The Sandbox has announced a partnership with Ledger Enterprise in order to provide more security for enterprises within the metaverse.

In this way, enterprises will scale The Sandbox security stack and treasury management while offering seamless security integration to brand partners.

The Sandbox and Ledger together for LAND and NFT protection

The new partnership announced by The Sandbox is with Ledger Enterprise, a leading provider of infrastructure solutions for safeguarding enterprise cryptographic assets.

This partnership will offer security integration to The Sandbox’s enterprise brand partners, making it simpler and easier for brands to protect their LAND while protecting the wallet containing The Sandbox’s NFT collection

The collaboration between the two will include multiple initiatives. These include the addition of The Sandbox as a dApp on the hardware wallet, for the customers interested in owning or using LAND from The Sandbox ecosystem.

Then, the integration of a widget for The Sandbox into the Ledger Live desktop application and the building of synergies whereby The Sandbox recommends Ledger Enterprise to its ecosystem of LAND owners.

Similarly, Ledger can recommend The Sandbox to Ledger Enterprise customers who are interested in the metaverse. Finally, the migration of all NFTs in The Sandbox collection wallet to a protected Ledger Enterprise wallet for added security.

Statements regarding the Sandbox-Ledger partnership

Sebastien Borget, COO and co-founder of The Sandbox, on the recent partnership with Ledger stated the following:

“We have a long-standing relationship with Ledger and are excited to deepen our partnership to provide additional security for brands entering the metaverse. We’re making it easier for our users to log into Ledger and for Ledger customers to log into The Sandbox, which will also make it easier and safer for people and brands to thrive in the metaverse.”

On the other hand, Alex Zinder, Head of Enterprise at Ledger, said in this regard:

“Every brand that creates or stores digital assets is vulnerable to the growing attacks, scams and mismanagement we see in the wider marketplace. Sandbox works with numerous brands and helps build trust and utility for new users, which is why it places the greatest value in enabling its brand partners to be confident, and Ledger Enterprise is proud to provide the peace of mind that businesses and consumers deserve.”

Not surprisingly, The Sandbox was one of the first leaders in the industry to care about security while making the process fun for users, engaging millions of people and ensuring digital value.

In fact, Ariel Wengroff, vice president of communications, also said:

“We are so excited about the results of our educational game School of Block in The Sandbox and can’t wait to see this partnership grow across the board.”

The Sandbox (SAND) has a new rival?

The Sandbox’s native token, SAND, has recently enjoyed an impressive surge to levels no one could have predicted.

As for The Sandbox, cryptocurrency industry experts predict an average SAND rate of $0.73 for the second quarter of 2023, based on The Sandbox’s price changes at the beginning of the year.

By the conclusion of 2023, the price of Sandbox is expected to reach $0.94, an annual increase of 148%. In addition, an average of $0.82 per 1 Sandbox is expected by mid-2023.

However, the Sandbox price is expected to drop to $0.87 in the first half of 2024 and then increase by $0.03 in the second half, ending the year at $0.90, an increase of 29% above its current value.

Ledger wallet and luxury brand RTFKT announced a capsule collection at the NFT Paris: an educational collaboration to bring self-care to the masses.

Ledger wallet in partnership with RTFKT to launch capsule collection

During the NFT event in Paris, Ledger wallet and the leader in digital fashion and on-chain digital artifacts, RTFKT, announced their collaboration and new collection.

There will also be an education component to the partnership with @RTFKT branded Ledger Quests, designed and co-created with RTFKT to provide a high-quality learning experience and digital rewards. pic.twitter.com/2TrNxjP7MM

— Ledger (@Ledger) February 24, 2023

In essence, the partnership began with a physical release through a custom all-white edition of Ledger Nano S and Nano X, available for purchase as NFT and redeemable for the physical item.

Ledger wallet and RTFKT are also launching a third physical expression of their collaboration dedicated to RTFKT and Ledger Genesis holders and that is access to a limited edition Nano-case accessory. This is a super rare silver pendant with the RTFKT logo on the end caps, which will come with a Nano X.

Ledger wallet and the educational component of the partnership with RTFKT

The relationship of the two brands extends far beyond physical and virtual products for collectors, incorporating an educational component.

With their opening speech at the NFT Paris event, Ledger and RTFKT emphasize the importance of knowledge when entering the Web space3.

And indeed, with a high caliber of dedicated collectors, RTFKT decided to provide a safe and secure solution for its fans.

Joining Ledger, which is the leader in Web3 security, RTFKT is pushing luxury into its next iteration, providing an example of uncompromising innovation.

In this regard, RTFKT founder Benoit Pagotto said:

“We are doubling down on education so everyone understands how to safely secure their critical digital assets. We’re super proud to continue our collaboration with Ledger and to push it to the next level with these products, allowing everyone to get into digital collectibles safely and in RTFKT style.”

