Crypto games need EVO-style viral moment, Nitro Nation review: Web3 Gamer
Blockchain gaming needs its own ‘EVO Moment 37’?
While the Web3 gaming ecosystem is still trying to find its footing in the mainstream gaming world, a key element missing from almost all the Web3 titles is inspiration. To achieve a broader audience, Web3 gaming needs a “wow” moment to go viral and into the records of gaming history.
Web3 gaming studios are falling into the same trap that many of their traditional predecessors fell into: Better visuals, more rewards and a larger cast of characters. Sure, these are some vital elements of the gaming experience, but in order to expand a whole ecosystem, developers need to think beyond that.
With Street Fighter 6 just released and Mortal Kombat 1 on the horizon, it’s safe to say that the fighting games are having a big comeback. But let’s remember the exact moment that showed players worldwide the joy of fighting games for the first time: The EVO Moment 37.
In 2004, during the golden years of home consoles, the fighting game-focused tournament EVO saw a magical moment where two legendary players competed with each other and one of them — Daigo Umehara — pulled a move that was then considered impossible. YouTube was not a thing back then, so that moment was captured by the official DVD that was released the following year. It was named “Evo Moment 37” and became a major trigger for wide audiences to take fighting games seriously.
Web3 gaming needs that. Web3 studios need to add inspiration, “wow” moment potential and an aspect of virality to their products. It will be a tough road to gain the interest of mainstream audiences until then.
Om Nom enters the metaverse
Games like Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Cut the Rope assumed the role of catalyzers during the dawn of mobile gaming: They catapulted smartphones and tablets to the hands of a mainstream audience with vivid visuals, cute characters and intuitive gameplays that used then-groundbreaking frictionless touch screen in innovative ways. That’s why ZeptoLab partnering with The Sandbox to bring Om Nom — the green monster from the Cut the Rope franchise — to Web3 is big news for old schoolers.
Players will have a chance to explore a virtual world inspired by the franchise in Om Nom’s Social Hub. The event will host familiar characters from Cut the Rope with the end goal of discovering Om Nom’s origin story.
ZeptoLab business development director Kristina Truvaleva says bringing the classic title to the metaverse will give players “a feeling that they have been transported into a whole new world — permeated with nostalgia but full of fresh challenges.”
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The virtual world went live on Aug. 10. Players who complete all quests and requirements will have a chance to share a pool of 120,000 SAND. A real-life prize called Om Nom’s Money Box will also be sent to 1:1 avatar holders that pass all of Om Nom’s Social Hub quests.
Axie builders get the Greenlight
Axie Infinity creator Sky Mavis recently introduced Mavis Hub: Greenlight, a program for developers to share their early game builds with the community. The program allows players to playtest and includes a voting system that lets the community vote on the games they are most excited about, driving competition between developers.
The games must be at the playable beta stage to be eligible for the program, meaning the core game loop should be complete and provide at least one complete game session. Successful games on Greenlight may receive extra support, such as additional grants and user acquisition budgets for soft launches.
The program echoes similar exercises in Web2 gaming, like the now-defunct Steam Greenlight, which has been turned into Steam Direct. They streamline the process for developers and provide valuable feedback from the community, driving engagement as players decide who stays and who goes.
Interested players can try out two debut games on Greenlight called Mini Tri-Force and Culinary Wars. In the former, the player tries to save their Axie clan in a poisoned forest by combatting youkai – ghosts in Japanese folklore. The latter is a co-op cooking game that heavily resembles Overcooked, where players take the role of chefs and make haste to fulfill orders in a short amount of time – often resulting in chaos.
Mavis Hub: Greenlight has been launched on the Mavis Hub Desktop App, while a web-based version is also in the works.
$150K inducements to join the dark side
Layer-1 blockchain network Aelf launched its Aelevate program, dangling the offer of up to $150,000 per Web2 studio to help developers transition to blockchain technology and create games on the Aelf network.
The company’s track record so far lacks any gaming ventures, but Aelf aims to break into the gaming world with this program. Considering the blockchain gaming market is projected to be over $60 billion by 2027 – nearly 15 times its $4.6 billion market size from 2022 – Aelf’s enthusiasm is understandable.
“Our goal is to break the daunting barriers studios face in integrating blockchain technology into their games, particularly in the current uncertain and challenging crypto climate,” said Tavia Wong, head of commercial at Aelf, adding:
Through Aelevate, we are pledging our support for the Web3 gaming space as we provide crucial infrastructural support and expert industry guidance for our participants to thrive and succeed in this new Web3 frontier.”
