Japanese e-commerce giant Mercari planning bitcoin payments

LINE NEXT, the NFT business arm of Tokyo-based Internet giant LINE Corporation, has officially launched DOSI, a digital commerce platform that allows the trading of digital products like collectible NFTs, according to an official announcement on Wednesday (KST). During its beta period that started in September last year, DOSI was able to attract some 5.5 million users worldwide in more than 180 countries who conducted over 560,000 cumulative transactions.Photo by Jonas Leupe on UnsplashDigital products for everyoneThe company revealed plans to add more than 20 million digital products from over 150 brands including special app memberships, in-game items that are directly verified by game developers, and digital tickets to entertainment performances. There will also be limited-edition products like LINE stamps, digital art and special video playback rights.  Products from popular Japanese brands such as Japan Airlines and CryptoNinja Partners – a 22,222-piece NFT collection – will be available on the service during this month as part of a merging with Line NFT, a comprehensive marketplace for NFTs that has been operating in Japan for a while.  By March, the company will also sell app membership products from more than 20 promising startups, including content community-based social media platform SuperPlat, stock investment platform Quantrack, AI-based music platform inDJ and K-pop fandom community service FL DA. Exclusive membershipIn particular, DOSI also has a special membership called “DOSI Citizen,” which offers points called DON that can be earned by checking app attendance, purchasing products and playing mini-games. DON can be traded for Citizen Items or used to participate in events for a chance to win crypto rewards. Users can easily sign up and log in using their social media accounts and purchase digital products with simple payment methods such as Line Pay, Naver Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Payments can also be made with the digital assets Finsia (FNSA) and Ethereum (ETH). Investment boostLast year, LINE NEXT made headlines for securing the largest investment made in the Asian Web3 industry worth $140 million from a consortium led by Seoul-based private equity firm Crescendo Equity Partners. At the time, the company had divulged that it would use part of the funds to launch DOSI.

Singapore-based payments provider Alchemy Pay has secured $10 million in investment from market maker DWF Labs at a valuation of $400 million, as the company looks to expand its business in South Korea.©Pexels/Ivan Samkov Korean expansionTaking to Twitter, Alchemy Pay stated that it “will continue to enhance [its] global market presence by bringing forward [its] payment solutions and services to the Korean market, providing an easy onboard from fiat to cryptocurrencies for more Korean companies.” It’s understood that the high level of acceptance of digital assets in Korea is attractive to Alchemy as something it can capitalize on.Alchemy’s Ecosystem Lead, Robert McCracken, stated in a Medium blog article that while this investment was pursued relative to a specific and strategic decision to enter the Korean market, the company is otherwise well funded. DWF funding spreeDWF Labs’ investment of $10 million in Alchemy Pay marks its eighth investment or funding round of at least $10 million into Web3 and crypto projects in the past six weeks, with a combined total of $165 million.According to DWF’s managing partner Andrei Grachev, the current bearish market is an opportune time to enter the investment space. Grachev stated to CoinDesk that the company has accumulated enough profits to invest in projects at present.With offices in Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and the British Virgin Islands (BVI), DWF Labs fits the role of a global multi-stage Web3 investment firm. It collaborates and partners with portfolio companies with regard to activities such as market making, token listing and Over The Counter (OTC) trading solutions. $ACH boostAlchemy Pay’s native token, $ACH, has a market capitalization of around $188 million. Buoyed by today’s announcement, the token was trading at $0.03885 at the time of publication. That’s a surge in value in dollar terms of around 16%, although it’s still quite a ways off its all time high of $0.18468, achieved on August 6, 2021, at the height of the last crypto bull run.In a press release published on Monday, Alchemy Pay described itself as “a payment gateway that seamlessly connects crypto and global fiat currencies for businesses, developers, and users.”Founded in 2018, the company has previously collaborated with Visa, Mastercard, Google Pay, and Apple Pay for this purpose. Cryptocurrency and derivatives exchange OKX recently integrated Alchemy Pay into its platform, in order to simplify the process of purchasing cryptocurrency using local currencies for its customers. NFT CheckoutApart from its payment services, Alchemy Pay has also launched its innovative NFT Checkout service. The service allows customers to purchase NFTs using fiat payment options, making it as easy as any other standard online payment method. This function enables users to acquire NFTs with their local domestic currencies, providing a seamless purchasing experience.The platform offers over 300 local alternative payment channels, enabling it to extend its reach beyond traditional credit cards into local mobile wallet options. The footprint of the business now extends across Northern and Latin America, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Intella X and CARV Team Up to Revolutionize Web3 GamingIntella X, the Web3 blockchain gaming platform developed by South Korean gaming company Neowiz, has entered into a partnership with CARV, a company that is currently building gaming credential infrastructure. Together, they intend to lead the era of innovative and cutting-edge Web3 gaming by improving the gaming experience, such as boosting player engagement and fostering an active gaming community.Photo by Mateov on UnsplashElevating the gaming experienceCARV’s platform provides a multifaceted experience for gamers, allowing them to explore a diverse range of games, collect rewards, and interact with fellow gamers around the world. In particular, they can also create a profile where they can organize all of their gaming achievements into verified and evolving credentials. On the other hand, Intella X offers service protocols like Proof of Contribution to cater to game developers and users in its ecosystem.Expanding horizonsUnder the partnership, CARV will onboard a selection of Intella X games to its CARV Play platform, the first of which will be the mobile Play-to-Earn (P2E) game Crypto Golf Impact and the MMORPG EOS Gold. The company will also support Intella X in order for it to expand its global presence and gain a larger user base, which entails leveraging CARV’s data analysis technology to create effective marketing and in-game quest campaigns to optimize user acquisition.“CARV is excited to partner up with Intella X in an effort to help their games scale by providing targeted user acquisition through player credentials as well as providing user insights that allow Intella X games to truly understand their communities. The Intella X team is filled with industry veterans who know how to disrupt an industry. CARV couldn’t be happier to align with such a strong brand in the space,” said Paul Delio, Head of Business Development at CARV.