Yuga Labs’ New CEO: Making Otherside a Crypto Biz Success?

The Yuga Labs leadership change has concluded after facing criticism from the community and investor concerns. Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs and creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, has taken over as CEO, replacing Daniel Alegre. Solano’s main focus will be on delivering the third playtest of Yuga Labs’ metaverse project, Otherside. The project has faced criticism and scrutiny, but Solano aims to make it a success. Yuga Labs has experienced a slump in the NFT market but believes there will be a rebound in 2024 with the integration of NFTs into gaming.

The success of Otherside is vital to the future of BAYC, according to a community member. The upcoming third playtest, scheduled for Feb. 29, is seen as a crucial milestone for Yuga Labs. In other news, Binance has announced that it will shut down leveraged token services associated with major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, and BNB. The decision includes tokens paired with Tether and will take effect on Feb. 28.

CoinShares has reported a record week of inflows for crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), pushing their combined assets under management (AUM) to levels not seen since 2021’s bull market peak. The increase in AUM is primarily due to $5.2 billion in inflows so far this year. Major contributors to these inflows are BlackRock and Fidelity’s ETFs.

The Japanese government has approved a bill that allows limited partnership (LP) firms to invest in and hold crypto assets, promoting increased domestic investments in Web3 startups. Before this approval, Japanese venture capital firms were prohibited from investing in crypto assets. The amendment is expected to lead to the emergence of more crypto and blockchain startups in Japan.

A lending platform based on Polygon aims to revolutionize how owners of luxury collectible items convert their assets into cash. The platform will utilize blockchain technology to address liquidity challenges faced by collectors, providing them with fair value and avoiding high fees.