Meghan and Harry are to launch a virtual world ‘to take their brand truly global’.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have freed themselves from royal duties, have agreed a deal with metaverse platform pax.world.
The Mirror quotes a source: “Both Meghan and Harry believe they will have an even greater ability to spread their message if they have a presence in the virtual world as well as the physical world.
“They’ve spoken to a variety of experts and the view is this is the next stage to take their brand truly global.”
It has been dubbed the ‘Meg-averse’ by the newspaper in true tabloid fashion.
pax.world’s founder Frank Fitzgerald said: “The metaverse is tailor-made for the progressive, tech-savvy, entrepreneurial audience with whom Harry and Meghan look to connect as they turn a new page, away from the Royal Family.”
He explained: “We’re offering Harry and Meghan a plot of prime pax.world land and the chance to collaborate with the world’s leading architects, build on it, and connect with new audiences.
“If they are to pursue business and entertainment deals, position themselves as thought leaders, and progress their charity work, they must partner with a platform that shares their values.
“Imagine Meghan hosting a podcast in the metaverse, or Harry hosting a conference on sustainability with world leaders without having to board a plane.”
The formal royals have signed deals worth over £100 million with streaming giants Netflix and Spotify, the latter of which makes Meghan’s podcast Archetypes.
Manchester United v Cristiano Ronaldo
The first part of Cristiano Ronaldo’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan is set to air today, with the Portugal star set to slam his club Manchester United and coach Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo, who has been widely criticised this season – including by former team-mates – for storming down the tunnel when a substitute, claims he is being forced out of the club and that it did not display enough empathy when his baby daughter fell ill.
It has been announced that the superstar will launch his first Cristiano Ronaldo NFT collection with Binance on Friday, featuring seven animated statues with four rarity levels: Super Super Rare (SSR), Super Rare (SR), Rare (R), and Normal (N). All are said to be inspired by a unique moment in Ronaldo’s life, dating back to his childhood in Portugal.
Yesterday United launched its own NFT assets to ‘educate, reward and unite’ its global fan base through digital and real-world experiences. They will be delivered via a platform powered by blockchain partner Tezos.
Cryptocurrency shorts
Crypto payment services firm BCB Group has partnered with Makers to help bridge the gender gap in the tech industry. Makers runs 16-week coding bootcamp and apprenticeships which cost £8,500. BCB Group, which has so far hired six of its graduates, is sponsoring three more grads to join its software engineering team.
Yuga Labs, owner of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, has acquired NFT platform WENEW and its 10KTF collection and virtual community. WENEW was founded by digital artist Beeple.
Yakoa, a startup building NFT fraud detection tools to protect creators’ intellectual properties from counterfeits, has raised $4.8 million in a funding round co-led by Collab+Currency, Volt Capital and Brevan Howard Digital. Data Community Fund, Alliance DAO, Uniswap Labs, Orange DAO, Time Zero, and Sunset Ventures also participated.
OBI boss: Scaling tech firms now need sophisticated workspaces
Crypto prices
The overall market cap of the 21,700 coins is at $848 billion at the time of writing (7am UK), a 0.4% increase in the last 24 hours.
For round-ups of recent cryptocurrency news developments, click here.
For valuations of the top 100 coins by market cap in US dollars, plus 24-hour price change, see below.