The Sandbox news and trends

Meta Metaverse Weekly: Analyst Mete’s Out Meta Downgrade
Metaverse // July 14, 2022

Meta’s ambitions to transform itself into a metaverse powerhouse on the scale of Facebook was met with another round of doubt as Needham analysts downgraded the social media giant from “hold” to “underperform.” In the July 11 downgrade, analyst Laura Martin advised investors to “use...

Mastercard Partners With NFT Marketplaces for ‘Easier and Safer’ Purchases
NFTs // June 09, 2022

In a bid to make buying non-fungible tokens (NFTs) “easier and safer,” Mastercard is teaming with various NFT marketplaces to allow payments over its network for NFT purchases, according to a press release emailed to PYMNTS Thursday (June 9). Mastercard said it’s working on enabling...

NFT and Metaverse Weekly: Metaverse Celebrations Feature the Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Payments...
Metaverse // June 02, 2022

Can you hold a Memorial Day celebration in the metaverse? Of course. Should you? That’s another question — and one with a lot of question marks. In some ways, the metaverse is a perfect spot for such celebrations — particularly when some of the veterans...

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority Opens Sandbox-Based Metaverse HQ
Metaverse // May 05, 2022

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) recently opened its metaverse-based headquarters in virtual world The Sandbox, a move that the agency said is a step toward making itself “accessible to its industry in their environment,” according to a Bitcoin.com report Thursday (May 5). VARA is...

Quick Reads
Mastercard Partners With NFT Marketplaces for ‘Easier and Safer’ Purchases

June 09, 2022
In a bid to make buying non-fungible tokens (NFTs) “easier and safer,” Mastercard is teaming with various NFT marketplaces to allow payments over its network for NFT purchases, according to a press release emailed to PYMNTS Thursday (June 9). Mastercard said it’s working on enabling NFT commerce with a variety of companies, including Immutable X, […]

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority Opens Sandbox-Based Metaverse HQ

May 05, 2022
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) recently opened its metaverse-based headquarters in virtual world The Sandbox, a move that the agency said is a step toward making itself “accessible to...

NFT Gaming Platform The Sandbox Plans Funding Round at $4B

April 19, 2022
Non-fungible token (NFT) gaming platform The Sandbox is looking to raise about $400 million in a funding round from new and previous backers at a valuation in excess of $4...

HSBC Becomes Latest Brand to Enter the Metaverse

March 16, 2022
Global banking giant HSBC announced it is embracing Web3 by building a virtual stadium in The Sandbox, a leading blockchain-based metaverse, in order “to engage and connect with sports, eSports...