NFTs

Can gaming resurrect the NFT market? OpenSea thinks so • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 17, 2022Posted in Crypto, NFTs, OpenSea, Startups, TechCrunch Sessions: Crypto 2022No Comments

Today at ZebethMedia’s crypto-focused event in Miami, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer discussed his business, and the future market for non-fungible tokens. The digital assets, better known by the acronym ‘NFT,’ saw their stock rise during the 2021-era crypto boom. NFTs became synonymous with neo-wealth bubbling up from the blockchain economy, as a number of image collections that employed the digital asset format reached pop-culture status and eye-watering prices. However, as ZebethMedia has reported, the evolving market for crypto-related activities and products is currently in a downturn. NFT trading volumes are depressed compared to year-ago levels, and elsewhere in the decentralized economy there’s chaos to be found as the implosion of exchange FTX continues to reverberate. This made Finzer’s appearance at the event potentially clarifying — in the midst of a downturn, where does OpenSea see the future for its core product category? Naturally given that he’s running a company in the space, we expected optimism from the tech executive. He delivered. Inside his perspective, however, a few key themes emerged that caught our attention. (ZebethMedia has riffed on the idea of how it re-ignite consumer interest in NFTs, it’s worth noting). First, gaming. Finzer argued early in his conversation with our own Anita Ramaswamy that the world of NFTs is “quite diverse,” going on to state that NFTs in games are a place where his market is seeing an “explosion in innovation.” The CEO also cited gaming as a market opportunity for NFTs to spark more consumer enthusiasm (OpenSea is working on assisting games and gaming companies mint NFTs). The union of gaming and digital assets has proved a popular theme for press coverage and founder activity. However, much focus during the last crypto boom focused on play-to-earn (P2E) games like Axie Infinity. But while Axie has seen its fortunes rise and fall, OpenSea appears to be yet bullish to gaming-related NFTs. As a person who has spent a reasonable amount of time in games like Diablo franchise, I can imagine certain use cases for the pairing, even if I remain a little bit skeptical of bringing real-world economics into most video games. The scale of Finzer’s excitement regarding NFTs and gaming indicates to this publication that it’s perhaps where we should be most focused when covering what the asset varietal can do next. Looking more broadly at the NFT market space itself, Finzer argued on stage that platforms like Instagram joining the industry will be net-positive. In his view, inclusion of NFTs from social companies may provide an on-ramp to the crypto market for regular folks. Given that, historically, such points of entry have been criticized as too steep, new methods of getting consumers into NFTs is likely welcome to his platform. The future of NFTs may be less crypto-focused than it has been. Finzer cited the recent Reddit NFT effort in a discussion of trust, consumers, and crypto more generally. Many Reddit NFT users are not aware that it’s a crypto-powered product, he explained. If consumers are willing to engage with crypto products outside of a crypto-native experience, it is easier to see how gaming and crypto could eventually find common ground. What’s ahead for the company? Not a native token, at least not yet, per our chat with OpenSea today. The company also didn’t want to talk about potential fundraises, though we do expect it to raise more capital in 2023. After listening to the chat, it felt like the era of pricey profile pictures had faded to the background. Now we have to see if the potential use cases for NFTs in other areas of the digital economy — and perhaps even IRL — can make the jump from possibility, to reality.

There’s still juice in the NFT market despite very real downturn • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 15, 2022Posted in coinbase, Crypto, EC Blockchain, EC Cryptocurrency, EC Newsletter, NFTs, OpenSea, The ExchangeNo Comments

