Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com plans to use its ad time during the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday to air a TV spot regarding the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. In a Wednesday announcement, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said the exchange had partnered with the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, to launch a campaign aimed at helping those suffering under war-torn conditions in Ukraine. The CEO did not specify what the campaign would entail, but the platform already allows donations in crypto, fiat, and nonfungible token purchases to the humanitarian network Red Cross Red Crescent. The exchange will match up …

The media and entertainment industry, in particular Hollywood, has a grip-like monopoly on the intellectual property, or IP, produced for public consumption. Writers and artists rarely maintain true ownership over the characters they create and have little to no say in the merchandise or content that is ultimately presented. Similarly, viewers and fans rarely have power over the stories that are told by the franchises they consume. Let's take Marvel comics for example. Many of the company's most famous characters were originally created by comic book artists like Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. The late Stan Lee, however, …

American singer-songwriter John Legend is solidifying his position among the ranks of celebrities flocking to the world of nonfungible tokens (NFTs), helping to launch a new NFT platform for musicians and other entertainers. The platform called OurSong allows artists to tokenize and sell their work, awarding buyers with privileges like access to unreleased music and private chatrooms. "Everyone can now turn stories, music, photography, and any kind of art into NFT trading cards called Vibes," the platform states. "Vibes allow you to unlock exclusive updates and access private chat communities where you can meet like-minded others." Legend will act as …

The OG influencer Paris Hilton has continued her crusade into the Metaverse, saying that she sees it as the “future of partying, going out, interacting with people, and being social”. On Jan. 25, Hilton appeared as a guest on the ‘Tonight Show’ with Jimmy Fallon, where she spoke about her experiences in the NFT community. Hilton told Falon that she will be dropping her first NFT collection with Super Plastic on the Origin protocol “soon,” but didn’t give any further details regarding a timeframe. Super Plastic is a vinyl toy and digital collectibles company. She revealed the collection to audience …

Though the crypto space has seemingly moved beyond the endorsements many minor celebrities bestowed on token projects during the 2018 initial coin offering boom, its growing popularity and acceptance now has professional sports players, Hollywood elites and politicians backing major companies dealing with digital assets. In June 2021, Kim Kardashian promoted EthereumMax (EMAX) via an Instagram story shared with her more than 200 million followers. The token, which was used as payment for online ticket purchases for some pay-per-view events, gained 116,000% in just one week following the celebrity’s activity before falling more than 99% and leaving many investors in …

Ben McKenzie, the actor known for his roles on TV shows including Gotham and The OC, is speaking out against public figures endorsing projects in the crypto space without seemingly disparaging the technology itself. Working with The New Republic staff writer Jacob Silverman, McKenzie made waves in early October after penning a Slate piece with his partner titled “Celebrity Crypto Shilling Is a Moral Disaster.” The duo called attention to Kim Kardashian’s Instagram account promoting the token EthereumMax (EMAX) in early June, a project whose price gained 116,000% in just one week before shedding more than 99% of its value, …

Production company Miramax has filed a lawsuit accusing director Quentin Tarantino of copyright infringement for selling NFTs derived from his blockbuster 1994 film, Pulp Fiction. On Nov. 2, Tarantino announced he would be tokenizing seven uncut screenplay scenes for the critically-acclaimed film as nonfungible tokens in December 2021. The NFTs will be built on the Secret Network, a layer one blockchain. Each of the tokens would feature “the uncut first handwritten scripts of “Pulp Fiction” and exclusive custom commentary from Tarantino, revealing secrets about the film and its creator.” Miramax owns the rights to the director’s classic edition of Pulp …

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com is rolling out a new ad featuring Hollywood star Matt Damon, which it plans to introduce to consumers worldwide. The “fortune favors the brave” ad, starring Damon amid a digital landscape of historic figures, including the Wright brothers and Sir Edmund Hillary, is aimed at reaching a global audience of potential crypto users and investors. According to Crypto.com, the ad will appear on billboards and in television spots around the world and be included in its portfolio of partnerships with major sports franchises and organizations. The announcement comes the same week Crypto.com donated $1 million to Water.org, …

Jenny Ta, founder of CoinLinked and chief operating officer of nonfungbile token (NFT) platform developer Hodl Assets, believes that the fashion-based NFT market will be worth billions in the future. Ta is a self-made millionaire who founded the crypto-powered social marketplace CoinLinked in May 2020. The firm was set to host a Dogecoin Conference in Las Vegas, but the event has since been rebranded to the “Cryptotainment Conference” following Hodl Assets’ acquisition of CoinLinked in August earlier this year. Ta was on-boarded as the new chief operating officer of Hodl Assets as part of the deal, and the rebranded event …

Guy Oseary, the manager of musical heavyweights U2 and Madonna has signed a representation deal with Yuga Labs to expand the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) nonfungible token, or NFT, project into movies, TV, music and gaming. The move from Yuga Labs comes a month after CryptoPunks creators’ Larva Labs penned a representation deal in Hollywood with the United Talent Agency. Oseary adds BAYC to a list of all-star clients which includes, alongside U2 and Madonna, comedian Amy Schumer and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Welcome to the club, @guyoseary ! ☠️⛵️ https://t.co/PcUtD67zIF — Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) October …

Cardano’s daggy dad turns DJ Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has teamed up with legendary electronic dance music (EDM) DJ Paul Oakenfold to launch a tokenized album on Cardano. Oakenfold is a three-time Grammy Award nominee and his career in the music industry spans back to the early 1980s. His upcoming album dubbed “Zombie Lobster” was announced during the Cardano summit on Wednesday. Every aspect of the album will be tokenized on the Cardano blockchain, including cover art, tracks, sleeve notes and remixes. The album is part of a release from an NFT project named “Starship Universe,” which is operated by …

Larva Labs, the team behind the outrageously popular nonfungible token (NFT) project CryptoPunks, has penned a deal with Hollywood agents United Talent Agency (UTA). According to a Tuesday article from the Hollywood Reporter, UTA will represent Larva Labs for intellectual property (IP) deals in TV, film, video games, licensing and publishing. Two other NFT projects from Larva Labs, Meebits and Autoglyphs, will also be represented by UTA. CryptoPunks was launched back in 2017 and is one of the first NFT projects created on Ethereum. The IP-related deal with UTA marks a significant milestone for Larva Labs, as it is one …