smart contract that will facilitate the drop experience, saving creators time and the technicalities involved in creating their own custom smart contracts, will also be available for project drops on OpenSea.
Citizens of Saudi Arabia commemorated the country's National Day in the Metaverse during a three-day event held in the Decentraland metaverse between September 22 and September 24. From traditional NFT attire to an open-air museum, this immersive experience paid homage to the culture and history of Saudi Arabia. Together with King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, the Saudi advertising firm The Bold Group meticulously designed the event with a genuine blend of culture, history, and entertainment. Event participants were able to explore an open-air museum showcasing the cultural splendour of Saudi Arabia. Collectors were able to purchase wearable NFTs inspired by Saudi national attire.
Jack Daniels has joined a number of major firms and brands that have already applied for metaverse and NFT-related trademarks for various purposes with the United States trademark regulator. Mike Kondoudis, an attorney for intellectual property trademarks, verified that Jack Daniels submitted three trademark applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office for metaverse and NFTs. According to him, Jack Daniels aims to sell NFT-authenticated media relating to beverages, barware, and clothes, such as video, audio, artwork, and text. The trademark will also cover digital goods that may be downloaded. Additionally, the corporation has submitted a trademark application for downloadable computer software that delivers beverage-related information and software that Jack Daniels may use as a digital wallet.
The use of NFTs as digital collectibles aided their growth last year. Over the past year, major brands including Nike, Dolce & Gabbana, and Tiffany have sold NFTs worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The Universal Studios theme parks in California and Florida are currently adding NFTs to their list of attractions. Through October 31, visitors to the park will be able to participate in a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt that may mint approximately 7 million NFTs. Each park will conceal seven QR codes, each of which will generate an NFT when scanned. Those who locate and scan all seven will receive a unique NFT and gain access to additional perks.
Royal Enfield, manufacturer of the popular Classic 350, Bullet, and other motorcycles in different nations, has announced its entry into Web 3.0 technology by launching NFT through a partnership with foundation.app, an Ethereum-based NFT platform. Royal Enfield said in a press release that they would introduce their NFT collection, comprising ten exclusive winning artwork concepts from the Art of Motorcycling program's previous two seasons. Every one of these NFTs costs Rs 15,000 and will be issued on October 3. Puneet Sood, global head of apparel business at Royal Enfield, stated that the art of motorcycle riding is meant to provide a forum for designers, painters, illustrators, and motorcycle enthusiasts to express their passion for the sport.
AC Milan has announced a groundbreaking new partnership with Web3 e-sports platform MonkeyLeague, which includes NFT gaming, merchandise, collectibles, and more. Fans can collect AC Milan-themed MonkeyPlayers, merchandise, wearables, and other tokenized assets, as well as compete in a series of exciting AC Milan-branded MonkeyLeague tournaments. Later in the year, the first AC Milan MonkeyPlayer NFTs will be released via the Magic Eden marketplace in the form of an auction where the highest bidder takes all, with the top-tier NFTs including a club-signed AC Milan jersey.
While the Big Billion Days Sale is currently underway, e-commerce giant Flipkart plans to unveil its interactive and Metaverse-themed virtual retail platform dubbed Flipverse. According to reports, the company has collaborated on the project with social media behemoth Meta and Ethereum Layer-2 scaling platform Polygon, which may go live in October. In addition to hosting games, NFTs, product launches, and other contests, Flipverse will reportedly implement a slew of Web3.0 technologies to improve the current user experience, including a virtual reality experience. The new service will allow users to navigate through the virtual shopping center and interact with digital storefronts.
OnChain Insurance Industry News#
InsurAce Protocol has announced that their cover wordings are being updated, which may apply to one or more cover products or services. These initiatives have been taken to improve the transparency and clarity of their service terms, as well as to accommodate new product offerings, services, and updated features.
