Web3 Watch: What are Semi-Fungible Tokens and Why is Coinbase Making a Movie?

Magic Eden introduces a semi-fungible token (SFT) marketplace

Solana-based NFT marketplace Magic Eden has enabled Genopets players and NFT members to mint and trade so-called semi-fungible tokens within the move-to-earn digital pets game via the Magic Eden marketplace. Crystals and Terraform Seeds are among the first Genopets SFTs that will be listed on Magic Eden’s marketplace. 

While most non-fungible tokens are built on the ERC-721 standard, semi-fungible tokens are built on the ERC-1155 standard. Created by blockchain gaming developers Enjin, SFTs are mostly used in blockchain-based video games. SFTs act like fungible tokens until they get used. Similar to a gift card that can be exchanged for a gift card of the same value, an SFT loses its value as soon as it is used. 

Main advantages of using SFTs over NFTs in games is that token transactions to the wrong addresses are reversible and refundable. Players can also transfer multiple SFTs in a single transaction.

Magic Eden recently launched Magic Ventures, a venture capital fund that focuses on investments in Web3 games as well as funding its own games.

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Coinbase gets in the movie business

Coinbase released part one, out of three, of the “The Degen Trilogy” of films featuring characters from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). The five-minute-long animated film titled “Run The Chain,” presents five “degens” who compete for a chance to win ApeCoin. 

Coinbase tweeted that those who would like a chance for their NFTs to be featured in the upcoming Parts 2 and 3 need to create a profile on the exchange’s NFT marketplace.

Reactions on Twitter were mixed, with some users praising the animation and others questioning the film’s purpose and timing.

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On the same Tuesday the trailer dropped, asset manager Ark Invest, run by Cathie Wood, sold off roughly 1.4 million shares of Coinbase as the crypto exchange’s COIN is down nearly 20% over the past seven days.  

Universities offer metaverse courses

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school announced a new online certificate program titled the “Business in the Metaverse Economy.” This six-week executive education course is designed for business and technology professionals who want to learn how their companies can gain value by using metaverse technology. Wharton claims it is the first Ivy League business school to launch a program on the topic of the metaverse.

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Additionally, the University of Tokyo plans to offer a range of courses on the fundamentals of metaverse technology, such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The primary purpose is to retrain students and professionals in digital transformation. The certificate courses will also be open to junior and senior high school students who want to get a head start on learning about engineering and information science, and potential career paths in such fields.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy also recently launched the “Web3 Policy Office” to develop the country’s Web3 business environment.

Coca-Cola to celebrate International Friendship Day with NFT drop

Coca-Cola plans to airdrop limited edition digital collectibles on July 30 to members of Coca-Cola’s existing NFT community to mark International Friendship Day and the one-year anniversary of the brand’s first NFT drop.

This latest collection features a design inspired by the bubbles within Coke bottles, and each International Friendship Day digital collectible is meant to be shared with a friend. Once shared, the artwork will be revealed for both holders. Owners may also gain access to future experiences with the brand.

Members eligible to receive the airdrop include collectors of the Coca-Cola International Pride Day 2022 drop and the Coca-Cola Hamburger Day drop from earlier this year.

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Latest Funding News

• FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried led the seed round of a new Web3-focused content production studio called Trustless Media. The NFT community-owned media company launched on Wednesday with the announcement of a $3.25 million raise, with additional investments from Avalanche’s Ava Labs and Red DAO founding member Megan Kaspar. Co-founder and financial journalist Zack Guzman plans to produce “NFTV” news shows, the first of which, named Coinage, is slated to air in the Fall.
  
• Ex-Meta employees and founders of Aptos Labs secured $150 million in funding for the high-throughput, low-latency Layer 1 blockchain. The Series A round, led by FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto, more than doubled the unicorn’s valuation, which was over $1 billion in March. Other VC firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, Multicoin Capital and Circle Ventures participated in the latest round. So far Aptos Labs’ has raised $350 million in capital in 2022. 
  
• The video game publisher Big Time Studios released the Open Loot (OL) platform to enable AAA developers to distribute their NFTs, as well as the OL Ecosystem Fund with $11 million in its first closing. The company plans to invest $500,000 – $1 million in each qualifying partner studio, via token purchases or revshare agreements. Partners can elect to launch on Open Loot without engaging in the Eco fund. Big Time’s CEO, Ari Meilich, is the former chief executive officer at Decentraland.

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