Tag: expands

Pionauts, one of the most unique and groundbreaking NFT art collections, is set to launch on 28 April 2022, announced Johan Van Asperen Vervenne, the founder and visionary behind the team that created the series.

Today, Pionauts is the world's first company to create large-scale photorealistic appearances of historical pioneers, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Nefertiti, Aristotle, Cleopatra, and so many more.

"Pionauts began as an idea for an NFT collection. Most NFT collections have about six different backgrounds," Johan said. "My team used 84 different 17th and 18th-century paintings to create many of the backgrounds used."

The 150 original pioneers selected by Van Asperen Vervenne and his team mostly lived before the invention of the camera. The team behind Pionauts are artificial intelligence, 2D and 3D graphic design specialists from nine countries.

“People of all ages are fascinated by pioneers that lived before the invention of the camera,” Van Asperen Vervenne said. “Before Pionauts came to life, we only saw old paintings and could only imagine what they looked like when they were alive.”

Van Asperen Vervenne felt it was time to bring them back to life today and go beyond the “stories we read about what they accomplished and go beyond imagining what stories they would tell about themselves if they were alive today.”

With that in mind, Van Asperen Vervenne and his team brought to life “the best-known pioneers with the latest 3D and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.” Applying Deep Learning technology and months of manual retouching, a collection of 8,500 unique variations was created with modified characteristics such as age, facial features and expressions.

Voting utility

Each of these NFTs comes with voting powers that grant holders of the breath-taking digital art collectibles the right to voice how they want the Pionauts comic stories told. They also come with copyrights and many of the photorealistic pioneers' portraits are already trademarked, said Van Asperen Vervenne.

“These portrait trademarks safeguard against infringement of copyrights increasing the value of the Pionauts project,” he added. “Pionauts owns the copyrights for commercial and non-commercial use.

 Royalty income

The Pionauts team sees a positive future in collaborating in various entertainment, marketing and educational projects. Johan and his team's goal is to create more 3D models of pioneer's faces and explore collaborations with Metaverse games, brands, educational- and the movie industry.

“Our goal for Pionauts NFT holders is to share in our future success as the Pionauts brand expands. Pionauts will share 25% of its royalty income with its NFT holders that are KYC (Know Your Customers) compliant,” Johan said.

Pionauts allows all Pionaut NFT holders to exclusively co-create new storylines about breathtaking interplanetary journeys and have a voice in choosing where the story goes next, Johan said.

"The ambition of the Pionauts team is to create a series of pilots, blockbuster movies, similarly as Pixar's Toy Story franchise and the Marvel cinematic universe," Van Asperen Vervenne said. "Pionauts has some very exciting announcements in the pipeline," he said.

The Pionaut's inception

Van Asperen Vervenne one day became intrigued by musician George Aquilla Hardy's depiction of what the first US President would look like today. But Johan went further. He dove into the topic of facial recognition and researched facial reconstruction techniques for digital illustration.

After he concluded his investigation, he decided to see if he could recreate the faces of a few famous people throughout history. After forming a dedicated team of international designers, he looked at historic pioneers regarded as some of the world's greatest minds.

With the help of some of the world's best artificial intelligence (AI) experts, including the founding father of the AI Gan source code, Johan added movements to the face of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle from the image of a statue representing his likeness.

Patience paid off, and it enticed Johan and his colleagues to continue with more restorations. They chose several more famous personalities of the past, that also include Socrates, Beethoven and William Shakespeare.

After many hours of meticulous attention to detail, the talented group transformed the faces of several of the most renowned pioneers worldwide into a photorealistic likeness of them thanks to groundbreaking AI. And then the decision to make them Pionauts.

"Earth is explored by the greatest minds in history. Imagine the progress we can make if these brilliant people help us explore space?" Johan asked. "And thus, the pioneers from history became Pionauts."

Utility

Each of the 8,500 NFTs comes with great utility. They come with voting rights on comic stories with the pioneer characters, their stories, the possibility for holders to input their stories, royalties from their sales, and future movie deals from which we like each NFT holder to profit.

“The goal is that holders of any Pionauts NFT will enjoy passive income as the Pionauts brand expands,” and “This 'army' of thousands of Pionauts NFT holders will undoubtedly help signal, prevent and protect Pionauts portrait rights for the benefit of all those invested in the collection.”

