Welcome to This Week in the Metaverse, where Fortune rounds up the most interesting news in the world of NFTs, culture, and the metaverse. Email marco.quiroz-gutierrez@fortune.com with tips.
Amazon could soon shake up the entire NFT industry with a new initiative based around digital collectibles, according to a report this week by BlockWorks. Citing several anonymous sources, the outlet reported that the NFT project could be announced in April, but the report could not be independently verified by Fortune.
The report says the goal is for Amazon customers to interact with crypto games and claim NFTs. This could be a smart move on Amazon’s part, because according to a report from DappRadar this week, gaming represents 49% of all daily blockchain activity, with millions of users participating every day.
While Amazon’s getting into the NFT game could be a boon for the industry, it would have to tread cautiously. The company would, for instance, have to contend with an NFT market rife with scams that are capable of snaring the most experienced crypto veterans.
Those veterans include Kevin Rose, the founder of news aggregator digg and creator of the NFT project Moonbirds. On a Twitter Spaces, Rose said a hacker had stolen possibly more than a million dollars worth of NFTs from his digital wallet thanks in part to a malicious airdrop. Several NFTs were stolen, including 25 Squiggles NFTs and a pricey Autoglyph NFT.
Luckily, his zombie CryptoPunk, CryptoPunk #5066, wasn’t stolen. Only 0.88% of the 10,000 CryptoPunks are zombies, and similar NFTs have been known to sell for thousands of Ether, including CryptoPunk #2066, which looks similar to Rose’s and sold on OpenSea just 28 days ago for 1,155 ETH, or $1.8 million.
In other news
Do you own a plot of metaverse land in Decentraland? Have you ever wanted to foster a dog? Pet food maker Pedigree will now let metaverse users foster virtual dogs through its FOSTERVERSE program launched this week. Through the program, metaverse land owners will upload a digital version of real-life dogs on Adopt a Pet and care for them in the metaverse. Decentraland users who don’t own land can still interact with the virtual dogs, adopt them in real-life through Adopt a Pet, or donate to the Pedigree Foundation to help real-life pets. Those who participate in the program can earn custom FOSTERVERSE wearables to sport in Decentraland.
Prada announced the latest edition to its Timecapsule Collection of specially designed clothes, each of which come with their own NFT. The February installment is the second of a three-part series of shirts featuring special prints by Italian photographer Enzo Ragazzini from his ’70s archive. One NFT holder will also be selected to attend the Prada Womenswear Fall/Winter 2023 fashion show on February 23rd. The collection will be available on Feb. 2.
Remio, a VR app that focuses on remote team building and collaborations for businesses, is now available for download on the Meta Quest through the Meta Store. In the app, employees can solve puzzles and play games together as well as gather for virtual meetings. Users can participate in virtual activities like solving an escape room together, visiting the digital happy hour bar, and playing paintball, before convening in virtual breakout rooms and presentation rooms.
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