But from Coinbase to Reddit, OpenSea is no longer the only fish in the sea Alex Wilhelm Anna Heim 8 hours Eight months ago, this column asked if we were entering an NFT downturn. The answer, it turns out, was a giant yes. That NFT hype is behind us is something we could tell without even looking at any data. But we do love data, and backing up our hunches, so we’re going to take a closer look at some of the very same charts we examined earlier this year. The universe of non-fungible tokens is fragmented by definition since they can be minted and sold by anyone across a number of blockchains and marketplaces. But there’s actually a reasonably good proxy to evaluate how the market is doing: trading volume on OpenSea, one of the main NFT marketplaces, and a startup that was valued at more than $10 billion earlier this year. The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. Read it every morning on ZebethMedia+ or get The Exchange newsletter every Saturday. We need to add a caveat here: OpenSea was perhaps more central to the NFT market when we started using it as a reference than it is today. In the meantime, new players have emerged, and not all of them share OpenSea’s Ethereum-based roots. For instance, there’s Joepegs, an NFT marketplace on the Avalanche blockchain that recently raised a $5 million seed round from the Avalanche Foundation and FTX Ventures (whose funds they “transferred out of FTX prior to recent bankruptcy events,” the Joepegs team said in a statement.) More importantly, Coinbase finally launched its long-anticipated NFT marketplace. But it was off to a lackluster start, and data from analytics platform Dune shows that trading volume on CoinbaseNFT is only a small fraction of OpenSea’s tally (or LooksRare’s, for that matter) over the same period.

FTX and Avalanche co-led $5M round for Joepegs NFT marketplace • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 14, 2022Posted in Avalanche, blockchain, Crypto, crypto ecosystem, FTX, NFT, NFT market, NFT marketplace, NFTsNo Comments

Although FTX collapsed last week, raises their ventures team contributed to are still being announced. Joepegs, an NFT marketplace on the Avalanche blockchain, raised $5 million in a seed round led by now-defunct FTX Ventures and the Avalanche Foundation, its co-founders who go by the pseudonyms Cryptofish and 0xMurloc, exclusively told ZebethMedia. “The funding from FTX Ventures was completed in June, and have since been transferred out of FTX prior to recent bankruptcy events,” the team said in a statement. The marketplace launched in May and has grown rapidly to the largest NFT marketplace on Avalanche with over $3.4 million in secondary NFT sales and 12,000 users. It also has an in-house production unit, Joe Studios, as well as an NFT Launchpad, which has on boarded over 50 projects to the Avalanche ecosystem, the company said. The co-founders also founded and remain involved in the operations of Trader Joe, a decentralized exchange on Avalanche (not to be confused with the American supermarket chain), which launched in early July 2021 and has a total trading volume over $88 billion. “As we started building this, we realized very quickly that in order to deliver a platform that really helps users discover great NFTs we have to invest in a lot more platform capabilities so that’s what the fundraise will go toward,” 0xMurloc said. “On top of that, we also create a lot of content on our end. We did this at the start to fill a need. Marketplaces are only as good as the content in the ecosystem.” Joepegs also invests in the operational side, beyond Avalanche, to partner with different traders, projects and artists “across the ecosystem,” 0xMurloc said. “That is something we do ferociously.” Earlier this year, Avalanche dove further into the NFT space after partnering with the largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, which now operates on the blockchain alongside other platforms like Joepegs and Kalao. With about $408.2 million in total sales, Avalanche is the seventh-largest blockchain by NFT sales volume, CryptoSlam data shows. “People are focused on what is happening to the greater market,” 0xMurloc said. “Yes, there are less people playing with crypto and the NFT market as a whole right now, but, we do see that the interest from creators, brands and projects to dive deeper into web3 and NFTs – that appetite is not softening.” There are a lot of companies, creators and artists who are “eager to explore this form of commerce and community building,” 0xMurloc added. “We’re very bullish on the future of NFTs and what it could bring,” Cryptofish said. “The idea that you can have clothing backed by NFTs is very bullish. You see that with Azuki with their skateboards and Nike sneakers and we want to be on the forefront of NFT innovation with digital stuff and clothing.” As more alternative NFT products come out, NFT markets will have to adapt to accommodate, Cryptofish added. “Our vision on NFT marketplaces will have to be like Amazon over time. Initially it was a bookstore and now they’ve branched out to sell everything. That’s how I see things going.” In the short term, the team plans to continue driving in-house content and has new collections coming up in the near future, 0xMurloc said. “Longer term, we want to branch into different flavors of NFTs and explore what Fish mentioned, whether it’s fashion, physical merchandise or gaming. We’re excited about what’s to come.”

