Category: News

For years, Christie’s has been one of the most iconic auction houses in the world, facilitating the sale of rare artwork, jewels, and so on. In the last few years, the house has made an effort to get involved in the world of NFTs and has been quite successful at it. Most notably, Christie’s was behind the $69 million sale of Beeple’s iconic Everydays: The First 5000 Days NFT. To date, it remains the most expensive NFT ever sold.

Now, Christie’s is taking its NFT ambitions even further, launching its own dedicated NFT platform that will allow for auctioning and sales on-chain. This platform is called Christie’s 3.0 and was announced on October 28, 2022. 

Christie’s Comes to the Blockchain 

This new platform was developed as part of a collaboration between Christie’s,  Manifold, Chainalysis, and Spatial. This makes Christie’s the first global auction house to host fully on-chain sales as all sales will take place on the Ethereum blockchain. This is a similar system to what marketplaces like OpenSea offer.

As it goes live, the first NFTs to be sold will be those of teenage artists Diana Sinclair, with prices of the works estimated to be 4 to 8 ETH. 9 of Sinclair’s pieces will be going on sale on Christie’s 3.0 from September 28, 2022, and bids will be accepted up until October 11, 2022.

As the Christie’s team has explained, this marks a new dawn for them and their buyer, who can now access NFTs on-chain the way they are supposed to be. 

‘By incorporating regulatory tools, such as anti-money laundering and sales tax, we have built an inclusive solution where both veteran and new NFT collectors can feel secure in transacting with Christie’s 3.0,” says Nicole Sales Giles,  Christie’s Director of Digital Art Sales.

This move shows how deeply invested Christie’s has become in the NFT sector. In the past, NFTs were perhaps not treated as seriously as other physical items sold by Christie’s. But the success that NFTs saw at auction over the years and the overall growth of the industry likely inspired the move to create a dedicated channel for it. 

As the official announcement from Christie’s clarified, even post-sale activities will take place on the Ethereum blockchain. 

The Growing Niche of NFT Auctions

The NFT sector has been growing for years and the trading volumes seen on marketplaces like OpenSea are clear proof of this. But for a while, there was a demarcation between ‘traditional’ auction establishments and those that strictly dealt with NFTs. 

Now, this demarcation seems to be coming down and not just because of Christie’s 3.0. Some of its competitors like Sotheby’s are also intentionally pursuing more NFT ventures, having launched their own metaverse and pursuing more NFT auctions. With this, the message is clear; auction houses are coming for a piece of the NFT pie and big names are rising to the challenge. 

Needless to say, we will likely be hearing a lot of NFT-related news coming from Christie’s and other auction houses like it.

For many enthusiasts, NFTs aren’t just digital assets they pay money for. Instead, NFTs are a community, a sub-culture, and even a way of life. This is partially why we see so many NFT collaborations that appear on consumer goods like clothes and beer cans. In the same way that fans of certain music acts or TV shows might want to show their love by wearing their logo, so do NFT fans.

Now, thanks to Mastercard, NFT lovers can have their favourite Bored Ape or Moonbird featured on their bank cards. This comes as the payment processing giant teamed up with hi, a European cryptocurrency exchange platform. 

This development makes MasterCard and hi the first to create such a card. 

“NEWS! Today @hi_com_official launches the world’s first debit card featuring NFT Customization, allowing cardholders to personalize the face of their card with an NFT Avatar,” Mastercard said on its official Twitter profile. 

NFTs on Cards

This partnership was announced on September 26, 2022, and is available only to Gold members of the exchange. To gain access to the cards, members need to sign up on Hi and then stake at least 100 of its native Hi tokens before they are put on a waiting list for the cards, though staking a higher amount of money will mean higher priority on the list. Along with this, users can’t just add the image and likeness of any NFT they fancy to the cards. Instead, the NFTs added have to be ones that they own and can prove ownership of.

