Tag: nfts

Complementary NFTs for Crypto Taxpayers in India: TaxNodes Hatches Game Plan

Profits generated via crypto activities in India are subjected to a 30 percent tax deduction, a rule that most members of the Indian crypto community have been failing to comply with. In order to get more Indian crypto investors to pay their taxes, TaxNodes has decided to offer complimentary NFTs to taxpayers using its platform. The tax computation platform has partnered with Polygon Labs to offer these non-fungible tokens as incentives for crypto taxpayers.

The move is intended to further the adoption of digital assets in India, where the crypto community is expected to swell to over 156 million users by the end of 2023.

“Eligible users can claim their NFTs till July 31, which are minted on the Polygon Labs blockchain, by providing their ITR acknowledgement number. As an added incentive, they will receive an immediate 25 percent discount on their ITR filing for the year 2022-2023 through the TaxNodes platform,” the company said in an official release on Tuesday, July 18.

In the absence of a set rulebook for crypto, India levied taxes on crypto profits last April hoping to be able to maintain some track record of crypto transactions, most of which are largely anonymous.

The aim was to identify potential defaulters and suspicious crypto holders, who could be engaging in unlawful activities like money laundering or terror financing.

India’s decision to levy a 30 percent tax on crypto incomes along with one percent TDS on each crypto transaction was met with mixed reactions from India’s crypto community. While levying taxes made crypto an official part of India’s financial ecosystem, the tax bracket was criticised for being too wide. Several disappointed and confused crypto holders in India failed to file their crypto taxes last year.

A recent report by Divly, a Sweden-based tech research firm said that only 0.07 percent crypto holders in India paid their taxes last year.

It is only a matter of time before we know for sure if gifting NFTs as an incentive for paying crypto taxes could get more people to declare their holdings.

“We not only want to thank users for putting their trust in us for their IT computation, we also want to encourage them to be a part of the larger Web3 ecosystem by bringing in the NFT element on the Polygon blockchain. They will witness first hand, the value of this NFT and how to use them to avail many benefits and discounts on our platform,” said Avinash Shekhar, CEO and Founder, TaxNodes.

The company has already tied up with India’s ZebPay and WazirX crypto exchanges to help their users compute their respective crypto taxes.

Will the Nothing Phone 2 serve as the successor to the Phone 1, or will the two co-exist? We discuss the company’s recently launched handset and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article. 

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Clothing Brand Lacoste Forays Deeper Into Web3 Exploration, Brings NFT Rewards System

Lacoste, a French designer brand that has been pro-Web3 for a while already, is stepping into deeper waters with its blockchain exploration. The company has decided to add more functionality to its NFT ecosystem, that it first brought to life in June 2022 with its UNDW3 collection. Lacoste wants to reward the holders of these 11,212 UNDW3 NFTs, which is what its new reward system is all about. The brand sees a long-term vision for integrating more Web3 elements to its operations and identity.

Lacoste wishes to let the holders of its ‘Genesis Pass’ UNDW3 NFTs be treated with special creative sessions, video games, exclusive contests, as well as interactive conversations with fellow community members.

Interested holders of Lacoste’s last year’s NFTs will have to connect their digital wallets to a dedicated site, UNDW3.lacoste.com, to unlock these rewards.

“Beyond the fleeting trends surrounding NFTs and the metaverse, we see blockchain as an accelerator, ushering in a more inclusive and experiential digital realm. By rewarding creators and fostering horizontal relationships with our customers, we invite them into our creative process,” Forbes quoted Lacoste deputy CEO Catherine Spindler as saying.

As the participators increase their activities on the rewards site, they’ll earn leadership points and in-turn, enhance the rarity quotient of their NFTs.

“The holders of the Lacoste UNDW3 Card will have the mission to solve quests, engage with the brand, and unlock exclusive benefits that will only be accessible to Lacoste UNDW3 Card holders. Every week, raffles will be organised for all community members, with the opportunity to win exclusive rewards (merchandise, digital twins, etc.),” Lacoste’s new website mentioned.

The more a member engages with the brand, the more they will get a decision-making say in the future of the brand.

In recent days, several fashion brands have taken their first steps into the metaverse and NFT arenas.

In March this year, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, and Vogue Digital took part in the Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW) 2023. The virtual event was hosted by Decentraland, where over 60 fashion brands, both physical as well as digital native ones, showcased their spring collections on the digital runway.

