The Basilisk V3 Pro brings wireless back to Razer’s claw-shaped mouse

The Basilisk V3 Pro looks a lot like the wired model. | Image: Razer

Razer has just announced a new model of its Basilisk gaming mouse. Dubbed the Basilisk V3 Pro, the shape and layout of the V3 Pro are virtually identical to the standard V3, with its claw-shaped design and 11 programmable inputs, and includes some of the hardware improvements that we saw with the standard Basilisk V3 — namely Razer’s new optical switches, RGB underglow, and a scroll wheel that can dynamically shift between tactile and free-spin modes based on how fast you spin it. The V3 Pro also brings a couple of new upgrades by including wireless connectivity and a more powerful 30K DPI sensor. The release of the V3 Pro also brings with it Razer’s new wireless charging dock, which adds options for wireless charging and a 4K Hz polling...

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Galadriel takes no prisoners in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s newest trailer

Morfydd Clark as Galadriel. | Amazon Studios

Almost as if in response to House of the Dragon’s fixation with the brutalization of its female characters, the latest trailer for Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a reminder that a woman’s place can also be on the battlefield.

Though The Rings of Power’s an ensemble show spotlighting many of the historic figures who rose up to fight Sauron as he first began coming into power during Middle Earth’s Second Age, it’s also an exploration of how Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) became a legend. In the new trailer, it’s the death of Galadriel’s brother — likely her elder brother Finrod (Will Fletcher) — that pushes her to pick up a sword and set out on an adventure that brings her face to face with people like Dwarven Prince...

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Hisense’s brilliant 55-inch U8H Series TV just received its first discount

Hisense’s U8H LED TV is nearly half off today at Best Buy. | Image: Hisense

If you’re in the market for an excellent 4K TV — whether to game or enjoy fantasy epics like HBO’s House of the Dragon and the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV show — Best Buy is currently selling Hisense’s new U8H Series TV in the 55-inch configuration for just $699.99 ($450 off). This is the best price we’ve seen on one of the more premium offerings in Hisense’s 2022 “ULED” TV lineup, which sits just underneath the brighter U9H Series.

In terms of features, the Mini LED TV sports a speedy 120Hz refresh rate and built-in support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can issue voice commands whether you’re embedded in Amazon or Google’s ecosystem. It also includes support for Dolby Vision and HDR10 Plus, along with...

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The best deals on Nintendo Switch games right now

Right now, there are discounts on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and a handful of other essential Switch titles.

The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular consoles ever released, one with an ever-expanding library of games to choose from. Odds are if a game is capable of working on the Switch’s hardware, it’s either already available or it will be soon.

Thankfully, a number of games are currently receiving price breaks if you’re looking to expand your collection, including first-gen offerings like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and remasters likeTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. However, if you want to add some less conventional titles to your collection, undead simulator Stubbs the Zombie and the cell-shaped beat’em up Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game are also discounted right now.

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the deals on...

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These new wireless PS5 headsets from Turtle Beach don’t make much sense

Turtle Beach announced PlayStation versions of its flagship Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max ($199.95) and the slightly less feature-filled Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max ($129.95) wireless gaming headsets. They’re available to preorder now, and they’ll release on October 2nd, 2022. These are almost identical to the Xbox-specific version released earlier in 2022 down to some of the same colorway options, consisting of all black with some silver accents or blue with bronze accents. But there’s one big change in the newer PlayStation-specific versions that I think might actually disappoint some gamers who aren’t in the know: the wireless audio transmitter isn’t compatible with Xbox.

Looking back at the Stealth 700 and 600 Gen 2 Max editions for Xbox, the...

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The Uber of ghost kitchens sucks, apparently

CloudKitchens is owned by Uber founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick. | Stephen Lam / The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

For some budding restauranteurs, CloudKitchens might sound like a great opportunity to get off the ground. The service, owned by Uber founder and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick, promises restaurateurs delivery-only kitchens in rented warehouse spaces with low startup fees. But a report from Insider reveals that many CloudKitchens operators are struggling to keep their business alive due to a lack of both safety and technical support.

One restauranteur told Insider she was met with a clogged sink and filthy oven hood during her first day on the job. That wasn’t all — she also had to deal with a clogged toilet, faulty sink, and a pile of garbage in her parking lot, contradicting the on-site maintenance, cleaning, and trash services CloudKitchens...