Once they do this, they can add NFT from CryptoPunk, Moonbirds, goblintown, Bored Ape and Azuki, though more NFT collections might be supported soon. The cards, once issued, offer customers the best of both worlds as they can spend both their fiat and cryptocurrency with any merchant that accepts Mastercard.

There are also several perks that come with the card such as cashback and benefits at partner hotels. And, of course, they can do all this with their NFT-designed debit cards. 

As Christian Ray, Senior Vice President, Crypto and FinTech Enablement at mastercard explains, the company is committed to offering NFT and crypto options as consumer demand grows.

“As consumer interest in crypto and NFTs continues to grow, we are committed to making them an accessible payments choice for the communities who wish to use them. We are proud to be working with hi to continue to drive innovation in the market and enable these customizable cards together with the safety and security you’d expect from Mastercard,” he says. 

Future Initiatives

This initiative might be the first of its kind but it will not likely be the last. If NFT fans get their hands on them in massive numbers and it proves to be a success, it could be launched in other parts of the world (it is currently only available in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom) and by other companies. That way, NFT lovers from all walks of life can have their favourite assets on their bank cards.

Earlier this month when the Queen of England passed away, it made headlines around the world and interestingly, also made waves within the NFT space. Within days of the news breaking, several independently-produced NFT collections hit the market which referenced or paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth in some way.

While many of these were attempts by private creators to make some money from the event, another initiative has been announced which is more geared toward charity purposes. This comes as Charity DAO has released its 960-piece NFT collection that pays tribute to the queen while raising funds for her charities. 

Charity DAO is described as “the world’s first licensed Charity decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO), focused on raising funds for emergency causes within 24 hours” and this is perhaps one of the highest profile projects that it has been at the helm of. 

Details About the Collections

The collection in question has been dubbed “Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II”. Each set from these collections comprises 960 assets exactly, a reference to the Queen being 96 years old when she passed away. Each asset is a portrait of the late monarch and is listed at a price of 9.6 Matic. The illustrated and colourful portraits show the queen in her iconic coat and hat in a variety of styles and colours. This is a look that the monarch had become very closely associated with over the years and is considered her signature style. Now, royal watchers and those who want to support a good cause can get their hands on them. 

This project has been done in collaboration with 96 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world and all the funds will be donated to charity. More specifically, the funds will be donated to charities in the name of the Queen. Charity DAO also held a virtual tribute service to the queen shortly after her death. 

In the weeks following the queen’s death, a lot of emphases was put on the charity work that she had supported during her lifetime and it is interesting that some of that work is being continued in her death using NFTs. While Charity DAO has not specified which exact charities they will be donating to, it is widely believed that they will be the same ones that the queen was a patron of.

The Role of NFTs and DAOs in Charities

NFTs for charity purposes have become a more common thing over the last few years but charity DAOs are a bit more of a novel concept. As Charity DAO itself explains, it is the first of its kind. But there could potentially be a lot of benefits to this sort of organization; greater transparency about operations and finances, and a more united community. 

Clearly, it has proven effective if the DAO was able to coordinate a charity initiative along with 96 NGOs in different countries and launch an NFT collection.

Two industries that have been very welcoming toward NFTs are sports and gaming. In the sports sector, we’ve seen the NFL, NBA, and PGA launch NFT-focused projects, with even more coming soon. In gaming, we’ve seen the rise of GameFi and P2E games that leverage NFTs, as well as more traditional gaming companies like GameStop entering the NFT arena. But what if all three, gaming, NFTs, and sports, were combined?

Well, Fans of NFT gaming are in for a treat as top Football club AC Milan has announced a new strategy game. This game has been developed in partnership with MonkeyLeague and is based on the Solana blockchain. This game will see NFT monkeys play in a digital version of the AC Milan team.