To bridge the gap between digital and physical fashion, SYKY has initiated a one-year incubator programme that will help digital designers make improvements to their skills. The virtual fashion platform has onboarded the British Fashion Council, Vogue’s creative editorial director Mark Guiducci, and Calvin Klein’s chief marketing officer Jonathan Bottomley to be part of the mentor panel established by SYKY to assist its group of up-and-coming designers.

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Nike Partners EA Sports to Bring Exclusive NFT Collection to Gamers: Details

In a rather pro-Web3 move, Nike has struck a partnership with EA Sports hoping to be able to push elements of Web3 like cryptocurrencies and NFTs, deeper into the international gaming ecosystem. The shoes and athleisure brand Nike has been experimenting with digital collectibles or NFTs for quite some time now. As for EA Sports, the US-based game publisher behind world-famous titles like FIFA and F1 among others, and has a player-base of over 150 million as per Statista.

As part of this deal, Nike’s Web3 platform called ‘.Swoosh’ will provide its users access to exclusive NFT collections inspired by EA Sports games, which boast a massive community of fans across the globe.

“Nike Virtual Studios and EA SPORTS are today announcing a new partnership aimed at enhancing and personalising the virtual sports experience for fans all over the world. In future EA Sports titles, EA Sports and Nike plan to make select .Swoosh virtual creations available allowing members and players unique new opportunities for self-expression and creativity through sport and style,” an official blog by Nike said.

The companies announced the development officially on Twitter on June 1.

Nike is expected to make its EA Sports-focussed NFTs, customisable. These NFTs would include wearable merchandises inspired by teams within the games. Players will be able to purchase these Nike NFTs to tweak their virtual avatars.

The option to engage with NFTs, most of which are bought with cryptocurrencies, will now reach millions of players who are part of the EA Sports community, which could significantly boost Web3 adoption.

Other prominent players from the gaming sector are also looking at Web3 to refresh the existing video game ecosystem.

Previously, Sony has also filed for patents pertaining to the integration of digital assets and NFTs to its offerings and services.

Over 55 percent of the global gaming community resides in Asia. The continent contributes over $72 billion (roughly Rs. 5,88,229 crore) in annual gaming revenue.

A Chainalysis report also recently highlighted that in the second quarter of 2022, 58 percent of web traffic from Asian nations to crypto services was NFT-related. Another 21 percent traffic was related to play-to-earn blockchain games.

Hence in recent times, the blockchain gaming market in Japan has specifically garnered major interest of the gaming industry.

Apple’s annual developer conference is just around the corner. From the company’s first mixed reality headset to new software updates, we discuss all the things we’re looking forward to seeing at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Adidas Expands ‘Into The Metaverse’ Web3 Initiative with Chapter 1 of ALTS Dynamic NFTs

Adidas is not shying away from deep diving into Web3 exploration as a way to connect and engage with its younger and more tech-savvy customers. The shoes and apparel brand has announced the launch of its ALTS Dynamic NFT collection, as part of expanding its ‘Into The Metaverse’ initiative that was kickstarted in 2021. Adidas is among several brands in the fashion and lifestyle industry that has established itself as an early adopter of the Web3 world.

The company, that has its global corporate headquarters in Germany, has listed over 16,000 Ethereum-built NFTs on the OpenSea NFT marketplace, with the floor price of ETH 0.75 or $1,438 (roughly Rs. 1.17 lakh).

From the looks of the NFTS on OpenSea, they depict what appears to be a person undergoing a transition atop a glowing Adidas logo.

People who purchased NFTs from Adidas’ first two ‘Into The Metaverse’ collection can burn their NFTs to receive a brand new NFT from the ALTS by Adidas collection. They will only be required to pay the gas fee and see their NFT evolve into a Dynamic ALTS collectible with eight different ALT[er] egos, explained a report by CoinDesk. All of the eight ALT[er] egos come with different interactive storylines and rarity quotients.

“Embarking on a new era in the Adidas Web3 journey, we are reaching the third and final phase of Into The Metaverse with ALTS by adidas: your identity and PFP (picture for proof)— an interactive storyline which will culminate with the reveal. Chapter 1 of this new adventure begins in April 2023 with further utility and enhanced holder benefits rolled out over the following months,” Adidas wrote on its OpenSea description.

At the end of Chapter 3 of this ALT Dynamic NFT series, Adidas will give a unique PFP loaded with multiple trait combinations as well as a rarity rank.

