Category: News

Regardless of the controversy that sometimes follows the NFT industry, a viable market has emerged over the years of sports fans who want to buy NFTs. And this need is certainly being filled as several sports teams, players, and leagues have released digital asset drops for fans. 

And these fans are about to have even more offerings to choose from as eBay has announced a new partnership with Notable Live, a digital platform dedicated to fan experiences. Together, they will deliver new ways for fans to connect to the sports that they love, including with NFTs.

Digital Connections for Fans

As the January 31, 2023 press release explains, the goal of this initiative is to provide fans with new ways to connect with sports. 

“eBay and Notable Live are embarking on a multi-year Commercial Agreement in which Notable Live will bring exclusive player merchandise, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and experiences to the eBay platform. Fans will have the ability to go Live! on the Notable Live platform to meet and interact with their favorite players, teams, and leagues,” the announcement says. 

And beyond just the NFTs themselves, Notable Live offers both virtual ‘in room’ and in-person experiences in which fans can meet their favourite sports stars. And for those who want a physical or digital piece of the action, eBay has them covered. As part of this deal, players like Ray lewis will be offering physical items like game-worn jerseys and various collections which can be bought on the site. On top of this, digital artwork will also be available for fans to buy. 

Speaking on the new partnership and what it will entail, Dawn Block, the VP of Collectibles at eBay said that this sort of access to players and exclusive content is the way that fans will engage with sports moving forward. 

“Fans and collectors turn to eBay to celebrate their favorite players and teams, knowing they can find authentic, one-of-a-kind memorabilia that connects them with the history and future of sports. Our partnership with Notable Live further enhances the market-leading experiences we’ve been building for our community of sports fans, collectors and investors, enabling them to engage with living legends in a new and meaningful way,” she said. 

The Evolution of Fan Engagement 

Practically all fanbases are deeply passionate about the people and things that they follow but sports fans take this to a whole other level. In fact, there is a billion-dollar market that thrives mainly on sports merchandise and memorabilia. But the rise of digital assets means that there is a new class of collectables to be had. 

No longer are fans limited to only physical items but digital ones as well. This is what makes this partnership so timely, especially given the fact that eBay has years of experience in serving consumer needs. With the current trends in both the sports and digital asset sectors, we can expect the collectables being offered through this initiative to be a hit.

While the NFT sector is certainly complex, many of its issues can be fixed or at least partially addresses through better education of consumers. After all, people are often reluctant to get into NFTs because they do not understand it or fall victim to the scams within the industry due to ignorance. 

As such, MetaMask’s newest endeavour which looks to teach more people about NFTs and the metaverse is coming at a good time. Announced on January 31, 2023, this new initiative is called MetaMask Learn and takes users through many of the basics of web3.

An NFT Education

As the company explained in a Twitter thread, MetaMask learn is designed to make web3 less intimating to users and easier to understand. 

“We created @MetaMask Learn to demystify web3, make it more accessible to you, and arm you with the confidence and smarts you need to navigate web3 safely,” the thread said about the interactive course. 

As the thread went on to explain, this course is designed to be used at customers’ convenience. They can take as many lessons as they want whenever they want and overall, become more knowledgeable at their own pace. Currently, the first 8 lessons in the coure are available in English, Portuguese, Tagalog, Bahasa, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Ukrainian, Russian, and Turkish.

And what MetaMask is offering goes beyond just your typical school-type course. Instead, users are treated to interactive models of actual web3 applications as they are explained to them. Given how complex web3 can be, it will be very beneficial for users to engage with simulations as opposed to simply reading about them.

And because these simulations are not real, there is little risk involved. Users can make trades, and engage with ‘wallets’ and so on without having any of their information or money at stake. Additionally, this course appears to be designed for people at all levels of experience. 

“Choose your own adventure. Want to learn about DAOs but not DeFi? Skip over Finance, Decentralized and foxtrot to The Age of Communities right away! You do you,” MetaMask said, adding that, “But this is only the beginning, you fancy foxes! Over time, we’ll add more lessons and languages to ensure that MetaMask Learn is the definitive library for educational content on Web3.”

