The Utopia Genesis Foundation has launched with the aim of establishing new open standards for music finance. 

According to the organisation, it intends to work to provide every stakeholder in the music industry with the technologies and resources required to improve how revenue streams are tracked, traced, and processed. 

Thanks to an exclusive partnership with big data and processing platform Utopia Music AG, members of the Foundation will be able to access a multi-layered, self-serviced portal to develop applications using blockchain technology, and collaborate with artists, songwriters, producers, record labels, performance and artist rights organisations (PRO), and fans, on commercial projects. 

Discussing plans President of The Utopia Genesis Foundation, Thomas Contin, said:

“Our first priority is to break free from the archaic infrastructure that still relies on large amounts of manual labor and guesswork so that more exciting advancements can be made.

“The foundation will focus on increasing tokenization in the music industry so that the community is able to crowdfund their projects, as well as better track and manage their music rights.”

While CEO of Utopia Music AG, Mattias Hjelmstedt, added:

“Many companies have sought out to ‘fix’ the issues in the music industry but fail to understand that it’s not something that can be done overnight, or that it needs upgrading and not disruption.

“It begins with data, which Utopia Music AG has collected, and now, it’s time to figure out how to make the best use of it. it’s a great motivator to do something about it. Before the Utopia Genesis Foundation, this open access would not be possible. We look forward to continuing to support the Foundation as they work alongside key players in the industry to solve its biggest problem.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Over the past couple of years we’ve seen a few platforms attempt to utilise blockchain technology to bring the music industry into the 21st century. In May, eMusic became the first major music service to launch a digital token (eMU), to help build a sustainable music ecosystem for artists, fans, and music services. And, in January, Ditto Music announced the launch of Blubox – a blockchain-based recording solution promising greater transparency and higher royalty collection rates. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Blockchain-based fan voting and rewards app Socios.com is planning to build a sports and entertainment neighborhood in The Sandbox metaverse. 

Malta-based Socios.com has purchased 576 LANDS in a 24×24 Estate, and says it will use its location in the digital ecosystem to feature all the partner clubs of the platform, and engage fans with social experiences within The Sandbox virtual worlds. 

The Sandbox is a virtual world where players can build, own, and monetise their gaming experiences on the Ethereum blockchain using NFTs and $SAND – the platform’s native utility token. LANDS are non-fungible tokens (ERC-721) that represent unique digital locations. 

Discussing plans for The Sandbox, CEO and Founder of Chiliz and Socios.com, Alexandre Dreyfus, said:

“The Sandbox will allow us to recreate the Socios.com ecosystem in the metaverse. We’re going to build a vibrant digital home for all the fans of our partner clubs, where they can check out digital stadia and enjoy a wide variety of digital collection and engagement experiences. We’re also going to be on the same map as other major blockchain and commercial entities, opening the door for further creative collaborations.”

While COO & Co-Founder of The Sandbox, Sebastien Borget, added:

“We’re pleased to welcome Socios into The Sandbox metaverse, bringing millions of football and sport fans the opportunity to discover and engage with new interactive entertainment experiences that will allow them to socialize in a 3D virtual world. 

“Progressively, we are turning our vision of building a mainstream; family-friendly gaming virtual world into reality through the addition of major sporting organisations in a multi-sports fan zone hosted by Socios.com. Together, we’ll expand the meaning of a Fan Zone with the use of tokens and NFTs in a mainstream context.”

More than 60 game companies, including Square Enix and Atari, popular decentralised games like Crypto Kitties, and iconic brands like Care Bears, are already involved with The Sandbox, and more brands are establishing a presence every day. 

Staying with Socios.com, last week the platform announced a major partnership with Professional Fighters League.

AYO.NEWS says:

The Sandbox is rapidly becoming a fully functioning digital tokenised economy in its own right, so it seems natural that Socios should establish itself there, and the possibilities for additional ways to engage fans are endless. We can’t wait to see what the Socios.com neighborhood looks like a year from now. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Looking to trade something sweeter? Now, thanks to blockchain, you can trade sugar, 24/7, without brokers. 