The unique Pionauts NFT collection launches on 28 April 2022

www.pionauts.com         Discord: https://lnkd.in/eQktanmD         Twitter: @pionauts 

Ends

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Trust Wallet, a crypto wallet app rated at 4.7 stars and with a total of 166,379 reviews – take from that what you will – has reported on its official Twitter page and community webpage that the app became unavailable “on March 21, 2022 at 1pm PST”, which seems to match the time of the outage reported by more than 3,000 users on Downdetector. 

BTC Wires, a leading online digital platform that provides information about crypto and blockchain technology, examined possible reasons in the Trust Wallet case, and came up with steps that crypto users can take. 

What Was the Reason?

It is still uncertain if the above mentioned events are related, though the company behind Trust Wallet seems committed to assuring its users that the problem will be solved in “a timely manner”, and transactions have been confirmed to be working just fine. 

Another possible explanation for the sudden disappearance of the app from the store might be related to App Store guidelines regarding the use of third-party payment services, which seems to be the case, at least for Trust Wallet, with the words:

“The app does not sell any crypto, you will be redirected to a 3rd party provider” hanging over its official community post forewarning crypto adventures just as those of Dante in the famous Italian comedy. 

Apple has reportedly restricted the use of third-party payment integrations when there's no physical exchange of goods or services, making adjustments to their policies whenever legally obliged and/or pressured, as is the case in the Netherlands and in South Korea. However possible for this to be the case surrounding the issue with some wallets, nothing has been disclosed by Apple or by any other company that would confirm this theory. 

Are Other Wallets at Risk?

Nevertheless, many users of other wallets and wallet services embedded with exchange platforms have understandably become wary about the situation, which expands the proportion of need-to-know information one requires before trusting any amount of money to a service. 

With that in mind, here are a couple of options one can rely on to not have that issue:

• NOW Wallet: Since the company behind the wallet is likewise behind the exchange platform, they do not depend on a third party to execute the payments, thus they are compliant with App Store guidelines. The wallet supports nearly 400 cryptocurrencies, about 60 fiat currencies, and NFTs. Since it is non-custodial, the user has full control of the private keys and the funds. There are other benefits to this wallet as well, such as its simplicity and straightforward app design, making the learning curve accessible even to the most tech-averse person.
• Coinbase Wallet: Coinbase is a staple in the crypto market by now, and its Wallet product, in opposition to the regular Coinbase service, is a DEX, thus allowing crypto swapping just as other DEXs. It supports all ERC-20 tokens (including USDC and DAI), BTC, BCH, LTC, XRP, XLM, and DOGE. Since its inception, it has been known for its appeal among beginners and is well regarded by its users.
• eToro Money Crypto Wallet: Another great option for those who like stability. eToro, like Coinbase, has established itself in the crypto market as a reliable broker service and a wallet. It's trustworthy, supports over 500 crypto pairs, and is secure. On the other hand, it might be too much of a challenge for beginners.
• Gemini Wallet: If you are out there looking for something different, this might be what you're looking for. Gemini offers a hot wallet insurance in case of a security breach or hack, which is an added bonus when dealing with money on the internet. There is good and bad in this wallet. Some of the fees can be quite high, and you don't get as many options of currencies (about 70 crypto assets) and they're not as variable as you would get with other wallets. Despite this, it still has a reputation as a reliable wallet.
• Ledger Live Wallet: Now if you are in for something more niche, you might like Ledger Live. The wallet is powered by Ledger, the most reliable hardware wallet available, supports 1,800 coins & tokens, and uses advanced security features. The only downside is the lack of online customer support.

Those are not the only alternatives but are currently some of the most reliable ones out there. The perfect fit for you will largely depend on your crypto interests, and while the aforementioned wallets deal with a wide range of assets, you should always do your own research and see what better matches your needs.

Visit BTC Wires to find more news and other crypto-related information. 

