Mastercard Got Skin in the Game | 1.18.22

GM Ser,

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Mastercard Got Skin in the Game

Mastercard is making headway to merge old consumerism with the new, hoping to ease the transition for users from traditional cash and card transactions to crypto. 

Getting into NFTs can be a tad cumbersome with having to open a crypto wallet, so the Red and Orange recently penned a deal with Coinbase to facilitate the use of cards to make purchases on Coinbase’s up and coming NFT marketplace. 

This deal with CB isn’t the only crypto venture the credit card company has made. In light of how the world is starting to shift, MC has also signed with Bakkt, Gemini, BitPay and Mintable. 

MC’s credit card rivals have also spoken up on their crypto stance. Credit card leader Visa has partnered with more than 60 companies in the crypto space, including Coinbase. 

Amex, formally known as American Express has issued a statement saying that users shouldn’t expect a crypto venture anytime soon, though they are exploring to see how they can fit into the space. 

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Voiceverse in the Doghouse 

Recently, voice actor Troy Baker received backlash online due to him partnering with Voiceverse. The NFT that plans to create NFTs voices from AI. 

Now, it seems that the NFT in question is in some hot water themselves. Voiceverse was of late discovered to have been using a non-commercial text-to-speech service, when they themselves portray to offer such a system.

Voiceverse was found to have taken voiceover technology from 15.ai without permission. The creator behind 15.ai disclosed online that he was aware of what was happening, that VV was ‘“actively attempting to appropriate my work for their own benefit”. 

Voiceverse also came out to Twitter to try and smooth the whole thing over, but their tweets have now been deleted. 

‍OpenSea Acquires Dharma Labs  

NFT marketplace OpenSea recently bought out digital wallet Dharma Labs for an undisclosed sum. The Dharma take in leads OpenSea to have a shift in management. The chief executive officer at DL, Nadav Hollander, will now serve as the chief technology officer at OS. 

The shift will cause current chief tech officer Alex Atallah to move into a different capacity, one that centers around further web3 and NFT development. 

Due to the acquisition, the Dharma Lab app will be taken down. 

New York Rangers Launch NFTs

Going from January 18 to the 25, the Rangers have released a collection of NFTs ranging from common, rare, to legendary. 

According to ForeverBlueShirts.com, the various tiers will include the following:

• Common – A digital commemorative ticket for the Henrik Lundqvist Night game on January 28. 5,000 digital tickets will be available at $20 each.
• Rare – A digital commemorative ticket for the Henrik Lundqvist Night game, plus a Henrik Lundqvist Night merchandise bundle which includes a jersey, shirt, hat, banner, pin and signed commemorative book. Five will be available at auction prices with a $200 starting bid.
• Legendary – The experience being offered in this tier is a pair of lower bowl tickets to the Henrik Lundqvist Night game on January 28. Plus, a digital commemorative ticket for the Henrik Lundqvist Night game and a goalie stick autographed by Lundqvist. One will be available at auction price with a $1,000 starting bid.