Adidas tweeted more information about this ‘evolving NFTs’ collection via the Twitter handle of Indico Herz, which is actually an NFT itself. Adidas bought BAYC #8774, also named Indigo Herz in September 2022 for ETH 46 ETH — which as per ETH’s current pricing amounts to $88,236 (roughly Rs. 72 lakh).

Presently, ALTS by Adidas #3424 has been purchased for the highest so far price of ETH 0.780 or $1,495 (roughly Rs. 1.22 lakh) on OpenSea. The collection has already roped in over 9,000 owners with 56 percent unique owners.      

NFT sales reportedly rose by a massive 117 percent in February 2023. Around March, the valuation of the global NFT market climbed to its nine-month high since June last year to over $2 billion (roughly Rs. 17,200 crore).

A new research report claims that the utility of NFTs in the Web3 world is the top reason why tech-savvy investors are turning their attention towards buying digital collectibles. The second most major reason why NFTs appeal to the buyers is the element of long-term profits that they hold.

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88 NFTs Inspired by 1st Artwork to be Sent on Moon Slated For March Release

Sacha Jafri, a record-holding artist based in Dubai, is currently working on a special sculpture that will soon be planted on the lunar surface. Once the historic moon-landing of this artwork finally completes, a total of 88 NFTs inspired by the sculpture will be released for the Earthlings. These NFTs will be released next month in March. Built on the blockchain, NFTs or non-fungible tokens are digital collectibles that are unique and of value in nature.

The artwork that is being readied for the moon is titled “We Rise Together — By the Light of the Moon”. A male and female human figure is being engraved on a gold slab. The figurines will be surrounded by 88 hearts, which is from where, the number of inspired NFTs has been chosen to be 88.

“The original artwork was this beautiful heart motif. Two figures entwined, reconnecting and around them is blossoming flora, fauna,” Jafri told CNN an interview.

Images of Jafri’s piece have emerged on social media.

Commissioned by UK’s space robotics firm Spacebit, the artwork will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the first week of March.

It will be placed on a lunar crater named Lacus Mortis (the Lake of Death)

A lunar lander will place the work in a crater known as Lacus Mortis (the Lake of Death) where it will remain forever. It will also be the first ever artwork to land on the moon.

While the CNN report says the artwork will be carried to the moon on a United Launch Alliance rocket supported by engines developed by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, other outlets say claim that the NASA Commercial Payload Services (CLPS) will facilitate the artwork’s lunar landing.

The exact landing details remain unclear for now.

UAE-based blockchain firm called the Selenian Network will be facilitating the sale of these 88 NFTs.

The proceeds from the sales of these NFTs will be donated to humanitarian charities focussed on health, education, equality, and sustainability.

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Amazon Could Launch NFT Initiative Linked to Its E-Commerce Website Around April: Report

Amazon could be gearing up to foray into the digital assets industry in 2023. The e-commerce giant is reportedly set to launch an NFT initiative this April that would be closely integrated with its mother platform. NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are digital collectibles, that are built on blockchains that transfer their complete ownerships to the buyers. Business experts from around the world have time and again predicted that NFTs, that are also compatible in the metaverse, could be the next advancement that global brands could take up to engage with the Web3 native customers.

Amazon’s plans to dabble in the Web3 space could have the platform encourage its customers to play games and earn NFTs as rewards, a Blockworks report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

For the longest time, Amazon has maintained a distance from the crypto sector owing to its volatile nature and legitimacy issues. In 2022 however, the adoption of NFTs grew in several parts of the world.

Several high-end and globally renowned brands linked their products to NFTs to rope in Web3 enthusiasts.

A total of $260 million (roughly Rs. 2,074 crore) has collectively been bagged by high-end luxury brands including Nike, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana with the sales of their NFT pieces, a report by NFTgators said in August last year.

Amazon, being a seller of thousands of local and international brands, could now be seeing NFTs as a way to multiply its own revenue. If Amazon does enter the NFT arena, it could singlehandedly drive a mass engagement of people with digital assets.

“We knew it was possible. But now it seems like it’s really happening. That’s going to affect the existing players in the space — if they execute and do this right and are smart about it,” the Blockworks report quoted its anonymous sources as saying.

For now, Amazon’s official announcement around its NFT-related plans remain awaited.

