NFT

NFT and Web3 gaming console to launch in 2024, Chinese firms to check ID for NFT buying, and more

07/04/2022
Bitcoin Ethereum News

Polium, a company that markets itself as “building the products and infrastructure for Web3 gaming,” has said it’s launching a gaming console that will support multiple blockchains and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

The “Polium One” console announced on July 3 is slated for an initial Q3 2024 release and will support the Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), BNB Chain (BNB), ImmutableX, Harmony, EOS, and WAX blockchains.

Currently, the only specifications listed for the console are that it will support a 4K Ultra HD resolution at 120 frames per second. Polium says its community will help them build the console’s hardware and software and states it will have a functional prototype in “a few months.”

According to Polium, the console will feature its own multichain cryptocurrency wallet, and the controller will have a wallet button for users to make trades more efficiently. Security and verification of transactions from the console will be enabled via a fingerprint scanner on the controller.

The console’s price is unknown, but Polium does plan to mint a “Polium Pass” NFT, which will allow holders to claim a console on the initial launch day. Pass holders will receive another NFT, which in the future can be staked for a “PLAY” token, the console’s native token for transacting on its marketplace app.

Polium plans on releasing 10,000 consoles to Polium Pass holders and partners on the Q3 2024 initial launch, with more units manufactured for the public in Q3 2025. It has set a goal of selling over 1 million units.

The company has already received criticism for its logo looking similar to another popular console, the Nintendo GameCube. Polium said it didn’t copy the logo and is already creating a new logo “that is original.”

Chinese tech giants to check ID before NFT purchases

China’s NFT industry players and the country’s largest technology firms have signed an agreement to check the identity of users using digital collectible trading platforms, according to a report on July 4 from the South China Morning Post.

A so-called “self-discipline initiative” document was signed by companies with a stake in China’s NFT market, such as JD.com, Tencent Holdings, Baidu, and digital payments platform Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group.

The document was published on June 30 by the China Cultural Industry Association and, while not legally binding, calls on the firms to “require real-name authentication of those who issue, sell and buy” NFTs, and “only support legal tender as the denomination and settlement currency.”

The initiative also seeks for the companies to promise not to create secondary marketplaces for NFTs to combat trading speculation.

The popularity of NFTs in China is on the rise, and digital collectable platforms have grown 5X in just four months from February to mid-June 2022 despite multiple warnings from the government.

Nike looking to create video game NFTs

A patent filed by Nike Inc. on June 30 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shows the fitness clothier is interested in a “video game integration” of NFTs.

As per the filing, Nike seeks to patent a method where a “virtual object” will display in games, where that object is a “virtual shoe, article of apparel, headgear, avatar, or pet.” Other language in the filing suggests Nike plans to sell the physical shoes and clothes represented within the NFTs.

Related: NFT hype evidently dead as daily sales in June 2022 dip to one-year lows

The reasoning presented in the filing suggests Nike is concerned with counterfeit digital collectibles and says there “exists a need for a retailer to more directly influence and control the nature and ultimate supply of digital objects within this virtual market.”

It also reasons an opportunity exists for it to capitalize and engage with video game players as most games feature customizable characters, which could make them “more engaged with a brand in the physical world.”

More Nifty News:

The second-largest sale of an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain not only in U.S. dollars but also in Ethereum happened on July 3 when the domain “000.eth” sold for 300 ETH, roughly $320,000. The highest sale of an ENS domain was for “paradigm.eth” in October 2021, which fetched 420 ETH, around $1.5 million at the time.

Social media platform Facebook will add support for NFTs, and a “digital collectibles” tab will appear on the pages of selected creators in the U.S., with a feature to cross-post between Instagram and Facebook rolling out eventually.