🔮 Metaproof

Metaproof is a media company that covers the business of the metaverse. We keep you informed how the metaverse and web3 are changing YOUR industry.

🔮 Metaproof is a weekly newsletter that aggregates all of the top stories from each of our industry-specific newsletters so you get a holistic view on what is going on.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse news roundup every Friday.

📲 By the numbers

• Roblox is doing more than okay: it reported it had 58.8 million average daily active users, up 19% YoY, as of the fourth quarter. For the full year 2022, average DAUs were 56 million, up 23% YoY, while January’s average DAUs had climbed to 65 million, or up 19% YoY. (Source)

• More than half (58%) of US viewers would be interested in watching major sporting events such as the Super Bowl in a virtual stadium in the metaverse, according to a study from Amdocs. (Source)

• NFTs and virtual assets in the metaverse are on a roll, and the United States is leading the charge. Revenue in the metaverse virtual assets segment is projected to reach $0.98B in 2023, with a CAGR 2023-30 of 16.11% resulting in a projected market volume of $2.78B and 3.4 million users by 2030. (Source)

📫 News & trends

🏀 Metaproof Sports

🚴 Cycling in the metaverse: UCI Worlds on Zwift

The upcoming UCI 2023 Cycling Esports World Championships will be held on the virtual cycling platform Zwift, combining the physical and digital worlds in an event where riders compete on stationary bikes and their performance gets transmitted to viewers through the platform. Here’s what will likely go down:

• Riders will race through a digital environment that mimics the flora, fauna, as well as architecture of Scottish city Glasgow, where the real-world championships take place this summer, and its mountainous terrain. Yet they will compete on custom-built routes fit for virtual racing instead of reflecting real-world roads.

• Zwift simulates real-world physics such as aerodynamics, where riders expend less energy when in the “draft” of others. However, riders also collect “PowerUps,” which temporarily adjust in-game metrics and add a layer of strategy for those racing and depth for those watching.

• The event is overseen by cycling's global governing body UCI, so it will be subject to the same strict anti-doping program and regulations that apply to the Tour de France.

🕶 Metaproof Fashion

👜 Hermes vs Metabirkins: Do you know how to protect your brand in the metaverse?

Hermes versus Metabirkins is now considered a landmark case, and the luxury fashion house’s victory in this first-ever trial examining NFT via an intellectual property nexus legal case will closely determine succeeding outcomes.

The case: Artist Mason Rothschild’s 100 Metabirkins, a type of NFT inspired by the iconic Birkin handbag of Hermès, raised legal issues related to intellectual property rights and trademark infringement. The ruling: The jury trial in the Southern District of NY ruled that Rothschild had infringed on the trademark protections of Hermès. What laws then govern digital fashion goods?

• Trademark registration

• Copyright protection

• Licensing agreements

• Monitoring and enforcement

• Working with metaverse communities

These laws are complex and constantly evolving, and we’ll be watching the space closely for how brands will protect their IP (and brand premium) in the metaverse.

🎮 Metaproof Gaming

🔞 Roblox to allow adult-themed games on the multiverse platform, players react

Popular online game Roblox is set to introduce an update that will allow for adult content, such as profanity, gambling, and alcohol references, to be included in the game. The update has drawn mixed reactions from players, as it will bring new games and user-generated content to the community.

According to Roblox, the update will include age guidelines for games with adult themes, as well as new parental guidelines and settings. The company aims to strike a balance between catering to adult users and protecting younger players from inappropriate content.

However, critics of the update have expressed concern that younger players may be able to access 18+ games by changing their age on their profiles, or be scammed or misled by other players on the server. We’ll stay on the lookout for these changes expected to take effect in the coming months.

Meanwhile, in a boost for the metaverse, Roblox stock popped 25% after strong fourth-quarter earnings, with investors reacting to its better-than-expected earnings as it appeals to a younger demographic who go online to play games as well as to socialize with other players.

