Metaverse Competition Issues Need Addressing, EU Antitrust Chief Says
The European Commission is set to produce a strategy for online virtual worlds in May.

The EU’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, wants to ensure healthy competition exists within metaverses as the European Commission prepares to publish a strategy for online virtual worlds in May.
“It is already time for us to start asking what healthy competition should look like in the metaverse,” Vestager, who is European Commissioner for competition and digital affairs, said at an event in Brussels according to a published text. She also referred to the impact of artificial intelligence service ChatGPT.
The EU has recently legislated to stop online giants such as Meta from blocking smaller rivals, and officials have already queried whether the metaverse will need specific protections for competition, as well as discrimination and safety.
Read more: EU Metaverse Policy Should Consider Discrimination, Safety, Data Controls: Commission Official
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Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture

Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.
What to know:
Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.
The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.
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Russia plans to cap retail crypto buys at $4,000 as it brings digital assets into the legal fold

Russian lawmakers plan crypto regulations by midyear, permitting trading for qualified and retail investors while banning anonymous coins and domestic payments.
What to know:
- Russia plans to introduce a comprehensive crypto market regulatory framework by July 1, 2027.
- Both qualified and unqualified investors will be allowed to buy cryptocurrencies under different rules, with qualified investors facing mandatory risk testing but no limits on most purchases.
- The central bank is expected to approve a shortlist of major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether for broad trading, ban privacy coins like monero and zcash, and impose penalties comparable to illegal banking for unlawful crypto activities.











