We collect this week’s highlights on NFTs, play-to-earn, and metaverse which are the main topics we hear more and more details about every day.

For those who do not want to miss the most influential news about the industry among dozens of news, we have compiled the top five of the week for you.

‘Kraken’ CEO Powell Finds Binance’s Proof-of-Reserve Misleading

In last week’s article, we wrote that many crypto exchanges, led by Binance, shared data under the name of proof-of-reserve to prove the existence of users’ funds after the FTX crisis. After this new feature, data such as the total asset, public wallet address, ownership balance, price & value of public wallets could be tracked transparently. However, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell said on his Twitter account that the feature has faults and therefore it is misleading.

When crypto exchanges explain their proof-of-reserve data, Powell emphasizes that the sum of customer assets and every existing account should be included in the total data. It should also include a personal, verifiable encryption-related data record for users and signatures proving the custodian’s control over wallets.

Another objection by Powell is about negative balance accounts. The proof-of-reserve data shared by Binance allows its users to confirm their holdings thanks to the Merkle Tree. Powell, on the other hand, says that it is not clear whether accounts with negative balances are included in the total in this calculation, and he recommends an independent audit to check this. However, his suggestion was soon answered by Binance CEO Zhao. He allusively said that both the negative balance issue and the proof-of-reserve data will be audited by 3rd party audits.

$2 Billion Metaverse Fund from ‘Animoca Brands’

Gaming company Animoca Brands, one of the most active investors in the Web3 space, announced that it has created a $2 billion investment fund. Animoca Brands, which also owns companies such as The Sandbox, Blowfish Studios, Grease Monkey Games, and Eden Games, aims to develop the metaverse ecosystem and create more opportunities there.

Co-founder and executive chairman Yat Siu announced the name of the fund as Animoca Capital and announced that its first investment will be made next year. Animoca Brands announced that it has made more than 340 investments in web3 as of September 2022. It also stands out in the sector with the number of funds it collects. It announced a $358 million fundraising in January and one for $110 million in September.

Animoca Capital will mainly invest in mid-stage and late-stage companies. The fund will also be used to regulate digital property rights in the metaverse.

‘Game 7’s $100 Million Grant to Web 3.0 Gaming Companies

Blockchain game accelerator Game7 announced that it has allocated a $100 million open-source grant to Web3 gaming startups.

The scope of the grant includes individuals/organizations creating web3 games, smart contracts, core software infrastructures and community tools. Grants also will be paid in USD Coin (USDC).

It is stated that the grant process for developers can take 4–6 weeks after submitting their application. Developers have to go through KYC checks, sign a contract and apply with their digital wallet for the grant. However, developers are not bound by any concession agreements and can apply for other grants or VC funding. Game7 has not yet made a statement about the awards.

Game7 was founded in November 2021 as a $500 million blockchain ecosystem accelerator backed by BitDAO, Forte, Mirana Ventures, Warner Music Group, Aleo, Avalanche, Interchain Foundation, Offchain Labs, OP Games, Polygon Studios, and Solana Ventures.

They described themselves as chain agnostic and currently supported by the Polygon, Immutable, Solana, Arbitrum.

‘Magic Eden’ Launches Royalty Tool, After OpenSea

Solana-based NFT marketplace Magic Eden releases a tool that allows creators to follow the copyright of their own collections.

Last November, OpenSea launched the NFT copyright tool. Magic Eden, on the other hand, announced its own open-source copyright tool called Open Creator Protocol (OCP) on December 1. The tool will be traded on Solana’s SPL token.

Content creators using OCP may also have the right to block NFT marketplaces that do not support the royalty tool.

The issue discussed by the NFT community is that this new feature cannot be applied to existing collections. Magic Eden, on the other hand, advises creators to burn or re-mint their collections to use this.

Magic Eden announced an optional copyright application last October. For this, they left the determination of the royalty fee to the discretion of the buyers, which was reacted by the NFT community. In this respect, this new tool of the company can be considered as a positive improvement.

“We have been in active conversations with multiple ecosystem partners to identify solutions for creators in a timely manner. Our intention with Open Creator Protocol is to immediately support royalties for creators launching new collections while continuing to coordinate with ecosystem partners for more solutions” Jack Lu, CEO and Co-Founder of Magic Eden, said.

‘Coinbase Wallet’ Has Stopped NFTs: The reason is Apple’s Commissions from NFT Gas Fees

Coinbase Wallet tweeted that Apple requested that gas fees in NFT transactions be included in the In-App Purchase system. According to Coinbase; Apple blocked the app until Coinbase Wallet took action.

Coinbase thinks that Apple’s policy change will most affect iPhone users with NFTs.

Apple’s NFT stance has been the subject of controversy before. The App Store started to include NFT marketplaces in September and directed NFT marketplaces to in-app purchases in October. The App Store set a commission rate of 30 percent, but after the criticism, it was increased to 15%. While the App Store does this, it asks for a commission for each step. In addition, it is not possible for NFT owners or related applications to generate an income from the gas fee paid for NFT Minting.

In the face of these negative reviews, Apple may take a step back by updating its policies in the near future.