Lackluster Nasdaq Debut for Bitdeer

Com2uS Platform, a subsidiary of South Korean game publisher Com2uS Holdings, yesterday revealed its plan for a non-fungible token (NFT) airdrop. This event is part of a celebration marking the one-year anniversary of its rebranded NFT marketplace, known as X-PLANET.Popular intellectual propertiesThe NFT marketplace underwent a rebranding in March of last year, aiming to improve its integration with Com2uS' XPLA blockchain mainnet. Named X-PLANET, the platform is envisioned as a new planet where users can "explore" and "play." By November 2023, it had become the top revenue-generating local NFT marketplace, thanks in part to popular intellectual properties like the B.O.P Universe and Choushinsei Flashman. The B.O.P Universe draws inspiration from Bung O Pang Tycoon, a mobile game centered around baking pastries, while Choushinsei Flashman is a 1980s Japanese TV series known for its live-action superheroes.NFT airdrop eventTo mark the first anniversary of its rebranding, X-PLANET is hosting an NFT airdrop event on its official website. The event kicked off on March 21 and will have another round on April 4, at 6 p.m. KST, when 365 "Lucky Star" NFTs will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis. Owners of NFTs bearing lucky numbers will have the chance to earn double points during a B.O.P Universe event, which continues until April 14.  Additional benefits are in store for those purchasing NFTs for the first time and those visiting X-PLANET’s Discord channel. Moreover, participants who spread the word about the anniversary event and the B.O.P Universe contest on social media will be entered into a draw for a chance to win a coffee coupon.Photo by Andrey Metelev on UnsplashNFT marketplace and blockchain ecosystemLee Luda, the Head of the Web3 Platform Business Division at Com2uS Platform, highlighted that the recent event was designed to show gratitude to X-PLANET users who have shown their support since the platform's rebranding. Lee further stated that as the NFT marketplace representing the XPLA ecosystem, X-PLANET is committed to evolving into a user-friendly platform. Their goal is to create an environment that not only adds value but also provides entertainment, making it a welcoming space where anyone can participate and enjoy. Recognized for its straightforward user interface and efficient trading system, X-PLANET has been introducing a collection of valuable NFT works across various domains, including art, games and K-pop. The NFT marketplace is actively pursuing collaborations with talented artists and prominent organizations to bring meaningful NFT content to its users.

Oobit, the mobile crypto payment app based in Singapore, has raised $25 million in a series A funding round with the assistance of leading stablecoin issuer Tether. Funding global expansionThe company aims to broaden its reach across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, with a strategic focus on bringing its platform to more mainstream users. While the company’s primary markets currently lie within the European Union and the UK, Oobit will be targeting the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and specific jurisdictions such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada and Australia. This expansion aligns with the company's goal of accelerating the development of a Web3 gateway. The funding round was led by Tether alongside Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs. Additionally, Germany’s 468 Capital, a technology investment firm, and Hong Kong-headquartered CMCC Global joined as contributors. CMCC invested through its $100 million Titan Fund, which it established last year to support blockchain startups in the Asian region.Photo by micheile henderson on UnsplashEnabling users to spend cryptoOobit's mobile payment app allows consumers to make purchases using cryptocurrencies, while merchants receive payments in fiat currency. The tap-and-pay feature enhances accessibility, enabling users to pay at any point of sale accepting Visa or MasterCard funds from their Oobit wallet. Furthermore, Oobit facilitates the direct purchase of bitcoin, ether and more than 35 other popular cryptocurrencies within its app. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino expressed support for Oobit's development, emphasizing a shared vision for driving widespread cryptocurrency adoption globally. Oobit's co-founder and CEO, Amram Adar, highlighted the funding round as a pivotal moment, propelling the company forward in its mission to offer a straightforward way to pay with digital assets worldwide. Introducing non-custodial paymentsThe company plans to extend its capabilities to third-party wallets, transitioning into a non-custodial crypto payments app. This move will allow payments to and from external e-wallets, bridging the gap between Web3 and real-world spending. A company spokeswoman stated via email:"We have several partnerships in the pipeline that will be announced in the coming months," hinting at Oobit's commitment to ongoing collaboration and expansion. Oobit's vision is to empower crypto holders to Tap & Pay at over 100 million retailers globally, accepting Visa and MasterCard. Merchants can seamlessly embrace digital assets as a form of payment, and customers can conveniently use their digital assets for transactions. Future updates to Oobit will enable customers to make crypto payments, ensuring merchants receive fiat currency in return, mirroring the simplicity of credit card transactions. The native cryptocurrency of Oobit is the OBT token through which the platform rewards its growing community and ecosystem. The token is used for transaction fees and payments. The OBT token is currently trading at $0.0992, according to CoinMarketCap data. With the backing of industry leaders and a user-centric focus, Oobit is attempting to position itself to make significant strides in its mission to facilitate frictionless transactions and promote the adoption of cryptocurrencies on a global scale.