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VW strikes a deal with Canada to build EV batteries in North America

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Volkswagen signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian government to “explore opportunities” to bring some of its electric vehicle battery manufacturing to the country.

The move is seen as an effort to ensure that the automaker’s plug-in vehicles qualify for the US’s revamped EV tax credits, which place stricter requirements on where battery and vehicle manufacturing can be done.

VW says it plans to build a “dedicated Gigafactory” somewhere in North America, and today’s agreement most likely increases Canada’s chances of being selected as the location.

VW says it plans to build a “dedicated Gigafactory” somewhere in North America

The automaker is tasking its battery supply management company, Power Co, with spearheading the...

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Damning claims about Twitter’s bots and security lapses are ‘a false narrative,’ says CEO

Laura Normand / The Verge

This morning CNN and The Washington Post reported new whistleblower claims by Twitter’s former head of security, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, that the company’s statistics on bot activity are misleading, its security approach sucks, and that execs aren’t incentivized to look further.

The timing of the report is key, given Elon Musk’s arguments about why he should be allowed to break his agreement to buy Twitter for $44 billion, and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has responded to the charges in an email sent to employees, posted to Twitter by CNN reporter Donie O’Sullivan.

NEW: First time Twitter CEO @paraga weighs in on whistleblower story.

Sending this message to staff this morning. pic.twitter.com/WY4TCqbA5q

— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) August...

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How to edit fitness goals on your Apple Watch and iPhone

Your rings shouldn’t be arbitrary. They should reflect your lifestyle and fitness goals. | Samar Haddad / The Verge

Apple makes a big deal out of closing your rings, but sometimes we all need a little help doing that. Whether you’re injured and need a rest day or want to challenge yourself, you can edit your fitness goals directly from your Apple Watch or iPhone.

The three rings Apple uses are the red Move ring, the green Exercise ring, and the blue Stand ring. When you set up your Apple Watch, your Move goal is automatically set based on your demographic data, such as height, weight, age, and gender. The default Exercise and Stand goals are 30 minutes and 12 hours, respectively. These rings used to be limited to Apple Watch owners, but starting with iOS 16, Apple’s making the Fitness app available to all iPhone users.

These are fine goals, but they...

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Twitch will now let partners stream on YouTube and Facebook

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The days of Twitch partner exclusivity are over. Twitch told partnered streamers in an email this morning that the platform was lifting its long-standing exclusivity agreement that denied partners the ability to stream on other services. Partners will now be able to stream on YouTube, Facebook Live, and other platforms — though in some cases, Twitch still limits what they’re able to do.

“Starting today, you are now allowed to create live content on other platforms,” Twitch wrote to streamers.

In the email, Twitch recognized that streamers use multiple platforms to connect with their communities and said this move would grant them greater flexibility to grow those audiences off-platform. Content creators can now go live on other platforms...

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How microbes could help dye your next pair of blue jeans

Blue jeans are an iconic staple of just about any wardrobe. But all that denim has a dirty secret: the dye that makes blue jeans so ubiquitous is actually made from fossil fuels and toxic chemicals. For thousands of years, when humans wanted to get a deep blue color, they used natural indigo from Indigofera plants. But in 1897, German chemists started selling a cheaper synthetic version for industrial use. Most pairs of jeans today are dyed with synthetic indigo.

It’s hard to say just how many jeans are made each year, but most estimates are in the billions. To get that blue color, over 70,000 tons of indigo dye are made each year. When the dye (and garment dyes in general) isn’t handled properly, it can end up polluting waterways,...

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SteelSeries’ new Arena gaming speakers come in three flavors: big, huge, and massive

The mid-tier SteelSeries Arena 7 includes screen-mimicking RGB lighting and a subwoofer (not pictured). | Image: SteelSeries

SteelSeries is introducing a new line of gaming-focused desktop PC speakers that provide booming sound and options for RGB lighting and 5.1 surround. The new SteelSeries Arena speakers are split into three different products — Arena 3, Arena 7, and Arena 9 — offering options ranging from simple to more ornate setups. I got to try out the Arena 3 and Arena 7, which I envision most people opting for over the pricey top-tier model. Here’s what they’re all about.