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NFT Market Hops Onboard 2023’s Recovery Trail, Overall Sales Spike by 16 Percent

The NFT market, after recording a slump in sales and overall market last year, is seemingly jumping back to recovery. As per NFT data aggregator CryptoSlam.io, the sales volume of NFTs spiked by 16 percent in the first three weeks of 2023 from last year. Over 320,580 people purchased digital collectibles between January 1 and 21 alone, the report said. Built on blockchains, NFTs or digital collectibles are virtual representations of art, animals, and game characters amongst other things, that are operable in the metaverse.

In the last seven days itself, the sales of NFTs shot up by 43.48 percent from the week before that, a Bitcoin.com report said, citing statistics from CryptoSlam.io.

NFTs built on the upgraded, energy-efficient Ethereum Merge blockchain, recorded the maximum sales amounting to over $206 million (roughly Rs. 1,675 crore) of last week’s total NFT sales. The purchase of Ethereum-based NFTs has already risen by 24.78 percent this year.

Solana-backed NFTs became the second most-sold digital collectibles and churned a revenue of over $36 million (roughly Rs. 292 crore) in the last seven days.

NFTs created on other blockchains also like Theta, Fantom, Palm, an Eax also recorded an increase in recent times.

One NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and two from the CryptoPunk series emerged as three most expensive NFTs to have been stolen this past week.

Industry analysts had predicted in the last week of December that NFT sales would skyrocket in the first part of 2023.

“Brands will try to outshine each other for visibility among the crypto native audience. Retail adoption of crypto, largely driven by their indirect exposure to virtual digital assets through brands they tend to engage with will also see a rise,” Rajagopal Menon, Vice President at WazirX crypto exchange had said on December 30, 2022.

After the crypto industry fell into a slump in the second half of 2022, the low-risk sentiment also struck potential NFT buyers who decided to take a sabbatical from indulging.

As per a Bloomberg report, the sales of NFTs recorded a 16-month low in December last year.

Between January and December 2022, the NFT trading volumes reportedly slid by 97 percent and are now enroute recovery.

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NFTs Worth Over $27,000 Stolen Via Malware Wrapped in Google Ads, Victim Loses Life Savings

NFTs nearly $30,000 (roughly Rs. 24 lakh) have reportedly been stolen from an NFT influencer, who goes by the pseudonym ‘NFT God’ on Twitter. The influencer has claimed that his wallet full of digital collectibles was drained in a hack attack. Valuable NFTs worth nearly $30,000 (roughly Rs. 24 lakh) were drained out of his wallet, after he engaged with a sponsored advertisement on Google’s search engine, that replicated an open-source video streaming software which the victim was searching for in the first place.

Along with the costliest Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT, a bunch of other NFTs amounting to ETH 19 amounting upto over Rs. 24 lakh have been reported stolen, as per Etherscan.

The verified Twitter account of ‘NFT God’, that has over 91,000 followers, mostly from the crypto community, posted about the incident warning others against being scammed.

“My Twitter was hacked. I pop open the OpenSea bookmark of my ape and there it is. A completely different wallet listed as the owner. I knew at that moment it was all gone. Everything. All my crypto and NFTs ripped from me,” the influencer tweeted.

The hack took place on January 15, according to the influencer.

Last week, cybersecurity firm Cyble had sounded a warning against malware that was hunting for phishing victims via Google ads. The name of this malware was dubbed “Rhadamanthys Stealer” by the company.

“Rhadamanthys stealer spreads by using Google Ads that redirect the user to phishing websites that mimic popular software such as Zoom, AnyDesk etc. It can also spread via spam email containing an attachment for delivering the malicious payload. The TAs behind this campaign also created a highly convincing phishing webpage impersonating legitimate websites to trick users into downloading the stealer malware The link to these phishing websites spreads through Google ads,” Cyble had said in its report. Google is yet to issue a statement related to the claims of the NFT influencer.

While sharing details of his ordeal with his followers on Twitter, the victim claimed that he made an error during setting up his Ledger account on his new computer, that may have given access to his social networking accounts and digital wallets to the hacker.

“I go to set up my Ledger with it and I make a critical mistake. I set it up as a hot wallet instead of a cold wallet,” he noted.

Hot wallets are connected to the Internet making them more susceptible to hacking attempts, whereas cold wallets are ones that store crypto tokens offline, but their drawback is that they could be lost or damaged by the holders.

As per a CoinTelegraph report, most of the stolen ETH were sent to a decentralised exchange called FixedFloat via multiple wallets.

This is not the first instance, where Google ads have been used in conjunction with phishing malware. In October 2022, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao had also warned crypto investors against malicious actors targeting them via Google.

