Fingerlabs teams up with Metaclub to gather users for Web3 membership platform

Nexon Korea Intensifies its Blockchain Focus with Nexon UniverseSouth Korean gaming giant Nexon Korea is moving its dedicated blockchain division to its recently renamed subsidiary, Nexon Universe. According to local news outlet Newsis, this subsidiary, initially known as Nexon Block and founded last year, will welcome approximately 80 employees from the parent company’s blockchain group. The leader at the helm of Nexon Universe will be Kang Dae-hyun, who serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Nexon Korea.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashNFT-powered MapleStory UniverseNexon Korea’s blockchain division has so far been overseeing the MapleStory Universe project, an NFT-powered ecosystem that utilizes MapleStory’s intellectual property.The objective of MapleStory Universe is to establish an environment that facilitates the seamless movement of NFTs, which represent in-game characters and items, throughout its ecosystem. Beyond this, the project is dedicated to forging connections with other NFT initiatives, aiming to become part of the broader global blockchain community.In August of last year, COO Kang participated in a blockchain conference to highlight Nexon’s ongoing transformative endeavors. The transition of offline games to online platforms marked Nexon’s first evolution, while the second ambition revolves around the expansion of its gaming ecosystem using the capabilities of Web3, Kang said.Turning in-game items into NFTsAmong these strategic moves is the development of MapleStory N, the first game within the MapleStory Universe. This desktop-based MMORPG is currently under development and incorporates blockchain technology. MapleStory N will allow gamers to earn items during gameplay, which can subsequently be transformed into NFTs. The fees collected from in-game economic interactions will be distributed as rewards to both contributors within the MapleStory Universe ecosystem and Nexon.Nexon’s blockchain collaborationsAs part of the MapleStory Universe creation, Nexon joined hands with Ethereum scaling blockchain protocol Polygon. In particular, Nexon employs a Polygon Supernet, which empowers developers to tailor a blockchain to suit their gaming requirements.Furthermore, Nexon made its entry into the realm of Japanese gaming blockchain Oasys in April, acting as a validator. Oasys, established in February of last year, aims to popularize play-to-earn (P2E) games. Notable validators include Bandai Namco Research, Sega, Ubisoft, Yield Guild Games, KDDI, and Softbank.Adding to its array of collaborations, Nexon forged a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with blockchain wallet company Haechi Labs in May, within the context of the MapleStory Universe undertaking. Nexon Korea’s strategy includes leveraging Haechi’s “face wallet,” which simplifies the process of establishing and overseeing blockchain wallets for users. This is expected to offer a seamless and user-friendly experience for newcomers to the field.

Xangle and CryptoTimes partner to advance Web3 adoption in Korea and JapanXangle, a digital asset data research platform based in South Korea, announced Wednesday (local time) a collaboration with Japanese crypto media CryptoTimes with the goal of advancing the widespread adoption of Web3 technology.Photo by Shubham’s Web3 on UnsplashSharing translated reportsThe two platforms have agreed to translate and share each other’s industry analysis reports on their respective platforms. Through this partnership, they aim to bridge the gap between Korea and Japan in sharing Web3 strategies and regulatory updates, which previously faced challenges due to language barriers.As a first step in this joint effort, the Japanese translation of Xangle’s “Waiting for the Spring of Music NFTs: Industry Perceptions and Future Potential” and the Korean translation of CryptoTimes’ “Nike, Adidas and Puma’s Web3 Trend Comparison Report” were made accessible to their platform users on Nov. 27.In particular, Xangle’s reports will be featured in CryptoTimes’ research repository, CT Analysis. Through this, Xangle aims to reach a wider audience in Japan.Stronger communication between Korea and JapanJunwoo James Kim, co-CEO and co-founder of Xangle, shared his excitement regarding their collaboration with CryptoTimes, a renowned media outlet in Japan. He emphasized the significance of both Korea and Japan emerging as leading forces in the Web3 industry within Asia. Kim added that this partnership will foster stronger communication between the blockchain sectors of both nations, accelerating the widespread adoption of Web3.Discussing Web3 development, Kim outlined that we are currently in the third phase, centered around its widespread adoption. The first phase saw the birth of various ideas, while the second phase involved testing these concepts for viability.Shingo Arai, co-founder of Rokubunnoni, which operates CryptoTimes, emphasized that the trends in the Korean Web3 market are not just informational but serve as significant indicators. He noted that sharing reports is merely the beginning. Arai expressed their intent to continuously seek various collaboration opportunities with Xangle, aiming to close the information gap between Korea and Japan in the Web3 arena.

Bitcoin miner Bitdeer Technologies Group’s stock had a rough debut on the Nasdaq exchange, losing almost 30% of its value shortly after market open on Friday. The Singapore-based firm, which is one of the largest bitcoin miners in the world, had delayed its listing several times and saw a lukewarm reception from investors. Bitdeer’s merger with a special-purpose acquisition vehicle called Blue Safari Group Acquisition Corp was approved on Tuesday, paving the way for the listing. Mining across six sitesBitdeer has six mining sites across Washington state, Texas, Tennessee, and Norway, with a total energy capacity of 775 megawatts as of the end of 2022. It has a hashrate or computing power of 16.2 exahash per second (EH/s), second only to bankrupt miner Core Scientific and higher than Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital Holdings. Around one-quarter of the hashrate is used for self-mining, while the rest is given out for cloud mining, which means that customers rent the machines and reap the rewards.Despite the company’s impressive size and scale, Bitdeer’s financial performance deteriorated in 2022, which was partly due to worsening market conditions. The company reported revenue of $330.3 million and a loss of $62.4 million for the year, compared with $394.7 million in revenue and a profit of $82.6 million in the previous year. The company’s listing comes at a better time than last year, as market conditions have improved, and bitcoin has passed the $30,000 mark. Mining equities have also outperformed the digital asset in percentage growth. Differentiation of mining operatorsHowever, Bitdeer’s listing was not received as positively as expected, and the stock was halted several times for volatility shortly after the market opened. Other crypto mining stocks saw single-digit upticks in their share value at the same time. The market is beginning to shift from operators with the biggest scale to operators with the best unit economics, said investment bank Stifel Nicolaus’s analyst Bill Papanastasiou.This shift may explain why investors were not too keen on Bitdeer’s debut, as the company’s financials are not as strong as those of its competitors. Despite Bitdeer being larger than Marathon and Riot, based on its current share price and valuation, it is priced at a third of the value of its two industry peers.Bitdeer was born out of the world’s largest rig manufacturer, Bitmain, following a spat between the two co-founders. The firm is not the only cloud mining firm affiliated with Bitmain that is going public via SPAC, as BitFuFu is also in the process of going public, but has delayed its listing. Bitdeer’s stock debut may have been lackluster, but the company remains one of the largest bitcoin miners in the world.Shares in the newly quoted public company opened at $9.70, sliding to $6.30, before ending the first day’s trading at $7.03.