Binance’s venture capital arm, Binance Labs, has made an investment in South Korean blockchain games developer, GOMBLE. Binance Labs is a division of the global crypto exchange entity that identifies, invests, and empowers viable blockchain entrepreneurs, startups and communities. In a blog post published by the company late last month, Binance Labs outlined that it has participated in funding GOMBLE at a seed funding round stage. GOMBLE  is an affiliate of South Korea-based 111Percent, a casual mobile game publisher. Sustainable blockchain gamingFor its part, GOMBLE’s objective is to enable the global casual gamer community to experience blockchain games through reward mechanisms that are sustainable. An additional focus for the project is advancing NFT interoperability, through the development of mobile-based blockchain.The start-up plans to use the funding in order to develop and release its first mobile game, RumbyStars. Furthermore, it will continue to pursue a games-as-a-service (GaaS) model, with funding also being used to expand that GaaS-based platform.While blockchain-based gaming had something of an initial breakthrough through the emergence of Axie Infinity, that success was secured with a focus on blockchain rather than gaming, attracting participation via a play-to-earn approach from those already focused primarily on blockchain. Subsequently, many have questioned the sustainability of this approach from the perspectives of gameplay and the tokenomics that support it. A $25 billion market opportunityGOMBLE is focusing on addressing these two factors through its approach. Casual games in the Web2 sphere have seen an uptick in popularity. The casual games sector has the potential to reach a $25 billion market volume within four years. Bringing that Web3 focus on enjoyable game play to Web3 gaming extends that opportunity to blockchain-based gaming.Additionally, GOMBLE is working towards mistakes made with blockchain based gaming tokenomics in the past. It will focus on more balanced tokenomics using its $CRT token for governance. $CRT can be earned by players through a tournament prize system. From the other perspective, it can be spent on NFT purchases, tournament passes and in buying in-game items.This is how Yi He, Head of Binance Labs interprets GOMBLE’s approach: “Blockchain gaming needs to move away from the concept of ‘earning’ to what truly captures the hearts of billions of gamers: entertaining gameplay. GOMBLE’s experienced team and focus on building engaging, social, and sustainable blockchain games with flexible governance offers a pathway for delivering the value of Web3 to existing casual gamers, thus welcoming new users to the BNB Chain ecosystem.” RumbyStarsThe blockchain gaming start-up is planning for a soft release of its first game, RumbyStars within SouthEast Asia in Q2, 2023. Following that limited regional launch, the project will then broaden the offering to North America, South America, East Asia and Europe.Gomble’s CEO Jihoon Byun said that “Unlike existing blockchain games that focus on core games, GOMBLE aims to target the global market with easy and fun casual games that even non-gamers can enjoy. Starting with RumbyStars, GOMBLE is focused on building to provide users around the world with a pleasant experience and a greater diversity of games in the future.”In order to execute on the roadmap the project has set out for itself, it will recruit more development and design manpower. Furthermore, investment will be made in infrastructure in order to enable real-time service.