In September, Google Play Store analytics had revealed that two apps — Mister Phone Cleaner and Kylhavy Mobile Security were infected with a malware called SharkBot that was capable of stealing cookies from accounts and while bypassing authentication methods that require user input, such as fingerprints.

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Donald Trump Makes a Splash in NFT Arena, Releases 45,000 Fantasy NFTs

Donald Trump is the latest public figure to have forayed into the NFT sector despite the sales of digital collectibles having been down for most part of this year. The former President of the US has released a collection of 45,000 fantasy cards called the ‘Trump Digital Trading Cards’. The NFTs are based on the Polygon blockchain and are priced at $99 (roughly Rs. 8,200). Buyers will also be able to make the purchases in Ether (ETH) tokens and fiat currencies.

These digital cards display dramatic avatars of Trump, showing him as a super-human, astronaut, golf-player, and a boxer, among others.

If a user checks out with 45 NFTs at once, the buyer will be presented with a ticket to a gala dinner with Trump.

A commercial curated by Trump advertising these NFTs has also emerged on social media.

“Each Trump Digital Trading Card has a unique identifier that cannot be copied, is recorded on a blockchain, and can be used to certify authenticity as well as ownership. As a bonus for purchasers of Trump Digital Trading Cards, each NFT includes one entry into a sweepstakes to win one of thousands of amazing prizes,” reads the official website for Trump’s NFTs.

Previously, Trump has been vocal about how he is ‘not a fan’ of the digital assets sector.

Following Trump’s announcement on Truth Social, the social media website he founded in 2021, some users on Twitter expressed doubt on if this collection was even legit.

The 76-year-old business tycoon recently announced that he’d be running for the US Presidency again. Therefore, releasing NFTs could be part of his presidential campaign aimed at roping-in and connecting with the younger, tech savvy voters.

Meanwhile, the year of 2022 has not particularly been profitable for the NFT sector.

In a report last week, Bloomberg said the sales of NFTs recorded a 16-month low following the downfall of the FTX crypto exchange citing DappRadar.

The NFT trading volumes have reportedly slid by 97 percent since January.

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What Are Utility NFTs: Here’s What We Know

The market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has seen major ups and downs this year, after the crypto markets plummeted severely and NFT marketplaces recorded losses. Amid dropping sales values, the popularity of utility NFTs seems to have become quite the topic of discussion. Essentially, utility NFTs have a value that goes beyond them just being digital collectibles. These virtual pieces come with special use cases, that gives its owners advantages in the virtual world. Supported on the blockchain system, NFTs can be inspired by art, games, or products among others.

Utility NFTs work very similarly to normal NFTs. They represent unique digital assets stored on blockchain, but they come with premium benefits for their holders.

“Precisely, utility NFTs refer to virtual assets that offer privileges, benefits, or rewards to their owners which are otherwise not available for use. They bestow upon a ‘right’ to extract a service or an advantage to the asset holder,” the Blockchain Council has explained in a blog post.

The e-gaming and metaverse sectors are definite beneficiaries of utility NFTs. Utility NFTs, for instance, can be used to work as inbuilt assets representing the digital land pieces. Purchasing these could help the owners with exclusive access and unlock different unique features linked to the game or the metaverse.

The factor of utility can be added to NFTs by also offering access to physical rewards and meet-ups to the owners of these digital pieces.

Switzerland-based GainForest organisation present utility NFTs representing the real locations of the rainforests. The holders can use the NFTs for minting governance tokens and keeping a track of the forest’s health easily.

Other similar projects like VeeFriends and Doodles also offer utility NFTs to their holders, that allows them to take part in the project governance as well as relevant VIP conferences.

RobotEra, Tamadoge, Silks, and Lucky Block have been named as the ten best utility NFT projects for this year, a report by Cryptonews had showed earlier this week.

As per a Reuters report, monthly sales volume on OpenSea plunged to $700 million (roughly Rs. 5,500 crore) in June, down from $2.6 billion (roughly Rs. 20,600 crore) in May and a far cry from January’s peak of nearly $5 billion (roughly 40,000 crore).

The NFT market will be a $231 billion (roughly Rs. 18,41,300 crore) behemoth by 2030 and it’s too big a business to be ignored, believes, Tarusha Mittal, COO and co-founder of UniFarm, as stated in conversation with Gadgets 360. UniFarm is a multi-token reward staking programme.

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