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HONG KONG, Mar 24, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - AGTech Holdings Limited ("AGTech" or the "Group", SEHK: 08279) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Macau Pass Holding Ltd. ("Macau Pass") and its subsidiaries, which will become an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of AGTech after completion of the transaction.
Since granted the financial license by the Macau SAR Government in 2006, Macau Pass has been propelling the development of a more convenient local electronic payment and promoting its popularity in Macau. Macau Pass, being the leading payment service provider in Macau, issued the first and the most commonly used contactless smart card for payments in Macau, Macau Pass Card ("MP Card"). While initially used in bus fare payment system, its usage has later been expanded into a wide range of payments such as those for other public transports, car parks, government services, retail consumptions, and food and beverage services. There are currently more than three million MP Cards in issue.

The first mobile payment platform in Macau, Macau e-wallet ("MPay"), was subsequently issued by Macau Pass, it was an innovated product which led Macau into the development of e-payment. The major functions of MPay cover on-line and off-line payments, transfers, utility payments like telephone, water, electricity and gas bills and public transports. Currently over 90% of Macau residents are registered MPay users. Its cross-border operation between Hong Kong and Mainland China has been approved by the People's Bank of China and the Monetary Authority of Macao ("AMCM") in 2019, the first financial institution having offshore headquarters to be granted the right to use its offshore e-wallet across the border in Mainland China. The completion of the acquisition will create tremendous synergies to AGTech's existing businesses and broaden the revenue base of the Group through integrations along the value chain.

"As a local business, Macau Pass's years-long investment in the community and economy of Macau has borne fruitful results, and is fully recognized and highly appreciated by AGTech." praised Mr. Sun Ho, Chairman and CEO of AGTech. "Over the years, Macau Pass has been actively involving in local fintech industry, expanding its e-payment applications to different levels of Macau people's daily lives. AGTech shares Macau Pass's ideology of livelihood services-oriented. While enabling a stable transition of Macau Pass, we will cooperate with the local government to turn Macau into a smart city of the 21st century. Through innovation, we will strive to facilitate the integration of Macau Pass, and will invest more resources into integrated payment scenarios that combine on-line and off-line payments, as well as to create a hybrid platform that integrates mobile payment, e-commerce and local services for users and merchants. We will expand mobile payment services to support merchants and SMEs to leverage its advantages in order to speed up services and the development of digitization and intelligence management to meet the increasing consumer demand in the Greater Bay Area. This can provide users with stable, secure and efficient mobile payment experiences, while giving Macau our support in its next new phase of digital economy."

According to AMCM's figures published in February this year, the number of mobile payment transactions in Macau has increased from approximately 65.5 million in 2020 to approximately 193 million in 2021, representing a year-on-year increase of 194%; the total transaction value has increased from approximately MOP 6.3 billion in 2020 to approximately MOP 18.5 billion in 2021, representing a year-on-year increase of 192%. These figures showcase increasing trends in both the frequency and the transaction value of mobile payments in Macau.

"The completion of Macau Pass acquisition marks an important milestone for AGTech. It lays a solid foundation for the Group's future strategic expansion into payment business and financial services ecosystem. Under the policy of "Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area", we believe that Macau Pass will become the leader of local fintech innovation to propel the appropriate diversification of Macau's economy and the growth of local fintech industry. At the same time, it can also deepen the interconnection of mobile financial infrastructure of Macau, Greater Bay Area, Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone and Mainland China. From here, we are preparing ourselves to tap into a market with 1.4 billion potential users and to jointly explore overseas opportunities and facilitate international grand economic cycle." added Mr. Sun Ho.

About AGTech Holdings Limited

AGTech was incorporated in Bermuda and its shares are listed on the GEM (Stock Code: 08279). As a member of the Alibaba Group, AGTech is the exclusive lottery platform of Alibaba Group and Ant Group.

For more information, please visit www.agtech.com


Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.comAGTech Holdings Limited ("AGTech" or the "Group", SEHK: 08279) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Macau Pass Holding Ltd. ("Macau Pass") and its subsidiaries, which will become an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of AGTech after completion of the transaction.

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Boulder, Colo. – Wana Brands, a top international cannabis-infused edibles brand, announced today it has appointed Sandy Li to the role of Chief Financial Officer, as the company continues its […]

By Rupmalini Sahu, Senior Product ManagerAt Coinbase, we’re focused on offering more ways for customers to earn crypto rewards. Today, we’re expanding our staking...

Applications open today for the new builder tracks.