1. Which countries are most interested in NFTs?

We share the rating of queries on the NFT topic in Google. When calculating the final result, the population of the country is taken into account.
1. Singapore (interest rating = 100)
2. Hong Kong, 96
3. China, 81
4. Taiwan, 56
5. Philippines, 55
6. Canada, 54
7. UAE, 54
8. New Zealand, 53
9. Australia, 53
10. Lebanon, 52
11. Venezuela, 51
12. USA, 49
13. South Korea, 48
14. Nigeria, 46
15. UK, 40
16. Netherlands, 39
17. Georgia, 38
18. Switzerland, 38
19. Israel, 37
20. Portugal, 37

It's interesting how different paths NFT adoption has taken.
The Philippines and Venezuela obviously made it into the rankings by earning money in P2E games, where for millions of people they are the best source of income. Apparently, it is such an important part of the economy there that in the rating the countries are ahead of the United States, the country with the largest number of investors.
Singapore, UAE, South Korea, Switzerland and Portugal are in the ranking due to the crypto focus of governments.

2. Spotify integrates NFT

Musicians will be able to showcase their NFT collections on their Spotify profiles. While it is available in test mode for US Android users.

What does it have?
A section of his NFT gallery will be added to the musician's page. By clicking on See More under the token they like inside Spotify, the music fan is redirected to the OpenSea marketplace, where they can make a purchase in the usual way. For example, the collection "The Wombats" from American DJ Steve Aoki is already available for purchase.
Thus, the streaming service acts as an advertising platform for musicians. Artists are monetizing their creativity, Spotify is becoming a progressive player in web3. Fans interact with idols in a new convenient way. Everything is positive.
According to Music Ally, Spotify will take no commission on purchases, and is in the process of testing its NFT integration. So it will be or not, it will be seen after the release of the function in the public domain.

How did the audience of Spotify listeners react?
Before introducing a test version of the function, the platform conducted a survey among its users. The response was generally positive. Spotify's audience is 159 million and mostly consists of young people who are open to blockchain technologies like NFT.

3.Vitalik Buterin shared his thoughts on the development of Ethereum

The founder of the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization said that he would like to make Ethereum a stable network both technically and culturally. In his opinion, this requires a huge amount of coordinated efforts and changes that must be implemented in the shortest possible time.

He also wrote that he was torn between his commitment to decentralization and democracy, and his agreement with the actions of the intellectual elite on some political issues. Buterin does not give up hope that in the future more countries will conduct bold experiments in the cryptocurrency industry, however, many countries will still support centralization and remain unfriendly towards cryptocurrencies.

Earlier, Buterin acknowledged that the fees in second-layer solutions for the Ethereum network are still high, but he and his team are aiming to reduce them to 5 cents.

4. How to avoid becoming a victim of NFT scammers

We receive a lot of letters to our editorial office… It’s a joke, of course, we don’t receive any letters, but recently one of our subscribers really asked to tell us about how not to become a victim of scammers in the NFT world. Of course, it is impossible to list all fraudulent schemes, but we will talk about the main ones.

Last year, the number of crimes related to cryptocurrencies in one way or another grew by 79%: fraudsters are not only on the alert - on the contrary, in the world of crypto, which, unlike traditional financial markets, is practically not regulated by laws, there are too many scammers. Their main schemes are phishing, fake NFTs, and pump-and-dumps mechanics.

Phishing

Fake pop-ups that look like your crypto wallet interface is one of the most common examples of fraudulent schemes. Be careful where you enter your personal data, and in no case do not agree if someone offers to help you invest in NFT and at the same time asks for information about a crypto wallet.

Pump-and-dumps

The pump-and-dumps scheme was far from invented by cryptans - it is also used inside traditional financial structures. The idea is to inflate the value of something (be it an NFT, a cryptocurrency, or a common security) with false, unsubstantiated recommendations, and then, at the peak of value, abruptly get rid of all assets, leaving the rest of the investors empty-handed. , because after such a decisive exit, the value of the asset will fall to the bottom. Therefore, rumors and gossip about any next "incredibly promising project" should be treated with great caution and double-check all information of this nature.