Line launches NFT marketplace on its platform DOSI • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 8, 2022Posted in Crypto, LineNext, NFT marketplace, NFTsNo Comments

Japanese messaging app Line’s non-fungible token (NFT) unit LineNext said Tuesday that it has launched a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace on the NFT platform DOSI. The C2C trading service allows users to buy and sell NFTs globally. The announcement comes nearly a year after Line said it plans to launch an NFT service in 2022 to provide a marketplace for companies and individuals to trade NFTs. The company says anyone can easily trade NFT on its DOSI platform, which offers a simplified transaction process. Once users connect the DOSI wallet to MetaMask, an Ethereum crypto wallet, they can buy or sell NFTs with just a few clicks. Users can pay with Ethereum, credit cards, Naver Pay and more to trade NFTs. LineNext plans to add more crypto assets and mobile payment services in each country. The company claims that DOSI has amassed scores of users from 149 countries and issued more than 100,000 DOSI Wallets with 170,000 membership NFTs since its beta service launch in September. DOSI’s citizen membership service helps users acquire membership points, called DON, by participating in the NFT community activities or purchasing their NFTs. LineNext has released a string of NFT projects partnering with companies, including Korean media mogul CJ ENM and its parent company Naver. The company plans to launch diverse additional NFT projects to help make NFTs more familiar to users in the future. “We are determined to create a new kind of NFT experience for users,” said the chief executive officer of LineNext, Youngsu Ko, in a statement. “It’s not just an investment or a new kind of technology. For us, DOSI is about making NFTs fund and easy to use, creating benefits for our users and building communities.” LineNext, which has offices in the U.S. and South Korea, told ZebethMedia last year its transaction brokerage fees will be the primary source of revenue. DOSI is available in various languages, including English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Bahasa, Spanish and Thai. The company could not be reached for comments when asked in which countries it operates the C2C platform service and the number of DOSI users.

Last day to save with early-bird passes to TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 7, 2022Posted in blockchain, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, founders, NFTs, Startups, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022, TechCrunch Events 2022, web3No Comments

We’re less than two weeks away from kicking off TC Sessions: Crypto in Magic City on November 17. Yep, that’s Miami’s official nickname. Who knew? But listen up, crypto fans, because the bit of magic we call our early-bird special is about to perform a disappearing act in less than 24 hours – 11:59pm PST on November 7 to be exact. Don’t watch $150 in savings vanish before your eyes. Buy your pass now and avoid the price hike. Then use that extra cash to deck yourself out Miami Vice style — no socks required — and join the blockchain, crypto, DeFi, NFT and web3 communities to conjure up your own brand of magic. Check out the power-packed event agenda. It’s grown to be an impressive day all around — with more than 15 early-stage startups exhibiting on-site, and interviews and panel discussion featuring the sector’s top leaders, creators and investors. Folks like Binance’s Changpeng (CZ) Zhao, FTX Ventures’ Amy Wu, OpenSea’s Devin Finzer, Sequoia Capital’s Michelle Bailhe Fradin, Yuga Labs’ Nicole Muniz and many more. Whether you want to connect and collaborate with founders or investors or hire students determined to build the future generations of the cryptoverse, the networking at this event will be world-class. Expand your network and drive your business forward. Beyond the interviews, panel discussions and exhibition floor, you’ll also find a live podcast recording of Chain Reaction. Join the ZebethMedia crypto team as they dive into lively discussions on the latest blockchain news, drama and trends. And, in true ZebethMedia tradition, we’ll have a pitch-off — crypto style. Don’t miss the industry’s brightest entrepreneurs as they take the stage in front of a live audience and a panel of experts — including Galaxy Ventures’ Will Nuelle, Gradient Ventures’ Wen-Wen Lam, and Lux Capital’s Grace Isford — to pitch their revolutionary technologies. Don’t miss your chance to make magic happen. Buy an early-bird ticket today — while you still can — and crank up the heat with us at TC Sessions: Crypto in Miami on November 17. Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO announce plans for ‘Game of Thrones’ NFTs • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 2, 2022Posted in game of thrones, Media & Entertainment, NFTs, Warner Bros DiscoveryNo Comments

