Phantom is also focused on its integration with the Sui blockchain. Meanwhile, PUBG creator Brendan Greene unveiled the metaverse project Artemis, and also dismissed the use of NFTs on the platform. Coinbase is exploring offering tokenized COIN shares for US users on its Base network, while a controversial Aave proposal suggests pegging the USDe stablecoin to USDT. Phantom Denies Token Airdrop Rumors Phantom, a leading non-custodial crypto wallet provider, denied rumors about launching a token airdrop in conjunction with its upcoming social discovery feature. The speculation was addressed in a Jan. 3 post on X, where Phantom clarified that it has no plans to release a token. Instead, the company announced that it is very excited about the social discovery feature and its potential to enhance user experience. The social discovery feature was announced on Dec. 19, and will allow users to create profiles, connect with friends, and select privacy settings ranging from public to invisible. Rumors of a token launch were fueled by some crypto community members, including X user ” Slim ,” who suggested that users might earn tokens through interactions on the platform. Phantom firmly dismissed these claims. In addition to the new feature, Phantom also revealed plans to integrate the Sui blockchain into its platform. This is the fourth blockchain supported by Phantom, alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The integration is slated for early 2025. With 7 million monthly active users reported last April, Phantom firmly established itself as a major player in the crypto wallet space. The wallet gained even more attention in November when it briefly became the second most popular application in the utilities category of the Apple App Store. However, the company also faced some challenges. Recently, Phantom developers issued an emergency update for iPhone users after reports of app resets that locked some users out of their wallets. One user reported losing almost $600,000 during the incident. Founded in 2021 in San Francisco by CEO Brandon Millman, Chief Product Officer Chris Kalani, and Chief Technology Officer Francesco Agost, Phantom also offers non-custodial services for securing non-fungible tokens (NFTs). PUBG Creator Dismisses NFTs in New Metaverse Vision Brendan Greene , the creator of the battle royale sensation PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), recently unveiled plans for a revolutionary gameplay-focused metaverse named “Artemis,” which will focus on creativity and user-generated content. Speaking to IGN, Greene also clarified that NFTs are unlikely to be part of the project. While the crypto industry often touts NFTs as essential when it comes to securing intellectual property and in-game assets, Greene dismissed the notion. He stated that NFTs are “not even being considered” as his focus lies elsewhere. Despite his skepticism toward NFTs, Greene still acknowledged the potential utility of blockchain technology in the future by describing it as an “interesting financial instrument” that could serve as a digital ledger in a virtual world. However, he clarified that his priority is perfecting the engine that will power the metaverse and create engaging games rather than integrating speculative technology. Greene is not happy with existing metaverse efforts, and criticized them as isolated intellectual property silos that fail to deliver on their promises. Instead, he plans to redefine the concept of a metaverse as a “3D internet,” where users can create, modify, and interact across interconnected worlds built on shared protocols. Drawing inspiration from games like Minecraft and Star Trek Holodeck, Artemis will prioritize user creativity and immersive multiplayer experiences. The Artemis project is the culmination of three games currently under development by Greene’s studio, PlayerUnknown Productions. The first, “Prologue,” is a realistic survival game using a world-generation engine trained on NASA Earth data. It is available for testing and expected to launch in 2025. The second, which is currently unnamed, will focus on large-scale multiplayer worlds featuring millions of characters. Both games will serve as foundational elements for Artemis. Greene’s vision for Artemis includes creating vast, interconnected digital worlds that operate on a unified protocol. He compared this feature to how web pages work on the internet. This ambitious project comes as interest in the metaverse waned after its initial hype between 2020 and 2022. Even Mark Zuckerberg’s $40 billion investment in the metaverse through his rebranded Meta platform has not yielded any substantial results. With Artemis, Greene plans to bring a fresh perspective to the metaverse concept by placing more emphasis on gameplay and user empowerment over speculative technology. Coinbase Explores Tokenized Shares for US Users on Base Coin launches have been a very hot topic in the crypto industry recently, and Coinbase is exploring the possibility of offering tokenized shares of its stock, COIN, to US users on its Ethereum layer-2 network, Base. Jesse Pollak , a developer at Base, shared on Jan. 3 through X that while COIN shares are already available to non-US users through platforms like Backed, the company is in the early stages of considering this move domestically. Pollak shared that there are currently no concrete plans as Coinbase is still busy navigating the very complex US regulatory landscape. The market for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), including securities, presents a major opportunity, with its global valuation of $30 trillion, according to Colin Butler , Polygon’s global head of institutional capital. This potential spurred a lot of interest from major players like Coinbase, which sees tokenized assets as a key part of the future. COIN stock saw impressive gains in November after Donald Trump’s presidential election victory. In fact, the price surged by over 20% to surpass $300 for the first time since 2021. Analysts attributed the rally to expectations that Trump’s administration will adopt a much more favorable stance toward the crypto industry, which could potentially ease regulatory pressures, particularly in areas like staking services. COIN price over the past 6 months (Source: Google Finance ) Despite these optimistic developments, regulatory uncertainty in the US is still a huge hurdle. Under the Biden administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursued over 100 enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies, which created challenges for industry growth. While there have been steps toward establishing a broader legislative framework, progress in the US still lags behind other jurisdictions. Community Questions Aave's USDe Pegging Proposal Meanwhile, a new proposal on Aave suggests hardcoding the price of Ethena’s USDe stablecoin to match Tether’s USDT in its pricing feeds to protect users from market fluctuations. Co-authored by Chaos Labs and LlamaRisk, the proposal aims to align USDe’s value with USDt to prevent risks of liquidation from potential price drops. The move could safeguard more than $300 million worth of USDe-backed loans on Aave, which is the largest decentralized finance lending protocol with $37 billion in total value locked. Community backlash The proposal attracted a lot of backlash from the Aave community, with critics questioning the approach and its potential risks. Some argue that pegging USDe to USDT overlooks many fundamental issues, while others suggested directly pegging it to $1 to eliminate price deviations. For now, the proposal is still in the discussion phase, and has yet to be put to a formal vote.
