Korean pro female golfers to compete in WEMIX golf tournament this weekend

Netmarble’s MARBLEX Bolsters Partnership with Bisonai to Elevate MBX EcosystemSouth Korean gaming company Netmarble said today that its blockchain subsidiary, MARBLEX, is reinforcing its strategic partnership with blockchain infrastructure company Bisonai to help bolster the MARBLEX gaming finance (GameFi) ecosystem.Revolutionizing gaming with blockchainNetmarble released the MARBLEX Playground in February of this year, which aims to optimize game enjoyment and benefits for players by incorporating NFTs, GameFi, decentralized finance (DeFi), and more that collectively run on a blockchain ecosystem revolving around its governance token, MBX.Photo by ELLA DON on UnsplashAs a company that specializes in building blockchain products for its clients in a wide range of sectors, including gaming, Web3, NFTs, and DeFi, Bisonai has directly contributed to the development of MARBLEX’s MBX ecosystem. In particular, it played a significant role in building MBX Marketplace — a platform for unrestricted NFT transactions within the ecosystem — which went live in November of last year, as well as MBX Explorer, a token scanning site.Following this venture, Bisonai is planning to provide further technical consultations and solutions for the blockchain infrastructure that will be potentially required within the MARBLEX ecosystem.Advancing transparency and accessibility of MBXMeanwhile, MARBLEX disclosed plans on June 27 to overhaul the token system within the MBX ecosystem. As part of its commitment to improving transparency, it announced that it burned approximately 670 million MBX that have not been designated for use within the ecosystem out of its total supply of one billion MBX.The MBX token also received a landmark whitelist approval in Japan last month, becoming the first token from a Korean blockchain gaming project to do so.

Leading crypto exchange platform OKX has recently unveiled its plans to enhance its marketplace by incorporating Atomicals (ARC-20), Runes, Stamps (SRC-20) and Dogecoin’s Doginals (DRC-20) into its Web3 wallet. ‘First-to-market’ initiativeTaking to social media on Monday, the firm provided further details regarding the additions, outlining that it is part of a "first-to-market" initiative, solidifying OKX's commitment to the expanding realm of Bitcoin NFTs. The integration of these token standards is aimed at positioning OKX as a leading one-stop NFT ecosystem within Web3. Starting with the integration of Stamps on Feb. 5, OKX Wallet users will gain the ability to view and transfer Bitcoin token standards. Subsequently, in late February, OKX Wallet will extend its support to Atomicals, Doginals and Runes, enabling millions of users to engage in buying and selling these NFTs without incurring any trading fees. OKX Marketplace will also follow suit, integrating DRC-20, ARC-20 and Runes standards in late February, thus broadening the scope for users to participate in zero-fee trading.Photo by Shubham's Web3 on UnsplashDriving mainstream adoption of Web3Jason Lau, chief innovation officer at OKX, underscored the platform's dedication to driving mainstream adoption of Web3 technologies, making the exploration and realization of NFT potential more accessible for users. Despite concerns about potential blockchain congestion due to NFTs, Lau characterized these challenges as "growing pains," expressing confidence that they will be addressed over time. Lau told CoinDesk that “these things will last forever, as long as the chain lasts.” Emphasizing the surge in activity and user growth since the launch of their product, Lau positioned OKX as an evolving platform at the forefront of developing tools for users to access all of Web3. OKX Wallet's inscriptions tool presently supports minting on 23 networks, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, Avalanche-C and Arbitrum One, among others. Boosting OKX MarketplaceThe move aims to establish OKX Marketplace as the largest NFT marketplace in the industry, boasting zero-fee trading across an expanding range of token standards. The platform's advanced NFT offering includes features such as hex error checking, liquidity across multiple standards, bulk minting capabilities and automatic error detection. Despite OKX's open embrace of Ordinals and other Bitcoin protocols, some members of the Bitcoin ecosystem express discontent, labeling Ordinals as digital spam. Jason Lau vehemently disagrees, asserting that in open and permissionless networks like Bitcoin, "there is no such thing as spam." He contends that as long as fees are paid and transactions adhere to consensus rules, they are valid. Lau emphasizes OKX's historical support for the Bitcoin ecosystem, including upgrades like SegWit, Taproot and Lightning. As debates surrounding the role of Ordinals and NFTs within the Bitcoin ecosystem persist, OKX's proactive stance signals a belief in the potential of Bitcoin-based NFTs to introduce innovative use cases and design possibilities. The disruptions experienced by various blockchains in December, attributed to increased transaction activity related to inscriptions, underscore the growing impact of these developments within the Bitcoin ecosystem and the broader crypto landscape. 

Momentica’s NFT Photo Cards Captivate K-Pop EnthusiastsMomentica, a fan-artist engagement platform, has been captivating K-pop enthusiasts with NFT photo cards featuring their favorite artists.Dunamu and HYBELevvels, the company behind Momentica, has garnered significant attention from both the tech and the entertainment industries, as it is a joint venture between Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s leading crypto exchange, and HYBE, the agency representing world-renowned boy band BTS.K-pop photo cardsOne of the primary goals of this promising company is to introduce the K-pop fandom culture to global audiences. K-pop fans enjoy collecting photo cards featuring their favorite singers or actors, and thanks to blockchain technology, these cards can now be transformed into non-fungible tokens (NFTs), ensuring their authenticity and preventing forgeries and counterfeits. Dunamu’s blockchain expertise has combined with HYBE’s intellectual property to create a range of collectible items for K-pop fans.In a recent interview with Donga Ilbo, Levvels CEO Cha Sang-hoon explained the company’s current status and future plans. Cha said that Levvels is primarily a blockchain-based Web3 company aiming to leverage various technological tools to offer a range of services.Levvels’ Momentica issues digital photo cards called TAKEs, which capture unique and memorable moments of artists, and the collection, appreciation, and trading of these cards are facilitated through the Momentica app. Fans can use Momentica to collect digital cards featuring artists such as Seventeen, Le Sserafim, and Fromis_9. The authenticity of TAKEs is verifiable, as they are recorded on the blockchain.© Pexels/Sebastian ErviPhysical to digitalMomentica transitions the fan experience from the physical world to the digital realm. Through the app, K-pop aficionados can now exchange photo cards, promote their favorite stars, and maintain a virtual album. Exclusive content, including pictures, videos, and handwriting from some artists, will be available only on Momentica.Cha mentioned that Momentica has users across 93 countries, with Koreans constituting 40% of the total. Japanese users represent over 30%, indicating the app’s strong presence in the Japanese market. Taiwan, Indonesia, and the US follow in the number of users. Overall, the app’s popularity aligns with regional interest in K-pop.Beyond HYBEWhile the current service focuses on limited collections of digital photo cards, Momentica plans to enhance the experience by allowing K-pop fans to personalize and directly exchange cards. The company is also working on collaborations with artists from labels beyond HYBE for them to participate in Momentica.