“Game of Thrones” NFTs are coming this winter. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and HBO have teamed up with NFT platform Nifty’s to launch digital-collectible non-fungible tokens based on the hit series. An official launch date is not yet confirmed, but fans can expect “Game of Thrones” NFTs in late 2022. The NFT experience, “Game of Thrones: Build Your Realm,” will allow fans to build a realm by collecting customizable avatars inspired by characters from the series as well as assorted packs with various collectibles like “equipable” items to “strengthen” their avatars such as weapons, companions and gear, Nifty’s wrote in its blog. “Throughout the program, varying themed packs will also be available,” WBD noted in its announcement. Other NFTs will include special moments from the series, “Game of Thrones” characters and locations. The experience will also have “thematic activities [and] on-site engagement” for fans to enjoy, WBD said. The company didn’t reveal pricing details. “Our goal, as always, with the fans, is to create new ways for them to interact with the stories and characters they love,” Josh Hackbarth, Head of NFT Commercial Development for Warner Bros Discovery, said in a statement. “We’re excited to expand the ‘Game of Thrones’ fandom and franchise with this unique digital collectible program that’ll engage fans on a deeper level, allowing them to immerse into the world of Westeros, and enhance the overall fan experience.” WBD is likely looking to generate additional revenue with the launch of “Game of Thrones” NFTs, arguably one of HBO’s most popular franchises. The company is in need of money after experiencing a net loss of $3.4 million last quarter. Plus, WBD has a debt load of about $53 billion. The company will report its Q3 results tomorrow, November 3. “Every so often, a film or television series comes along that pushes the boundaries of its genre so far it forever changes the creative landscape, becoming a part of our collective cultural identity. ‘Game of Thrones’ is that series for this generation,” added Jeff Marsilio, CEO and co-founder of Nifty’s. “Nifty’s is thrilled to be working alongside Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products to keep pushing the bounds of creativity and imagination through a new kind of digital collectible that will allow fans of the franchise to connect in ways they never have before.” Also, 3D-content company Daz 3D will collaborate with the companies on the design, development and production of the NFT experience. This isn’t the first time the media company has collaborated with Nifty’s as it launched “Looney Tunes” NFTs in June. Separately, WBD also partnered with Funko on various NFT drops. And last month, Warner Bros. partnered with blockchain company Eluvio to release “The Lord of the Rings” web3 movie experience, with NFT versions of the film.

What’s going on with NFT royalties? • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 2, 2022Posted in Creators, Crypto, EC Blockchain, EC Cryptocurrency, looksrare, NFTs, raribleNo Comments

In recent months, conversations around NFT creator royalties shifted as some platforms abandoned royalties for other alternatives. Not everyone is happy about it. “Every platform had royalties about a year ago,” Alex Salnikov, chief strategy officer and co-founder of NFT marketplace Rarible, said to ZebethMedia. Then half a year passed and some marketplaces stopped implementing them, he added. Creator royalties were originally introduced across the NFT community as a way to pay artists for their work in both primary and secondary sales. In general, the content creator royalty is 2.5% to 10% of an item’s purchase price. Most royalties average about 5%, Salnikov said. A lot of creators’ initial income comes from primary sales, but over time, secondary sales can build out their income through royalties, Alex Fleseriu, CEO of fine-art-focused Solana NFT marketplace Exchange.ART, told ZebethMedia. “It holds up their success and it’s very important for them to make a living.” “Let’s pick one of these ways and get all of the NFT marketplaces behind it. We’re cursing the market by fighting over market share.” Rarible co-founder Alex Salnikov Royalties and rewarding creators are the foundations for building long-term value, Shiti Manghani, COO of web3 gaming and development studio Find Satoshi Lab, said to ZebethMedia. “The creators and artists will work with platforms that value their work, stop their exploitation and consequently empower them to create their best work.” Find Satoshi Lab launched a multichain NFT marketplace on Tuesday that enforces royalties. “Web3 was born in many ways to solve for the challenges faced by creators with centralized institutions that did not allow for fair rewards to be awarded,” Manghani said. “[We] would like to stay true to that ethos.” Separately, Exchange.ART on Wednesday launched its “Royalties Protection Standard,” which enforces creator royalties on secondary sales of NFTs on its platform. This means that new NFT collections on its marketplace can utilize the standard to ensure artists that their work won’t be traded on marketplaces without their consent. “We’ve seen royalties come under a lot of pressure lately,” Fleseriu said. “We’ve seen marketplaces, protocols, basically allow buyers and sellers to circumvent those royalties, which intensifies this predatory nature of the NFT ecosystem overall, especially in the [profile picture] market.”