The Importance of this Initiative 

It is near-impossible to overstate the importance of NFT consumers having as much information as possible when it comes to the web3 landscape. First, this could be a means of bringing in new players into the industry. 

People are less likely to invest in concepts that they know nothing about and by having this sort of information so easily explained, more people could embrace web3. It also means that those who are already operating within the industry can be more aware or cautious. After all, a person owing an NFT does not mean that they understand how DeFi works, for example. All things considered, this initiative is bound to do some good.

Over the last few years, many mainstream companies have gotten into the NFT space and have released all sorts of interesting projects. These have included everything from passes that grant access to exclusive perks to collectables featuring iconic intellectual property, many of which have gone on to be very financially successful.

But these have also not been without their controversies. The Los Angeles Times, for example, is currently finding itself in hot water with people who bought into its NFT drop last year. According to some buyers, they feel duped by the project and are calling out the acclaimed newspaper. 

The LA Times Debacle 

Many NFT drops from major companies are tied to celebrations or some sort of important event and the LA Times drop was no different. Timed to coincide with the 2022 Superbowl, the project saw limited edition NFTs being released to customers. The NFTs were mostly inexpensive, retailing at around $30 and were created in collaboration with GuardianLink and L.A.-based artist Mister Sampson. But there were also more expensive options such as the NFT of the newspaper’s February 13, 2022 front cover which sold for roughly $4,000.

Upon their release, they were a hit and seemed like another case of a mainstream brand successfully making its NFT debut. But almost a year later, the tide has turned and some buyers are accusing the LA Times of duping them. One of the first criticisms that have followed the project relates to buyers’ inability to resell them.

Oftentimes, when people buy up these types of assets, it is with the intention of reselling them for a profit at a later time. But those who bought the LA Times’ NFTs ran into some roadblocks. First, the NFTs could only be sold on BeyondLife.club, a marketplace owned by GuardianLink. The issue with this is that GuradianLink is an Indian company and some were concerned that the NFTs would command a lower price there.

And when users tried to list them on more prominent marketplaces like OpenSea, they realised that the terms of the drop prevented them from moving the assets. And despite promises from GuardianLink that this situation would change, users have not gotten an update from the team for months. This is what led to some declaring the whole NFT drop as a scam or a rug pull.

The LA Times team has responded to these allegations, however, with a representative telling Dot LA, “While the offering was well-received, the overall NFT market declined – and later crashed – after we concluded the auction. We understand the disappointment the NFT holders have experienced and have worked with our partner in good faith to address the feedback they received from holders, specifically by providing other items of value.”

The other items mentioned were subscriptions to the newsletter’s digital edition and some more free NFTs. Sadly, some users say that they have not received any information about the items and others have given up on the issue ever being resolved. 

In the world of fashion, there are a few items that are widely considered status symbols. These include a Tiffany diamond, a Louis Vuitton purse, and, of course, a Hermes Birkin bag. This luxury accessory has been a staple of high fashion for years and reportedly commands tens of thousands of dollars apiece. 

Given its reputation and the income it generates for Hermes, it comes as no surprise that the company has entered into a legal battle with digital artist Mason Rothschild. As per court documents, Rothschild had been selling NFTs that depicted the iconic bag without authorization from Heres.

The Big Bag Wars

This whole saga began back in January 2022 when Hermes filed a formal complaint against Rothschild. The complaint was that he was selling MetaBirkins, an NFT collection that depicted the Birkin bags in various designs. Because of how popular their namesake bags are, the NFT collection was quite a success and Hermes caught wind of it. 

But despite telling Rothschild to stop selling them, he did not and Hermes then pursued legal action with a trial set for January 30, 2023. As per Hermes’ legal team, Rothschild’s actions are a violation of the Birkin trademark and were deliberately designed to trick customers into buying the NFTs under the assumption that it has any association with the actual Hermes brand. 

This is similar to the ongoing lawsuit between Yuga Labs and Ryder Ripps, an artist who created an NFT collection with a similar name and style to the Bored Ape Yacht Club. And just like with the Ripps case, Rothschild has claimed that his work is protected under freedom of expression.

“Getting big life experience points this week. Putting my big boy pants on — fighting for myself and everyone who believes in the freedom to create art,” he tweeted on January 26, 2023. 