Starting at the bottom, the $129.99 Arena 3 is a no-frills two-channel arrangement with four-inch drivers for PCs, Macs, and other devices via its 3.5mm connection. The Arena 7 takes the base speakers and adds programmable RGB lighting, a floor-standing subwoofer, and PlayStation...

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SteelSeries’ new Nova 7 Wireless actually costs less than the Xbox Series S

Don’t let the colorway fool you. The Xbox-styled Nova 7X Wireless works with the same consoles and platforms as the other colorways. | Image: SteelSeries

The barrier to entry for SteelSeries’ flagship wireless gaming headset, the Nova Pro Wireless, is quite high at $350. That price will likely be worth it to some people, but if you’re cool with getting just a fraction of that headset’s features in a $179.99 package, the Nova 7 Wireless has your name on it. It’s missing swappable batteries, active noise cancellation, and the handy wireless base station for making quick adjustments. But it keeps some of the Nova Pro Wireless’ most important features, like the simultaneous multisource audio coming in from Bluetooth and its 2.4GHz USB-C audio transmitter.

Along with some even more affordable wired headsets that SteelSeries is announcing today, the Nova 7 riffs on the Pro’s refreshed design,...

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Twitter’s former security chief says company lied about bots and safety

A tough day for Twitter. | Alex Castro / The Verge

Twitter has hidden negligent security practices, misled federal regulators about its safety, and failed to properly estimate the number of bots on its platform, according to testimony from the company’s former head of security, the legendary hacker-turned-cybersecurity-expert Peiter “Mudge” Zatko. The explosive allegations could have huge consequences, including federal fines and the potential unravelling of Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter.

Zatko was fired by Twitter in January, and claims that this was retaliation for his refusal to stay quiet about the company’s vulnerabilities. Last month, he filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that accuses Twitter of deceiving shareholders and violating an agreement it...

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YouTube TV update will reportedly let you watch four channels at once

YouTube TV’s interface as of February 2021. | Image: Google

YouTube TV, Google’s take on cable TV, could soon let viewers watch up to four live streams simultaneously in a new feature called “Mosaic Mode” reports Protocol. That’s according to a non-public presentation Google gave to its smart TV hardware partners, in which the search giant also discussed optimizations coming for YouTube Shorts on the big screen, as well as new YouTube Music functionality.

Mosaic Mode brings to mind a similar feature that was available with Sony’s now-defunct PlayStation Vue service. Although it was announced in a presentation for Google TV and Android TV hardware manufacturers, Protocol notes that the feature is likely to eventually arrive on non-Android smart TVs from Samsung and LG given that Google likes to...

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Microsoft might finally simplify its Windows 11 update names

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Microsoft could be preparing to name its next big OS update as the “Windows 11 2022 Update.” References to this naming have appeared in near-final versions of the next big Windows 11 release, currently named 22H2. Twitter user XenoPanther spotted the Windows 11 2022 Update naming in the Get Started app that appears when you setup a new PC.

The naming could simply be a placeholder, or it could indicate Microsoft is finally simplifying its often confusing update names for Windows. We’ve seen a variety of names over the years, including the Creators Update naming for a big Windows 10 update, more mundane naming like the Windows 10 May 2021 Update, and more recently the Windows 10 21H2 moniker.

Microsoft had considered naming its updates...

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Instagram is prototyping a BeReal murder clone

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Meta has confirmed that it’s internally prototyping a new Instagram feature that’s suspiciously similar to BeReal, the social media app that’s recently exploded in popularity. The so-called “IG Candid” feature discovered by leaker Alessandro Paluzzi mirrors BeReal by prompting the user to share an authentic photo at a random time each day.

My colleague Casey Newton has taken to calling these imitators “murder clones,” because of how they appear designed to neutralize upstarts by imitating their killer features.

Paluzzi posted a screenshot with Instagram’s description of how the feature could work. “Add other’s IG Candid to your story tray. And everyday at a different time, get a notification to capture and share a Photo in 2 Minutes,”...

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Engineer admits he stole trade secrets while working on the Apple Car

He could face up to 10 years in prison. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Xiaolang Zhang has pled guilty to stealing trade secrets from Apple, where he worked on a self-driving car project from 2015 to 2018 (via CNBC). When he quit his job at Apple, he told his supervisor that he was going to work for Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology, a Chinese EV startup also known as Xpeng.

