Binance Collaborates with The Weeknd to Venture into the Metaverse

Updated: 17 June 2023

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The renowned cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, and popular musician, The Weeknd, have further enhanced their ongoing alliance by unveiling a uniquely crafted online environment named the “Metaverse Dimension“. This interactive virtual space allows users to partake in a treasure hunt challenge, aimed at unearthing exclusive regions, features, and rewards, and unfolds The Weeknd’s imaginative sphere in an unparalleled manner, according to the press release. In its essence, it is an engaging 3D platform where participants can journey through a sleek universe, embellished with depictions from both The Weeknd and Binance.

Upon entering The Weeknd’s metaverse, users receive a personalized avatar dressed in campaign-based visuals and branding. The virtual world includes various zones such as a club room, an art gallery, a Binance-inspired area developed for Web3 and crypto “education,” and a secret door. Accomplishing the challenges leads to access to an exclusive VIP zone and a stage.

Binance reveals that users who successfully crack the enigmas embedded in the virtual experience could win tickets to The Weeknd’s upcoming concerts, and unique merchandise. Additionally, augmented reality (AR) experiences will be available during The Weeknd’s ongoing world tour.

Introducing the Metaverse Dimension.

An immersive Web3 experience, where fans of @theweeknd can come together to explore a one-of-a-kind #BinanceAfterHours virtual world.

Let’s take you through how it works.https://t.co/9oC6WKqGFC

— Binance (@binance) June 16, 2023

This new development brings another layer to the collaboration previously disclosed in 2022. Binance is currently sponsoring The Weeknd’s After Hours ‘Til Dawn world tour, which commenced in July 2022 in North America and has extended to Europe for this summer, with Latin American concerts scheduled for the upcoming fall.

The partnership between The Weeknd and Binance also extends to the crypto realm through an NFT collection co-engineered by the HXOUSE incubator, based in Toronto. Furthermore, virtual ticket stubs will be given to concert attendees, which can be swapped for souvenir NFTs.

Last year, Binance pledged to contribute $2 million to the XO Humanitarian Fund, an initiative by The Weeknd in conjunction with his role as a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Global Goodwill Ambassador. The duo also expressed plans to work together on future NFTs and allocate 5% of the sales proceeds from the collection to the fund.

Binance in the Spotlight

Binance is globally recognized as the top cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume. They also manage an NFT marketplace. An NFT, or a non-fungible token, acts as a proof of ownership for an asset, typically digital goods like artwork and collectibles. The NFT market witnessed a whopping $25 billion in trading volume in 2021, a figure that was almost equaled in 2022.

However, Binance, despite maintaining a substantial lead as the largest exchange, has recently faced heightened regulatory oversight. Earlier this month, the company, along with its co-founder and CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, was sued by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for purported securities violations, a claim Binance is currently contesting.

This is not The Weeknd’s (whose real name is Abel Tesfaye) first engagement with Web3. He launched an NFT collection on the Nifty Gateway marketplace in 2021 and was inducted into the board of directors for the NFT platform, Autograph, which counts NFL star Tom Brady among its co-founders. Through this platform, The Weeknd released his exclusive Ethereum NFTs.

The Weeknd has also aligned himself with celebrities such as Will Smith and Marc Anthony by investing in Everyrealm, a company specializing in buying and cultivating virtual NFT land properties within metaverse video games like The Sandbox and Decentraland. He made headlines in 2020 for a virtual concert on TikTok that drew an impressive crowd of over 2 million viewers.