#23 Property in Florida Sells as NFT for $654k. Ivy League University Invests $20m in Blockchain Research Initiative
Disclaimer: Everything we write in "The Crypto Insider Report" is an x-ray of the industry as we see it, through the lens of publicly available information. We are not financial advisors.
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Big Name Architecture Enters the Metaverse - Viceverse
We’ve all heard about the Metaverse by now. From Facebook’s rebrand, to sneaker companies headlines and even Euronews writing about working in the metaverse, I think it’s safe to say that the Metaverse is big, it’s hot and it’s definitely here to stay.
What we haven’t heard much about though is architecture in the Metaverse. If you think about it, it’s an interesting situation. The laws of Physics don’t apply and you don’t actually have to build something - it’s just 3D modeling. So, in a way, anything goes. However, Crypto visuals are usually pixelated, being closer to Minecraft than to whatever the latest Unreal Engine demo is, so I’d argue there isn’t necessarily that much focus on visual wow-factor.
This is where today’s headline comes in - Vice Media Group created an office in the Metaverse and had it designed by none other than Bjarne Ingels’ BIG. They are the architecture firm that put a ski piste on top of a power plant in Copenhagen, one of the biggest players in the game. Dubbed an experimental playground, the building (can we call it that?) resides in Decentraland. It features an NFT gallery on the first floor and meeting spaces in the upper floors. Not bad for a v1. Let’s see what the other players are going to come up with.
Mihnea
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NFT-backed property sold for $654k in the US
A house in Florida auctioned off as an NFT at a price of c.$654,000 (210 ETH). The announcement was made on February 11th by Propy, a startup aiming to automate real estate transaction processes.
This transaction garnered attention as the first-known NFT sale in the US real estate market and was done through Propy’s NFT platform, which is built on Ethereum.
Propy has developed proprietary legal paperwork to encapsulate property rights (i.e., ownership of the property being sold) into a US-based LLC - in this case, Never Forget to HODL LLC was used. The auction winner became the owner of the NFT that gives the rights to the LLC. Legal papers for NFTs were signed by the seller to transfer ownership to all future buyers.
The proof-of-concept of the mechanism was done in 2021 in an auction of Michael Arrington’s apartment in Kiev. Arrington is the founder of TechCrunch and Partner at Arrington XRP Capital, a crypto VC fund and investor in Propy. The property in Florida drew interest from more than 7,000 potential bidders, but only 50 went through KYC and only two had sufficient funds in their digital wallet. The sell price was only $4k above the starting price. In a Q&A with The Block, the owner of the property, Leslie Alessandra, said that she wanted to show people a practical example of how an NFT-backed property could be sold. She also mentioned she spent over $15k for listing the property, not including lawyer fees.
In this type of process, Propy CEO, Natalia Krayeneva, mentioned that her company is interested in properties with special attributes - be it architecture, location, historical relevance or price - given that NFTs are seen as collectibles. Propy plans to mint more properties across the US as NFTs. The concept is interesting and probably where the market is heading towards however, it would need to be tested from a legal point of view and we would need to see how interoperability b/w platforms will develop.
Razvan
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Princeton University joins Cambridge, Oxford and MIT and tapps into the blockchain space
In an effort to explore the vast depths of the social capabilities of decentralization through blockchain technology, the prestigious Princeton University has announced a research initiative meant to study the ways in which modern technology, with a focus on blockchain, interferes with and alters social norms. In a video release university representatives state that “we are at a very early stage in understanding the opportunities and challenges” associated with cryptocurrency and blockchain.
The initiative will involve scholars from various disciplines to understand the implications of blockchain and its potential to disrupt centers of societal power. These efforts have been financially encouraged by high-profile alumni Peter Bridger (Fortress Investment), Joseph Lubin (Founder Consensys), Daniel Morehead (CEO Pantera Capital) and Mike Novogratz ( CEO Galaxy Digital).
The Ivy League University, is joining some of the world’s top universities such as Oxford University, Cambridge, MIT and University of Pennsylvania in declaring and accepting the importance of blockchain technology and its presence in their educational effort, with some of the aforementioned players even accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment for their tuition fees.
This is the second time in two weeks Princeton has revealed its ongoing involvement in the blockchain industry. On March 2, a partnership with Metaverse and NFT project Radio Caca (RACA) and Princeton’s Blockchain Society was reported by Cointelegraph.
Evelyne
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The Sandbox Alpha Season 2
With all the big names entering the Metaverse world, big promises start popping out daily, but there's a great saying that goes like this: "Don't listen to what they say, watch what they do."
And it seems that, so far, Sandbox is the greatest Metaverse out there, especially now with the launch of Alpha Season 2. And this one is for everybody.
And it gets better: now, it's available both for Windows and macOS. It works like a charm, as you can see in the picture below. Full resolution, smooth feeling, Minecraft looking graphic, but a cool feeling all in all.
Now, for those not so familiar with Sandbox, the Metaverse is working like a launchpad, trying to bring more and more creators into the game.
Building Games for the Metaverse in Sandbox Was a great success, and now, with Season 2, Play to Earn is available:
"Play Alpha Season 2 and try to win an Alpha Pass by completing Quests."
Every Quest that you complete puts more chances for you in the raffle that will happen in less than three weeks. And there are more than 200 Quests available.
You can read more details about this here: The Sandbox Medium article.
Raffle or no Raffle, even though it looks so 90s' graphic Quake1 style, you're going to enjoy it for sure, especially if you also listen to some crypto podcasts in the background.
You can try our DAOnauts Alex & Matei 1st Episode.
IF you read this, played the game, and leveled up, don't hesitate to come on our Discord channel and post some print screens on our NFT discussion groups. Enjoy!
Cosmin
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For more educational crypto content, check out the links below:
Stakeborg Academy: https://academy.stakeborg.com/
The Stakeborg DAO Talks on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOrFZZifNn4Nx4nSQL3WS52ALPXgrTSVG
Discord channel: https://discord.com/channels/901898461568442458/903006233584341052
StakeborgDAO Quarterly Reports: https://docs.stakeborgdao.com/reports/dao-quarterly-reports
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