Blockchain
The Sandbox Attracts Strategic Gaming & Silicon Valley Partners to build Virtual Lands in its NFT Metaverse
Uken Games, Bill Lee, Ken Howery, Galaxy Interactive, Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini Frontier Fund, Nifty Gateway, Avenged Sevenfold, and others entered into strategic partnerships to acquire LAND and build experiences in The Sandbox’s NFT-based metaverse
The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands and the leading decentralized social metaverse platform, announced that it has added multiple partners from the NFT, investment, and music industries to its growing list of partners. As with previous partners, the new entrants have joined in The Sandbox’s virtual real estate by acquiring LAND NFTs in the open metaverse and committed to building experiences across the metaverse. To celebrate the new partners, The Sandbox will launch a new LAND sale on April 14 that allows players to purchase choice spots near partner LANDS.
The partners who acquired LAND in The Sandbox’s metaverse include crypto projects such as Nifty Gateway, 21x, and Gemini, as well as renowned Silicon Valley based VCs and investment partners including Galaxy Interactive (Global gaming VC and investors in over 50 companies across the interactive landscape, including RTFKT, Bitski, Mythical Games, Immutable, and WHALE), Bill Lee (Co-Founder of Craft Ventures, former Board Director of Big Fish Games, and early investor in Cloud9, Coinbase, Opensea, and Tesla), Ken Howery (Co-Founder and former managing partner at Founders Fund, Co-Founder of PayPal), Sundeep Madra (Serial entrepreneur and investor), Gemini Frontier Fund (Founded by Tyler & Cameron Winklevoss), Chris Ye (CEO of Uken Games and creator of top-grossing mobile games Bingo Pop, Ava’s Manor, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire), Alex Reece (Early investor in Unity, Draft Kings and Lyft), Michael Witz (Founder of Redemption Games and creator of top-grossing mobile games Cookie Jam and Sweet Escapes), Edward Saatchi (Founder of Virtual Beings company Fable) and Patricio Fuks (Serial Entrepreneur & Investor), and heavy metal band, Avenged Sevenfold.
“As a vibrant, growing NFT-based gaming metaverse, The Sandbox is attracting strong and diverse new partners each day, from gaming studios to IP brands to artists to celebrities to visionary entrepreneurs to technology companies,” said Sebastien BORGET, COO & Co-Founder of The Sandbox. “We’re shaping our virtual world to be an experience rich place where partners can plant a flag with virtual destination experiences on their LANDS in a powerful new entertainment community where creators, players and brands can build and grow alongside each other.”
The involvement of the partners announced follows the beta launch of The Sandbox’s NFT marketplace, which gives anyone the opportunity to earn SAND, The Sandbox’s utility token, by monetizing voxel-based NFT creations created with the dedicated software VoxEdit. Each NFT can be used inside the game platform in the future or used to build custom game experiences. LAND NFTs are the main gateway to publishing games in The Sandbox, as the platform prepares for opening its first public beta for players later this year. The Sandbox was recently featured by the Wall Street Journal and CNBC as a pioneer in the space.
The Sandbox is becoming a prime entertainment destination where brands, IPs, and celebrities can engage with their fans and offer virtual experiences including games, live performances, and social experiences. Brands will coexist through neighboring lands, able to function as digital concert arenas, theme parks, or malls that users of The Sandbox can visit and experience by themselves or with friends. Reflecting on this potential, partner VCs, investors, and celebrity brands share their thoughts below on what attracted them to The Sandbox:
“We have been tracking the progress of The Sandbox ecosystem from its earliest days, and have been impressed by the founding team’s consistent execution towards their mission of developing a community-owned sandbox of creativity and fun. We are delighted to do our part to develop the community through the land we’ve acquired, directly and through our portfolio companies, and cannot wait to witness how the broader ecosystem evolves,” said Richard Kim, GP at Galaxy Interactive.
“Gaming is a killer use case for the metaverse, and The Sandbox is the only metaverse tuned for high-quality games with a decentralized monetization ecosystem for developers, asset makers, and passionate gamers,” said Bill Lee, Co-Founder of Craft Ventures. “21x will be developing all of our parcels into THE premiere gaming destinations across any metaverse — stay tuned!“
“The Sandbox is revolutionizing gaming by empowering users to build, own, and monetize their gaming experiences in a virtual world that is decentralized,” said Tyler Winklevoss, Co-Founder of Gemini Exchange. “We plan to extend our existing platforms into The Sandbox and develop unique experiences on our properties that advance our mission of empowering the individual through crypto.”
“We have officially purchased LAND in The Sandbox and are excited to build out a virtual space for our friends to explore,” said heavy metal band, Avenged Sevenfold. “Digital ownership and the metaverse have become increasingly interesting to us and The Sandbox felt like the right fit to enter this new world.”
