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The BSC Bridge Got Exploited For $600 Mn This Week…

Gm, coolkidz.

It's been another hell of a week, this time with the Binance Smart Chain falling victim to a $600 million exploit. The attacker conjured 2 million BNB coins out of nowhere, and if not for Binance freezing the chain, how much more would have been lost?

Seriously, these bridge hacks MUST be stopped! Anyway, welcome back to What's Brand New - first edition of October.

For those who are new, we bring you the biggest NFT and web3 brand news every week, keeping you well-informed on what’s brand new in the space.

Here's a quick summary of what we'll be going through today:

- Ubisoft Silently Investing In The Web3 Gaming Space

- HUGO x Imaginary Ones: Fashion brand collaborates with NFT brand for an exclusive collection

- Chronoswiss Metaverse Watch: The first digital luxury watch series in Decentraland

- FOX Deportes VIP NFT Collection: 25th Anniversary NFT Collection with IRL Perks @FOX Deportes

- New Zealand Rugby Commercial Invests Into WoWG: An Unexpected First Step from NZRC Into The NFT Space With World Of Women

If you’d like to see more of NFT Paris’ content, be sure to check out our website and Twitter!

Gaming Giants Ubisoft & Take Two Silently Entering Web3

Gamers and blockchain enthusiasts have long been at loggerheads - gamers see NFTs and crypto as “scammy”, while web3-goers are dumbfounded by why they wouldn't acknowledge the potential of blockchain gaming.

No matter which camp you're in, this long-lasting debate has prevented traditional gaming companies from developing web3-friendly games. However, this isn't going to stop them from investing in blockchain games.

Recently, Horizon Blockchain Games closed their Series A funding, raising a total of $40 million. Horizon is the company behind the popular NFT card strategy game Skyweaver, with a community tens of thousands strong.

Besides the usual web3-native investors such as Polygon and Quantstamp, this time, gaming giants Ubisoft and Take Two joined in the fun too!

This is a cautious step into the NFT gaming space, but a step in the right direction nonetheless. With traditional gaming companies investing in web3 gaming communities, when the wider gaming community is more receptive towards NFTs, these leading brands would have the expertise to execute an immersive blockchain game.

HUGO Is Launching Its First NFT Collection With Imaginary Ones

HUGO (BOSS), a multinational fashionwear brand, will launch its first NFT collection in early November this year. It is partnering with Imaginary Ones (an NFT collection) to mark its first foray into NFTs.

The exclusive collection titled, “Embrace Your Emotions” (EYE), is reflected in the NFTs' designs themselves. The NFTs depict our typical emotions, like joy and sadness, as well as other special attributes, which is a trademark of the Imaginary Ones NFT designs.

In this 1001 NFT collection, there are five main characters, representing the emotions of joy, sadness, fear, anger, and love. There is also an extra sixth character, combining all emotions, and will be auctioned off. The proceeds will be donated to a mental health organization for teenagers.

To get on the “allowlist” and mint NFTs from this collection, you can purchase a phygital T-shirt; which links to a Snapchat AR filter to display your shirt virtually.

The benefits of holding an NFT from this collection are plentiful - from exclusive merch drops by HUGO and Imaginary Ones, to NFT staking features and even virtual apparel.

Miah Sullivan, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing & Brand Communications at HUGO BOSS, commented: “We are excited to partner with Imaginary Ones to deliver an NFT collection of beautiful 3D assets that enables us not only to further explore this virtual world, but also to share a message of self-acceptance and being true to yourself, which is at the heart of what HUGO stands for”.

Chronoswiss Brings Luxury Watches To The Metaverse

The Open Gear ReSec Sugar Rush has arrived in the metaverse. This Swiss-made mechanical watch is one of the first fully-virtual luxury watches, selling now on Decentraland.

The watchmaker Chronoswiss is drawing inspiration from its timeless designs, with a twist of fun and color, bringing it to life in the metaverse. This limited edition of 100 NFTs will only be available virtually, they aren't phygital!

These luxury watches are wearables in Decentraland, put them on and give them a flex! The design is one of a purple candy shop, gradually diverging away from classic styles to modern and funky art.

On top of that, Chronoswiss also modeled their workshop, the Chronoswiss Atelier, in Decentraland. If you want to purchase these metaverse watches, or just give the shop a look, do head to the location “-101,8” in Decentraland.

Oliver Ebstein, owner and CEO of Chronoswiss, said: “We understand the Metaverse as the next evolutionary step of the internet, where business and gaming merge into a unique customer experience. The virtual Atelier is a lab for extraordinary ideas in a world with no limitations."

This is yet another branch of luxury coming into the NFT space and the metaverse. Will we see watchmaking competitors hop on the bandwagon too?

FOX Deportes 25th Anniversary NFT Collection

FOX Deportes, a branch of FOX Sports aimed at the Hispanic community in America, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. As such, they are launching their very first NFT collection.

The collection consists of 250 limited edition NFTs, uniquely designed by artist Jiovanny Lopez Alvarez. The NFT collection, titled “Los Primeros” (or “We Are The First”), comes with access tokens to weekly sweepstakes, including tickets to football games, jerseys, and even private tours of the FOX Deportes studio!

On top of these IRL benefits, holders also have access to their token-gated Discord server, and opportunities to meet athletes and sports influencers.

Los Primeros launched on FOX Deportes' NFT website on October 4th last week, and has sold over 100 NFTs so far. This is the first of FOX Deportes' three-part NFT collection series, with the second one “Somos El Futuro” yet to have its artwork released.

FOX Deportes Executive Vice President Carlos Sanchez said: “With this NFT collection, we are looking to bring our loyal audience along our journey into the new world of Web3. We are reaching the end of our 25th year and this project is a perfect way to usher in the next phase of FOX Deportes.”

It's refreshing to see web3 pervading the sports scene, targeted at diverse communities. Food for thought: Would the sports brands embrace NFT ticketing after dipping their toes into the world of web3?

NZ Rugby Commercial Invests In World Of Women NFTs

The World of Women Galaxy (WoWG) NFT collection has had some high-profile investors join the ecosystem in the past year. Since they were primarily female celebrities, creators, and builders, it's pretty surprising for an organization to take the first leap into web3, with WoWG.

The New Zealand Rugby Commercial had recently bought 33 WoWG NFTs, 32 of them representing the 32 women in the NZ Rugby Women's team, and the final representing the fans supporting in the background.

When questioned about their decision to invest in WoWG, the NZRC cited reasons for learning more about the web3 community. Also, to show support for the Black Ferns ahead of the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Crypto payment service provider MoonPay is also helping to facilitate this investment. At the time of writing, the purchase of 33 WoWG NFTs should have cost over $100,000 USD, assuming they were sold at floor price.

NZRC's CEO Richard Thomas said: “We have been watching, learning and absorbing all we can from the side-lines, but the time has come to take the next step. To do that we needed to create a genuine connection and we believe the purchase of these powerful NFTs was the right way to show our intent and actively participate.”

The purchase of WoWG NFTs solidifies the NZRC's involvement in the NFT arena, and also opens up a door of opportunities for women in web3. Let's hope this brand can take sports one step closer to the mass adoption of NFTs!

And that's a wrap!

Thanks for staying till the end, and we hope you’re now better informed on NFT brand activity this week in the space.

Coming back to the BSC exploit, the chain is now back to normal, and fortunately BNB coin prices aren't taking a huge hit. But this brings back the elephant in the room: Should we embrace centralized chains such as BSC? That's a topic for another time.

If you have anything you'd like to see added, don't hesitate to notify us!

Hope to see you IRL at NFT Paris, February 2023! Till next time, coolkidz.

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