GTA owner joins Web3, Bitcoin casino, Sunflower Land review: Web3 Gamer
Grand Theft Auto owner enters Web3 via mobile gaming arm
Fun fact: mobile gaming giant Zynga is owned by Take-Two Interactive, the same company that also owns Rockstar Games, which is behind ultra-popular video game series like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption and NBA 2K.
Now Zynga is making its Web3 debut with a new franchise.
Best known for its FarmVille series, Zynga has created an offshoot studio called Zynga Web3 (or ZW3) and announced Sugartown. It’s a cross-media world that will be more like a Web3 gaming platform than a single title. The cute cartoonish animals featured in the teaser video give clues that there might be more than video games in the works.
It looks like a scene from a new Netflix series, so I won’t be surprised to see a cartoon featuring the Sugartown characters.
For now, though, the only thing that’s confirmed is that Sugartown will launch an NFT collection called Oras, and they will be required to participate in upcoming games within the universe. ZW3 said the franchise is working with different communities to allocate allowlists for the NFTs.
If this platform becomes successful, perhaps it could give the green light for some of those big titles from the same company to jump into Web3?
More play needed in Play-to-Earn — Istanbul Blockchain Week
Why aren’t Web3 games adopted as much as traditional games? That was one of the subjects talked about during a Web3 gaming panel at Istanbul Blockchain Week 2023. The panel mainly focused on Web3 gaming adoption, the problems of Web3 gaming and the developer side of things.
Curator Studios co-founder Uluç Yuca’s answer stood out in particular as I sincerely believe it expressed the thoughts of many traditional gamers – including myself – toward the big problem with Web3 gaming.
He started his speech by asking the audience how many Web3 gamers there were. There were a few hands raised. “And this is a blockchain event!” he commented, then asked how many traditional gamers there were. There was a significant increase in the number of hands raised. He pointed out there are 3 billion traditional gamers in the world and only 15 million Web3 gamers.
15 million was not the (number of) active users in Roblox back in 2015. So what we have right now is just a little private party. That means we did something wrong.”
Here’s what we did wrong, according to Yuca: The Web3 community is always talking about features like third-party trading, ownership, making money and interoperability. But these features have existed since games were around, including in-game items in World of Warcraft, rare items in Dota, auctions in Diablo and those occasions RuneScape’s in-game currency was used as the local market currency when Venezuela’s money was depreciating.
So, we focused on features that already exist in various forms and combined them with games that aren’t fun:
We talk about all these value propositions and monetization models. Play-to-Earn, Play-and-Earn, Play-and-Own, Play-and-Have-Coffee, Play-and-Get-Married. It doesn’t really matter because there is no play. There is no product.”
He stressed that he has yet to see a game like Minecraft, or one that does “What Angry Birds did to mobile gaming back in the day.”
Despite the potential brought by Web3 elements, the real question was, “Do we have a game like Roblox (in Web3)?” Unfortunately, we do not.
Bitcoin casino works exactly like what you’d expect
Not many people know this but Satoshi Nakamoto may have been a poker player, with the original 0.1.0 Bitcoin code in 2008 containing scraps of code for an online poker game.
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With the introduction of Ordinals, it looks like we might be headed back in that direction. Ordinals has enabled the Bitcoin base layer to become home to numerous images, videos and even some basic games, and also laid the groundwork for “DeFi on Bitcoin” protocols such as Trustless Computer (TC) and the related New Bitcoin City (NBC).
Launched in early August, the gaming platform utilizes TC and transitions gameplay to NOS, a layer-2 on Bitcoin, according to core member Punk3700, who says it enhances speed and efficiency, ensuring complex interactions occur off the Bitcoin mainnet.
NOS brings an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to the Bitcoin network, allowing smart contract functionality without taking space on the main Bitcoin chain. Hence, data from games won’t crowd the valuable Bitcoin blockchain real estate.”
As for the gaming platform itself, don’t expect a 3D metaverse with high-fidelity graphics. The website is designed as a pixelated amusement park, with each tent representing a game offering very basic casino games like jackpot and slot.
There’s also a graffiti tent where everyone can chip in to add a pixel and then get royalty if someone buys the finished canvas.
The overall experience felt like what I had with my online poker adventures back in the early 2000s, but that’s apparently not the focus of the devs. “Bitcoin is expanding beyond just a currency and getting a lot of attention,” explained Punk3700, adding: “We want to make Bitcoin as generalized as possible — usable for far more than just a currency.”
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The league is said to promote the win-to-earn trend where gamers earn based on their skills (and maybe luck, considering it’s a casino), and developers promise more to come, with an upcoming “Mega Whales” expected to launch on Sept. 26.