Details About the Game

To participate in the game, fans have to buy the AC Milan-branded NFT monkeys that will be released on MagicEden from October 6, 2022. While some of the rarer NFTs will come with a physical signed jersey, all can be used within the game, as can the native MonkeyBucks $MBS token. Once they sign up for the game, they can form teams of six NFT monkeys and then compete against each other.

Seeing as the game itself is play-to-earn, users can earn $MBS for playing and will also need some of it to participate in the first place.

Interestingly, MonkeyLeague features something called ‘breeding’ in which assets are randomly generated within a game and this will also be the case with the new AC Milan venture. Overall, the club has been working to create a presence for itself within web3 and connect with fans using digital assets. While many football-related NFT projects have entered the market like collectables and membership access, AC Milan has clearly chosen the gaming route.

“We are thrilled to kick off this partnership with MonkeyLeague, a collaboration that allows us to strengthen our positioning in the field of digital innovation,” said Casper Stylsvig, AC Milan chief revenue officer, adding that, “We are particularly proud to be the first football club to partner with MonkeyLeague, bringing this game to our supporters around the world and offering them a new innovative way to engage with their favourite team.”

Besides this game, AC Milan will also create wearable products and marketing events in collaboration with MonkeyLeague. 

A Marriage of NFT and Gaming

Sports games have been popular among fans for years now and as NFT-focused games are coming on the scene, it is natural that sports games with an NFT twist would emerge as well. While this means big bucks for sports corporations and game developers, it also means more options for fans. 

The sort of game that AC Milan is releasing essentially gives fans the best of three worlds; they can enjoy a gaming experience, connect to their favourite football team, and reap the rewards of NFTs. Despite the differences between the three and even scepticism on the part of some sports and gaming fans, it seems they can co-exist.

Art is being tied more closely to NFTs these days, even as the concept of art itself is evolving in the digital world. We’ve seen NFTs of rare art pieces being sold and an entire niche of art emerge that is strictly tied to NFTs. Needless to say, the art world seems to be embracing NFTs. 

But one art collector has taken their dedication to NFT art to the next level. Martin Mobarak, a millionaire art collector based in Miami, has made headlines for burning an art illustration made by famed Mexican artist Frida Khalo. The reason for this art burning was so that he could make an NFT of it.

Burning for NFTs

The idea of burning artwork for the sake of NFTs is not necessarily new. Artist Damien Hirst also made headlines for this project in which hundreds of art pieces were burned, with only their NFT equivalents remaining. Mobarak seems to be doing something similar as he has set up an organization called Frida.NFT that brings together artists and art lovers to immortalize art. Through this event, the proceeds are given to good causes, which Mobarak says that Khalo would have wanted. 

“I hope those who are here can understand, it’s to help sick children and victims of domestic abuse,” he said, during the burning. 

The artwork in question was called Fantasmones Siniestros, and was an illustration from Khalo’s diary and was valued at $10 million at the time. While it is true that an NFT is more valuable the rarer the artwork it is attached to, this decision was nevertheless controversial. 

Many art lovers have deemed the destruction of such a valuable piece as wasteful and the introduction of the NFT element only stirs up more controversy. Living relatives of Diego Rivera, one of the most influential artists in Mexico, have also condemned this, saying that many of Khalo’s works were not well-protected and that further destroying them only adds to the problem. 

“It seems to me a medieval act, an atrocious act, it is not necessary to burn something in the physical universe to put it into the metaverse,” said Diego Maria Alvarado Rivera, great-grandson of Diego Rivera.

It is not yet known if Frida.NFT will be burning any more rare paintings in order to put them on the blockchain but this incident has certainly gained them more notoriety in the art world. 

Physical and Digital Art

This incident with the Khalo painting has been a controversial one since it first came to light. On one hand, there is some truth in what Mobarak has said in that an NFT of the illustration will be more valuable if the physical painting is no longer in existence (and will be higher profile given the controversy surrounding it). 

But at the same time, NFTs can be made without necessarily destroying the artwork attached to them. Seeing as this is slowly becoming more common in the art world, art burning for NFTs might continue as an interesting yet controversial practice.

