OpenSea Acquires Gem, Chess.com Enters NFT Field

OpenSea acquires NFT marketplace aggregator Gem

In a Twitter post on Monday, OpenSea announced the acquisition of NFT marketplace aggregator Gem for an undisclosed price. In a blog post, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer said the company made the move to improve the experience for its more experienced "professional" users.

Gem allows traders to purchase NFTs of different collections and multiple marketplaces, saving on gas fees. Currently, OpenSea is adding popular gem features to its platform, such as collection floor price push tool and rarity-based ranking.

Gem will continue to operate independently of OpenSea as a standalone product, but OpenSea intends to continue integrating more Gem features into its NFT marketplace in the future.

However, many user comments on the post criticized OpenSea's latest move. Amid multiple hacks and a recent phishing scandal, collectors like @BandoNFT said he would rather OpenSea invest in "improving communication and customer service."

Virtual influencer Rae applauds STEM girls

Rae is one of the CGI (Computer Generated Image) influencers in Asia, and they have a huge following on Instagram and Weibo. Rae, who goes by the social media name "here.is.rae," says on her Instagram profile that she is a virtual person, digital artist and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) advocate.

Ahead of International Women in ICT Day (April 28), Rae announced the upcoming launch of her second NFT collection. The virtual influencer intends to use the NFT series to advocate for better STEM education for young girls. Eight percent of gross sales proceeds and royalties will be donated to the non-profit organization United Women Singapore.

The collection, titled "Adventures of Tako," features Rae's virtual pet, Tako. NFT holders of the first of the three series will receive an audio message from Rae and priority access to the second series of the collection.

Chess.com to Launch NFT Marketplace

Fiat-to-crypto payment infrastructure company Wyre has partnered with online chess community Chess.com to launch a new NFT marketplace called Treasure Chess. The platform allows users to convert chess games played on Treasure.chess.com into Treasure NFTs. Users can then buy, sell, mint and collect their "Treasures" on the Layer 2 blockchain Polygon.

Treasure Chess generates an Ethereum address for users who log in with their Chess.com account. Wyre allows players to use their debit cards to purchase the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) to purchase NFTs without the need for a separate wallet. Chess.com says its mission is to make the chess experience richer for its users and to support chess streamers and content creators in celebrating their favorite games.

Other NFT News

Cointelegraph market analyst Alyssa Exposito said that the recently launched Owl Head Moonbirds NFT series is bringing new liquidity to the NFT market. The Sandbox metaverse purchased MoonBird #2642 for 350 ETH (approximately $1 million), the collection was originally purchased for 100 ETH. As of this writing, Moonbirds has generated 117,115 ETH in trading volume on OpenSea, with sales exceeding $332 million for 10 consecutive days.

Another NFT series that has soared in market value is Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), leading Yuga Labs' The Otherside metaverse land sales. On April 25, on the first anniversary of BAYC's launch, it was hit by a phishing attack. Hackers took over BAYC's official Instagram page and shared a link to a fake airdrop.

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