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| Hey Insiders! 🗞️ Today's issue features Julian Assange's campaign initiating a metaverse rally, a dive into the Roblox mobile player spending worldwide, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) launching an immersive Roblox experience for the U.S. Open, and more. ⏬ Scroll down for some Quick Hits and our Upcoming Events section. 💬 Your thoughts matter to us — don't hesitate to hit reply and share your feedback! If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues.
Thank you. Vildana
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| 1 | | Julian Assange's campaign against extradition to the U.S. initiated a metaverse political rally. Assange, detained in London's Belmarsh Prison since April 2019, faces potential extradition to the U.S. on espionage charges. More: - Assange's WikiLeaks platform is renowned for disclosing classified data spotlighting government malfeasance.
- The U.S. has been particularly aggressive in pursuing Assange due to his exposures.
- The virtual rally, supported by Assange's family, aims to amplify opposition to his extradition, especially after a U.K. court denied his June appeal.
- The event is scheduled for Aug. 26 in Wistaverse, a non-profit metaverse within The Sandbox ecosystem on the Polygon blockchain.
- John Rees, founder of the "Don't Extradite Assange Campaign," emphasized the rally's intent to highlight the critical juncture in Assange's case and its implications for press freedom.
- The virtual rally's setting mirrors the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where Assange's final U.K. appeal will occur.
Zoom Out: - Wistaverse previously organized a Web3 protest in support of abortion rights during the Roe v. Wade trial in partnership with Amnesty International.
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What the numbers say: As of August 2023, nearly half (47%) of worldwide spending on the Roblox mobile game came from the United States. The United Kingdom contributed 5% of the game's global revenue in the past month. Roblox ranks among the top mobile gaming apps globally. Relevance: According to its most recent financial statement, Roblox generated $680.8M in Q2 2023, marking a 15% rise from the $591.2M earned in the same quarter the previous year. The company's bookings for the quarter also showed substantial growth, reaching $780.7 million, a 22% uptick compared to Q2 2022. User engagement on the platform also experienced robust annual growth; the average daily active users (DAU) surged by 25% to 65.5 million, while total engagement hours climbed 24% to 14 billion. | | | |
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| 3 | | The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has launched an immersive Roblox experience for the U.S. Open. The "Champions of the Court" campaign allows fans to play with avatars of Coco Gauff and Billie Jean King and purchase in-game items. More: - The experience was co-developed with Doppelgänger, a consultancy focused on metaverse products.
- The initiative celebrates the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open, offering equal prize money to both genders.
- The virtual world incorporates USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center visuals.
- It combines elements from other Roblox tennis experiences like "WimbleWorld" and "AO Adventure."
- Brian Ryerson, Senior Director at USTA, emphasized using platforms like Roblox to introduce the U.S. Open to newer generations.
Zoom Out: - Other major sports events, like the NBA, have also explored virtual fan experiences.
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| 4 | | DBS, the largest Singapore bank, has launched a metaverse game called DBS BetterWorld to address global food waste issues. The game is part of the Businesses for Impact initiative supported by the DBS Foundation and aims to educate players through a series of activities based on real-world businesses tackling food waste. More: - The game features activities inspired by five Businesses for Impact, including Brewerkz, a Singapore-based craft beer maker that upcycles spent grains into food products.
- Edible Garden Singapore is another featured business that promotes soil-based urban farming and edible gardening to city dwellers.
- Players can explore a fantasy world created by DBS, completing challenges focused on sustainability and food waste eradication.
- Karen Ngui, head of group strategic marketing at DBS, mentioned the possibility of virtual tokens triggering real-world actions like tree planting.
- DBS aims to leverage the metaverse as an interactive platform to increase awareness of important ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) issues.
Zoom Out: - According to the United Nations, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally each year, contributing to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- A report by Boston Consulting Group states that food waste could rise to 2.1 billion tons by 2030, costing the global economy $1.5T.
- The World Bank estimates that the U.S. alone generates more than 63 million tons of food waste annually.
- WRAP suggests that businesses can save an average of $14 for every $1 invested in reducing food waste.
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| 5 | | The DeLux Network (TDN) is set to launch on the XRP Ledger, with its Initial DEX Offering (IDO) scheduled for September 1, 2023. TDN aims to enable interoperability for metaverse solutions, allowing digital collectibles to move between various platforms. More: - TDN commenced work in Q2 2023, focusing on interoperability design, NFT strategy, business model, and initial partnerships.
- The project has collaborated with top XRPL-based projects like Lux Lions, Aftermath Islands, Primo Gardens Inc., and Rize2Day.
- The IDO will occur in three tiers: Bronze at $0.005 per token with a 150-day lockup, Silver at $0.011 with a 90-day lockup, and Gold at $0.023 with a 50-day lockup.
- Tokens from the IDO will be listed on a Tier 1 crypto exchange, and investors can redeem their tokens after the respective lockup periods.
- TDN plans to list its tokens on multiple centralized and decentralized exchanges in Q4 2023.
- Staking and NFT programs are also planned for introduction in Q4 2023.
Zoom Out: | | | |
| 6 | | Researchers increasingly use VR to foster global collaborations and to introduce science to schoolchildren. Kiyuka, an immunologist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, uses VR to overcome challenges in science education, such as limited resources and gender disparity in STEM fields. More: - In 2019, Kiyuka received funding from the African Academy of Sciences for her innovative VR project on science communication.
- Kiyuka's team created 360-degree videos covering six lab areas: biobank, entomology, immunology, proteomics, genetics, and cleaning/reagent preparation.
- The VR videos can be uploaded to headsets, eliminating the need for fast internet connections and making them accessible even in remote villages.
- Students who viewed the lab tours via VR reported better concentration and information absorption compared to traditional computer screens.
- Despite its promise, VR technology in Africa faces challenges such as a lack of expertise and the need for grant funding.
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- A year after its initial launch, Looking Glass' Blocks platform, which has facilitated over 6,000 user-uploaded holograms, is exiting beta and introducing an image-to-hologram conversion service to simplify user engagement.
- WA Academy of Performing Arts and ECU have collaborated on a VR initiative, IVADE, to train healthcare workers to handle confrontational patients through immersive computer simulations.
- Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Alwaleed Philanthropies conducted a case study on the metaverse to measure users' responses to verbal abuse in virtual spaces.
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