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

Azuki teases next anime episode for NFT fans

Azuki, the popular anime-inspired NFT collection, has announced Episode 2 of its Enter the Garden anime anthology series. Entitled “Fractured Reflections,” the episode is a collaboration between producer Goro Taniguchi, director Yukio Takatsu and Kazuto Nakazawa, an acclaimed character designer behind the anime series Samurai Champloo and the animated sequence in Kill Bill: Volume 1. 

According to the Azuki team, this project is laying the groundwork for future anime projects and is part of the brand’s larger strategy to break into the industry. The episode will run for about 15 minutes and feature returning characters from Episode 1, Shao and Raizan.

Stripe acquires Bridge for $1.1B to expand web3 payments

Payment giant Stripe has acquired Bridge, a blockchain infrastructure company, for a reported $1.1 billion. The move signals Stripe’s continued interest in web3 payments and a demonstrated desire to help streamline crypto transactions for businesses worldwide. 

In August 2023, PayPal made headlines as the first fintech platform to launch a stablecoin, PYUSD. Experts believe Stripe’s new acquisition will speed up its use of blockchain technology in its payment services, helping it keep up with industry trends.

Moonray is launching on PlayStation 5 in 2025

Moonray, a studio focused on triple-A melee-style PvP games, announced that its flagship Ethereum-based title will debut on PlayStation 5 in 2025. Gamers can find Moonray on Steam and in the Epic Games Store. The company is backed by major web3 investors like Animoca Brands and Polygon Ventures. The studio is also collaborating with ReelFX Animation for an upcoming animated series. Follow Moonray’s latest NFT mint, which launched on Oct. 23.

Venmo integrates with Moonpay

Payment services company Venmo has integrated with crypto onramp Moonpay. It’s now easier for Venmo’s reported 60 million users to buy cryptocurrencies directly through the app. The feature is already live and lets users buy a variety of digital currencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, using their Venmo accounts and balances. However, MoonPay said that users in New York and Texas cannot yet access the integration.

XCOPY drops ‘Cope Salada’ series

The digital artist known as XCOPY has released his latest collection, “Cope Salada,” consisting of 250 unique one-of-one editions.

Minted on the new Shape layer-two (L2) chain between October 8 and October 14, the collection has been described as a “visceral response” to the fast-moving digital art world. XCOPY describes the pieces as “pristinely presented grade-A copium,” a humorous way to portray the emotional release that art can provide.

“We all have individual universes to navigate; I navigate mine by making self-deprecating art,” XCOPY recently told web3 outlet nftnow.

Known for his vibrant, glitch-infused style, XCOPY once again pushes the boundaries of visual storytelling with this collection through distorted, neon imagery. “Cope Salada” quickly captured the attention of collectors and is an exciting follow-up to the success of his earlier drops, like “MAX PAIN AND FRENS” and “Afterburn.” 

Yuga Labs launches Apechain for creators

Yuga Labs, the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, has officially launched Apechain, a blockchain platform built for creators. With AI integration reportedly at its core, Apechain is designed to help developers and artists create, monetize, and showcase their digital content more seamlessly. 

According to sources, Yuga Labs is planning to expand its ecosystem on Apechain. Upcoming developments on the platform will reportedly feature the gamified Bored Ape metaverse Otherside and the next installment of Yuga’s free-to-play endless runner game, Dookey Dash: Unclogged.

ApeChain officially debuted on Oct. 18 at Yuga Labs' flagship event, ApeFest, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Avalanche releases Visa crypto card for everyday payments

Layer-one (L1) blockchain Avalanche has introduced a new Visa card, helping users make cryptocurrency payments with ease. 

The Avalanche Card links to a user’s self-custody wallet, which enables shoppers to easily convert AVAX tokens and other supported cryptocurrencies into a fiat currency like USD and check out with any merchant that accepts Visa. Like a typical rewards credit card, the Avalanche Card offers rewards in AVAX, Avalanche’s native currency.

With this move, Avalanche is attempting to bridge the gap between digital items and traditional finance

Phantom Wallet adds peer-to-peer token sharing feature

Phantom Wallet, a popular self-custody crypto wallet built for Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon, has launched a new token-sharing feature that allows users to send tokens directly through chat messages on text, iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and more.

Announced on October 21, the feature enables seamless token transfers between users without needing to navigate through external transaction processes such as copying wallet addresses. With this update, Phantom aims to streamline peer-to-peer crypto transactions while continuing to support the fast-growing Solana ecosystem.

The token-sharing feature is now live for all users across supported blockchains.

OpenSea announces integration of B3 Chain

Yesterday, OpenSea announced the integration of B3 Chain, the Base gaming ecosystem. The addition of B3 will offer game developers and studios a new place to deploy NFT collections and in-game assets within the OpenSea platform. NPC Labs, contributor to B3, is on a mission to bring fun games on-chain while abstracting away the crypto barriers to entry.

B3 is an Open Gaming ecosystem that offers game devs gamechains with high customization. This makes it the ideal ecosystem for scaling and supporting the next wave of on-chain games. B3 will enable Parallel’s highly anticipated shooter game, Tau Ceti, and is currently live with GOAT Gaming, Farm Frens, DOT, Anomaly Gaming, Yomi Games, Unplayable Studios, and many more across Web, Mobile, Desktop, and Telegram platforms.

Check out our full blog post for more details.