Nifty News: Robinhood to launch a Web3 wallet, LimeWire inks deal with Universal, and more

Popular trading platform Robinhood is creating a noncustodial crypto wallet that will be compatible with multiple blockchains.

The wallet will be a standalone application with the ability to store nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and connect to NFT marketplaces. A promo video released for the wallet shows a demonstration using Ethereum-based NFTs.

Trade and swap crypto with no network fees. A web3 wallet from us. Get early access: https://t.co/qonXj80BEBpic.twitter.com/qLjByPA4ty

— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) May 17, 2022

The app is a significant step for the company in providing crypto services. Prior to January 2022, trading crypto on Robinhood was a closed system with users unable to withdraw cryptocurrency.

On Jan. 21, Robinhood opened up crypto withdrawals to 1,000 users, allowing them to send crypto off the platform. That number was later expanded in April to the more than 2 million users on a waitlist.

Currently, the wallet is limited by an identity verification process and only supports seven assets: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ether (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Litecoin (LTC).

Limeys

LimeWire, a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing website from the early 2000s whose brand is now owned by an NFT marketplace, has secured a deal with Universal Music Group (UMG) for artists to launch NFT projects.

In a statement, UMG said the deal would allow its artists to offer NFTs featuring content such as audio recordings, bonus tracks, backstage footage, images and other exclusive material to sell to fans or collectors.

As part of this new partnership, UMG artists can now offer audio recordings, audiovisual content, backstage footage as well as other artworks as NFTs on the @LimeWire marketplace and sell them directly to fans and collectors in a safe and trusted environment. https://t.co/oshxryaRAe

— Universal Music Group (@UMG) May 17, 2022

Holger Christoph, UMGs senior vice president of digital business for Central Europe of UMGs, said that the company is “fully embracing the exciting Web3 space” and will work to create projects with “real utility.”

The partnership sees the LimeWire brand come full circle, as during its P2P heyday, it was a target for music labels due to users illegally sharing copyrighted content. The original platform was eventually taken down in 2010 after losing a court battle against the Recording Industry Association of America.

In March 2022, the brand made a comeback as an NFT marketplace focused on the music industry. Brothers Paul and Julian Zehetmayr bought the rights to the name so it would return “as a platform for artists, not against them.”

Okay Bears knock-off tops OpenSea, gets delisted

The popular NFT project Okay Bears, the first Solana NFT collection to top the 24-hour rankings on OpenSea, has inspired a knock-off Ethereum-based collection dubbed Not Okay Bears.

Not Okay Bears are flipped images of the 10,000 original versions and briefly surpassed the 24-hour volume of the original collection on OpenSea. DappRadar shows over $3.2 million in volume over the last 24 hours.

The collection was delisted by OpenSea on Tuesday likely due to the platform’s updated policies on collections that imitate others.

More Nifty News:

Linktree, the popular app used across social media to showcase a link directory, has launched support for NFTs through a partnership with OpenSea so that users can showcase an NFT gallery and profile picture and allow for crypto wallets to connect to a user’s Linktree profile.

The Sandbox metaverse has partnered with South Korean entertainment firm Studio Dragon to develop a Korean drama series within the Sandbox metaverse; Studio Dragon will mint new NFTs for the collaboration.