🎥 Metaproof Media, Entertainment, IP

📈 In a boost for the 'metaverse,' Roblox stock pops 25% after strong Q4 earnings

Roblox, the well-known gaming platform, has seen a 25% boost in its stock price following the announcement of its fourth-quarter results. It is particularly popular with younger generations who enjoy dabbling in the various activities available on the platform while socializing. Roblox has reported a 19% year-over-year growth in average daily active users (DAUs) as well as a 17% YoY increase in bookings.

The company has adopted a strategy to attract more teenagers and young adults, which could potentially result in increased expenditure on its virtual currency Robux. Such additional spending could drive the platform's revenue further upward. Additionally, players have been spending more time on Roblox with engaged hours growing by 18% YoY in Q4 and 19% YoY so far this year.

🎵 Metaproof Music

💯 Rihanna releasing her hit song BBHMM as an NFT

Fresh from her comeback via a Super Bowl halftime performance, pop and RnB superstar Rihanna is transforming her three Platinum-certified song “B*TCH Better Have My Money” into a music NFT via NFT platform another block. Deputy, the song’s co-producer, is releasing BBHMM as an NFT, giving fans a cut of his streaming royalties. The limited-edition Rihanna NFTs were unveiled Thursday, with about 300 NFTs in the collection overall and each costing 0.145 ETH (about $210).

What this development means: The NFT holders gain access to 0.0033% of the song’s streaming royalties, get provided with a superior service for streaming, and own a piece of a song in a fresh way that can completely change the way they feel about it - an “entirely new realm of connectivity,” Deputy said.

🎨 Metaproof Art

⌚ Takashi Murakami x Hublot launch latest project as part of long-term metaverse collaboration

Celebrated contemporary artist Takashi Murakami and timepiece maker Hublot have released a 13-piece collection of unique NFTs alongside physical watch counterparts as their latest collaborative project. This is what went down and the details that emerged from the event unveiled at a private event at the Glass House in New York on February 2:

• The Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Black Ceramic Rainbow watch features Murakami’s famed smiling flower motif created from gemstones including rubies, sapphires, amethysts, tsavorites, and topaz in varying shades. It will arrive with its very own token, inspired by 1970s video game aesthetic.

• The other 12 watches and NFTs will be debuted during the Watches & Wonders Geneva 2023 exhibition in March.

• The project is the fourth artistic venture for the duo. Their collaborations offer a tight-knit community exclusive benefits and rewards, yet for this initiative only holders of the 324 NFTs that the brand issued in April 2022 will be able to purchase one of Hublot x Murakami’s new Classic Fusion models.

👩‍💻 Metaproof AI

✈️ AI just flew an F-16 for 17 hours. This could change everything.

Marking the first time the technology operated a tactical aircraft, artificial intelligence software has just flown Lockheed Martin’s VISTA X-62A for more than 17 hours, heralding the era of next-generation fighter jets flying with a little help from computers. The flighty details here:

• It happened in U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California, with the VISTA fitted with software that allows it to mimic the performance traits of other aircraft. For aircraft geeks, the test plane is a modified F-16D Block 30 Peace Marble Il aircraft upgraded with Block 40 avionics.

• It’s a sign of things to come: sixth-generation fighter jets, while still in the concept stage, are anticipated to have the option to fly without pilots.

• Countries like the UK, Italy, and Japan have announced plans to develop a new fighter that uses algorithms instead of pilots, while Russia is also getting into the AI aircraft space.

💸 Finance buzz

• South Korean music company SM Entertainment, positioning itself firmly in the metaverse, has another high-profile investor in the form of Kakao Entertainment, which is acquiring a 9.05% stake in SM for $172.8M. (Source)

• LA-based hardware and infrastructure company Spatial Labs raised $10M in seed funding to keep building upon its blockchain-enabled technology and increase its reach in the consumer goods landscape. Its first product, the LNQ or “wearable internet,” offers buyer and seller authentication as well as complete transparency into a product’s lifecycle for brands and retailers to reach and engage with their core audience. (Source)

• Ajuna Network raised $5M in a private funding round, coinciding with the launch of its NFT game collection Awesome Ajuna Avatars. The decentralized gaming platform had previously raised $2M in a seed round. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse news roundup every Friday.