blockworks.co
Blockchain gaming platform MyMetaverse said Friday it has launched its carbon-sink NFT minting platform in a bid to tackle growing concerns surrounding the industry’s energy use.
The platform’s lofty ambitions include a goal to become the “Steam of Web3 games.” Steam banned (non-fungible tokens) NFTs from their platform last year citing environmental concerns. MyMetaverse is voicing its intention to fill a “void they’ve left behind.”
Following an explosion of interest in NFTs since 2020, controversy over the budding sector’s energy consumption has swiftly followed. MyMetaverse said it was making it a requirement for its player base to purchase carbon credits to use its platform and mint tokens.
Leveraging Enjin’s proof-of-authority chain JumpNet, MyMetaverse said it had chosen that particular network to coincide with its ambitions and achieve carbon neutrality. The chain itself claims carbon neutrality through limited nodes that supposedly consume the equivalent of one US household.
“We want to give everyday gamers the ability to earn NFTs and literally help save the world just by playing games,” said Simon Kertonegoro, CEO of MyMetaverse. “Up until now a lot of people thought this was just an outrageous marketing claim, but this carbon sink initiative is just one example of how we can use NFTs to make a measurable difference.”
Specifically, MyMetaverse purchases carbon credits from Beyond Neutral — an ASIC licenced carbon offset broker. The broker acts as an intermediary, connecting buyers to “green” initiatives that sell carbon credits.
The credits – which are equal to one tonne of CO2 removed from the atmosphere – are then divided into “carbon kilograms” to be spent as in-app currency on the MyMetaverse platform.
Users who buy those kilograms can pay for transactions as well as create tokens. The kilograms spent then get locked up inside an NFT and removed from the platform, forcing MyMetaverse to purchase more credits to replenish its economy.
MyMetaverse said it plans to expand to Polkadot parachain Efinity once Enjin releases its suite of developer tools. This will enable them to bring their carbon-friendly NFTs to the Polkadot ecosystem which is currently valued at over $20 billion, Kertonogoro said.
“We’re looking forward to the day that we can open MyMetaverse’s NFT minting tools up to all creators on Polkadot,” said Kertonegoro. “We hope to enable people from all over the world to integrate NFTs into their projects in ways that positively impacts their community and removes carbon from the atmosphere.”