United States, April 26, 2021 /AlexaBlockchain/ – Blockchain segments are back at the center of attention this year. In fact, there has been an influx of companies buying bitcoin and accepting it as payment in recent times, such as companies like Tesla and Square, which have also put an emphasis on cryptocurrency in recent months. In addition, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become immensely popular. An NFT is a unit of data on a blockchain and can represent digital files such as art, audio, videos, items in video games and other forms of creative work. SuperRare, an NFT art platform that has garnered tens of millions in new sales in recent weeks, has raised millions from investors. Scienjoy Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SJ), Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT), Liquid Media Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: YVR), WISeKey International Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: WKEY), Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN)
As a result of the recent thriving crypto marketplace, investors have once again started to view the digital currencies as potential long-term investments necessary in a properly diversified portfolio. Therefore, it is not surprising that ETFs with a focus on crypto and blockchain are doing so well. “Just over three years ago we launched the first actively-managed ETF focused on the dynamic market segment of blockchain-related stocks,” said Amplify CEO Christian Magoon. “BLOK has provided investors with additional portfolio diversification through its unique portfolio makeup that includes the Bitcoin Investment Trust. Blockchain technology is primarily known for one application today: cryptocurrency. However, there is a fast-growing universe of applications for blockchain technology. We believe the growth of crypto is a case study on the values blockchain technology delivers when it comes to trust, data sharing, efficiency and transparency.”
Scienjoy Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SJ) just announced breaking news this morning that, “Scienjoy Becomes First Live Streaming Platform in Mainland China to Offer Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), a leading live entertainment mobile streaming platform in China, today announced it has officially launched Non-Fungible Tokens (“NFTs”) on its live streaming platforms, making it the first live streaming platform in mainland China to adopt the technology.
This announcement follows the Company’s strategic partnership with Snipp Interactive Inc., a global provider of digital marketing promotions, rebates, and loyalty solutions, to create a new loyalty and rewards system and explore enabling live streaming broadcasters to mint NFTs. NFTs are one-of-a-kind tokenized digital assets that are tracked by using blockchain, which provides a digital certificate of ownership, tracks purchase and trading of the asset, certifies a digital asset to be unique, and protects against duplication. This ownership tracking technology has allowed assets in the digital world to be bought and sold like any piece of physical property.
This new initiative lets broadcasters mint their own NFTs on Scienjoy’s platform, and lets users bid to purchase NFT mementos from their favorite broadcasters by using points earned from the new loyalty and rewards system. These custom souvenirs will include various popular accessories, skins, and other virtual objects that users and broadcasters will be able to wear and display in the Scienjoy virtual livestreaming worlds. NFTs will be minted as unique prizes for live streaming game competitions as a way to reward users, increase excitement and drive user engagement.
While NFTs can be used and displayed on Scienjoy’s platforms, tracking ownership and trading of the tokens will occur on OpenSea, a peer-to-peer NFT marketplace. Scienjoy will initially launch a series of 16 NFTs on OpenSea and launch further NFT series on other marketplaces. Users have long shown enthusiasm for unique accessories, prizes and skins for their Scienjoy profiles. The new NFT system will strengthen users’ ability to own and trade these souvenirs in an organized manner and increase the excitement around games on Scienjoy’s platforms. In addition to strengthening the relationships between broadcasters and their fans, this initiative will provide broadcasters with more monetization opportunities, augment broadcaster loyalty, and attract more new creative talent to Scienjoy’s platforms.
Users will be able to use and display their NFTs in Scienjoy’s game-embedded live streaming and fully immersive virtual reality worlds. Scienjoy will track users’ in-game status and achievements, save the items they’ve obtained such as skins, characters, and other tokens, and seamlessly transfer records of ownership and verify authenticity of in-game items in the ownership database OpenSea. In Scienjoy’s immersive virtual reality worlds, NFTs will also enable users to create, own, monetize and enjoy virtual properties and items, and to have complete control over such virtual assets.