Virtually every item in the RTFKT Collection sold on Ledger Market is accompanied by RTFKT’s creative approach to education, which explains how to create a Cold Wallet and how to use it to safely navigate the Web3 space. 

As their partnership continues, RTFKT will bring new and exciting highly curated niche items to the Ledger Marketplace, establishing the platform as a prime destination for innovative and high-end digital collectibles.

Hence, there are more future collaborations in the pipeline, accompanying the RTFKT Quests to items on the Ledger Marketplace, so as to bring education to the masses, demonstrating both the physical and digital aspects of the evergreen partnership and emphasizing the role of hardware in security.

Growing need for hardware wallets in the US

Recently, research by ResearchAndMarkets.com stated that there will be an increase in the need for hardware wallets in the US for years to come. This is a growth forecast with a CAGR of 26.5% over the next few years.

The cause is increased awareness regarding security, especially for proper practices of storing secret keys and then safely storing them in self-custody.

Indeed, what Ledger does and prides itself on is precisely to provide a self-custody solution through its hardware wallets, which precisely makes sure that no one but the wallet owner knows the private key and the seed of his/her wallet. 

The company’s best-selling product is the Ledger Nano S Plus, although it is not the company’s flagship product.

In fact, it is the cheapest hardware wallet that supports more than 5,000 tokens and crypto assets on different blockchains, allows staking and also supports NFTs. Not only that, the Ledger Nano S Plus is also connected to an exchange that enables buying and selling.

The increase in volumes after the collapse of FTX

Back in November, Ledger had experienced some problems due to massive outflows from the collapsed crypto-exchange FTX. 

In fact, the company had announced that it was experiencing disproportionate utilization of its platforms and was addressing scalability issues.

In essence, exchange users were driven by the “fear” of seeing their crypto-assets blocked and were turning en masse to the hardware wallet leader.

Not only that, Ledger also witnessed particularly high volumes of traffic after the failure of Celsius and after the Solana hack. 

Founded in Paris in 2014, Ledger is a global platform for digital assets and Web3. With more than 5 million devices sold to consumers in 200 countries and more than 10 languages, more than 100 financial institutions and brands as customers, 20% of the world’s crypto assets are protected, in addition to services that support trading, buying, spending, earning and NFTs.

Ledger has raffled off two Art NFTs for users who pre-order its new Stax crypto-wallet hardware. The French company continues to innovate the industry at the expense of centralized crypto-exchanges and wallets. 

Ledger Stax and the Art NFTs

Earlier this month Ledger launched its innovative new Ledger Stax crypto hardware-wallet, conceived by the designer of the legendary Apple iPod. 

During the pre-order period on Ledger’s official market site, users were also able to order the “Ledger STAX NFT Bundle” to receive 2 free Art NFTs along with the wallet. 

Specifically, this is an initial NFT called “Ledger Stax NFT,” for the purchase of a Ledger Stax on the manufacturer’s store (available starting today, Monday, 19 December 2022). And then, a second NFT, from the “Art on Ledger Stax” collection, which can be minted in March 2023.

This one from Ledger seems to be an important milestone in his ‘historical journey,’ leading the French company to continue to innovate in this rapidly evolving industry. Here are its comments on the matter:

The Ledger Stax NFT mint is now closed! All remaining tokens will be burned.

Thank you for being a part of this historic moment in Ledger’s journey.

We hope you enjoy the exclusive piece of NFT artwork, coming in March 2023!

In Ledger Stax We Trust. pic.twitter.com/sdBG043Suu

— Ledger (@Ledger) December 17, 2022

Ledger Stax: crypto and NFTs are safe

The new Ledger Stax was launched earlier this month with the aim of keeping its users’ crypto and NFTs safe, thanks to its EAL 5+ certified security elements.

What makes the new device even more convenient and straightforward is its creator Tony Fadell, an American engineer and former senior vice president of Apple’s iPod division. 

Basically, among the various peculiarities of the new Ledger Stax are a battery that can last for weeks on a single charge, Qi wireless charging, and an array of magnets for magnetic stacking. 

Not only that, a special USB-C connection allows the new Stax to connect to your computer, while with Bluetooth technology it connects to Ledger’s mobile app. The new user interface is also clearer and more intuitive. 

In general, the new hardware wallet is about the same size as a credit card, with a customizable e-ink touch screen and capacitive touch. 

Security today 

The new Ledger Stax for crypto and NFTs comes at a very delicate historical moment for the crypto community, marked precisely by the collapse of the FTX crypto-exchange.

Not surprisingly, hardware wallets allow users to be able to manage their assets by owning their private keys, something that does not happen with centralized cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets. 

For this very reason, Binance, Kraken and other popular industry players are struggling with their Proof of Reserves, which would provide assurance to their users that their funds held by the platforms are liquid. 

In the specific case of Binance, it recently appears that its Proof-of-Reserve webpage was deleted, which may not have convinced analysts. As the most popular of the crypto-exchanges is working on the case, Changpeng CZ Zhao would not elaborate on Twitter, but shared the following:

FUD is temporary. Truth last.

