B3.fun, a gaming platform founded by former Coinbase alumni and built on Base, Coinbase’s Layer 2 network has officially launched its game discovery platform, BSMNT.fun.

The B3.fun platform has made its debut on the mainnet and reports a record-breaking testnet with over 367,000 wallets created so far and 47 million transactions.

NPC Labs, an on-chain product distribution platform founded by former members of Base, is a key contributor to B3.fun, and it has been speeding up the onboarding and development of the platform. Last month, NPC Labs, secured an $18 million Seed Round led by Pantera Capital, for gaming projects.

The mainnet launch will see over 20 gaming studios committed to building casual or hyper-casual games on the platform. B3 said in an email to CryptoNews that it will be focusing most of its business development and growth in Asia, especially South Korea, and Japan.

B3 onchain game developers include Mighty Bear Games, Parallel and the Echelon Prime Ecosystem, Nifty Island, Infinigods, GameCoin, Anomaly, Wanderers, MetaStreet, DEAR by ARPA, Iskra, and more.

BSMNT.fun Bridges Gap Between Web2 and Web3 Gaming

Saemi Kim, Director of Player1 Foundation, which oversees governance and operations of B3, said with major companies like Ubisoft, Zynga, and Nexon incorporating onchain elements into their games to attract new players, the convergence of Web2 and Web3 gaming has been gaining momentum.

“Our discovery platform, BSMNT.fun, bridges the gap between traditional Web2 and Web3 gaming, transforming how players will find and experience onchain games in a way that appeals to both traditional gamers and blockchain enthusiasts,” said Kim.

B3 initially supports games built on Ethereum, Base, and other Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains, with plans to easily onboard games from other chains like Solana.

The post Ex-Coinbase Team Launch B3.Fun on Mainnet and New ‘Game Discovery’ Platform  appeared first on Cryptonews.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said iPhone users will soon be able to use the USDC stablecoin for tap-and-go device payments. This follows Apple’s recent decision to open the iPhone near-field communication (NFC) chip to third-party developers.

The NFC chip is the wireless technology powering Apple Pay and Wallet exclusively. It has been a subject of regulatory scrutiny in the European Union, where regulators claim that the restriction limits the growth of competing payment apps on its devices. Although Apple has opened access to the technology in the EU for a while, it is now extending access to more regions.

USDC payments on Apple’s iPhone

In a follow-up to an earlier post, Allaire called on Web3 developers to familiarize themselves with Apple SDKs and build the tool. He noted that it is now up to Web3 wallet developers to create iOS applications that support the USDC stablecoin and are integrated for tap-and-go payments. Such a wallet will allow USDC holders to pay merchants with the stablecoin directly.

Allaire noted that for this to work, other stakeholders, including PoS makers and payment processors, need to update their devices to process NFC instructions and upgrade to support native USDC settlement.

He explained:

“If a iOS wallet that supports USDC enables this, they could enable a UX where a receiving device (like a Point-of-Sale, or another iOS device) could receive the transaction info via a tap.”

He noted that this integration will apply to several crypto-native products, not just USDC. This will include other stablecoins and non-fungible tokens.

Meanwhile, the CEO clarified that Apple and Circle are not in any partnership. Instead, his statement results from Apple’s opening of NFC chips to third-party developers, which will allow other wallet apps to use them for payments. The tech giant has already announced that developers would pay to use the technology and must accept Apple’s terms in a commercial agreement.

More crypto payment solutions go mainstream

The anticipated USDC integration is the latest example of the growing adoption of crypto for mainstream payments. Earlier this week, leading crypto wallet developer MetaMask announced a partnership with Mastercard and Baanx to issue a crypto debit card in the United Kingdom and European Union.

For Circle, integrating USDC on iPhones could mark a major milestone as the company pursues further growth and aims to become a public company. It could also help it challenge the dominant stablecoin, Tether USDT, and maintain its position over emerging ones such as Ripple RLUSD and PayPal PYUSD.

Many people have welcomed these developments as a great sign for the industry. Crypto podcaster Marty Party described the USDC integration as the “biggest advancement in crypto adoption ever.”

However, not everyone agrees with Circle’s CEO and Marty Party. These people have noted that the continued integration of crypto into traditional finance highlights how the industry has lost sight of its origins. Privacy advocate Aaron Day called the planned integration of USDC into iOS a recipe for disaster, not the freedom that crypto promised.