Hot Take: Sunflower Land
Sunflower Land is an online farming game built on Polygon and played via a browser. Gamers are welcomed with some strict rules: one account per player, no bots or automation. It also makes clear that Sunflower Land is a game, not a financial product — although only time will tell which one will be prioritized by players
The core gameplay sees users plant seeds, wait for them to grow, harvest the plants, buy more seeds and so on – similar to old Facebook games such as FarmVille and CityVille. All in-game resources, such as seeds, cooked food and equipment, are NFTs that can be transferred and traded on OpenSea.
Seeds and plants have different in-game values corresponding with the time it takes for them to grow. For example, sunflower seeds grow in 30 seconds and can be sold for 125 coins (equal to 7,500 for 30 minutes), while pumpkin seeds grow in 30 minutes and can be sold for 25,000 coins.
Sunflower Land features a skill tree that allows the player to work faster and get more yields from each produce as they level up. As the player levels up, the waiting time gets longer (up to 36 hours for a single seed), but they also get more space to plant their seeds. The game currently offers two minigames if you’d like to do something in-game while you wait. They are called Greedy Goblin, a minigame where you catch falling gold coins while avoiding the skulls as a goblin, and Chicken Fight, a two-player fighting game where you control chickens.
Sunflower Land launched its new season called Witches Eve on Aug. 1, which introduced a massive multiplayer online (MMO) world for players to socialize called Pumpkin Plaza. The game also welcomed the addition of Community Islands – where players are provided with tools to build their own games inside Sunflower Land – with the ambition of “becoming the Roblox of Web3 gaming.”
The game works smoothly without any problems – a rare quality for Web3 games these days. The graphics look pretty, though the background music sounded really cheap. I don’t know if it’s going to become the Roblox of Web3, but Sunflower Land definitely has potential with its addictive gameplay loop. I’ll surely be coming back to check my island every once in a while.
More from Web3 gaming space:
– Turn-based RPG Champions Arena has launched on Gala Games.
– Zillion Whales’ mobile RTS game Wild Forest has been announced for Ronin blockchain.
– Mobile NFT game NFL Rivals has launched an in-game marketplace.
– French DJ Agoria and The Sandbox are collaborating to launch an avatar collection.
– Netmarble’s Marblex partnered with Aptos to expand its multichain gaming universe.
– Nexon’s MapleStory Universe tapped Chainlink as its Web3 infrastructure provider.
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The government will decide by the summer on controversial proposals to charge some households more for their electricity than others, Sky News understands.
The energy secretary Ed Miliband has been mulling over plans for “zonal pricing”, which would see different regions of the country pay different rates, based on supply and demand levels in the local area.
The idea is to attract industry to build in low-cost areas, and incentivise new electricity generation in regions where people need it most.
Supporters say zonal pricing could lower everyone’s bills to some extent by making the system more efficient – but some would fall more than others.
Critics, including renewable energy generators, warn the plans would create a postcode lottery for bills and put investors off certain areas, risking jobs.
It is not yet clear how the changes would be passed on to household bills. But it could see people in the south of England pay much more than those in parts of Scotland – though not, the government hopes, more than they do now.
Mr Miliband is expected to make his recommendation to fellow government ministers in the coming weeks, before the government decides either way by the middle of this year.
They are keen to resolve the issue – which was also considered under the last Tory government – before businesses start bidding for fresh renewable power contracts in summer.
UK still ‘vulnerable and exposed’
It comes as the UK government hosts a summit on energy security in London today, lobbying other countries to leave fossil fuels behind.
Read more: UK clean energy vision collides with Trump’s fossil fuel frenzy
Mr Miliband said the government’s push to generate more clean power at home was as much about energy security as it was about fighting climate change.
“As long as energy can be weaponised against us, our countries and our citizens are vulnerable and exposed,” he said in a speech.
But he also said North Sea oil and gas would “continue to play an important role” in the UK energy mix, fuelling campaigners’ fears it may yet allow the Rosebank oil and gas field to go ahead, despite hurdles in court and the government’s own concerns.
Mr Miliband quoted a message from King Charles that said the “transition to more sustainable energy sources can itself lead to more resilient and secure energy systems”.
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Miliband reads King’s letter at summit
Trump’s representative invokes God
US President Donald Trump’s junior representative at the summit, acting assistant secretary Tommy Joyce, quoted the Bible in his address.
He urged delegates to “remember God’s golden rule, and that is that we should love our neighbour as ourselves”.
That means helping them out of poverty through access to affordable energy, according to Mr Joyce.
About 750 million people in the world still have no access to electricity, and team Trump says American oil, gas and coal are the answer.
However, a report by RMI suggests that new wind and solar are the cheapest option for new electricity in 82% of the world – though for some countries are hard to finance upfront.
Mr Joyce also continued Trump’s ongoing attacks on climate policies, criticising what he described as “so-called renewables” and the “net zero agenda”.
‘Most delicate debate’
Before the summit, a senior UN official said the idea that the switch to clean power compromised energy security and affordability “is just not true”.
“We really need to dispel this notion,” said the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “If you are dependent on volatile and expensive fossil fuel imports, fossil fuels equal energy insecurity.”
