Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_62c482202cdc0" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Executive seeks to fix segregated nature of infrastructure options available to blockchain game developers</li>
 <li>Fung served in leadership roles at Electronic Arts and Alibaba Group</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



TikTok’s former head of gaming is starting a blockchain infrastructure company that aims to connect different metaverses.



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-fung-52768518/?originalSubdomain=ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jason Fung</a> is now the CEO of Meta0, which is working on making blockchain integrations easier for game developers through white-label application programming interface (API), as well as software development kit-based solutions.



“I left TikTok because I saw a clear opportunity to offer a solution to the current segregated nature of infrastructure options available to developers looking to build blockchain games,” Fung told Blockworks in an email. “This is a problem in the market worth solving.”



Fung joined short-form video hosting service TikTok in June 2020 as its global head of gaming content, according to his LinkedIn profile. A founding member of the company’s gaming team, he worked as global head of strategy and operations for the unit during his second year at TikTok.&nbsp;



The executive spent his early career with technology startups in the gaming space, where he helped build companies in online video, livestreaming and fantasy esports.



Fung spent nine months at Electronic Arts (EA) in 2017, during which he led the design and development of all EA Asia’s esport programs, including the production of live and online tournaments, he wrote on LinkedIn.&nbsp;



Before joining TikTok, Fung also spent two-plus years as a director of global esports at Alibaba Group.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Though the creation of Meta0 comes during a particularly turbulent time for the crypto space, Fung said the company is set to form its team and launch products with real-world applications.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The recent market downturn creates an opportunity to focus on building,” he said. “I am a builder and it’s nice not to be distracted by the increased market speculation and volatility.&nbsp;



Others in traditional gaming have jumped into the Web3 world recently, too.&nbsp;



Web3 gaming company Immutable recently <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/latest-in-crypto-hiring-former-facebook-bnp-paribas-pros-join-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hired</a> Henry Cho, a former global head of product design for payments at Facebook, to lead the protocol’s product design. 



Mark Aubrey, a former executive at Activision Blizzard — the creators of games such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft — is <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/latest-in-crypto-hiring-okx-bitget-among-companies-boosting-headcount/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">set to join</a> blockchain gaming company Catheon Gaming as its co-CEO on July 11.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



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TikTok’s Ex-head of Gaming Starts Blockchain Company Meta0

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_6169c570e811e" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>TikTok&#8217;s first NFT collaboration with Lil Nas X and the artist Rudy Willingham was slated to drop on October 6, but has yet to go live</li>
 <li>A second NFT offering on Monday has been bid up to roughly $100,000 worth of ETH</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



There was a lot of early hype (and press) surrounding the first creator-led non-fungible token (NFT) collection on TikTok. But the multi-billion-dollar social media app took its first step into blockchain-based digital collectibles — and missed its first deadline.



The plan for the NFT platform, according to the company’s <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok-launches-first-creator-led-nft-collection-powered-by-immutable-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announcement</a> on September 30, is ultimately to pair prominent TikTok creators with artists in the crypto space to make NFTs based on the creators’ culturally significant — i.e. viral — videos.



Big names featured on TikTok&#8217;s marketing materials include Lil Nas X, Bella Poarch and Gary Vaynerchuk. In addition to the one-of-one NFT of their viral videos, creators can also sell a set of collaborative editions at a set price.&nbsp;



“TikTok exposing its community of creators to NFTs is a positive boost to the entire ecosystem, and we encourage other centralized platforms to follow their lead,” Adam Jeffries, CEO of Metaplex Studios, told Blockworks in early October.&nbsp;



The one-of-one NFTs will be distributed on Ethereum and the limited editions NFTs will be powered by <a href="https://www.immutable.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Immutable X</a>, the first NFT-focused layer-2 on Ethereum. TikTok is planning a series of weekly drops until the end of the month. According to Immutable&#8217;s team, the layer-2 has zero gas fees, nearly instant trade execution and is carbon-neutral.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">TikTok partnership leaves no time to waste</h3>



Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable, said the tech partnership between TikTok and Immutable took roughly three weeks to finalize, describing it as a “fairly short turnaround” but something that could be potentially “amazing for creatives.”&nbsp;



“I think this is an early foray by TikTok into how they can monetize this stuff. But if you ask me, TikTok is sitting on one of the best possible application [opportunities] in the world because creator monetization is one of the worst problems out there,” Ferguson said to Blockworks, citing patronage models like Twitch.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Bringing property rights to the value that creators are creating for these platforms is a much more powerful way to monetize.”&nbsp;</blockquote>



Proceeds from the collection would, according to TikTok’s announcement, “largely go directly to the creators and NFT artists involved.” The company did not clarify what percentage creators will eventually receive.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Owning a &#8216;moment&#8217;</h3>



The platform, which has over a billion monthly active users worldwide, calls the project a way to own “a moment that broke the internet.”&nbsp;



Trent Elmore, one of five creators of YAM Finance, described the announcement as “encouraging” and “exciting,” but adds that it doesn’t guarantee that “total mainstream [NFT] adoption is right around the corner.”



