COMING to you every Sunday, 24/7 Crypto will help you keep track of every important news story that happened this week in the metaverse.
Meta shuts down crypto wallet ahead of new launch
Meta has announced the crypto digital wallet will cease to exist beyond September 1, with users advised to withdraw all funds “as soon as possible”. From July 21, users will no longer be able to add money to their accounts.
When the pilot launched last November it was expected that the pilot would be used as the payment method for purchases inside Zuckerberg‘s metaverse.
However, on June 22 the tech entrepreneur announced he was working on a new digital wallet for the metaverse.
He said: “We’re working on something new: a wallet for the metaverse that lets you securely manage your identity, what you own, and how you pay.”
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HTC unveils first-ever metaverse phone
HTC has launched its “Viverse” phone, the first-ever phone designed for the metaverse.
The HTC Desire 22 Pro is preloaded with apps for accessing virtual worlds and for using cryptocurrency.
It’s also designed so that it can be used with a wireless VR headset.
Shen Ye, Global Head of Product at HTC said the smartphone “opens new immersive experiences as the perfect partner for VIVE Flow—whether it’s meeting colleagues in VR, or enjoying your own private cinema anywhere you are”.
Popular metaverse dating app files for listing on stock exchange
Metaverse dating platform Soul is set to launch on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The app, which has become popular in China, lets users pick avatars and interact with algorithmically determined potential love matches chosen in the metaverse.
The company has made losses of $194m in the past year but hopes the listing will help raise extra revenue.
Wimbledon tennis tournament enters Roblox
Roblox teamed up with the Wimbledon tennis tournament this week to let fans of the sporting competition visit the iconic venue virtually.
WimbleWorld lets users tour Centre Court and the rest of the complex with their friends.
“This year is the 100th year of Centre Court at Wimbledon. You’re talking about something that’s obviously had an enduring legacy of fans over the ages and through the generations.
“We’re looking ahead to the next generation of fans, and how we are going to keep them engaged beyond just watching the matches,” said James Kay, Roblox’s senior director of international communications.
“And so WimbleWorld is really meant to be a kind of addictive experience for that under-18 audience.
“If you are interested in tennis and maybe starting to play for the first time, it’s a chance for them to engage with it in a way that feels natural to them.”
Metaverse interest plummets across the world
Despite continued developments with the metaverse, interest in virtual worlds continues to fall around the globe.
According to Google Trends, a programme used to determine the number of searches for key terms online, there is now a fifth of the number of searches for “metaverse” compared to the peak in October last year.
There was a sharp increase of interest following Mark Zuckerberg’s rebranding of Facebook as Meta last autumn.
Interest dropped again in the following months.
Despite the decrease, the number of searches for “metaverse” remained largely stable across the whole of June as the decline levelled off.
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