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Solana, Polygon and HTC: the smartphone challenge to win over the Web3

Which is the best crypto smartphone? Solana, Polygon or HTC

The best crypto smartphone? Solana, Polygon and HTC launch their smartphones in a challenge to lead the Web3 sector

A flaw often attributed to Web3 platforms is their lack of usability. Finding a solution to facilitating processes such as buying and selling NFTs, interacting with play-to-earn games, and making this all happen securely, is a challenge crypto companies are forced to tackle.

Polygon, Solana and HTC are presenting possible solutions and are ready to venture into an area still unexplored by blockchain companies – the crypto smartphone sector. 

Polygon & Nothing – the Web3 in the palm of your hand

Which will be the best crypto smartphone around? Let’s take a look at the MATIC blockchain’s plan – Polygon has announced a collaboration with Nothing, a London-based start-up that is making quite a splash with its environmentally friendly smartphone Phone (1). Nothing has already shown an interest in interacting with the Web3 universe. For the launch of its first product, it created an NFT collection on Ethereum, the Nothing Black Dot, which will be distributed by airdrop until the 26th of September to people who have pre-ordered the product. These NFTs will grant holders certain benefits, such as early access to all the brand’s products and the chance to participate in exclusive events.

As far as integrating Ethereum’s Layer 2, Polygon’s Phone (1) will allow easier access to Dapps, Web3 games, and greater security for cryptocurrency payments. Nothing’s product is in a mid-range price bracket, the technical specifications are intermediate, and it can be found on Amazon at the price of €579 (in Italy). 

HTC Desire 22, the key to the metaverse

HTC has always been committed to intercepting and developing new technology trends. Indeed, through its Vive side-brand, it was one of the first companies to develop virtual reality products, releasing a visor with revolutionary features in 2015.

With the new HTC Desire 22 smartphone, HTC continues in the same direction: the device will be able to interact with applications built on both Ethereum and Polygon. The main goal the development team has set is not so much to offer a supersonic smartphone; in fact, the technical specifications are not mind-boggling. Instead, HTC’s target was to develop a cheaper device that allows seamless integration with Viverse, the metaverse owned by the Taiwanese company and which allows its customers to hold NFTs and crypto in a simple and secure manner. The release price is expected to be around €380.

Solana Saga, it’s time for crypto

During NFT week in New York, Solana announced the arrival of its new mobile product in early 2023 – the Saga smartphone.

In addition to the Android smartphone, the blockchain platform presented the Solana Mobile Stack (SMS) software kit. The kit will enable the development of native Web3 applications for Android devices integrating the Seed Vault secure storage protocol. Seed Vault facilitates the instant signing of transactions while keeping private keys separate from wallets, applications and the operating system. Of the three solutions, the one proposed by Solana appears to be the most versatile and innovative. Thanks to the Solana Mobile Stack, anyone can develop optimised and secure applications. Its software superiority, however, inevitably reflects on its price. Indeed, the smartphone, which can already be pre-ordered, will be sold for $1,000.

So, to draw a conclusion, which is the best crypto smartphone? Saga is unbeatable from a technical point of view, but HTC’s phone delivers value for money. Will Phone (1) become the easiest way to use dapps on Polygon? These joint initiatives by both blockchain and ‘traditional’ companies certainly could be a turning point in the mass adoption of Web3 technologies. Making dapps, as well as every aspect of cryptocurrency in general, more user-friendly is perhaps the last big roadblock before mass adoption. We look forward to discovering what horizons will open up thanks to this new type of device and whether other brands will pursue similar projects.

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CryptoPunks become Tiffany jewellery

CryptoPunks: NFTs become Tiffany jewellery

Tiffany & Co. announces a jewellery collection for CryptoPunk holders. Find out the details of the luxurious collaboration

On the 31st of July, The Web3 community went wild, particularly on Twitter, following an official announcement by luxury jewellery brand Tiffany & Co. The brand will launch its first NFT collection, NFTiff. These non-fungible tokens will depict jewellery in the pixelated style of CryptoPunks. The NFTiffs, only 250 in number, will only be purchasable by holders of CryptoPunks. They will later become customised pendants corresponding to their digital version.

CryptoPunks become Tiffany jewellery

Let’s take a look at the jewellery design and the materials from which Tiffany’s NFTs will be made. The goal of Tiffany’s artisans will be to create jewellery as similar as possible to the pixel version. The challenge will be to transpose the 87 attributes and 159 colours, with which the CryptoPunks are composed in their digital version, into the closest possible gem or enamel colour. According to Tiffany’s official website, each piece will consist of at least 30 gemstones and diamonds. The New York-based company also stated that owners will receive a rendering of their pendant by October.

How much will Tiffany’s NFTs cost and where can you buy them?