Fake NFTs

The most banal scheme of scammers is to simply steal an artist’s work, turn it into an NFT and try to sell it, posing as the copyright holder. The buyer in this case usually thinks that he is investing his money in the original work of art, in fact it is just a copy, and even then stolen by scammers. We talked about how artists stole their art and turned it into NFTs in one of our previous posts.

What to do?

When they say that NFT is a scam, we disagree: NFT is a huge and rapidly growing business with a lot of scammers. The main tips that will help you avoid becoming a victim of scammers are to closely follow the news from the blockchain world (we will help you with this), optimize your digital security (at least set up two-factor authentication where possible) and be careful with all pop-up windows and questionnaires that ask for personal information.

5. The NoMo SoHo became the first hotel where you can reserve a room by buying NFT

A New York hotel has created 300 NFT reservations for progressive guests. You can book the desired room by purchasing the appropriate token on OpenSea. Newfangled booking perks include late check-out, a welcome surprise upon arrival and complimentary breakfast. 3-7 day packs are also available at a better price (from 0.41 ETH to 0.97 ETH). $900-2000

NFTStays are attracting new clients from the crypto community. In addition to the American hotel, cryptocurrencies are already accepted in some Marriot, Villa Natura in Ibiza and Hotel Cà di Dio in Venice.

The tourism sector has changed a lot over the past 2 years: first due to covid restrictions and a forced drop in demand. Next, the NFT boom last spring ushered in a marathon of initiatives to sell and rent real estate using blockchain technology. Now major industry players are integrating convenient tools, focusing on more solvent crypto-clients.

6. What P2E game is Ubisoft developing and what does BAYC have to do with it?

Recently, one of the world's largest game development companies, Ubisoft, became a key investor in the project. Frontier.
It's a competitive social P2E game featuring the characters Watchers and Zeros. They are like helmeted minions fighting against each other in deep space. Judging by teaser, Watchers and Zeros will be able to own spaceships and teleport using special button platforms. The main goals of the game are to protect your base and destroy the enemy base.
The developers want to make the game interesting for both the crypto audience and newcomers to the world of blockchain projects.
The game has not distinguished itself by its original name - there are already several DeFi projects and games using "Frontier".

The game has 53 subscribers twitter, including well-known influencers and gaming guilds.
The creative part of the project really attracts attention - there are also stylish videos with a list of what can be done in the game: “earn, learn, create, create, reduce, complete, collect” and cinematic cutscenes with characters that hint at the plot of the game. The level of production really goes beyond geek projects for the crypto industry and is clearly aimed at the sophisticated mass user. Investor money is definitely not wasted!

Some references and even pranks lands, give the opportunity suggestthat Frontier is somehow connected to the BAYC metaverse. It remains to be seen whether this will become a full-fledged part of the project or only mini-games / zones will be opened there in order to exchange audiences.

В concept have already hinted at the strategic component of the game and showed the process of creating a laser gun. The quality of the details also allows us to say that Frontier will bring P2E to a new visual level (the project is being built on the Unity engine).
Already on OpenSea sell 56 game items, the total amount of sales is an impressive 12900 ETH.
Cheapest Watcher now costs 0.4 ETH, Zero - 0.066 ETH. Also for 0.65 ETH you can buy key, giving the right to vote and bonuses for new purchases. Full list of valuable items and bonuses here.
Tokenomics is under development by FocusLabs, Accuracy, and Ekino, with DAO to finalize it.

We attach a more detailed scheme of game assets in the comments and begin to follow the project. The alpha version of the game is promised to roll out from July to October. If Ubisoft has already come to the blockchain, then something worthwhile will definitely turn out.