Both cases have divided the industry and brought out different responses from legal experts. While some believe that the NFTs are not causing any actual harm and see this case as a big corporation bullying a smaller creator, others beg to differ. The NFTs being sold by Rothschild can go for up to 100 ETH, which makes some of them even more expensive than an actual Birkin bag. Many argue that no one would buy the NFT for that amount if they did not think that it had an affiliation with the fashion house. As such, some see this venture as being opportunistic. 

But regardless of individual opinion, the outcome of these cases could set the standard for both NFT projects and mainstream brands. If a court rules that projects like MetaBirkin are an infringement of trademark, brands like Hermes will have legal precedent to go after any NFT that leverages their brand in any way (and there are certainly a lot of them). But if the judgment goes in the opposite direction, NFT creators will be able to create collections based on already-existing brands with the full backing of the law.

If you’ve been following NFT-related news then you’ll know that asset security is a big issue in the industry. As long as NFTs have existed, there have been people trying to steal them through all manner of ways from phishing schemes to wallet hacks and so on. 

As such, it comes as no surprise that Coinbase, one of the biggest companies in the blockchain space, has introduced some new changes to its asset wallet that are meant to improve security. From blocklists to transaction approval features, all these are geared towards making sure that users can properly secure their assets. 

Coinbase and Self Custody

In a new announcement published on January 30, 2023, Coinbase explained the importance of self-custody wallets and touched on the features it offers users. 

“As an industry, we need to do more to make web3 interactions simpler and safer – and a self-custody wallet that supports you with the right protections goes a long way in keeping you safe,” it says. Self-custody wallets are often touted as the most secure way to store digital assets because they are not controlled by a centralized body.

And Coinbase has put some new features in place to enhance the experience of those who use its wallets. One of the first of these is the transaction preview feature. This shows users what their crypto and NFT balances will be after they authorize a transaction. This will help to curb instances of people sending the wrong amounts of crypto or making mistakes with transactions. 

Another interesting feature is the token approval alerts which will inform users when a decentralised app they are using is trying to withdraw their crypto or NFTs. There have been several cases of people having their assets taken out by applications without their approval and this will help to stop such incidents, 

And this isn’t all that Coinbase is doing to protect users from malicious dapps as there is now a blocklist function that stops certain applications from interacting with users’ wallets entirely. 

“Our blocklist is robust, incorporating tens of thousands of domains and more than one million wallet and smart contract addresses. If you visit a flagged dapp, Coinbase Wallet will warn you before you proceed — helping keep you and your crypto safe,” the post said.

Finally, Coinbase has introduced spam token management which stops malicious actors from airdropping Nfts into users’ wallets. This has become a common theft tactic in which criminals send users ‘free’ NFTs to lure them into clicking on malicious links. But with this feature, Coinbase will maintain a database of such addresses and block them in a similar way that email providers block spam emails.

Besides these, some non-security related features were added such as more layers of permission management, support for multiple addresses, and expanded compatibility for hardware wallets. And while Coinbase is still primarily a cryptocurrency exchange, it is clear that it takes its NFT wallet seriously and is dedicated to giving its users the best.

In terms of application, NFTs have established themselves as an ample source of collectables and memorabilia. And in terms of buying such items, whether physical or digital, few have proven to be as passionate as sports fans. This has given birth to a plethora of sports-based NFTs whether from players, teams or entire leagues. 

And despite current industry challenges, this is not likely to stop anytime soon as the Premier League has announced a new partnership with SoRare, a French fantasy sports platform. This partnership will see the release of NFTs relating to the famous league. 

Details About the Deal

This multi-year deal will see the release of player cards to SoRare’s over 3 million global users as NFTs. Currently, SoRare allows players to enjoy a fantasy football-type experience where the success of their virtual teams is based on the performance of the real-life players they choose. 

Now, they will be able to buy verified assets associated with players in the Premier League, which is one of the most-watched football leagues in the world. And there has certainly proven to be a market for this sort of venture as a trading card of footballer Erling Haaland fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars last year.