Aelf presents its suite of decentralized applications to successful applicants, streamlining the blockchain transition process with asset integration, token creation and the development of smart contracts. The program also assists the business side of Web3 with mentorships, market strategies and fundraising opportunities.
Read also
The program applications are open until Sept. 30, with the first round of grants scheduled to be awarded in October.
Hot Take – Nitro Nation: World Tour
Mythical Games’ Nitro Nation: World Tour is a free Web3 drag racing game on mobile and is a great option to blow off a long day’s steam. It combines simple gameplay mechanics with beautiful graphics – for a mobile game, of course.
The controls are straightforward to grasp, as there are only two buttons. The first is the gas button which is used to keep the indicator in the green zone at the beginning of the race. As the race starts, this button turns into the “Gear Shift” button, which should be pressed when the indicator is in the green zone to keep a steady pace. The second is the nitro button, which gives the car a little boost.
Players can upgrade and tune their cars to have an edge on the streets. The game also provides a wide range of customization options that can be bought using the in-game currency and boasts a vast roster of fully licensed cars ranging from Subarus and Mazdas to Aston Martins and Paganis.
Web3 elements come into play as NFT cars, which can be dropped from purchasable car packs or directly bought from and sold on the marketplace. The NFT cars come pre-tuned and with better stats. The game is perfectly playable without NFT cars, so mainstream free-to-play (F2P) players aren’t forced into these Web3 elements. Nitro Nation: World Tour offers simpler gameplay than your usual Forzas and Need for Speeds but manages to keep it fun. If you are into cars, racing or NFTs, consider trying out Nitro Nation: World Tour.
More from crypto gaming space:
– Bandai Namco, the world-renowned publisher of Dark Souls and Tekken games, collaborated with blockchain network Oasys and startup Attructure to unveil an AI-enhanced virtual pet game that features NFT-based digital creatures.
– Amazon Prime Gaming partnered up with Web3 auto chess game Mojo Melee to offer free exclusive drops to Amazon Prime members.
– Web3 Mahjong game Mahjong Meta went live after its two-month-long open beta phase.
– nWay’s mech fighting game Wreck League collaborates with Yuga Labs to host Yuga-themed mech NFTs.
– NFT-based open-world social MMO game Dininho released on Arbitrum.
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Kemi Badenoch has refused to say that the Conservatives are intending to win next May’s local elections, despite being repeatedly pushed on the issue.
Asked twice to define success for her party at the elections, the Tory leader merely said that she is “going to be fighting for every vote”.
Speaking to Sky News, she added: “Success is going to be people seeing the Conservative Party as the only party that is competent and credible enough to do the tough stuff that this country needs.”
The comments come as the Conservatives continue to trail in the polls.
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Watch Kemi Badenoch’s interview with Sky News in full
New data released by YouGov this morning has put the Tories in third place behind Reform and Labour, a space they have largely occupied throughout the year. The pollster’s weekly voting intention analysis put Ms Badenoch’s party on 18%, down one percentage point.
YouGov’s weekly voting intention poll has the Tories down one percent on last week, and just three above the Greens. Pic: YouGov
Ms Badenoch gave a speech on welfare costs in London on Tuesday, where she attacked the government’s plans to tackle child poverty. Afterwards, she sat down with Sky News political correspondent Sam Coates.
Asked about the local elections, she said: “There are going to be local elections all over the country, and there’s a conservative message that I want everyone to hear: Our country’s not working properly.
“There are fundamental things that need to change. We need to create jobs. Otherwise, we’re not going to have money for councils.”
She added: “We’ve seen new parties like Reform come in. They’re making a hash of things at council level. We need to make sure that people can see the benefits of voting Conservative.”
Ms Badenoch also refused to score her party’s performance out of 10. Pic: PA
When it was pointed out that she had not defined success as winning the local elections, Ms Badenoch said: “The country is going to decide. We’re going to put out an offer, and we’re going to fight for every vote.”
May will see local council elections, as well as votes for the Senedd in Wales and the Scottish Parliament. They are seen as a crucial moment for the Tory leader – and also for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
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‘Of course poverty bothers me’
Ms Badenoch also refused to score the party’s performance out of 10, as the year draws to a close, and she marks a little over 12 months as leader.
She told Sky News: “When I look at the historic defeats which Conservatives suffered last year, things are definitely better.”
Read more:
Tory-Reform pact ‘not happening’
Badenoch dismisses Reeves’s ‘mansplaining’ claim
Challenged on the Tories’ position in the polls, Ms Badenoch said: “Of course, we have a mountain to climb.