The purchase of Tiffany’s NFTs will only be possible via the official website, and will obviously be made in crypto, more precisely in Ether. The recommended wallets for payment are Meta Mask or Trust Wallet. The sale of NFTiffs will begin on the 5th August 2022 at 3pm UK time and it will be possible to purchase a maximum of 3 items per individual.

The ‘package’ that includes the cost of the NFT, the customised pendant and the shipping of the latter will cost 30 ETH, which at current value corresponds to about 50,000 euros. In short, CryptoPunks have breakfast at Tiffany’s, but will the owners of the iconic NFT collection be so interested in luxury jewellery?

Luxury brands and Web3 increasingly in tune

With this move, Tiffany & Co. joins the ranks of luxury fashion companies trying to establish themselves in the Web3 world, with the aim of engaging a new generation of customers. Brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Philipp Plein and others have, over the past year, made themselves available to accept cryptocurrency payments. Tiffany’s initiative, however, goes beyond simply accepting crypto as a payment method, it is instead a true collaboration with one of the most famous and recognised brands in the industry. CryptoPunks are a true symbol of Web3 culture!

There had already been some indications of Tiffany’s willingness to enter this new market. On the occasion of the last April Fool’s Day, the company had posted an announcement on its social media that it was ready to launch its own cryptocurrency: the TiffCoin.

A lot of users fell for the April Fool’s trick, but not everything announced by the brand is completely made up: the TiffCoin has in fact been re-presented as a limited collector’s edition (in the form of a physical object) on the Tiffany & Co. website. So if one might have initially assumed that the brand had concocted the prank to “mock” the Web3 world, we now have proof that it’s quite the opposite. In short, the CryptoPunks will become Tiffany jewellery, we are curious to see if the famous holders including Jay Z, Steve Aoki and Serena Williams will be able to win them!

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Star Atlas: a galactic DAO!

Star Atlas announces the launch of its DAO

Star Atlas, the highly anticipated play-to-earn video game on the Solana blockchain, announces its DAO and a revamped marketplace

Star Atlas is a play-to-earn video game being developed on the Solana blockchain.

The team on 22 July 2022 announced the launch of its DAO , on Twitter, within the community space 426LIVE. The decentralised autonomous organisation of Star Atlas will use the POLIS token as its governance token.

“I am excited to announce the launch of the platform that will give users the opportunity to participate in the governance of Star Atlas in the future through the mechanisms of the DAO,” said Michael Wagner, the CEO of ATMTA (lead developer for Star Atlas) and co-founder of the metaverse.

The political nature of Star Atlas

By its very nature, Star Atlas is a game of conquest: players, regions and factions fight for dominance of the galaxy and control of resources. With the DAO of Star Atlas, the community will finally get the tools to make its voice heard and be able to determine the future development of the play-to-earn video game.

The noun POLIS, which in ancient Greece defined a form of government, retains its meaning of participation in community life. The amount of POLIS tokens one possesses will in fact determine the amount of ‘political rights’ one will enjoy within the Metaverse. These rights will be used to vote on proposals vital to the development of the project but also to control the institutions of the galaxy and, in general, aspects internal to the dynamics of the game.

The development team aims to gradually increase the truly political elements within the metaverse, with players being able to propose motions and vote on universal measures in the future. The final step is to make Star Atlas an immersive simulation of a political system, in which the different factions will be represented in the form of planets and solar systems. This feature will allow players who are passionate about politics to engage in discussions and negotiations that will define the future of the Star Atlas metaverse.

The POLIS token

The Star Atlas metaverse is based on two main tokens. The ATLAS token is responsible for providing liquidity to the game, allowing players to receive value for the goods and services they provide to the ecosystem. It is the POLIS token, however, that grants those who hold it decision-making power in the metaverse; the more POLIS you hold, the more influence you will have on political decisions at all levels: at the macro level for the entire DAO of Star Atlas, and at the micro level for factions and regions. You can already block your POLIS in the governance protocol: the voting power of each player’s ‘PVP – POLIS Vote Power’ will be determined not only by the amount of tokens, but also by the time for which you decide to lock them.

By locking POLIS in the dedicated Dapp, users receive POLIS with voting rights, also called vePOLIS, which are neither transferable nor exchangeable.

For example, blocking a POLIS token for six months grants one vePOLIS, while a five-year block grants ten vePOLIS.

This model is aimed at favouring community members with a long-term vision, who will be willing to lock up their POLIS in exchange for political power.

The revamped marketplace

Another point on which the team has been working is the Galactic Marketplace. The first version was released in August 2021, and in recent months many improvements have been made, especially with regard to decentralisation.

Unlike many other play-to-earn games built on other blockchains, the transaction load on the marketplace will be fully managed on-chain, which will be possible thanks to Solana’s ability to process up to 65,000 transactions per second.

All that remains is to wait for further updates from the team on the official release date of the game, which, given the premise, could be the gaming metaverse event of the year.