Scienjoy has long been a pioneer in new forms of entertainment and new applications of technology in live streaming. Through big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, Scienjoy has built fully immersive and gamified live streaming virtual reality worlds for users to explore. This VR-based immersive gaming experience has transformed the live streaming experience and connected users and broadcasters to not only share topics of interest, but also play games and interact within the virtual worlds. The Company launched three small-scale virtual reality worlds in 2020 and will roll out six complete virtual reality worlds in 2021. Adding NFTs is a further step in allowing users to customize their virtual environment and allowing broadcasters to create custom products for fans to stand out from other broadcasters.
“We are focused on continuous innovation and integrating cutting-edge technologies to our platform. We believe that using emerging technologies will not only bring gains to Scienjoy and our users but spur the whole industry to develop,” said Victor He, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Scienjoy. “NFT technology, when combined with our other core platform technologies of big data, AR and AI, will create new opportunities for monetization, explore future areas for growth and development, and ultimately help us bring greater value to our shareholders.”
About Scienjoy Holding Corporation – Founded in 2011, Scienjoy is a leading mobile live streaming platform in China, and its core mission is to build a live streaming service matrix that delivers pleasant experience to users. With approximately 250 million registered users, Scienjoy currently operates four brands of live streaming platforms, consisting of: Showself, Lehai, Haixiu, and BeeLive (including Mifeng, BeeLive Chinese version, and BeeLive International for international markets). Scienjoy adopts multi-platform operation strategies and is committed to providing high quality and value-added services for users with innovative thinking. Based on the in-depth understanding and research of the live streaming industry and user behavior, Scienjoy is devoted to building fully immersive virtual reality worlds in which the virtual world and the reality are integrated within the live streaming scenario, deeply integrating the industry through diversified live broadcasting scenarios, and empowering the industry by building a content-rich and vibrant Live Streaming Full Ecosystem.”
Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) announced on April 8th, that it has signed a definitive agreement pursuant to which Riot will acquire Whinstone US, Inc. (“Whinstone”), including all of its assets and operations, for consideration of USD 80 Million cash plus a fixed 11.8 million shares of Riot common stock, equal to an implied total transaction value of approximately USD 651 Million. “The acquisition of Whinstone is the most significant achievement in Riot’s growth to-date and positions Riot as an industry leader in Bitcoin mining,” said Jason Les, CEO of Riot. “After the consummation of this transaction, we will have created a very clear path for the Company’s future growth. Riot will wholly own the largest Bitcoin mining facility in North America, with very low power costs, and one of the most talented development teams in the industry. Whinstone will serve as the foundation of Riot’s Bitcoin mining operations, upon which we will drive our goal of increasing the American footprint in the global Bitcoin mining landscape.”
Liquid Media Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: YVR) announced on April 20th, their premier Red Carpet NFTs will be released, known as a drop, in May 2021. “We’re excited to showcase the creativity and versatility NFTs can bring to fans, the entertainment industry, and IP holders,” said Ron Thomson, CEO of Liquid Media. “When fans get the opportunity to own never before seen footage or a chance to capture a rare experience with a celebrity or walk the Red Carpet at a future movie premiere, the world will quickly understand the value NFTs will offer.”
WISeKey International Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: WKEY) announced on April 16th, that it has joined forces with Jacob & Co to NFT the Astronomia Sky, the epitome of 21st century haute horlogerie and a globally recognized symbol of Jacob & Co watchmaking expertise. Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of WISeKey said, “We are delighted to join forces between WISeKey and Jacob & Co. This combination of a powerful NFT technology offering with Jacob & Co watchmaking expertise in conducting Trusted NFTs auctions is a great model on how WISeKey’s unique Digital Identification NFT platform technology delivers the most secure and scalable blockchain backend for creating real digital twins for valuable objects. This unique approach will make it possible to mint provenance and a digital version into an NFT that contains smart contracts on how the digital twin may be used, removing any uncertainty of what an NFT actually means to a collector by delivering authenticated digital twins to the watch luxury market.”
Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) on April 14th, held its initial price offering. Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange platform, and on April 6th issued estimated results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2021 and an outlook for the full year ending December 31st, 2021. For the first quarter of 2021, the Company currently expects the following as of or for the three months ended March 31st, 2021: Verified Users of 56 million, Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs) of 6.1 million, and total Revenue of approximately USD 1.8 Billion.
Source: FinancialBuzz.com