During an investigation, which you can read more about here, Apple determined that he had transferred around 24GB of “highly problematic” data to his wife’s laptop via AirDrop, and had also taken circuit boards and a server from the company’s autonomous vehicle lab.

The terms of Zhang’s plea agreement aren’t publicly available, but according to a court document uploaded by CNBC (pdf), Zhang pled guilty to the single theft of trade...

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Amazon is fixing the AC at a warehouse where a worker died on Prime Day

An investigation into the incident is ongoing. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon is reportedly installing new air conditioning equipment and additional fans at its EWR9 warehouse in New Jersey, according to a report by NBC News. This comes after Reynaldo Mota Frias, a worker at the facility, died on July 13th, during the Prime Day rush, on a day when temperatures rose to 92 degrees. Amazon reportedly blames Frias’ death on “a personal medical condition” and denies reports that he told managers he was feeling unwell. An investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (or OSHA) is listed as ongoing.

Another employee at EWR9 told NBC that the warehouse gets hot, even in areas that have fans. The company has faced criticism from workers before about how it handles workloads during the i...

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HBO calls House of the Dragon its biggest premiere ever, with nearly 10 million US viewers

House of the Dragon | Image: HBO

Despite glitches for some people trying to watch via Fire TV Sticks, HBO announced that the first episode of its Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon recorded the network’s biggest premiere of all time, recording 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max streaming on Sunday night in the US alone.

The original Game of Thrones series closed out its run with 13.7 million live viewers on linear channels for the finale in 2019, clocking over 19 million views with the addition of streaming and video-on-demand numbers. According to HBO, ahead of the Dragon premiere, interest in the original series — with the entire series now available for streaming in 4K on HBO Max — spiked, drawing a weekly average in streaming for August that...

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The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake has a new developer

Saber Interactive had been helping out, and now it’s reportedly taking over. | Image: Sony

Embracer Group is moving development on the upcoming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) remake for PS5 and PC from Aspyr Media to a Saber Interactive studio in Eastern Europe, according to Bloomberg.

The game, announced last September in a short trailer during a Sony showcase, was originally being made by Aspyr, which is known for its ports of KOTOR and KOTOR II. But development on the remake was paused after a demo was shown to Lucasfilm and Sony, Bloomberg reported in July.

Saber had been helping with development on the remake, but a cryptic statement in Embracer’s earnings report last week seemed to suggest that Saber could be officially taking over. “One of the Group’s AAA projects has transitioned to another studio...

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Sony says the PlayStation VR2 is coming in early 2023

The PlayStation VR2 | Image: Sony

Sony’s PlayStation VR2 headset is coming in “early 2023,” according to posts the company made on Twitter and Instagram. Sony has been trickling information out about the upcoming headset over the past several months, and now we have at least a timeframe for when we can expect to get our hands on the hardware.

While the company released details of the headset’s design earlier this year, it still hasn’t announced a price. It is, however, promising a lot for the PlayStation VR2 — it’ll feature displays that add up to 4K resolution and that can run at 90 or 120Hz, have a 110-degree field of view, and use foveated rendering, which renders certain parts of the image as sharper than others to make things easier for the computer (or, in this...

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Apple’s M2-powered 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros could arrive early next year

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

We may need to wait longer for the 3nm MacBook than we’d previously hoped. New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are on the horizon, according to a new prediction from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, but they’re unlikely to be the 3nm process. Refreshes of the excellent professional MacBooks “will enter mass production” in Q4 of 2022, Kuo tweeted this morning.

Kuo’s intel indicates that they “may still adopt the 5nm advanced node,” which is the same process node that the recent M2 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models use. That would, if true, mean that Apple’s first 3nm MacBook chips, also rumored to be entering production later this year, will not debut in these machines.

New 14" and 16" MacBook Pro with new processors will enter mass production...

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Intel needs 7,000 workers to build its $20 billion chip plant in Ohio

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Intel is building what it claims is the “largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet” in Ohio, and it’s going to need 7,000 workers to construct it, according to a report from the Associated Press. However, a labor shortage affecting the construction industry could make it hard to recruit the workers it needs for the $20 billion job, and competition for workers could slow the pace of homebuilding in the area which is needed to support the growing workforce that Intel’s plant is supposed to attract.