UAE-based Al Khaleej Sugar, the world’s largest sugar refinery, has launched a blockchain-based sugar trading platform called DigitalSugar.io. 

The new platform enables users to trade the spot price of sugar via tokens pegged to up to 100K tonnes of raw sugar. Electronic warrants of ownership will be issued with the tokens by Universa blockchain, with each token representing between 1kg and 1M tonne of sugar. 

DigitalSugar.io has been launched in partnership with the Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on Commodities Trade (DMCC), and Universa Blockchain, and is the first exchange offering traders and investors immediate spot trades on raw sugar, as opposed to options or futures, which are offered for commodities. 

Introducing the platform, Executive Director, Commodities and Financial Services, DMCC, Sanjeev Dutta, said:

“Driving increased trade through Dubai is at the heart of all that we do at DMCC, and partnerships like this exemplify this commitment.

“DigitalSugar is set to democratise access to the trading of raw sugar, allowing retail and institutional traders to invest or speculate on the price changes of sugar on their own terms and at their own convenience. This is an exciting moment as we continue to utilise cutting-edge blockchain technology to broaden the range of commodities traded through Dubai.”

The sugar trading platform is in line with the UAE’s Blockchain Strategy 2021, which was launched in 2018, with the goal of migrating at least 50% of government transactions on to distributed ledger technology (DLT) before the end of 2020, and encouraging the adoption of blockchain in business. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Once again we see blockchain tech cut the middleman from commodity trading, making it more accessible to investors across the board, improving efficiency and transparency, and opening up yet another avenue in the digital economy. Sweet. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Blockchain infrastructure-as-a-service company Bison Trails has announced its new Query & Transaction (QT) product offering. 

Designed to meet the growing demand of traditional organisations and enterprises who want to build Web3 applications or integrate blockchain data into their products and services, the QT infrastructure is compatible with over 40 protocols and networks, and is powered by the Bison Trails platform. 

Bison Trails’ QT node infrastructure connects off-chain systems like banking or trading products and services to blockchains, enabling anyone building Web 3.0 apps to validate transactions, obtain information about them (query), and write data like transfers or smart contracts (transactions). 

The QT node infrastructure is especially suited to businesses that require high throughput, high availability, and dedicate infrastructure in order to interact with blockchain networks. 

QT makes it significantly easier for companies to add blockchain support and expand their protocol coverage without developing those capabilities in-house. QT nodes also enable AI and Machine Learning companies to build  indexes off of the data that is stored on nodes to track addresses, look for trends, fraud, or movement in these networks to understand adoption.

Discussing the new product CEO of Bison Trails, Joe Lallouz, explained:

“Anyone building products and services with blockchain data in the age of Web3 needs access to reliable read/write nodes. A problem that many companies face is when they try to develop and manage these node infrastructures in-house, only to find current providers only support a few networks. 

“None of these situations are optimal for a company anticipating rapid growth. QT is a major milestone enabling builders in the space to leverage the reliability and security of our platform for their transacting needs. We are currently processing billions of transactions per month for enterprise customers.”

While co-founder and CTO of Bison Trails, Aaron Henshaw, added:

“The Bison Trails platform was built specifically to service highly secure and decentralized Proof of Stake networks for block production and validation, with infrastructure that is enterprise-grade and distributed across cloud platforms and regions around the world.

“QT is a major milestone for our company. We’re now enabling builders in the space to leverage the reliability and security of our platform for their transacting needs.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Infrastructure-as-a-service products like those offered by Bison Trails are providing convenient on-ramps for businesses and enterprises to adopt the latest Web3.0 technology without the need to invest significant resources in developing in-house capabilities, and as such are going to be key to creating a decentralised world where all blockchain networks and protocols can effectively work together. 

