CrowdMob, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup, is taking the wraps off its business: creating a next-generation deal network that combines Tapjoy with Groupon. CrowdMob will distribute local deals via mobile gaming apps, incentivizing gamers to purchase offers using virtual currency. Read More »
Tech
Facebook isn’t a true PayPal competitor, but it’s taking some steps toward becoming an online payments provider outside of its Facebook properties. The social giant has begun testing the use of Facebook Credits on Uno Boost and Collapse! Blast, both available on gaming portal GameHouse. Read More »
Proving that virtual currency can be worth a good amount of real-life cash, social stock market Empire Avenue has landed $1.2 million in funding. Empire Avenue serves a unique and somewhat controversial purpose: It’s a stock market that puts a price on people instead of companies.… Read More »
After being celebrated as the future of money, the “peer-to-peer crypto currency” known as Bitcoin has taken some serious hits recently, including being derided as a scam and targeted by senators. Now a user says he has lost $500,000 in Bitcoins in a massive theft. Read More »
Facebook has done a remarkable job of getting developers to adopt its Credits virtual currency before the program was fully fledged. Today, the company announced a partnership with PlaySpan to add 20 additional ways for users to pay for credits and plans to accelerate rollout. Read More »
Facebook’s virtual currency is making its way into the real world, in a deal announced today with Target. The retail chain will become the first brick-and-mortar retailer to carry Facebook Credits, which will be available via gift cards at the company’s 1,750 outlets starting Sept. 5. Read More »
Roughly 12 percent of Americans, or more than one in 10, have bought a virtual item at some point in the last 12 months, according to a new study by analyst firm Frank N. Magid Associates and commissioned by virtual currency provider PlaySpan.… Read More »
Mochi Media is adding a virtual currency/microtransaction system to its network of online Flash games today. Players can use Mochi Coins to buy in-game upgrades for 16 titles from its game developer partners. Want a “tactical chain saw” in SAS Zombie Assault II>? (And… Read More »
Facebook said today that application developers can now apply to test out its virtual currency platform, an aggressive move that places pressure on virtual currency companies such as Offerpal and Zong. Third-party virtual currency companies have made millions of dollars over the years through… Read More »
There’s a new entrant in the rapidly growing market for retail cards and virtual goods for online games today: the Zeevex Virtual Currency Exchange. The coin of the realm is Zeev Tokens, which can be purchased via retail cards sold at thousands of brick-and-mortar stores,… Read More »
Offerpal Media, a startup that links virtual currency to real-world marketing deals, scored $15 million in venture funding last month. CEO Anu Shukla hinted to me then that we’d see partnership news soon, and as promised, Aeria Games is announcing today… Read More »
Here’s some good news in a particularly troubled time for Internet startups, and it’s especially piquant for anyone who’s been following the rise (and challenges) of social gaming: Offerpal Media is announcing today that it has secured $15 million in Series B funding led by… Read More »
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