Planetarium Labs’ blockchain MMORPG Nine Chronicles M launches worldwide

NEOPIN teams up with Project SEED to propel growth of Web3 gaming ecosystemCentralized decentralized finance (CeDeFi) protocol NEOPIN has partnered with Project SEED — a blockchain gaming ecosystem based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — to grow the global Web3 gaming ecosystem, according to South Korean news outlet News1. NEOPIN plans to serve as a bridge between Project SEED and the IP owners and game studios within its ecosystem, facilitating the creation of more global Web3 games.Photo by Mateo on Unsplash“Connecting notable IPs and game studios to gamify Web3 holds significant meaning beyond just securing well-made Web3 games. We expect to diversify the genres and improve the qualitative standards of Web3 games in collaboration with Project SEED,” said Kim Yong-gi, CEO of NEOPIN.Pioneering Web3 gaming excellenceLed by a team of experts from various cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Crypto.com, Project SEED is the developer behind the popular Web3 action role-playing game (RPG) Outland Odyssey. The firm also operates the Grow Program, which was launched in 2021 to incubate blockchain game projects and allow builders to concentrate their efforts on developing high-quality games. Next year, Project SEED plans to unveil its launchpad platform Seed Launcher as part of the Grow Program to aid gaming finance (GameFi) projects in raising funds and discover promising projects worth investing in.Under the newest partnership, NEOPIN’s CeDeFi wallet function will be integrated into Web3 games and NFT projects that are launched through the Grow Program and Seed Launcher platform, driving worldwide user acquisition and promoting the launch of DeFi products on NEOPIN.“We will leverage NEOPIN’s wallet service, network and blockchain expertise to develop high-quality games for diverse users. We plan to strengthen our capabilities to provide benefits to developers, IP owners and gamers alike,” said Project SEED CEO Liko Subakti.NEOPIN’s blockchain journeySince 2017, NEOPIN has accumulated its blockchain expertise and technology by serving as a node validator in multiple global blockchain projects, including Ethereum, Tron, Cardano and Cosmos. Launched last year, its CeDeFi protocol aims to provide Web3 users with a safe and convenient non-custodial DeFi platform.Earlier this year, the company was selected to participate in the Innovative Program of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), attracting a series of investments. It is also working with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial center and free zone in the UAE, to create the world’s first DeFi regulations through a public-private partnership.

Bithumb META Offers Metaverse Fashion Experience at Preview in Seoul 2023Bithumb META, the metaverse subsidiary of leading South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, is participating in the 24th annual Preview in Seoul 2023, Korea’s largest international textile fair organized by the Korea Federation of Textile Industries. The company is using its metaverse, Naemo World, to present the integration of fashion into the metaverse and vice versa.Photo by Amanda Vick on UnsplashFashion’s future unveiledUnder the theme of “Dramatic Core,” this year’s Preview in Seoul is the largest to date with 746 booths from 14 countries participating. Participants are responsible for showcasing materials, textiles, and machinery that represent a future of elevated value.In particular, the digital fashion zone features prominent tech companies from both Korea and abroad and showcases the future of the textile fashion industry’s expansion into the metaverse. Visitors can experience firsthand fashion in the metaverse through artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) technologies.Envisioning fashion in the metaverseTo shed light on the future of digital fashion commerce, Bithumb META created a setup where visitors can dive into Naemo World to virtually replicate real-world environments and items — such as clothing made of high-quality garments — through digital twin technology.Attendees can customize their avatars and explore the brand halls of fashion brand Hazzys and athletic gear brand HEAD in Naemo World. They will also be led through a realistic shopping experience within the metaverse — this includes the entire process, from trying on clothing pieces featured in the brands’ 2023 fall/winter season collections to ordering and purchasing products and getting them delivered in the real world.“At this year’s Preview in Seoul, Bithumb META unveiled some of the blueprints for the future of Naemo World’s integration with real-world products and services,” said Bithumb META CEO Cho Hyun-sik.He added that the company would continue to expand and develop Naemo World’s ecosystem to be used for various purposes.Bithumb META also contributed to the planning and development of an ultra-realistic, three-dimensional showroom using Unreal Engine 5, a real-time 3D creation tool developed by Epic Games.Preview in Seoul 2023 is currently being held at Starfield COEX Mall in southern Seoul until Friday.

A number of reports published by local Russian media in recent days suggest that the Russian authorities are implementing taxation and regional controls on cryptocurrency mining.Photo by Michael Parulava on UnsplashRegional mining banA report published by the Moscow Times on Nov. 19 suggests that Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, has led a government commission that plans to implement a ban on cryptocurrency mining in specific Russian regions.  The authorities have been motivated in enacting such a ban in order to combat power shortages. With that, a ban is being implemented on a temporary basis during the heating season. The restrictions will apply to miners located within six regions within the North Caucasus, as well as the Zabaikalsky region in Siberia and territories now controlled by Russia in Ukraine. The ban will apply from December through to mid-March 2025, with this seasonal restriction to be applied subsequently each winter until 2031. Back in August, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law legislation which legitimized cryptocurrency mining within the Russian Federation. That law recognized mining activities and the concepts of mining pools and mining infrastructure operators. The legislation requires mining operators to register with the government. Individual miners can mine without registering so long as they stay within specified energy-use limits. Earlier this month, the authorities set a power consumption limit of 6,000 kWh per month for those unregistered miners.  The legislation also recognized the ability of stakeholders to trade in foreign digital assets on Russian blockchain platforms, with Russia’s central bank, the Bank of Russia, retaining the ability to ban specific digital assets from being traded if such trading is deemed to be a threat to Russia’s financial stability. 15% tax proposalEarlier this week Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that the Russian government had approved draft amendments to a bill concerned with the purchase and sale of digital currencies relative to crypto mining activity.  According to those proposed legislative amendments, digital assets will be classified as property from a taxation perspective. Income derived from mining activities will be assessed in terms of taxation based on market value at the time of receipt of the asset. The legislative amendments propose a 15% tax rate for cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, crypto transactions will not be subjected to value-added tax (VAT). However, income derived from such transactions will be taxable in the same way as income from transactions involving securities. Crypto mining operators will be permitted to deduct operating expenses from their taxable income. Russia’s Finance Ministry is understood to have clarified that the taxation approach would strike a balance between Russian government interests and those of commercial operators. With the introduction of legislation to recognize cryptocurrency mining activity earlier this year, Ki Young Ju, CEO of on-chain and market data analytics firm CryptoQuant, noted the country’s growing involvement and national-level engagement with digital assets. The coming months will determine if these latest crypto mining restrictions will dampen the level of involvement of Russia-based crypto miners.