A senior official from Brazil, which in November is hosting the COP30 UN climate summit, also this week said there had been a “rather successful” attempt by some to frame energy security and the switch to clean energy as a question of “either/or”.
“We don’t believe it is.”
He called it “one of the most delicate debates” of the moment.
South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb have suspended deposits for Synthetix (SNX) tokens after it was flagged by the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) for potential risks.
DAXA, the self-regulatory organization establishing industry standards for South Korean exchanges, designated SNX as a cautionary item.
Assets receiving this designation typically undergo rigorous evaluations to determine whether trading can continue or if delisting is necessary.
Exchanges may take action, such as adding a warning tag to the asset and urging investors to take caution when engaging with it. Trading platforms can also perform additional measures, like blocking deposits or suspending trading support temporarily.
Upbit and Bithumb block SNX deposits
In response to the designation, the biggest exchanges in South Korea said they are blocking deposits for SNX tokens on their platforms.
Upbit announced that it had added a trading caution ticker and suspended token deposits. The exchange said it had been monitoring the developments related to the Synthetix USD (sUSD) depegging. It added that this event may damage investors through potential volatility, as SNX is used as collateral for sUSD.
The exchange added that it had determined a lack of use cases for the asset, which may cause investors to suffer losses. Upbit said it would conduct a comprehensive review to decide whether to delist the asset or resume normal operations for the token.
Bithumb has also blocked deposits for SNX and added a cautionary tag for the token. However, the exchange said this decision could be overturned depending on internal circumstances. If the reason for the designation is resolved, Bithumb said it would lift the restrictions.
Korbit and Coinone also published investor alerts to caution traders. The two exchanges added cautionary tags to SNX tokens to alert investors who may want to trade the token.
Cointelegraph reached out to Synthetix for comment but did not get a response by publication.
Related: South Korean crypto emerges from failed coup into crackdown season
sUSD struggles to recover dollar peg
On April 10, the sUSD stablecoin dropped to a five-year low of $0.83 after struggling to maintain its dollar peg in the first quarter of 2025. With the stablecoin being collateralized by the project’s native asset, Cork Protocol co-founder Rob Schmitt compared the token to Terra USD (UST), which collapsed in 2022. However, Schmitt said that sUSD has a “more manageable” debt system.
On April 18, the stablecoin dipped further to $0.68, with SNX falling by 26% in a 30-day period. A Synthetix spokesperson told Cointelegraph that their team has short, medium and long-term plans to mitigate the risks.
On April 21, Synthetix founder Kain Warwick threatened SNX stakers with “the stick” if they didn’t take up a newly launched staking mechanism to fix the sUSD depeg. The executive said they may put extra pressure on stakers if they don’t see enough momentum on the newly implemented mechanism.
Since the warning, sUSD prices increased by 27%. On April 24, the stablecoin briefly reached $0.87. However, the token has still failed to recover its dollar peg.
Magazine: Uni students crypto ‘grooming’ scandal, 67K scammed by fake women: Asia Express
Shaquille O’Neal has settled with investors who claim losses from the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, according to an April 23 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The settlement amount remains confidential, with terms expected to be disclosed after investors formally request preliminary court approval, according to court documents.
O’Neal and other celebrities and athletes were accused of promoting FTX and allegedly contributing to investor losses by endorsing the now-bankrupt exchange.
The case is part of a broader multidistrict litigation effort, where investors are seeking up to $21 billion in damages from FTX insiders, advisers and promoters, far exceeding the $9.2 billion available through bankruptcy proceedings.
Other celebrities embroiled in similar legal troubles for their roles in FTX include NFL quarterback Tom Brady, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, billionaire investor Kevin O’Leary, former NBA player Udonis Haslem, David Ortiz, Naomi Osaka and others.
Notably, FTX investors faced challenges in serving O’Neal with legal papers during the early stages of the lawsuit over his promotion of the collapsed exchange.
Lawyers representing the victims described O’Neal as “running from the lawsuit,” after multiple failed attempts to deliver court documents. Legal teams reportedly spent months trying to reach the NBA legend, resorting to creative methods, including attempting service during NBA games and at his residences.
Related: FTX former execs and promoters to settle class-action lawsuit for $1.3M
O’Neal finalizes $11 million settlement over Astrals NFT project
The settlement with FTX investors comes as O’Neal recently agreed to pay $11 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit tied to his involvement in the Solana-based Astrals NFT project.
In May 2023, O’Neal was served with the Astral NFT lawsuit during an NBA game at Miami’s Kaseya Center, formerly the FTX Arena. The class-action lawsuit involved his promotion of the Astrals NFT project, alleging that the NFTs promoted by O’Neal were unregistered securities.
In August 2024, a Miami federal court judge ruled that O’Neal would need to defend some of the claims brought against him in the case.
Astrals is a Solana-based project featuring 10,000 NFTs, a metaverse called Astralworld and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with a governance token called Galaxy.
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