Every year, billions of dollars are channelled through the NFT industry, with most of these going towards the buying of assets. Whether top collections like Mutant Apes or the smaller ones, NFTs have become a legitimate way for creatives to make money. But not all this money ends up in their hands. One of the main things that chips away at NFT creators’ profits is the fees and commissions they pay for their pieces, whether to the marketplace they use or the original creator, in the case of the resale market. 

For businesses looking to sell NFTs through iOS apps, the amount lost to commissions could become much higher moving forward. This comes as Apple is reportedly planning to impose a 30% commission on NFTs sold through its apps. 

A Hefty Commission 

As more companies are getting involved in the NFT space, some of them are considering setting up shop on the iOS app store. As most of us know, the app store is used by millions around the world and any NFT business launching app that can be accessed by Apple users opens them up to a wider market. 

But according to recent reports, they are being discouraged by Apple’s 30% commission on NFTs sold through the platform. The Information, for example, says that Magic Eden suspended its plans of setting up an iOS app after learning of this, even with a reduction in the commission on Apple’s part. 

It is worth noting that a typical NFT marketplace makes around 2% or 3% commission on each transaction. Should the platform now have to pay 30% on all of its trades to Apple, it would make very little. But for companies in the NFT space, this is only one of the hurdles that they would have had to face. 

It was also noted that Apple would only allow in-app transactions to take place using fiat currency and not cryptocurrency. As such, NFT platforms would also have to navigate the conversion of transaction costs across different currencies, which could prove a hassle. 

All these factors create an environment that is not conducive or welcoming to NFT-based businesses. But according to Alexei Falin, the CEO of Rarible, Apple isn’t trying to create a welcoming environment in the first place. 

“It feels like the position is that Apple doesn’t really want [App Store] users to be able to purchase or sell NFTs. [It’s] almost impossible because it’s fixed subscriptions or fixed prices,” he said. 

Roadblocks to Adoption 

Even as the NFT industry looks forward to more mainstream adoption and acceptance, there are issues that must be tackled along the way. One of these is the policies set by corporations like Apple that make this difficult. 

It is a no-brainer that a 30% commission on NFT trades shuts out virtually all marketplaces from signing up and also signals that perhaps Apple itself isn’t ready for NFTs. If, hopefully, this changes in the future, this roadblock can then be overcome.

Food and NFTs are fast becoming a match made in culinary heaven. From restaurants that offer NFTs as a form of booking tables to entire establishments that are themed after NFT collections, we’re seeing more of a web3 influence in the restaurant industry. Now, NFTs have transcended simply being a part of the consumer experience to being a crowdfunding method.

This comes as Aberdam, a fast food chain based in Aberdeen, Scotland, has announced its own NFT initiative. This will see buyers get all sorts of perks through the different asset tiers that will be available.

Aberdam Serves Up Some NFTs

So far, the company has seen a lot of success in its base in Aberdeen, with saleson track to cross £1.3 million this year. But it isn’t stopping here, as there are plans in place to open 6 more locations across Scotland in the next year. And to raise funds for these plans, Aberdam is turning to NFTs. 

The new investment vehicles are being offered in four different tiers, with three of these including NFTs. The NFT tiers will go live on September 30, 2022, and will cost £225, £450, and £900 respectively. Each will offer different levels of discount on Aberdam products for a year, discounts at partner businesses, merchandise, access to the Aberdam community, and entry into quarterly raffles for a trip to Amsterdam. The tiers with NFTs also come with Aberfam IDs which offer custom artwork made by Dfunkt Robot, Plague Fisher, and Reckless, who are all Aberdeen-based artists. 

In total, the business is looking to raise £408,000 through its 1,800 founding community members. The company has also emphasized that this will be a community effort, with input being sought out from its social media followers and customers regarding crowdfunding and future decisions. 