Connect with Hedera, Wilson Sonsini and MetaJuice at TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on November 1, 2022Posted in blockchain, Crypto, NFTs, TC Sessions: Crypto, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022, web3No Comments

ZebethMedia has a long history of partnering with great companies that are not only subject-matter experts, but committed to supporting early-stage startups, too. While this is our first official conference dedicated to the space, TC Sessions: Crypto — November 17 in Miami — is no exception to our great partners rule. Whether it’s blockchain-, crypto-, DeFi-, NFT- or web3-based, building a startup in the cryptoverse is no easy task — not exactly a newsflash, we know. One of the things our partners do best is provide their expertise and educational resources. They present sessions on a range of topics that help founders gain the confidence and know-how they need to move their startup forward. Keep in mind that, even as our partners dispense valuable insight from our stages, they’re always looking to engage with interesting founders and startups to explore potential partnerships and new opportunities. Let the networking begin. Take a look at some of the speakers and topics that our partners will present in Miami at TC Sessions: Crypto — and be sure to explore the full agenda. Bringing DeFi to the Masses: How Do We Make DeFi a Seamless, Easy Reality for Millions of Users Who Aren’t Crypto Experts — Currently, 72% of the world’s population has, or will soon have, access to instant payments, according to the 2022 Worldpay from FIS Global Payments Report. Many markets are also replacing or renovating their established real-time services to cater to instant payments. What does it take to onboard these users to a web3-first, DeFi world? How simple must it be, and how quickly can we get there? In this session, Zenobia Godschalk, SVP of Communications, Swirlds Labs, and Mina Khattak, Director, Crypto and Emerging Business at Worldpay from FIS, will address these questions and more from the perspective of one of the world’s largest payment firms. Sponsored by Hedera. Keeping It Legal — The legal issues associated with crypto and web3 are complex. Tech companies may need to consider balancing the ethos of the blockchain industry with protecting their revenue models and reducing regulatory risk. How are they structuring financings — with equity or tokens or both? How can they protect their IP in an open source world? What contracts do they need with customers and service partners? And what are the best ways to operate within regulatory uncertainty and an anticipated wave of enforcement actions? Attorney Amy Caiazza, Partner and Practice Group Leader, Fintech and Financial Services at Wilson Sonsini; Jonathan Chan, Corporate Counsel, Wilson Sonsini; Neel Maitra, Partner, Fintech & Financial Services, Wilson Sonsini; and Scott McKinney, Partner, Technology Transactions, Wilson Sonsini, will address these and other questions, including questions from the audience. Sponsored by Wilson Sonsini. Creating a True, User-Led Metaverse — The metaverse provides a virtual space that connects people, worlds and communities. A place where users can exchange currency and goods between themselves, not the company behind the platform. As the internet evolves, we hold the responsibility to create platforms that encompass diversity and inclusion, ownership of data, security and sustainability. As leaders in this space, how do we create an environment that allows users and creators to explore their imaginations and earning potential without limits? Chris Jones, Head of Business and Development, MetaJuice; Natalia Mazzuchelli, Strategic Partner Success Manager, ImmutableX; and Alex Mogul, Director, Republic Crypto, will address these and other challenges to building an inclusive, secure and sustainable metaverse. Sponsored by MetaJuice Don’t miss your chance to hear, connect and network with some of the leading movers and shakers bent on redefining the future of finance, blockchain and the web at TC Sessions: Crypto on November 17. Buy your pass now to nab the early-bird price and save $150. We can’t wait to see you in Miami! Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer discusses staying on top of a turbulent NFT market at TC Sessions: Crypto • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 31, 2022Posted in Crypto, NFT marketplace, NFTs, OpenSea, TC Sessions: Crypto 2022No Comments