Intel first announced the Ohio project in January of this year and is on track to begin construction in late 2022. Once finished, the 1,000-acre site will house two factories, or fabs, and employ at least 3,000 people. But it has...

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Watch this laser-guided knife throwing machine nail 10 in a row

It looks like something out of a video game, but this gadget is real: a portable, mechanical, computerized, laser-guided knife gun that actually throws spinning knives end over end through the air (via Gizmodo).

This isn’t some slingshot or spiral Kunai shooter that flings those blades straight ahead, oh no — Quint Builds set out to build a gadget that can accurately throw knives just like a pro, nailing a target 10 times in a row at different distances. That meant painstakingly calculating how to spin a knife the right number of times to land tip-first, again and again and again — and employing a homemade lidar laser guidance system to measure that distance and adjust the knife’s trajectory accordingly.

Otherwise, a knife might...

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Make your back-to-school routine better with these smart home tricks

Amazon Alexa’s Routines, which play from devices like this Echo dot speaker, help my family get out of bed and stay on track in the mornings. | Image: Amazon

This week, my kids headed back to school. For most parents, that means a weekend spent buying composition notebooks and Ticonderoga pencils and unearthing moldy lunchboxes from last year’s book bag (just me?). In my household, it also means reenabling all my back-to-school smart home routines.

I’ve been using my smart home as an extra pair of parental eyes and ears for years now, and I think all parents need some home automation in their lives. The little things the smart home does well — lights that turn on when you walk into a room, a TV you can shut down with just your voice, a doorbell that shows you who’s there — are so much more useful when you are also juggling little people and their various demands.

(A caveat to all this: I use...

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eBay is acquiring TCGplayer, one of the largest trading card marketplaces

eBay and TCGplayer logos. | Image: eBay

eBay will acquire TCGplayer, an online marketplace for trading cards, the companies announced today. The deal, worth up to $295 million, marks eBay’s latest push into the growing trading card market, which experienced a huge boom during the pandemic.

TCGplayer is a popular buying and selling platform for trading card games like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic: The Gathering. The company also provides seller tools and services, including storage and order fulfillment. In announcing the purchase, eBay described trading card games as an “attractive category” with “substantial growth.”

“This new chapter allows us to continue operating independently within eBay, while also benefiting from their decades of industry experience and resources to...

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The PlayStation 5 is available right now through Sony

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

You’re in luck if you’re still trying to nab a PlayStation 5 as Sony is once again selling the console just days after holding its last restock event. Right now, you can buy the standard, disc-based console with a digital copy of Horizon Forbidden West for $549.99. You’ll also get free shipping if you buy either a PS5 game or select controllers with your purchase.

We can’t guarantee you’ll be able to nab the PS5, but there are a few things you can do to give yourself a better shot in the future if you don’t manage to secure one today. For one, most of Sony’s restock events require you to enter an online queue prior to making a purchase, which is why you should make sure you’ve logged into your Sony and PlayStation Network account in...

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France is giving €4,000 to people who trade in their car for an e-bike

Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP via Getty Images

France’s government increased the size of the subsidy it offers to people who trade in their gas-powered cars for electric bikes to as much as €4,000 (approx. $3,976) per person, according to The Times. The money is meant to incentivize people to ditch their polluting modes of transportation in favor of cleaner, more environmentally friendly alternatives.

People who live in low-income households in low-emission urban zones that trade in their cars are eligible for the full €4,000 subsidy to put toward the purchase of an e-bike. (Traditional, non-motorized bikes also qualify for the incentive.) French citizens from higher income brackets can claim smaller subsidies.

The French government has said it wants 9 percent of the country to...

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NFT copyright is still a total mess, says report

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are sold on the promise of “ownership,” but a new review suggests many creators and buyers still have no idea what that means. A review from blockchain investment company Galaxy Digital finds that only one of the 25 most valuable NFT projects even tries to give buyers direct intellectual property rights to the underlying art, and many offer confusing or nebulous licenses despite recent efforts to clean up the space.

The Galaxy report analyzes the terms of major NFT projects, including the Yuga Labs project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Gary Vaynerchuk’s VeeFriends, and World of Women as well as the “metaverse” social platforms Decentraland and Sandbox. It concludes that “the vast majority of NFTs convey zero...

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