Digestible news on the latest developments in NFTs, Blockchain and Metaverse in Greater China, compiled for you weekly by Pandaily.

This week: Chinese startup Nreal to launch AR glasses in the UK this spring, ‘Voices of April’ NFTs highlight Shanghai residents’ struggles with strict lockdown rules, Hong Kong to launch transactions denominated in yuan to meet the needs of mainland Chinese investors, and more.

Chinese startup Nreal will launch AR glasses in the UK this spring

The Beijing-based company announced on April 26 that it would launch its Nreal Air AR glasses in Britain later this spring through an exclusive deal with local carrier EE, which is owned by telecommunications group BT, according to CNBC.

• Nreal’s glasses allow users to watch movies or play games on large visual screens. Users can do this by connecting the glasses to their smartphone via a cable. The design of the Nreal Air resembles sunglasses, similar to Snap’s Spectacles series of smart glasses.
• Nreal Air supports two main modes: “Air Casting” and “MR Space”. Air Casting lets users view their phone’s screen on a virtual 130-inch screen when standing four meters away, while MR Space combines digital objects with the user’s surrounding space.
• Nreal did not give an exact release date or price for the device. A spokesperson said more details would be revealed “at a later date”.
• Founded in 2017, the company has created two AR headsets so far: the Nreal Light and the Nreal Air, the latter of which debuted last year. So far, the company has raised over $230 million from investors including AlibabaNIO Capital and Sequoia Capital China, and is currently valued at over $700 million. (CNBC, Pandaily)

SEE ALSO: Chi Xu – Mapping a New Reality

‘Voices of April’ NFTs highlight Shanghai residents’ struggles with strict lockdown rules

OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, has seen the creation of more than 600 NFTs related to the ongoing COVID-induced lockdowns in Shanghai, according to Forkast News.

• Shanghai residents are creating NFTs to circumvent strict government censorship of social media content linked to the harsh lockdown that affects 28.5 million people.
• More than 600 NFTs were created based on “Voices of April”, an audio montage documenting the frustration and despair of Shanghai residents as they interacted and clashed with medical staff and neighborhood officials.
• The video montage first appeared on social media on Friday and quickly circulated on Chinese internet platforms. An NFT coin mechanism has also been set up to raise funds for the people of Shanghai, although it is unknown who the creator is.
• The lockdown, among the strictest the country has seen, has plunged the once bustling city into a virtual ghost town, causing shortages of food, daily necessities and even medical access for many of its millions of confined residents. at their home. (Forkast News, CNN)

Hong Kong set to launch yuan-denominated transactions to meet the needs of mainland Chinese investors

Hong Kong is ready to start trading in yuan-denominated shares to meet the needs of investors in Shanghai and Shenzhen, with final clearances from mainland Chinese regulators expected in the second half, Bloomberg reported.

• The city’s infrastructure is largely ready to accommodate Chinese-currency stock trading via the Stock Connect link to the south, but mainland exchanges and clearinghouses need more time for testing. and final preparations.
• Hong Kong has sought to become a hub for offshore yuan trading by introducing more products denominated in the mainland currency.
• However, experts say the channel is likely to have little impact on the “internationalization of the yuan”, since the buyers of yuan stocks will be China-based companies.
• According to data compiled by Bloomberg, mainland investors have bought a total of HKD 1.58 billion ($202 million) of Hong Kong-listed stocks per day on average since this year through Stock Connect, representing a down 73% from last year.
• The link provides a channel for two-way flows between Hong Kong and the mainland, with capital kept in a closed-loop system to accommodate Chinese capital controls. (Bloomberg)

SEE ALSO: The Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Earn While You Burn: OliveX

OliveX is a Hong Kong-based digital fitness company that rewards gamers with crypto and NFTs as they flee hackers and monsters across a dystopian wasteland.

• Players can earn OliveX’s native DOSE tokens and NFTs by completing missions in OliveX’s adventure game that requires them to run around the real world with smartphones in hand. The virtual rewards they accumulate can be used to improve games or traded on crypto exchanges and NFT marketplaces.
• According to OliveX, its “move-to-earn” strategy allows the company to tap into three booming industries by combining physical fitness with mobile games that live on the blockchain. In the long term, the company aims to create an ecosystem of fitness games integrated with Animoca Brands’ TheSandbox, a virtual world where gamers can create, buy and sell their in-game assets.
• The Australian listed company raised AUD 8 million through a share placement last November. Proceeds were used to develop Dusty Land Runnera blockchain title that launched in late March.
• OliveX is currently working on a new product design that it acquired from fitness gaming platform Sol Cycle for the launch of its upcoming title, Dusty Land Rider. The blockchain game replaces running with cycling and could be released as early as June. After that, Olive X’s plans incorporate more sports, such as boxing and rowing, and start using motion-sensing technology in its games.
• OliveX’s decision to develop blockchain games has led to a 100% increase in its market capitalization over the past year to its current level of AUD 190.5 million. OliveX is a spin-off from Hong Kong-based gaming software and venture capital firm Animoca Brands, which was valued at $5.4 billion in its last funding round in January. (Forbes)

Goldman Sachs offers Bitcoin-backed loans

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has offered its first ever Bitcoin-backed lending facility, the latest sign that Wall Street is making progress in crypto, according to Bloomberg and CoinDesk.

• According to a spokesperson for the bank, the institution lends money secured by Bitcoin belonging to the borrower.
• The deal was attractive to Goldman because of its structure and round-the-clock risk management, the spokesperson added in an email to Bloomberg.
• Goldman, which has a dedicated digital assets team, traded its first over-the-counter bitcoin options with Galaxy Digital in March.
• According to Bloomberg, Goldman’s move signals that traditional finance giants are taking a step closer to crypto:
• Earlier this week, private equity firm Apollo Global Management hired former JPMorgan executive Christine Moy to become its first head of digital asset strategy.
• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is expanding banking services for crypto clients, while BlackRock Inc. joined a $400 million funding round in the stablecoin Circle company this month.
• Boutique investment bank Cowen Inc. also launched a digital assets unit in March. (Bloomberg, Coin Desk)

South African Wine Producers Auction NFTs Via Art Auctioneer

A collection of five South African wines has now been sold as NFTs, marking another first for the country’s fine wine industry, Winetitles Media, an Australian wine industry publisher, reported.

• The auction was undertaken by Strauss & Co, an auctioneer and fine art consultant, with several wineries, including Klein Constantia, Meerlust, Mullineux, Kanonkop and Vilafonté, putting their collections under the hammer.
• Successful bidders now hold the NFTs in a custodian or private wallet that can be viewed on the blockchain. Although each collection is an NFT, the individual bottles are also “minted” as NFTs and can be drawn or traded at any time on any NFT platform in the world.
• NFTs raised nearly 3 million RAND ($186,800). Two of the lots were paid in Bitcoin immediately after the sale.
• “It shows that collectors appreciate the ability to own and trade fine wines through these new certificates of ownership,” said Fanfire Web3 CEO Gert-Jan Van Rooyen. “We envision a future where collectors can hold a full portfolio of wines from around the world in their crypto wallets.” (Winetitles Media, Cointelegraph)

That’s it for this week’s newsletter – thanks for reading! As always, I appreciate any feedback on how to improve this newsletter. My email is [email protected]. See you next week !