Here’s the best NFT and metaverse news of the week
EU regulators are already taking a look at competition in the metaverse Photo illustration of Fortune; original photos by Getty Images
Welcome to This week in the Metaverse, where Fortune rounding up the most interesting news in the NFT world, culture and metaverse. Email [email protected] with tips.
The metaverse may already need a shakeup, according to EU regulators. While Meta has made its name (literally) dominating metaverse investments, this could soon become a problem for the competition, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
The European Union’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, told a conference this week that regulators are already starting to look at “what healthy competition will look like in the Metaverse,” meaning Meta, currently the leader in metaverse investments, could face further scrutiny. .
Still, Vestager said her organization needs to plan and be proactive, as any enforcement or legislative process will be slower than the speed of technological progress.
“Sometimes we should allow ourselves to be bold, to make sure we’re up to the challenge,” she said.
Although Meta has made a big deal about its investments in the metaverse, the rise of AI and ChatGPT may reportedly change CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s priorities.
2 billion dollars
DappRadar released its February industry report this week, which showed that NFT trading volume rose 117% month-over-month to $2 billion – the first time it reached that level since May.
The increase in trading volume is a marked contrast to the 31% decline in sales figures, showing that although sales were down, the price tags for NFTs were higher.
Despite the new category of Bitcoin NFTs, or Ordinals, the Ethereum blockchain remained the most popular for NFT transactions, with $1.8 billion in trading volume.
While much has been said about upstart NFT marketplace Blur’s move to take on OpenSea, the latter marketplace still dominated in February in terms of unique traders, with 317,000—227% more than Blur. Still, Blur had the upper hand in trading volume with $1.3 billion in February, beating OpenSea’s $587 million.
Courtesy of DappRadar
Elsewhere
McLaren teamed up with the creators of the Tezos blockchain for a series of NFTs linked to Formula 1. During each race of the season, McLaren fans will be able to mint one of the NFTs, starting with the March 5 race in Bahrain. Those who collect them all will be eligible for one of three prizes, including a 2024 race weekend experience for themselves and one guest, a virtual meeting with McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown, or a physical poster signed by a McLaren Formula 1 Team driver.
Courtesy of the Tezos Foundation
Rapper and metaverse enthusiast Snoop Dogg has teamed up with tech entrepreneur Sam Jones to launch Shiller, a Web3 live streaming platform. The app allows creators to token-gate video and audio, sell e-commerce products and market their own NFTs, while fans can tip and gift their favorite creators. The app is set for release in April.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Taco Bell married its first couple in the metaverse. The restaurant chain opened a competition last year for couples willing to attend a wedding in Decentraland, and selected one couple from San Francisco, Sheel Mohnot and Amruta Godbole, out of 300 applicants. The wedding took place in a virtual world, but included some IRL traditions to reflect the couple’s Indian heritage, including a baraat where groom Mohnot was led to the venue on an ornate digital elephant.