“As well as raising funds, the campaign will create a strong community which will bring with it an opportunity to influence Aberdams’ decision-making – we aim to poll the community regularly for guidance on a number of areas,” the company says. 

The NFT program is being designed by NFT consultancy company CD Corp which has previously worked within the whiskey sector but has now made its foray into the the restaurant business. This project is one of the first of its kinds in the U.K, especially for small and medium enterprises and could spark a trend over time. 

NFTs for SMEs

Usually, when we think of businesses launching NFTs, we think of multinational corporations like Starbucks with millon-dollar advertising campaigns. But more and more, we are seeing small businesses dip their toes into the NFT waters as well. 

And this is likely a good thing as it shows how popular NFTs have become. It also shows that they are not limited to just top companies but have the power to connect small and medium enterprises to their customerbase. In the case of Aberdam, it is helping them access crowdfunding and expanding their business even more.

What is it with the current love affair between comic book and superhero franchises and NFTs? There was the Batman cowl NFTs that were released to tie in with ‘The Batman’ which was released this year and even on for the most recent spiderman movie. 

Whatever this love affair is, it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. This comes as Funko has announced a new team-up with Warner Brothers, the company that holds the rights to the DC Comics Universe. With this partnership, we can expect both physical and digital collectables of DC characters. 

The DC Cinematic Metaverse

These collectables, once they are released, will be available exclusively through North American retailer Walmart. They will include a physical cover of the “The Brave and The Bold” comic and an NFT equivalent that is minted on the World Asset eXchange blockchain (WAX).

These NFTs and physical collectables will be available from October 7, 2022, just around World Batman Day, with 30,000 units available for purchase in total. Obviously, this isn’t the first time that the caped crusader has been immortalized on the blockchain. But it is also not Funko’s first time exploring NFT projects relating to comic book IPs either. The company previously launched The DC Digital Pop! Series that featured such characters as the Green Lantern and Superman. 

It also released an NFT project back in August 2022 that featured the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Needless to say, many iconic superheroes and IPs are making their way into the metaverse. 

And this is based on deliberate effort. According to CEO Andrew Perlmutter, Funko wants to bridge the gap between the physical and the digital. There is no denying that the way comic book fans consume content has changed. 

In the past, fans would visit physical comic book stores to get their superhero fix and watch the adaptations in the theatre. Now, we are in the age of streaming and digital media consumption is higher than its ever been. For a legacy brand like DC Comics, it makes sense to meet the consumer where they are now and this includes offering digital assets. 

“We think this is a great opportunity to test out what this could look like with retailers, and if we wanted to expand our NFT business to physical retailers as well as digital,” Perlmutter said in a recent statement. 

The Old and the New 

What is so innovative about projects like these is that they allow legacy IPs and brands to embrace modernity without alienating their core fanbase. With this release, those who prefer to buy and read physical copies of comics can do so with ease. Those who want a collectable NFT are also going to have their needs met. 

There is a lot of talk within fandoms about NFT use and how it may or may not stray away from what lifelong fans are used to. But this new crop of projects we are seeing shows that both the old and the new can be catered for.

Considering that they are based on the same underlying technology, it comes as no surprise that NFTs and cryptocurrency are closely intertwined. From their co-existence in the same industry to the fact that crypto is often used to buy NFTs, the two are constantly being linked to each other. 

Now, a report from Chainalysis shows just how closely linked they are, especially in Central & Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO). As per the report, NFTs are one of the biggest drivers of crypto adoption in this region, along with other blockchain-based products like play-to-earn (P2E) gaming. 

How NFTs Drive Adoption 

As the report explains, NFT-related activity represents a majority of transactions from crypto services in CSAO, with P2E gaming following close behind. 

“NFTs are perhaps the biggest on-ramp to cryptocurrency in CSAO today. 58% of web traffic from CSAO IP addresses to cryptocurrency services in Q2 2022 was NFT related; another 21% was to the websites of play-to-earn blockchain games,” the report explains. 