In addition, TikTok seems to be facing challenges around its first NFT collaboration with Lil Nas X and the artist Rudy Willingham. That NFT was dated to drop on October 6, but it never arrived.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Rudy Willingham&#8217;s 1/1 NFT is experiencing a brief delay. We are very excited about this drop and look forward to having this resolved in a timely manner,” Immutable <a href="https://twitter.com/Immutable/status/1445938703768031232?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> and posted in its public Discord channel.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Rudy Willingham&#39;s 1/1 NFT is experiencing a brief delay. We are very excited about this drop and look forward to having this resolved in a timely manner. Join our dedicated <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tiktok?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#tiktok</a> Discord channel for the NFT drop updates &amp; announcements 👉<a href="https://t.co/AQwKPJTk9m">https://t.co/AQwKPJTk9m</a>&mdash; Immutable | $IMX | Hiring!👇 (@Immutable) <a href="https://twitter.com/Immutable/status/1445938703768031232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Sources close to the situation said that part of the NFT collection won’t be released at all, Rolling Stone first <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/tiktok-nfts-lil-nas-x-bella-poarch-1239785/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> on Monday. In addition, three people with knowledge of TikTok’s NFT rollout said it was “a mess,” “a challenge” and “a complete joke.” 



Bella Poarch, a TikTok creator advertised to work on the project, may pull out due to “worries around the [project’s] execution,” a person familiar with the matter told Rolling Stone. Poarch did not respond immediately to Blockworks’ request for comment.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Finally, live</h3>



Despite the confusion, TikTok’s first NFT auction finally <a href="https://twitter.com/Immutable/status/1447695288131473408?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">went live</a> on Monday. Instead of Lil Nas X and artist Willingham, an NFT dropped featuring Detroit rapper Curtis Roach and Coin Artist, an established creator in the crypto space. Initial bids for the NFT barely topped $26,000 or seven ETH.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="703" height="269" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screenshot-2021-10-15-at-20.30.56.png" alt="Record of bids" class="wp-image-9467" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screenshot-2021-10-15-at-20.30.56.png?w=703 703w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screenshot-2021-10-15-at-20.30.56.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screenshot-2021-10-15-at-20.30.56.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screenshot-2021-10-15-at-20.30.56.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screenshot-2021-10-15-at-20.30.56.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screenshot-2021-10-15-at-20.30.56.png?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 703px) 100vw, 703px" /><figcaption>Record of bids as of 2:30 pm ET on October 15; Source: <a href="https://tiktok.immutable.com/auction/curtisroach" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tiktok.immutable.com/auction/curtisroach</a></figcaption></figure>



Suddenly, and with explosive growth, the top bid for the asset jumped to nearly $100,000 or 25 ETH on Wednesday, almost four times in one hour. The auction has roughly three more days to go until it’s officially sold, according to its website.&nbsp;&nbsp;



While the cause of the jump is not known at this time, other prominent NFT projects have encountered problems with <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nft-craze-rages-on-as-august-sales-near-900m/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wash trading</a> and insiders <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/openseas-nate-chastain-calls-it-quits-after-insider-trading-allegations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exploiting non-public knowledge</a>.



TikTok did not respond to Blockworks’ requests for comment surrounding their project.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



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<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>

TikTok’s Venture into NFTs: The Hype and Alleged ‘Mess’

Casey Wagner

<div id="highlights-block_60f5d4844a4fe" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>There’s a new group of influencers and they want to make you money </li>
 <li>Financial influencers, mostly self-taught, share trading tips and advice, and some are cashing in</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



New investors thinking about delving into the digital asset space want to know where to put their money. Enter the influencer.&nbsp;



Social media video platform TikTok has no shortage of cryptocurrency and investing content. A quick search for ‘crypto’ on the TikTok app reveals tens of thousands of videos, most of which are captioned with some variation of “what I’m trading now,” or “5 things to know about the crypto market today.”&nbsp;



The videos are short, catchy and, most importantly, easy to follow. The creators address their followers casually, as if they are talking to friends over cocktails.&nbsp;



“Hey guys,” TikTok creator Morgan Marshall greeted followers in a recent video, which she filmed from the front seat of her car. “If you’re just starting out trading and you don’t know what you’re doing, this is probably a good video to watch.”&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Desperate to learn; happy to help</h3>



Patrick Kim, a crypto education TikTok creator who started trading in 2017, launched his TikTok account in April. He gives tips on how to get started in the space and what to watch. He now has almost 95,000 followers.&nbsp;



“The majority of viewers ask questions about where to buy, how to buy, what coins to buy,” said Kim. “Very few are asking about the tech side of it. Most people are just trying to hit the jackpot and just kind of get rich quick after seeing the spike in price and returns.”&nbsp;



