The Oxford University Press team chose 'metaverse’ to come in as a runner-up to ‘Goblin mode’ for the word of the year in 2022. In a Dec. 4 announcement, Oxford Languages said the viral term ‘Goblin mode’ had beat out ‘metaverse’ and millions of other words to become the team’s 2022 word of the year. According to Oxford’s research, usage of the term metaverse “increased almost fourfold from the previous year in the Oxford Corpus,” driven in part by Facebook’s rebranding to Meta in October 2021. Metaverse lost first place to ‘Goblin mode,’ a phrase that went viral in February, …

In this week’s newsletter, read about how two Bored Ape nonfungible tokens (NFTs) sold for almost $1 million during the bear market and how the word “metaverse” made it into the top three finalists for Oxford Word of the Year. Check out how the metaverse can generate passive income through royalties and how NFT marketplace OpenSea has integrated BNB Chain into its platform. And, don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring COVID-19 protests in China being converted into a Polygon-based NFT collection. ‘Metaverse’ a top 3 contender for Oxford’s Word of the Year The word “metaverse” has made it through …

The word “Metaverse” is one of three in the running to be crowned the Oxford "Word of the Year” (WOTY) in a competition run by the Oxford University Press (OUP), the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary. OUP officially announced the launch of the competition and its three finalist words for 2022 on Nov. 22 with this year marking the first time the public can participate in voting for the WOTY. “Metaverse” will compete against the terms “#IStandWith” and “Goblin Mode”. 1️⃣ metaverse Usage increased as we discussed #hybrid working, debated the ethics, and wondered about the feasibility of an …

The world of digital assets saw a significant rise last year. The total cryptocurrency market cap reached $3 trillion, making more people, governments and universities take a closer look at the asset class. The presence of crypto in the world’s major economies has created a big opportunity for diverse startups in the industry, leading to a massive demand for digital assets. This newly born market has helped develop more working and educational opportunities, among other things. Furthermore, some of the world’s top universities and educational institutions including MIT, the University of Oxford and Harvard University, have added pieces of the …

The Collins Dictionary has officially announced their ten-word annual shortlist for word of 2021, as well as declaring that NFT — though technically understood to be an abbreviation for nonfungible token — has been awarded their word of the year, surpassing the likes of crypto, metaverse and hybrid working, among others. The blog post spoke frankly about the prospect of a digital revolution through a "convergence of money and the internet" which seeks to challenge and evolve traditional mediums of payment into the 21st century. Collins Dictionary defines an NFT as “a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, that …

Blockchain and data science societies from some of the world’s most prestigious universities have joined blockchain infrastructure providers like Bison Trails as founder members of the Oasis University Program. The program, announced Aug. 13, aims to highlight and popularize the Oasis Network within this student society ecosystem. The Oasis Network is a proof-of-stake blockchain designed to enable the tokenization of data, allowing users to maintain control of what data is shared and to whom. With access to technical support, tutorials and events focused on responsible data, university groups will build apps, run validators and engage in governance on the Oasis …

Singapore-based blockchain firm Zilliqa launches blockchain workshops in collaboration with Oxford University to encourage diversity in the industry. Together with Zilliqa, the Oxford Women in Computer Science Society (OxWoCS), an Oxford society that aims to support women in computer science, will carry out a series of interactive workshops called Blockchain A-Z, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Oct. 31. Winners to apply for grants to Zilliqa's $5 million Ecosystem Grant Programme According to the announcement, Blockchain A-Z will be conducted on-site at the University of Oxford and will be open to all students currently enrolled at the …

A Dec. 12 Business Law Blog post from the University of Oxford Faculty of Law notes possible repercussions for lost and stolen crypto claims following a case in a Canadian trial court earlier this year. In the post, SAFE Frankfurt researcher Grygoriy Pustovit notes the case of Copytrack Pte Ltd v Wall. The superior trial court of British Columbia ruled that Ethereum (ETH) tokens, which were mistakenly sent by the plaintiff, Singapore blockchain startup Copytrack, to the defendant, Brian Wall, must be returned to Copytrack. The defendant mistakenly received 530 Ethereum coins from Copytrack instead of 530 Copytrack (CPY) tokens …

Co-founder of BitMEX crypto exchange and an Oxford graduate Ben Delo has become Britain’s youngest self-made billionaire, Daily Mail reports July 2. Aged 34, Delo, who founded BitMEX in 2014, told Daily Mail that he used to spend 18 hours a day to build his platform. His work has apparently paid off, as BitMEX is currently one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world with a daily trade volume of around $2 billion, according to data from Coinmarketcap. “I have had my nose down in a start-up for the past four years. I was doing 18-hour days at one …