The NFT market is worth tens of billions of dollars and saw rapid growth throughout the crypto bull run. NFT exchange OpenSea, led by CEO and co-founder Devin Finzer, emerged as a clear market leader, earning a $13.3B valuation in January and controlling an estimated 90% of the overall NFT market. Since then, it’s been a bumpy ride for NFTs. Trading volumes have fallen over 90% from their January peak, forcing exchanges, including OpenSea, to conduct steep layoffs. And for OpenSea specifically, competition is mounting, as newer entrants such as Magic Eden threaten its dominance and rumors of an OpenSea IPO have fizzled out. Big tech could stifle long-term growth in the space, too, as Apple’s and Google’s high marketplace fees challenge the idea that NFT trading can ever reach mobile adoption. There are plenty of challenges on the horizon, but there’s also tremendous potential for OpenSea to capture long-term growth in the NFT market if it does indeed occur. There are undeniable pockets of excitement in the space, so the question is whether that excitement will be realized and whether OpenSea is well-positioned to capture it. These are some of the topics we’ll discuss with Finzer onstage at ZebethMedia Sessions: Crypto. We’ll ask him about what use cases for NFTs he sees the most potential in and will hear about how the company plans to sustain its first-mover advantage and seize new growth opportunities through a bear market. The event takes place on November 17 in Miami. Save $150 with early bird pricing and buy your pass today, and then join the web3, DeFi and NFT communities to keep up with the ever-evolving and always exciting crypto world.

Telegram announces username auctions on TON blockchain • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 27, 2022Posted in Apps, blockchain, Crypto, NFTs, Pavel Durov, TelegramNo Comments

Telegram announced today that will it hold an auction for usernames — for both individual accounts and channels — through a marketplace built on top of the TON blockchain. In August, Telegram founder Pavel Durov first mentioned the idea by noting the possibility of adding “a little bit of Web 3.0 to Telegram in the coming weeks.” At that time, he said he was impressed by the success of the TON Foundation’s auction of domain names. “I’m really impressed by the success of the auction TON recently conducted for their domain/wallet names. Wallet.ton was sold for 215,250 Toncoin (~$260000) while casino.ton was sold for ~$244000. If TON has been able to achieve these results, imagine how successful Telegram with its 700 million users could be if we put reserved @ usernames, group and channel links for auction,” he said. Now the company is putting this plan into action. Telegram and TON Foundation are using a separate website Fragment.com as a hub for these auctions. Users will be able to log into the site using Telegram, the tonkeeper app, or their TON-based wallets. The website will also help users link their Telegram accounts to the handles that they have bought. At launch, the chat app is auctioning four and five-character handles that will be available for everyone. Telegram users can also put up their own existing handles for auction. Each handle put up for auction will end in a week with an extra hour for final bidding. The company is setting a minimum auction value for four character handles at 10,000 toncoins — which converts to roughly $18,400 at the time of writing. “As the partnership between TON and Telegram deepens, the synergy between the two projects will enable the continuedcreation of tangible use-cases of blockchain technology. For the first time, social media users will be able to transparently prove that they own their handles thanks to their tokenisation on the TON blockchain,” Andrew Rogozov, Founding Member of the TON Foundation said in a statement Telegram had big ambitions in the web3 world but it had to ditch those ambitions. In 2018, the company hatched up plans for Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain project and an initial coin offering (ICO). The project got backing from big-name investors including Benchmark and Lightspeed Capital, which put up $1.7 billion. However, after a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Telegram was forced to forsake the project. After Telegram stopped working on TON, various independent groups continued the development with Toncoin getting backing from Durov and winning the rights to ton.org website in 2021. But the Telegram founder has tried to distance himself from direct involvement with the project. Telegram has been trying various methods to earn money to keep the company sustainable. Last year it introduced ad spots on public channels. Earlier this year, the company introduced a paid plan that allows large file transfers, exclusive stickers and reactions, and the ability to convert voice messages into text. The new announcement of username auction on the blockchain is another step to get some more moolah in the bank.