Callum Carver, a United Kingdom-based TikTok creator with nearly 200,000 followers, said that people are desperate to learn, and he is happy to help.&nbsp;



“I like to teach people the very basics of how to get into it from nothing, because that&#8217;s what I did, essentially,” he said. “I was quite lucky because I was able to learn from my dad, so I want to almost be that person for others. People can look at a video and see a tutorial of me setting up an account, learning how to invest and what this means.”&nbsp;



Carver and Kim, both self-taught cryptocurrency investors, are part of a new and growing group of financial and crypto influencers, the majority of whom release video content on YouTube and TikTok.&nbsp;



However, TikTok recently announced a ban on sponsored content promoting financial services and cryptocurrency investments, as <a href="https://www.ftadviser.com/your-industry/2021/07/08/tiktok-bans-investment-promotions/">reported</a> by the Financial Times. The app will crack down on paid content that pushes viewers to invest in certain products or coins. It’s a move that has been a long time coming, Kim and Carver said.&nbsp;



“It’s really not surprising at all,” said Kim. “I was getting messages daily asking me to promote all these sh-tcoins that are worthless. I do know there&#8217;s certain influencers that definitely took advantage and took the money and recommended these coins to a lot of their followers, it just wasn&#8217;t my style.”&nbsp;



One “sh-tcoin” that appears frequently on the app is the Australian Safe Shepard coin, known as ASS coin.&nbsp;



A recent TikTok video made by user Alex Goa promoting the coin shows a man showing off the money he made on the coin to his presumed girlfriend. The video is captioned with the hashtags “ASScoinchallenge” and “TikTokinvestor”.



It is unclear whether the video, which has more than 344,000 views, was a paid post but it’s message is clear: Make money with ASS coin.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="236" height="512" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tiktok-screen-shot.jpg" alt="TikTok screen shot" class="wp-image-5649" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tiktok-screen-shot.jpg?w=236 236w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tiktok-screen-shot.jpg?w=138 138w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tiktok-screen-shot.jpg?w=118 118w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tiktok-screen-shot.jpg?w=120 120w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tiktok-screen-shot.jpg?w=101 101w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/tiktok-screen-shot.jpg?w=37 37w" sizes="(max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px" /><figcaption>An example of a TikTok post promoting cryptocurrency trading.</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Educate but not advise</h3>



Carver, who is compensated through the TikTok creator fund, which pays creators based on views and followers, is careful about how he addresses his followers.&nbsp;



“I always make sure that people know that is just my opinion,” said Carver. “All it takes is one person to post a video talking about the money they&#8217;ve made with this one coin, and people listen, because for some reason, on TikTok, as soon as someone sees an idea that could&nbsp; possibly be money-making, they will go all-in on it.”&nbsp;



It’s important to educate but not advise, Kim agreed, or else face follower backlash.&nbsp;



“I personally don&#8217;t like recommending specific coins, even when the market is going up,” said Kim. “It&#8217;s most likely going to be a lose/lose situation for me if I do that, because even if the coin goes up, there&#8217;s probably other coins that go up even more.”&nbsp;



74% of cryptocurrency investors are between 25 and 44-years-old, according to an April <a href="https://www.gemini.com/state-of-us-crypto">survey</a> from crypto exchange Gemini. 80% of TikTokers are younger than 34 and roughly a quarter of users fall between the ages of 25 and 44, according to <a href="https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/">data</a> released at the beginning of the year.&nbsp;



“There&#8217;s surprisingly a good amount of people who are older than I expected to be on TikTok, middle aged, maybe low 40s,” said Kim. “But that’s just based on the profile picture, I guess that might not be them. But there is a good amount of people commenting that seem to be out of their 20s.”&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">No shortage of options</h3>



Newer crypto investors have no shortage of options when it comes to educational content though. Patrick Hubbard, a trader, bought his first digital assets in April after his neighbors started asking him about the crypto market.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“It&#8217;s always been a hobby, investing, and so I&#8217;ve always read and studied up on the stock market and whatnot,” said Hubbard. “ I had friends that started asking me about crypto with all of the hype around dogecoin and all of that running up between January and April right, and I didn&#8217;t really know much about it.”&nbsp;



Hubbard became a Voyager exchange user after reading up on bitcoin and watching a few YouTube videos. He also found a few helpful podcasts and hopes to read The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous soon.



Thanks to his education, Hubbard knows what to look for in investment advice. Not all crypto investors are as diligent, though. US regulators and now TikTok are stepping up to protect newer traders.&nbsp;



As the industry progresses, they won’t be alone. Senator Elizabeth Warren has given the Securities and Exchange Commission a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/fbi-sen-warren-issue-crypto-security-warning/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deadline</a> of July 28 to issue cryptocurrency policy that protects investors.