“We lost more seats [in 2024] than we’ve ever done in our 200-year history. This was always going to be a long road ahead.”
Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, a member of the US Senate Banking Committee and one of the most prominent proponents for addressing digital asset market structure in Congress, said she wants to take the next step in advancing the bill sometime next week.
Speaking at the Blockchain Association Policy Summit on Tuesday, Lummis said she anticipated that the markup hearing for the Responsible Financial Innovation Act — the Banking Committee’s version of market structure — would happen before Congress broke for the holidays.
The senator said the crypto industry “was getting a little concerned” about the progress of the bill, adding that drafts were “changed so much every few days” during bipartisan discussions.
“Our staffs are exhausted,” said Lummis, referring to her and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s teams. “I think that we’re to the point where it’s better to go ahead with a product and mark it up next week and then give everybody a break over the Christmas break to catch their breath.”
She added:
“My goal […] is to share a draft at the end of this week that is our best efforts [sic] to date and let industry vet it, let Republicans and Democrats vet it, and then go to markup next week.”
A markup hearing involves lawmakers considering amendments and changes before a bill is sent to the Senate for a vote.
Although the banking committee released a discussion draft of the market structure bill in July, after the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act passed the US House of Representatives, progress was slowed by the longest government shutdown in the country’s history and reports of pushback from some lawmakers over DeFi provisions in the bill.
Related: How market structure votes could influence 2026 crypto voters
A Monday report from Politico signaled that bipartisan negotiations over market structure were proceeding with plans for a markup in December. Lummis said in September that she expected the bill to be signed into law by 2026.
However, it’s unclear whether Republicans’ timeline will pan out. Even if senators were to proceed with a markup, other obstacles — such as partisan pushback — could lengthen the time for a vote.
What will a US market structure bill mean for the crypto industry?
Although the bill has yet to work its way through the Senate Banking Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee, many in the crypto industry have been championing Congress’ efforts to advance the legislation, citing clarity and benefits to the market.
“More and more finance will move onchain under the leadership of [SEC Chair Paul Atkins] once a market structure is passed into law by Congress,” said Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal on Wednesday. “Our leaders need to align on the last details in the bill without delay […].”
Although the final version of the bill to be considered by the US Senate was not public at the time of publication, previously released drafts indicated that it would grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more authority over digital assets. This would represent a significant change from the Securities and Exchange Commission essentially handling regulation and enforcement.
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice
Major tokenization platform Securitize has doubled down on its push to bring tokenized equity to US investors, naming a former PayPal executive as its new general counsel.
Securitize on Tuesday announced the appointment of ex-PayPal executive Jerome Roche, who led the company’s expansion into digital asset projects, including the PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin.
Securitize also said its tokenized securities are already available to US investors, challenging the notion that most issuers prefer to offer such products abroad due to local stock access.
“There’s been a perception that tokenized securities must be offered primarily outside the US, but our experience shows the opposite,” Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo told Cointelegraph.
“Clear regulatory path” for tokenized stocks in the US
According to Securitize, operating real-world asset (RWA) tokenization offerings inside the US regulatory perimeter is “not only possible, but scalable, at institutional quality.”
“We’ve demonstrated that there is a clear regulatory path for issuers to natively tokenize assets for US investors,” Domingo said.
“These are not synthetic representations, or derivatives, but real securities onchain,” the CEO said, adding:
“We operate using SEC-regulated infrastructure, including a registered transfer agent broker-dealer, and fund admin, which allows US investors to access and legally hold tokenized securities in a fully compliant framework.”
Securitize’s optimistic outlook on the US tokenization comes days after the platform obtained regulatory approval to operate as an investment company and a trading ánd settlement system in the European Union on Nov. 26. According to the company, the approval positioned it as one of the first operators for regulated digital securities infrastructure in both the US and EU.
“For the first time, modern ledger technology is giving us the ability to record ownership, settle transactions, and move value in ways that are fundamentally better than the fragmented systems we’ve inherited,” Securitize’s newly appointed general counsel, Roche, said in the announcement.
“Innovation only works when it fits squarely within the guardrails of applicable law,” he added, underscoring Securitize’s global push for regulated tokenized securities.
Related: US Treasurys lead tokenization wave as CoinShares predicts 2026 growth
Securitize’s news is another sign of the US warming to tokenization. On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its investigation into rival tokenization platform Ondo Finance.
Ondo said the decision marks a new chapter for tokenized securities in the US, where they are poised to become a “core part of the capital markets.”
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice
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