But even the NFTs and P2E games are, in themselves, intertwined. In blockchain-based P2E games, native assets and collectables are often NFTs. This potentially means that the NFT traffic reported in CSAO could be from P2E games as well. 

Chainalysis speculates that CSAO is already a hub for blockchain gaming, with games like Axie Infinity and STEPN being headquartered there. This, combined with the organic popularity of such games in CSAO, could explain why NFT and P2E use is so high. 

But it hasn’t been all growth and smooth sailing for the crypto space in CSAO. The report noted that traffic to platforms like decentralized exchanges had declined over the time period observed. But this doesn’t seem to have a connection to NFTs or P2E games. Instead, the report cites the overall bear market which has weakened activities in the industry. 

Quoting Manan Vora, the Senior Vice President of Operations and Strategy at Liminal, the report notes, “The UST crash played a big role in shaking the confidence of the crypto market. When a top ten coin goes to zero, it becomes very difficult to get people who have just entered the market to stay in the market. These are the users that you may lose forever.”

The report went on to touch on the role of regulations in countries like India and Pakistan and how this has impacted adoption in both countries. 

The Drivers of Adoption 

Given how complex the blockchain sector is, it comes as no surprise that the adoption of one aspect often snowballs into the adoption of others. The stats coming out of CSAO show that with the growth of NFTs and P2E games, cryptocurrency and blockchain as a whole will benefit. 

It also shows how closely tied NFTs and P2E games are, which comes as no surprise given how often the former is used in the latter. If the regulatory issues cited in the report can be addressed, CSAO could become an even bigger hub for blockchain activity.

NFTs are on the rise and have been on the rise for years now. From the millions of dollars that are poured into the industry monthly to the emerging regulations around the world and its ever-growing public profile, there is no denying this. There is also no denying that NFTs’ acceptance has not been uniform across the globe. 

While some countries have been very enthusiastic about embracing NFTs and other digital assets, some have been more reluctant. In a recent interview, Anshul Rustaggi, the CEO of Totality Corp, touched on the stagnance of NFT growth in India and what might be causing it. 

NFTs in India

On paper, India has all the makings of an NFT hub; It has a population of over a billion people, second only to China on the world stage and it is already a massive hub for tech development. But despite this, NFT adoption there has been slow and Rustaggi offers some clues as to why. 

As he puts it, a lot of the reluctance among the Indian population to embrace NFTs stems from cultural stigmas. Investments relating to digital assets are seen as more akin to gambling than a legitimate business. Rustaggi even notes that when he worked as a hedge fund manager, his mother saw him as gambling with others’ money. 

This sort of attitude, sadly, spills over to NFTs as well. In the eyes of the public, these sorts of assets are merely speculative (even though not all NFTs are speculative in nature). 

“India has a very love and hate relationship with speculation. So all of Asia, including India loves speculation. But morally, we like to always say bad things about it,” he says.

One way that NFTs could find their footing within India is as a status symbol. A quick look at all the celebrities who regularly spend millions on Bored Apes and Mutant Apes will tell you that they are indeed a status symbol of sorts. But sadly, as Rustaggi explains, they haven’t quite caught on the same way in India. 

More ‘traditional’ status symbols like luxury watches and expensive weddings are more socially accepted, though he does have hope that this might change. His company launched its own NFT project, called the Lakshmi NFT, last year and it was a success within India, bringing in over $561,000 in sales. 

But Rustaggi is quick to note that a huge part of its appeal was the staking rewards in USDC that were advertised with the NFT. As such, many who bought into it did so because of the ‘interest’ they would be earning and not the speculative aspect of NFTs.

NFTs Around the World 

NFT acceptance within India and in other parts of the world will have quite a way to go but there is hope on the horizon. While it might not be as fast as in other countries like the United States and parts of Europe, the industry and those within it continue to persevere.