Upcoming LAND Sale
The Sandbox’s upcoming LAND sale event on April 14th, 2021 will offer additional premium LAND located near the partners announced today. Each purchasable LAND will include exclusive premium NFTs and have the possibility to host events, gaming experiences, or social hubs when the game is released later in 2021. The Sandbox has already sold 45% of its 166,464 LAND NFTs, releasing them in successive waves that usually sell out in seconds. Existing LAND owners include Binance, CoinCheck, Metakovan, Pranksy, Socios, and CoinMarketCap among others.
The Sandbox has secured over 60 partnerships, including The Smurfs, Care Bears, Atari, CryptoKitties, and Shaun the Sheep, to build a fun, creative “play-to-earn” platform that offers virtual worlds and game experiences owned and created by players. The play-to-earn model gives players true ownership of anything they collect in the game, allowing them to trade it to other players (including outside the game on other websites), transfer it to other players, or even resell it.
The Sandbox is scheduled to launch its full Alpha for players in Q2 2021, enabling anyone to experience a social hub and gain the power to build a fantastic collection of fantasy and role-playing adventures that can be traded as NFTs with other players, creators, and artists on the platform.
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Blockchain
RPM APPOINTS WEB3 EXPERT STEVE WHYMAN TO LEAD ON BLOCKCHAIN STRATEGY
RPM, the specialist in retail and online betting and gaming, has announced that it has bolstered its digital markets capabilities with the appointment of Steve Whyman as Director of Web3 & Crypto.
Whyman joins RPM with a mandate to shape the credible adoption of blockchain technology within the global gaming industry, and will assist partners with a unique, high-level consultancy service that helps deliver faster routes to market using decentralised offerings and tokens.
This appointment internalises Steve Whyman’s institutional pedigree, having spent 25 years in senior trading and leadership roles with industry giants including Amundi, Aviva, and BlackRock, while he most recently served as Head of Debt Capital Markets at Fidelity International where he oversaw the $90bn fixed income primary markets portfolio and led the tokenisation of the firm’s money market fund.
With the added, potent combination of Web3 experience as founder and CEO at Fulminata Solutions, a digital capital markets boutique working with Layer-1 blockchains and prominent stablecoins, Whyman is well-positioned to translate digital finance innovations into practical gaming applications for RPM partners.
During his time at Fulminata Solutions, Whyman has established himself as a thought leader in the Web3 space with specific expertise in the Solana ecosystem. He currently serves as a Strategic Advisor to KEEL.FI, the largest allocator on Solana, and his new role will see this knowhow utilised to provide the gaming sector with a more seamless path to new business models, improved transparency, and new sustainable growth opportunities.
Richard Thorp, Founder at RPM, said: “Appointing Steve is a landmark moment for us as we take a major step forward in delivering on Web3’s promise. His background is exceptional. Blending the rigour of institutional finance and a first-rate, hands-on understanding of decentralised markets, we’re hugely confident that our partners will be able to reap the benefits of his expertise in bridging to new product and market opportunities in the space.”
Steve Whyman, RPM’s new Director of Web3 and Crypto, added: “I’m thrilled to join RPM at a pivotal time as the gaming industry moves beyond speculative Web3 trends towards implementing genuine utility. My focus will be on delivering major new value opportunities to clients in digital finance through consulting on various product improvements, such as instant settlement opportunities, smoother payment rails or executing on innovative, tokenised growth models.
“By fostering partnerships between RPM, our clients, and the leading, high-performance Layer-1 blockchains, we have a massive opportunity to build igaming-led systems that improve transparency, operational efficiency, and, critically, improve the bottom line, and working alongside Rich and the team, we’re in a strong position to genuinely lead Web3 gaming innovation from the front.”
The post RPM APPOINTS WEB3 EXPERT STEVE WHYMAN TO LEAD ON BLOCKCHAIN STRATEGY appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Blockchain
GR8 Tech Launches Crypto Turnkey: High-Value iGaming Platform for Global Expansion
GR8 Tech has officially unveiled its Crypto Turnkey solution, a comprehensive platform designed to give iGaming operators a modern, multi-wallet infrastructure for global expansion. By integrating native multi-currency support from day one, the solution eliminates the need for third-party crypto vendors and complex technical integrations.
According to Denys Parkhomenko, CPO at GR8 Tech, the shift toward crypto is no longer optional for operators looking to dominate.
“Industry data shows crypto players deposit 35-50% more and bet with 40-60% higher frequency than traditional players,” says Parkhomenko. “The operators winning their markets are the ones acting on that data now, not waiting. We built Crypto Turnkey to make that move simple.”