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) December 17, 2022

Among this week’s new NFT launches and news, we find exclusive new features such as the NFT projects of Habbo, Prada, Ledger, Sorare and Reddit. 

The digital world evolves so quickly that it is often almost impossible to follow the latest news and discover it at the right time. To be there a moment before something “explodes” economically, taking on value that most of the world had not imagined, is the dream of every modern investor. 

Habbo, Prada, Ledger, Reddit and Sorare

From the announcement of the launch of Habbo’s collections on OpenSea to Prada’s seventh NFT collection, this week was full of exclusive news for the Non Fungible Token world. In parallel, NFTs on the Reddit platform reached their all-time high in the bear market period, Lionel Messi joined Sorare’s shareholders, and Ledger assembled a ready-to-launch NFT collection. 

Here are the week’s latest news and launches regarding the world of NFTs.

HABBO X was released on 1 December

Habbo is a vintage pixel-art-style virtual community where you can create your own avatar, meet new friends, chat, build Rooms, design Games and play with other users, and much more. The Habbo X platform, focused mainly on NFTs, has been launched on 1 December. Announced as early as April 2022, Habbo X is a new fully integrated Web 3 server. The project aims to create a new hotel (in the metaverse) for socializing in a world powered by NFTs. 

With a focus on NFTs, Habbo X represents the company’s plan to focus on play-to-earn and tokenomics, where it will issue NFTs that players will be able to buy, own, or resell if they wish. Players will be able to own their own rooms in the hotel world and create their own monetized play-to-earn games.

Habbo X will become a distinct space where the Habbo and NFT communities can mingle.

Valtteri Karu, CEO of Sulake, said in an interview:

“Habbo has always been at the forefront of creating virtual communities for gamers and social creators, and we want to lead this change with the adoption of new blockchain technologies. Our goal is to maintain Habbo as a social pioneer of the endless possibilities available in the Web 3.0 metaverse.”

Prada and its new NFT collection dedicated to Christmas

Prada, in celebration of the holiday season, launched its new special sweater that is part of the Timecapsule series, a project of the brand that releases one new product per month. For the holiday season, the luxury house went all out by invoking Christmas feelings with a warm merino wool garment.

It is a luxury garment, costing $3750, which was made available for about 24 hours in only 50 pieces, in keeping with the traditions of the Timecapsule collection. Obviously, the Christmas sweater sold out in no time, partly because owning such a rarity allows one to enter the world of NFTs. In fact, each of the 50 sweaters is sold paired with an associated NFT, which will be delivered 45 days after the item’s purchase.

Reddit breaks record for minted NFTs

Good news for the Reddit platform, which breaks the record with the most minted NFTs on the platform. As many as 255,000 NFTs were minted in a single day, the number of Reddit NFT holders increased from 3.5 million to about 4.5 million. This is another major step forward for the world of NFTs, which is experiencing a remarkable moment both online and offline.

Reddit had been making headlines thanks to the staggering price increase of its NFT collections reaching excesses of 799%. The previous record of 200,000 daily mints was eclipsed bringing the number of NFT Reddit holders to 4.4 million wallets. These mostly belong to users of the social platform.

The Reddit social network is very connected with the world of cryptocurrency, with millions of users exchanging news and information regarding the ecosystem since time immemorial. Given the great interest in the crypto world on the platform, it was inevitable that the founders and managers of Reddit themselves would take an interest in this world, prompting their social network to implement a series of moves to take advantage of blockchain technology.

Ledger is planning to assemble a collection of NFTs

Ledger, a hardware wallet development company aims to launch a new collection of NFTs. The company has also created an internal working group and a non-profit fund to support artists.

The idea of diversifying its activities, through NFTs tantalizes Ledger’s mind; the desire to involve the company in more projects is a long-term goal of the executives. 

Jean Michel Pailhon, the chief curator of the Ledger NFT Art collection, sees NFTs as the next big art trend, taking the influence of the Beatles in the 1960s or rap in the 1990s as a point of comparison:

“Similarly, we believe that the 2020s will be remembered as the decade of NFTs, triggering a secular trend of mass adoption of digital art. By 2030, NFT artists will be among the most popular and successful contemporary artists.”

Leo Messi invests in Sorare and becomes ambassador

The Argentine legend has purchased an equity stake in the blockchain-based fantasy game, beginning a business partnership. Leo Messi and Sorare, one of the greatest players in soccer history and the highly successful blockchain-based fantasy game, have started a new commercial collaboration.

Indeed, La Pulga has purchased an equity stake in the French company, becoming its de facto ambassador. This new partnership will lead to the striker providing content and experiences for fans on the non-fungible token (NFT) trading platform, with the huge spotlight given by the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in the background.

Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare, said:

“We believe Messi will help us set new standards in the way we do this work, and we look forward to sharing soon the new content and fan experiences we are collaborating on.”