What Did The First Week of 2023 Bring to The Crypto World?
A fake NFT Pokemon game with malware, a Grammy Award-winning singer starting his own metaverse, and more...
Fake Pokemon NFT game hides malware
A cybersecurity firm has warned that a Pokémon NFT card game is in fact a phishing site that contains dangerous malware.
The dangerous site also claims to have an NFT marketplace with a link to buy tokens, and it is even possible to stake these tokens. At first glance, it all looks like a game using the theme of the Japanese Pokemon phenomenon.
But on January 6, South Korean cybersecurity firm AhnLab warned the public against using the site, explaining that users were in fact downloading a remote access tool and not a game. This tool allows hackers to control their devices.
The tool, known as NetSupport Manager, allows attackers to remotely control a computer's mouse and keyboard. They can therefore, without the user's knowledge, browse their files, system history, and they can even remotely install other dangerous malware.
The public has been warned to purchase and download applications only from official websites and not to open suspicious emails.
A metaverse platform from the composer of the song "Jai Ho"
Allah Rakha Rahman, the Indian singer-songwriter who rose to fame with the Grammy Award-winning song "Jai Ho," is setting up his own metaverse platform for artists and their work.
He made the announcement on Twitter on January 6, claiming that his metaverse, which is called "Katraar," is "one step closer to launching again." The tweet included a video in which he describes the upcoming platform, which will use "decentralized technology," according to his website.
In the video, Rahman talks about his vision, which is to "seek new talent, technology, and direct revenue for artists." One potential stream could be the integration of NFTs into the platform.
"At this moment, we are working with the HBAR Foundation on many great things, and one of them is bringing many NFTs."
HBAR is a non-profit independent foundation owned by Hedera Hashgraph, the creator of a distributed ledger and cryptocurrency called Hedera.
Rahman went on to say that there is a "sort of virtual entity-based project," but we will have to wait for more information on that project.
The first week of 2023 was profitable for NFTs
The NFT market started the new year on a high note, posting a nearly 26% increase in volumes in the first week compared with the previous week.
Based on data from market metrics aggregator Cryptoslam, for the first seven days of 2023, NFT sales volumes were over $211.4 million. Approximately 1.2 million NFT transactions were made by more than 400,000 buyers.
This week, the number of buyers increased by 17% and the number of transactions increased by approximately 2.5%.
Meanwhile, NFTs based on the Ethereum blockchain increased by nearly 26%.
The top three NFT collections were:
Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club, which notched nearly $19 million in sales, a nearly 50% increase in volume, to take the top spot.
Second place went to the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection with $14 million in volume, an 80% increase.
And in third was the Azuki brand, which recorded $12.7 million and grew by 132%.
Feature Film as NFT
The Rideshare Killer is the title of the 2022 film for which the producers have decided to release nearly 120,000 unique NFTs. They are calling the NFTs the first "Every Frame Minted" (EFM) collection.
Based on a January 5 press release, exactly 119,170 NFTs have been minted on the Polygon blockchain, with each NFT representing one frame from the 83-minute film, which was shot at 24 frames per second.
The film's producer, Tony Greenberg, has said that he thinks these NFTs will "change the independent film landscape" because they give fans a "potentially valuable collectible" and give actors a "reliable source of income."
Based on reviews of the film on IMDb, where it has a 4/10 rating, the filmmakers are relying more on the revenue associated with NFT sales. Some reviews are very critical, and it doesn't look like the film will make enough money on the conventional market.
analyst opinion
Jakub Odvářka
Fake Pokemon NFT game hides malware
A cybersecurity firm has warned that a Pokémon NFT card game is in fact a phishing site that contains dangerous malware.
The dangerous site also claims to have an NFT marketplace with a link to buy tokens, and it is even possible to stake these tokens. At first glance, it all looks like a game using the theme of the Japanese Pokemon phenomenon.
But on January 6, South Korean cybersecurity firm AhnLab warned the public against using the site, explaining that users were in fact downloading a remote access tool and not a game. This tool allows hackers to control their devices.
The tool, known as NetSupport Manager, allows attackers to remotely control a computer's mouse and keyboard. They can therefore, without the user's knowledge, browse their files, system history, and they can even remotely install other dangerous malware.
The public has been warned to purchase and download applications only from official websites and not to open suspicious emails.
A metaverse platform from the composer of the song "Jai Ho"
Allah Rakha Rahman, the Indian singer-songwriter who rose to fame with the Grammy Award-winning song "Jai Ho," is setting up his own metaverse platform for artists and their work.
He made the announcement on Twitter on January 6, claiming that his metaverse, which is called "Katraar," is "one step closer to launching again." The tweet included a video in which he describes the upcoming platform, which will use "decentralized technology," according to his website.
In the video, Rahman talks about his vision, which is to "seek new talent, technology, and direct revenue for artists." One potential stream could be the integration of NFTs into the platform.
"At this moment, we are working with the HBAR Foundation on many great things, and one of them is bringing many NFTs."
HBAR is a non-profit independent foundation owned by Hedera Hashgraph, the creator of a distributed ledger and cryptocurrency called Hedera.
Rahman went on to say that there is a "sort of virtual entity-based project," but we will have to wait for more information on that project.
The first week of 2023 was profitable for NFTs
The NFT market started the new year on a high note, posting a nearly 26% increase in volumes in the first week compared with the previous week.
Based on data from market metrics aggregator Cryptoslam, for the first seven days of 2023, NFT sales volumes were over $211.4 million. Approximately 1.2 million NFT transactions were made by more than 400,000 buyers.
This week, the number of buyers increased by 17% and the number of transactions increased by approximately 2.5%.
Meanwhile, NFTs based on the Ethereum blockchain increased by nearly 26%.
The top three NFT collections were:
Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club, which notched nearly $19 million in sales, a nearly 50% increase in volume, to take the top spot.
Second place went to the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection with $14 million in volume, an 80% increase.
And in third was the Azuki brand, which recorded $12.7 million and grew by 132%.
Feature Film as NFT
The Rideshare Killer is the title of the 2022 film for which the producers have decided to release nearly 120,000 unique NFTs. They are calling the NFTs the first "Every Frame Minted" (EFM) collection.
Based on a January 5 press release, exactly 119,170 NFTs have been minted on the Polygon blockchain, with each NFT representing one frame from the 83-minute film, which was shot at 24 frames per second.
The film's producer, Tony Greenberg, has said that he thinks these NFTs will "change the independent film landscape" because they give fans a "potentially valuable collectible" and give actors a "reliable source of income."
Based on reviews of the film on IMDb, where it has a 4/10 rating, the filmmakers are relying more on the revenue associated with NFT sales. Some reviews are very critical, and it doesn't look like the film will make enough money on the conventional market.
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