7.Launched the first off-the-shelf NFT rental project using the new ERC721Q standard

We love writing about unusual uses for NFTs. One of the cases described earlier has a logical continuation!
EVA DAO is a growing network of artists and developers working together to unlock the deep potential of creators and their ecosystems.
Using web3, the project's releases connect unique works of art with live events, making communication with fans more exciting and impressive.
EVA DAO empowers artists, collectors and their communities to build an independent creative economy for music, video and live performance.
The project catalog is a curated collection of unique audiovisual NFTs created by iconic electronic musicians and visual artists. Each collaboration in the EVA DAO catalog is unique and will be presented at artists' live performances, exhibitions and other events. The EVA DAO User Contract uses the new ERC721Q NFT standard, allowing holders to lend their tokens to institutions, license them for live events, and track provenance - all on-chain.
With the rental of the first NFT as a bonus, there is a pass to the backstage of two parties of the Afterlife label.

Advisors and creators of the project launched an original collection in December Daemonica, NFT from which we bought and hold. The developers stated that the new ERC721Q protocol will be tested first of all on this project.

Renting NFTs may become a new trend amid the launch of crypto-art avatars in the largest social networks. In fact, renting an expensive token will become as much a symbol of social dominance as an expensive car for an hour or an escort.

8. NFT will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival

The NFTCannes Summit will take place on May 23 at the iconic Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, where film celebrities stay when they come to the festival. The purpose of the event is to connect the leading minds of the conventional and web3 space. Entrance there is by invitation only, the main theme is collaborations between existing media companies and web3. They will also talk about the use of blockchain in the entertainment industry and its possibilities for the development of cinema.

The summit is to be made an annual event. Among the partners are EMP production studio, Galaxy Interactive crypto financial company, OP3N NFT application, Avalanche blockchain platform and Republic private investment platform.

Events like the NFTCannes Summit signal an evolution in the film and other entertainment industries with the advent of web3. You won’t surprise anyone with an avatar with a monkey. Transferring traditional entertainment to the crypto space, watching movies in the metaverse, etc. much more interesting.

9. Dubai Museum of the Future launches NFT collection

The building in the form of a silver ring with Arabic calligraphy on the facade opened in February this year and is considered the most beautiful building in the world according to the Sheikh of Dubai - His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Together with the NFT marketplace Binance, the organizers announced the first drop - a collection of non-fungible tokens "The Most Beautiful NFTs in the Metaverse". To get into WHITELIST and find out the details of mint first, you need to register on https://nft.museumofthefuture.ae and stay tuned for updates.

Dubai is considered a magnet for many crypto barons as it has a very attractive taxation system for starting blockchain businesses. And of course, the desire of the sheikhs to create something “the very best” has not disappeared anywhere. The share of oil revenues is decreasing every year, the Arabs are wisely investing their wealth in various technological areas.

Omar bin Sultan Al Olamah, Minister for AI, Digital Economy and Teleemployment, says: “This collaboration will significantly contribute to Dubai’s plans to build a new international digital asset ecosystem, which in turn will drive long-term economic growth within the digital economy. ".

The Museum of the Future houses a scientific and educational center and a lecture hall, where crypto conferences will also be held.

10. Rick and Morty Creator Announces Krapopolis NFT Series

Dan Harmon has partnered with Fox Entertainment to produce an animated comedy series. The plot takes place in Ancient Greece and focuses on a vicious family of humans, gods and monsters who are trying to run without killing each other. Voiced by Duncan Trussell, Pam Murphy, Hannah Waddingham, Richard Ayoade and Matt Berry.

In addition to the animated series, they promise to create NFT characters and a project token.
Fox also announced the creation of an NFT division called Blockchain Creative Labs.

“Krapopolis” is not the first series on the blockchain, last fall Mila Kunis released a cartoon Gimmicks on the Solana blockchain. Another cartoon came out in April Stoner Cats on Ethereum, with the support of the same Mila Kunis and Chris Rock.

Rick and Morty co-founder Justin Roland released NFT doodles last year "The Best I Could Do", with a plot from the cult cartoon on the Nifty Gateway marketplace.

News for the category unincluded borrowed and verified from the channel BCC BLOCKCHAIN ​​CULTURE