Welcome to the OpenSea digest. Let’s look back through the biggest NFT and web3 news of the week.

Christie’s sale of Messi digital artwork tops $1.8 million

Leading auction house Christie’s sold Living Memory: Messi – A Goal in Life for $1.87 million, marking the second-highest auction result for the acclaimed new media artist Refik Anadol. 

The piece reimagines a famous 2009 goal handpicked by Lionel Messi, the Argentine soccer legend and current Inter Miami star. It uses slow-motion footage and AI visuals tracing the footballer’s movements, heartbeat, and voice.

According to a tweet, the exhibition drew 3,500 visitors in just 10 days and generated nearly 1,000 press stories with more than 64 million views.

Proceeds will allegedly support educational programs across Latin America through the Inter Miami CF Foundation, highlighting how high-profile athletes and digital art creators continue to intersect in the NFT market.

Telegram expands TON Wallet to US users

Telegram has opened access to its TON Wallet for U.S. users, allowing a reported 87 million people to store, send, and purchase cryptocurrency inside the messaging app.

First launched abroad in 2023, the wallet is part of The Open Network, a blockchain project originally developed by Telegram and now maintained by outside contributors.

The wallet was built by The Open Platform, a startup that also created the NFT platform Getgems and token exchange STON.fi.

With support from the TON Foundation and payment partner MoonPay, the launch marks a key expansion for Telegram’s growing suite of blockchain-based tools.

‘Transmissions from Dullsville’ series debuts on YouTube

Doodles, the NFT-driven creative studio, has launched Transmissions from Dullsville, a weekly YouTube series set in a fictional post-industrial town where ordinary life becomes unexpectedly funny. 

The debut comes on the heels of Doodles winning Silver at the Collision Awards for two recent animations, Not in the Store, a music video with Coi Leray and Pharrell Williams, and Dullsville and the Doodleverse, a short film under 40 minutes. 

Doodles describes this new series as the next step in building a slate of original content designed to reach wider audiences while staying true to the quirky Dullsville world. Viewers can watch the premiere and the award-winning films now on the official Doodles YouTube channel.

Ledger launches physical backup key for crypto wallets

Crypto security company Ledger announced on X that its new Ledger Recovery Key, a physical backup card designed to restore access to digital items, is now available.

According to the tweet, the card acts as a secure “spare key” and is protected by a PIN and Secure Element chip, while coming with the ability to pair with Ledger Stax or Ledger Flex wallets for verification. 

Ledger stated, “Self-custody should feel accessible,” adding that the Recovery Key is included with Ledger Stax or Ledger Flex purchases, and existing owners can order one for free with discounted shipping.

Square opens Bitcoin payments to its 4 million merchants

Block Inc.’s payment arm Square has begun allowing merchants to accept Bitcoin directly, using the Lightning Network to process transactions more quickly and with lower fees. 

The rollout, which started on July 22 with a smaller group of sellers, will reportedly extend to Square’s network of roughly 4 million merchants. 

The move aligns with Block co-founder Jack Dorsey’s long-standing push to integrate Bitcoin into mainstream commerce and aims to make digital currency payments more practical for small businesses.

Unstoppable Domains launches new .DSci domain names

Unstoppable Domains, a San Francisco-based web3 identity provider, has introduced .DSci, a domain extension designed for the rapidly expanding decentralized science movement. 

The company says the launch is co-sponsored by the IEEE Blockchain Technical Community (BTC), a leading standards organization, and the IEEE Decentralized Science Technical Committee, a specialized council focused on science innovation. 

A .DSci domain can theoretically function as a central platform for anyone publishing research, pursuing grants, and forming collaborations through secure onchain communication. Unstoppable Domains says the science-specific domain will help researchers strengthen their digital identity and professional credibility of researchers within the web3 ecosystem.

Sam Spratt’s ‘Luci’ opens at Toledo Museum of Art

New York-based digital painter Sam Spratt opened his “Luci” series at the Toledo Museum of Art as part of the Infinite Images exhibition featuring work by algorithmic artists like Dmitri Cherniak, Sarah Meyohas, Vera Molnar, Operator, Monica Rizzolli, and Emily Xie, among others.

Museum director Adam Levine led tours during the opening weekend, which connected Spratt’s “Masquerade” series to historical works like those of French Neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David. 

Spratt said conversations with visitors captured the curiosity and openness he hopes “Luci” inspires. 

PNC Bank partners with Coinbase to offer easier access to crypto for clients

PNC Bank has partnered with Coinbase to give retail and institutional customers a way to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies through their PNC accounts. 

The rollout was created to address what the companies called rising institutional demand for direct Bitcoin and digital currency access through a familiar, regulated bank relationship.

The relationship is in its early stages, with both companies planning to introduce PNC’s first crypto offering in the coming months, leveraging Coinbase’s newly launched crypto-as-a-service (CaaS) infrastructure.

Trump signs GENIUS Act, launches AI action plan

President Trump has signed the GENIUS Act, the first U.S. federal rulebook for stablecoins. The act requires a one-to-one collateral backing, strict monthly reserve reporting, and joint oversight from federal and state regulators. The law is designed to make stablecoins safer for everyday use while integrating them into the broader financial system.

Trump also appears to be fast-tracking a national AI Action Plan, which focuses on accelerating data center construction and boosting artificial intelligence (AI) exports. The plan also includes recommendations to “eliminate references to misinformation, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and climate change” within AI systems.

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