Staying with cross-chain compatibility issues, but on the crypto asset side of things, just yesterday we reported iFinex Inc had announced an integration with pNetwork (pTokens network) to bring crypto assets cross-chain.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

New York-based crypto fund manager Grayscale Investments has seen the assets it manages grow by $1B USD within a week. 

The firm, which hit the headlines this year for its Bitcoin (BTC) buying spree, says it currently has $7.3B in assets under management (AUM) – up one billion dollars on the $6.3B it managed on 15 October. 

Grayscale’s AUM are largely held in trusts for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), and the firm’s digital large cap fund – but its Litecoin (LTC) and Zcash (ZEC) trusts also performed well over the last few days. Additionally the firm also manages smaller amounts of Ethereum Classic (ETC), Horizon (ZEN), Stellar Lumens (XLM), XRP, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). 

Quite understandably, Grayscale CEO, Barry Silbert, took to Twitter to brag about the result:

Added a cool $300 million in AUM in one day https://t.co/G2lKu6QqxI

— Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) October 22, 2020

Grayscale isn’t the only company betting big on Bitcoin and other cryptos right now. As previously reported, just this week major London-listed firm Mode Global Holdings PLC announced plans to put up to 10% of its cash reserves into BTC.

Earlier in the year, Virginia-based business intelligent software company, MicroStrategy, made two large purchases of BTC, one of $250M in August, and another of $175M in September. Meanwhile, Jack Dorsey’s Square has also converted $50M of its reserves into BTC. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Bitcoin has been trying to gain traction to break out of the $11K – $13K zone for some time now, and there have been countless predictions of an imminent bull run to the stars. But, now that we are seeing large firms pay serious attention to the original cryptocurrency (indeed, according to CoinMarketCap figures, Grayscale alone now controls around 2.5% of the total BTC supply), could things finally be about to move?

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has partnered with blockchain-based fan engagement platform Socios.com. 

The collaboration will see the PFL launch Fan Tokens on Socios.com, providing fans with engagement opportunities including voting rights and the chance to earn exclusive rewards. PFL Fan Token holders will get the chance to participate in various polls and contests over the course of the PFL’s Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship, including the chance to award fighter bonuses.  

Discussing the news CEO of the PFL, Peter Murray, said:

“As a league at the forefront of technology and innovation, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of fan engagement, providing the 450 million MMA fans worldwide with unprecedented access to the PFL, our fighters, and the action.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Socios.com as they share in our passion for engaging fans in new and cutting-edge ways. We have seen this come to life through their work with iconic global sports properties like FC Barcelona and Juventus, and we look forward to delivering the same experience to MMA fans.” 

While Founder & CEO of Socios.com, Alexandre Dreyfus, added:

“We’re excited to partner with the Professional Fighters League, an innovative leader in MMA who shares in our belief that the fan experience can be elevated through technology.

“MMA has experienced explosive global growth, and its fan base is young, passionate and digitally-savvy. We look forward to creating unique engagement opportunities that will continually set the bar for how leagues and teams interact with fans and vice-versa.”

Socios.com will be working with the league on content across digital platforms promoting the initial Fan Token Offering (FTO), polls and other engagement opportunities, while Socios.com will gain the rights to use PFL logos and branding for advertising and promotions. Socios.com logos will also be featured in and around the cage and arena. 

PFL is also partnered with Anheuser-Busch InBev, GEICO, Acronis, Air Force Reserve, and Rich Energy. The US Marines are the presenting partner of Inside the Season on ESPNews and ESPN+. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Fan tokens are rapidly gaining popularity across both traditional sports, especially football and MMA, and esports. Socios.com itself is already partnered with UFC, in addition to many major football clubs and a couple of esports organisations. Staying with fan tokens, earlier today we reported that Gen.G Esports has announced a CS:GO fan token in partnership with blockchain network Rally.  

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.