Disney Financial News

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.

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Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) creators Yuga Labs have scored a key win in their long-running court battle with Ryder Ripps, the co-creator of copycat NFT project RR/BAYC. Yuga Labs initially filed a complaint against Ryder Ripps and co-founder Jeremy Cahen back in July 2022, alleging that the duo had engaged in trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition, among other things. In a pre-trial summary judgment ruling on April 21, a U.S. district court in central California found that Ripps and Cahen had infringed Yuga Lab’s trademarks with their RR/BAYC NFT collection. The Court further ruled that Yuga Labs is entitled to an injunction and damages, the latter of which will be determined at trial. The case highlights the importance of protecting intellectual property rights in the burgeoning NFT market.

Regulators in the United States have a fresh target on their radar: Binance. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sued the world’s biggest crypto exchange by trading volume for regulatory violations. Accusations range from insider trading to concealing office locations around the world to evade authorities’ oversight. 

In this week’s newsletter, read about Sony filing a patent for a nonfungible token (NFT) framework for games, and how executives believe that Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Minecraft developers may change their minds on blockchain technology. Learn how an NFT collector accidentally burned a CryptoPunk worth $135,000 while trying to borrow funds, and find out about Disney reportedly sacking its metaverse division. In other news, His Majesty’s Treasury in the United Kingdom has dropped the Royal Mint NFT project. 

Disney has pulled the plug on its metaverse division, eliminating the entire team of 50 people tasked with exploring ways to tell interactive stories in new technological formats. 

The Walt Disney Company began laying off thousands of employees to cut costs. Among those caught in the layoffs are employees from the division that were working on the company’s metaverse strategy.

Entertainment giant Disney has reportedly ditched its metaverse division as part of a broader restructuring plan that will see the firm cut its operating expenses by $5.5 billion and lay off 7,000 staff over two months.

British audio and computing hardware startup Kano is planning to raise equity funding from its users and fans, as the company tries to chart a path forward after cutting business ties with Kanye West, also known as Ye.

The non-fungible token (NFT) sector has had a tough year thanks to a slump in sales brought on by the cryptocurrency bear market. Despite that, there still are some collections that saw big gains, like the Reddit World Cup collectibles, for instance. The following projects are worth keeping an eye on for December.

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In this week’s newsletter, read about how a nonfungible token (NFT) protocol was affected by the FTX collapse leading to layoffs. Despite the effects of the FTX collapse, industry players within the NFT space are still confident in the recovery of NFTs. Meanwhile, Disney brought back metaverse-backer Bob Iger as its CEO, and check out how NFTs have taken center stage at Formula 1. And, don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring China-based tech companies offering FIFA World Cup fans a metaverse-like viewing experience of the soccer event. 

Walt Disney Co. will soon be charging more for families to experience the magic in Florida.

Robert Armstrong This article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every weekday Good morning.

Walt Disney Co. will soon be charging more for families to experience the magic in Florida.

Walt Disney Co. will soon be charging more for families to experience the magic in Florida.

Metaverse-backer Bob Iger has announced a surprise return to his former role as CEO of Disney, taking over from now-former CEO Bob Chapek.

Walt Disney Co. will soon be charging more for families to experience the magic in Florida.

Walt Disney Co. will soon be charging more for families to experience the magic in Florida.