Eliminating Payment Provider Bottlenecks
One of the most significant hurdles for modern iGaming businesses is the dependency on traditional payment providers. Regulatory hurdles or provider outages can delay launches or halt active businesses.
Crypto Turnkey removes these bottlenecks, allowing for:
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Faster Market Entry: Go live quickly without waiting for lengthy traditional payment approvals.
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Operational Stability: Payment uptime is controlled by the operator, ensuring a 24/7 uninterrupted revenue flow.
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Full Compliance: The platform supports over 15 popular cryptocurrencies (including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT) while maintaining strict KYC and responsible gambling standards through existing GR8 Tech modules.
Designed for the VIP Experience
High-stakes players are the lifeblood of the industry. In 2025, VIP players accounted for 47% of total turnover across GR8 Tech’s verticals. These users increasingly demand the privacy, speed, and high transaction limits that only blockchain can provide.
The Crypto Turnkey multi-wallet system provides the flexibility these premium segments expect:
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Single Account, Multiple Currencies: Players can hold and switch between currencies instantly.
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No Conversion Friction: Deposit and withdraw in crypto without losing value to unnecessary exchange fees.
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Real-time Calculations: For games requiring fiat denominations, the system automatically handles balance segregation and exchange rate calculations.
Lower Fees and Zero Chargeback Risks
The economic advantages of the Crypto Turnkey solution are clear. While traditional fiat transactions typically cost between 2.5% and 5%, GR8 Tech’s solution slashes these costs to approximately 0.5%.
Furthermore, because blockchain transactions are irreversible, operators can say goodbye to chargeback fraud and the administrative nightmare of dispute management. Settlement times are also reduced from the standard 3-5 business days to just 10-30 minutes.
The Platform for Champions
When combined with the broader GR8 Tech ecosystem—including AI-driven personalization, advanced CRM tools, and geo-specific “Champion setups”—the Crypto Turnkey solution becomes a powerful engine for maximizing player lifetime value.
The solution is now available globally. New operators can deploy it as a complete turnkey package, while existing GR8 Tech clients can activate crypto capabilities without any additional technical integration.
Meet GR8 Tech at ICE 2026
Are you ready to unlock the potential of the “Platform for Champions” in crypto mode?
Book a meeting with the GR8 Tech team at ICE 2026 to discuss how we can accelerate your success in person at Booth 1C50 in Barcelona.
The post GR8 Tech Launches Crypto Turnkey: High-Value iGaming Platform for Global Expansion appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Blockchain
Tequity and MINT Partner to Launch Bespoke, Branded “Originals” for Crypto-First Gaming
Tequity, the premium technology partner for custom iGaming solutions, has announced a landmark partnership with MINT, the upcoming AI-driven, crypto-first operator platform. Under the agreement, Tequity will supply its suite of Originals—fast, provably fair house games—which will be fully customized to reflect the MINT brand identity.
The collaboration centers on the “Originals” category, which has evolved from a niche preference to a foundational product for modern crypto-first brands. These games are designed for high-frequency play, making them a significant driver of player engagement and volume.
A New Standard in Fully Brandable House Games
Tequity’s Originals allow operators to launch 16 diverse house games—including popular formats like Crash, Mines, and Plinko—built on a technical stack optimized for speed and stability.
Through this partnership, MINT will move beyond off-the-shelf content, utilizing Tequity’s modular RGS and partner-ready tooling to create a “native” feel. Key features of the rollout include:
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Complete Brand Control: Full customization of the UX/UI to match MINT’s aesthetic.
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Provably Fair Infrastructure: Transparent, blockchain-verified mechanics that align with MINT’s Web3 roadmap.
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Streamer-Friendly Design: Fast-paced gameplay loops optimized for the burgeoning live-streaming community.
Strategic Vision: Launching the Next Generation of Web3 Gaming
The partnership comes as MINT prepares for its official February launch, positioning itself as a platform that prioritizes product quality over speculative hype. By integrating Tequity’s performance-driven infrastructure, MINT can deliver a premium, localized content suite from day one.
“MINT gets full branding control to make the games feel truly their own, while we provide the underlying performance and reliability,” said Dominic Sawyer, VP Growth at Tequity. “They are building a new kind of operator platform that combines a strong iGaming core with a Web3 roadmap, and we’re excited to be their technical foundation.”
Zak Manhire, CEO of MINT, added: “For us, Originals aren’t just another game category, they’re a foundation. Tequity gives us a very strong technical base, and we’ll push it hard—iterating quickly and building new games together as one. We treat our partners as collaborators, not service providers.”
The post Tequity and MINT Partner to Launch Bespoke, Branded “Originals” for Crypto-First Gaming appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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