The Metaverse may be an emerging concept, but the impact that virtual game-like worlds can have on the trillion-dollar retail industry was recently demonstrated during Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW). This entirely virtual experience was held from March 24–27, 2022, in Decentraland, a decentralized virtual social platform on the Ethereum blockchain. The online event attracted more than 70 brands, artists and designers including big names like Tommy Hilfiger, Estée Lauder, Philipp Plein, Selfridges and Dolce & Gabbana. Gigi Graziosi Casimiro, head of Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week, told Cointelegraph that MVFW is a diverse event aiming to connect physical and digital fashion …

DBS Bank, Singapore’s largest bank, is working on expanding its cryptocurrency exchange beyond its current investor base of institutional clients, according to the CEO. DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta spoke of the bank’s cryptocurrency business during the Q4 2021 earnings call on Monday, stating that the company will focus on measures to further scale its crypto exchange operations in 2022. During the call, Gupta was asked whether DBS Bank has a roadmap for rolling out digital asset trading to retail investors. While the CEO did not provide a straightforward answer, he still said that DBS Bank did initiate some work …

Popular sneaker maker Nike has started the "licensed NFT" wars by taking an online reseller called StockX to court for trademark infringement or sale of unlicensed nonfungible token (NFT) sneakers. According to a Reuters report, Nike has filed a lawsuit against the reseller in the New York Federal court demanding an undisclosed amount in damages and a halt of sales on such virtual collectibles. StockX reportedly started selling Nike sneaker NFTs in January and promised buyers they can redeem the real-world version of the sneakers in the near future. Nike in its 50-page complaint claimed StockX has sold nearly 500 …

It’s another shake-up for the finance industry as Montreal-based Bitcoin (BTC) startup Shakepay raised $35 million from investors. The fresh funding from the United States-based venture capital firm QED Investors values the company at $251 million. Founded in 2015, Shakepay allows Canadians to buy and sell BTC and pay their friends. It also supports the purchase of Ether (ETH). The startup aims to use the funds to consolidate growth, focus on bringing on additional products to market such as the recently launched Shakepay Visa Prepaid Card, and expand the team. Speaking to Cointelegraph, ShakePay CEO Jean Amiouny said: Shakepay’s seen …

As crypto prices recover after a slump last week, Pascal Gauthier, CEO of crypto wallet firm Ledger, addressed questions relating to the state of the crypto market. In an interview taken by CNBC at the Crypto Finance Conference in St Moritz, Switzerland, Gauthier said the situation panning out with Bitcoin (BTC) comes as no surprise. The retail trend is prominent and it’s “always the same.” He explained: “The number of addresses with the minimum number of BTC is actually growing compared to the number of whales. There is a profound retail trend everywhere in the world; they trust Bitcoin more …

Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, have become one of the most discussed markets in the crypto space this year. A recent report from Cointelegraph Research found that NFT sales are aiming for a $17.7 billion record by the end of 2021. This may very well be the case, as a number of mainstream brands have begun launching NFTs. According to recent research from Bain & Company and the online luxury fashion platform Farfetch, digital interactions with consumers are becoming increasingly important for brands. The report specifically states that “digital interaction with peers is on the rise when choosing to purchase a …

Adam White, the president and founding executive of digital assets company Bakkt, is leaving the firm after three years. In a Thursday post on Twitter, White said next week would mark his departure from Bakkt, where he has served as both chief operating officer and president. White joined Bakkt after leaving Coinbase in 2018, where he worked as a vice president and general manager. The Bakkt president did not reveal what his next move would be, or whether he would continue to work in the crypto space. “I’ve loved working at intersection of crypto + markets and good to see …

Konzum, the largest supermarket chain in Croatia, is keeping up with the times by debuting payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The company officially announced on Dec. 1 that it now accepts nine cryptocurrencies for payment in its online store, allowing customers to use crypto to buy groceries, hygiene products and household supplies. According to the announcement, the supported cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), EOS, Dai (DAI), XRP, Stellar (XLM), as well as stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). To enable the new crypto payment option, Konzum partnered with a local crypto payment processor Electrocoin …

Major American electronics retailer Newegg continues diving is enabling payments in major cryptocurrency and mem, Shiba Inu (SHIB). Newegg officially announced Nov. 29 that it will start accepting SHIB as part of its holiday promotional campaign, starting “by early December.” Hey #ShibArmy, how we looking on America's largest digital out-of-home billboard? @ShytoshiKusama #Shib We'll be officially accepting @Shibtoken in by early December via @BitPay https://t.co/MR2ydiQpq6 pic.twitter.com/MyuxHSIjVw — Newegg (@Newegg) November 30, 2021 In order to enable the new payment option, Newegg partnered with cryptocurrency payments platform BitPay. The firm previously unlocked payments in another dog-themed digital currency, Dogecoin (DOGE), through …

Shiba Inu (SHIB) edged further down on Nov. 24 as its appeal among the army of retail traders, who helped it rally by more than 535% to a record high of $0.00008854 earlier this year, declined. SHIB's price dropped by nearly 60% after establishing the said all-time high on Oct. 28, signaling that traders have been actively locking their Shiba Inu profits. That has further resulted in a substantial drop in SHIB's benchmark instrument SHIB/USDT's volumes on Binance, underscoring a weak retail interest. In doing so, SHIB tokens' reported market capitalization slipped to $21.30 billion from around $28.31 billion in …

In an event streamed live on Wednesday, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and deputy governor for financial stability Sir Jon Cunliffe answer questions from lawmakers from the Economic Affairs Committee. When asked about the growth of innovation surrounding digital currencies in the country, Sir Cunliffe gave the following comment: It's quite difficult to predict how innovators will take money and actually use money going forward. But we are starting to see programmable money being used in the crypto world. And I would expect we would see a similar revolution in the functionality of money driven by technology. Sir Jon …

Bitcoin (BTC) logged its worst daily performance since September as BTC price slid by 10% to under $59,000 on Tuesday. On the other hand, the U.S. dollar jumped to its best level in sixteen months after spending across the American retail sector grew despite persistent Covid-19 fears and inflation concerns. The BTC price established an intraday low of around $58,600 on Coinbase, only to retreat higher to reclaim $60,000 as its psychological support. Its move downside appeared as U.S. President Joe Biden signed the $550 billion infrastructure bill into law, including new tax-reporting requirements for cryptocurrency users. Some used the …