Today’s NFT News includes a speech by Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, who claims that digital property rights related to Non-Fungible Tokens and DeFi, “will become incredibly important”.
Not only that, the creators of Hot Wheels along with WAX’s blockchain are about to announce a digital collection combining NFTs with physical serial cars, while eBay delves into the metaverse and NFTs with new trademark applications.
NFT News: Cathie Wood’s speech on digital property rights
According to reports, it appears that Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, has made a comment of her own regarding NFTs and DeFi.
Wood argues that digital property rights arising from these two sectors, which have supported the emergence of Web3, “will become incredibly important”.
Here are her exact words:
“We do believe that digital property rights, which is what NFTs represent, are going to become incredibly important. […] We’re believers and we think the ecosystem, if it consolidates, is not a bad thing. We do think that digital wallets are going to be one of the most important outcomes here. They are effectively bank branches in our pockets,” Wood said. “These are going to be huge opportunities”.
Hence, there is optimism about the future of the two crypto sectors, despite the fact that 2022 has not been very easy. The flagship Ark Innovation Active Fund ETF (ARKK) is down as much as 52% year-on-year, down 66% from its all-time high reached in February 2021.
Mattel Inc and blockchain WAX launch new original NFT collection
Mattel Inc, the makers of Hot Wheels, are about to launch a digital collection combining NFTs with physical series cars, as well as the Hot Wheels Unleashed video game, in partnership with the WAX blockchain.
Basically, the Series 1 release will provide 5,400 NFTs to redeem for limited-edition physical diecast models, which will be auctioned using WAX’s vIRL (virtual in real life) technology, which will allow each token to be redeemed for a physical Hot Wheels car.
vIRL is a type of NFT created in 2018 by WAX, The carbon-neutral Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) blockchain, to represent physical goods and services in the real world.
This means that users of Hot Wheels Unleashed can claim ownership of their cars both in the Web3 and in real life.
In this regard, Ted Wu, Global Head of Vehicles Design at Mattel said:
“We’re thrilled to be partnering up with WAX on the third iteration of the Hot Wheels NFT Garage. Providing collectors an option for physical redemption unlocks the best of both worlds and puts a modern and convenient spin on toy collecting, said Ted Wu, Global Head of Vehicles Design at Mattel. “Hot Wheels has already shown how popular it is with adults and children alike, but now we have a chance to conquer the Web3 arena, and WAX is making that possible”.
eBay enters the metaverse and NFTs with 3 trademarks applications
Another biggie about to officially enter the metaverse and NFT world is the US e-commerce giant, eBay, which appears to have applied for NFTs, exchanges and trading of NFTs, virtual goods marketplaces and online retail stores with physical and virtual goods.
The application was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on 23 June.
It was revealed in a tweet by patent attorney Michael Kondoudis:
eBay Inc. is coming to the Metaverse!
On June 23, the company filed trademarks indicating plans for:
▶️ NFTs, NFT exchanges, NFT trading
▶️ NFT + Virtual good marketplaces
▶️ Online retail stores with actual and virtual goods#NFT #Metaverse #Web3 #Ebay #NFTCommunity pic.twitter.com/IELMNjaoUJ— Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) June 28, 2022
“eBay Inc. is coming to the Metaverse!
On June 23, the company filed trademarks indicating plans for:
– NFTs, NFT exchanges, NFT trading
– NFT + Virtual good marketplaces
– Online retail stores with actual and virtual goods”.
Recently, eBay also closed the deal to buy KnownOrigin’s NFT marketplace.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2022/06/29/cathie-wood-digital-property-rights/