This week’s Web3 Woundup features Google playing the game, an OpenSea scammer and Banksy going on NFTour.
Spray whaaaaat?
Google Play Allows NFT Games
NFT gaming got a huge boost this week when Internet giant Google announced that it will allow game developers to include NFTs in their games on Play Store. Google disclosed that its Android app store will open its doors to “blockchain-based digital content” but app developers must include a declaration that their creations feature digital collectibles.
Google’s decision to change its Play Store policy to allow NFTs is the opposite of its rival Apple which has made it hard for app developers to freely offer NFTs due to strict anti-steering provisions.
OpenSea Imitator Nets $450,000
A Moroccan man named Soufiane Oulahyane was this week accused by the Department of Justice of stealing $450,000 in NFTs and cryptocurrency after developing a counterfeit version of the popular online marketplace OpenSea. The 25-year-old suspect allegedly engaged in a scheme where he paid for advertisements that positioned his fraudulent OpenSea platform at the top of search engine results for the term “OpenSea.”
By doing so, he enticed individuals to visit the counterfeit website and convinced them to disclose the access keys to their private cryptocurrency wallets. Oulahyane is currently in custody in Morocco for domestic Moroccan charges, with the US expected to start extradition proceedings soon.
Banksy Goes on Tour
Fractionalized NFT platform Particle has loaned a Banksy painting to museums in Barcelona, Amsterdam and England after its 10,000 fractional owners agreed to a proposal to do so. The artwork dubbed ‘Love is in the Air’ was fractionalized into 10,000 collectible pieces in 2021. The NFT platform bought the entire artwork for $12.9 million and resold each fractional piece at $1,500 and offered collectors an option to resell their portion on the open market.
The artwork will first land in England where it will grace ‘The Urban Frame: Mutiny in Colour’ art exhibition this month before making its way to Barcelona and Amsterdam for a combined one year shared equally between the two locations.