Once this initiative is rolled out, SoRare users can also get a taste of the magic. And ahead of this, SoRare has put a “financial fair play” feature in place. This stops people from filling their fantasy teams with all-star clubs and gaining an unfair advantage. In terms of gaming, football fans especially have shown themselves to be a viable market and as technology evolves, establishments like the Premier League are working to meet them where they are at.

“The way that supporters follow their favourite teams and players is evolving and the Premier League is always looking for ways to engage with fans. Sorare’s digital cards and innovative online game represent a new way for them to feel closer to the Premier League whether they are watching in the stadium or from around the world. We believe that Sorare are the ideal partner for the Premier League and we look forward to working closely together,” said the League’s chief executive Richard Masters.

With this launch, 1,111 NFTs will be released for each Premier League player at a reserve price of £1.  For fans of the league that have been waiting for their fix, the time is now. 

NFTs in Sports 

A few years ago, a deal of this size would have been practically unheard of. But the success of platforms like SoRare shows that the benefits that NFTs offer users are in demand across all sports. 

As its co-founder and CEO Nicolas Julia says, “It’s a major milestone for us as we pursue our goal to build a compelling global sports community for fans and we’re extremely proud to have now partnered with three of the biggest sports leagues in the world: the Premier League, NBA and MLB.”

Considering how successful and important Yuga Labs is in the NFT sector, it comes as no surprise that it is constantly going through changes and announcing new developments. Whether it’s the company’s new gaming endeavours or its ongoing lawsuit with Ryder Ripps, it is always in the news. 

However, the latest bit of news coming out of Yuga Labs has to do with Wylie Aronow (popularly knobs as Gordon Goner), one of the original founders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. In a January 28, 2023 Twitter thread, Aronow explained that he will be stepping away from his role in Yuba Labs due to some ongoing health conditions. 

Aronow’s New Changes 

In the thread, Aronow revealed that he has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and as a result, he will be making some changes to his daily life. 

“I was told by my doctor I have congestive heart failure. Symptoms started last year out of the blue and I put off seeking help (like an idiot) so I could keep working. But after testing, my doctor called and asked me to radically change my life,” he said. 

Some of these changes will include him stepping back and taking a leave of absence from his role at Yuga Labs. This is not the first time that Aronow is speaking publicly about his health challenges. In an open letter from last year refuting Ryder Ripps’ allegations of the Bored Ape Club having nazi origins, he explained the background behind his monicker ‘Godorn Goner’. 

The reason for the name is that Aronow has suffered from health problems for a lot of his life and his friends would joke that he was a ‘Goner’. These issues were so severe that he says that he ‘lost’ his 20s to chronic illness. Sadly, he is still battling poor health and noted that his dedication to Yuga Labs (which included working 12-hour days almost every day) took a toll on his health and he is now choosing to step back. 

But this departure does not mean that he is turning away completely from Yuga Labs. 

“What’s next? I’ll stay on as a board member and strategic advisor. My confidence in Yuga’s future and @cryptogarga’s leadership are unwavering. Daniel Alegre (@dalegre) soon joining only makes me more bullish,” he said in his statement. 

What This Means

While it is unfortunate that Aronow is suffering from such a condition, he did clarify that his symptoms are mostly mild. He noted that while he gets winded going up and down stairs and struggles with exercise, he is able to live a mostly normal life. 

And even with this, he has made it clear that he is not leaving the ecosystem he helped build entirely. In his role as a board member and strategic advisor, he can still influence the development of Yuga Labs as a whole. Hopefully, Aronow’s health is able to improve as time goes on and he could even return to his role in the future.

As a testament to how much the industry has grown, we have seen a lot of big brands get involved in the NFT space. Nike, Starbucks, Givenchy, Taco Bell, and many more have taken the leap into the NFT space and released several interesting projects. 

But we might just be getting the biggest yet as Amazon is rumoured to be preparing for an NFT launch this spring. According to a report from BlockWorks citing sources within the company, Amazon is looking to get into blockchain-based gaming and related NFT applications this year. 

Amazon’s NFT Ambitions 

Amazon is one of the biggest and best-known companies in the world and as such, its potentially launching NFTs is a very big deal. Naturally, the company has spared no expense when it comes to pursuing this new venture as it has reportedly reached out to several firms in the industry such as digital asset exchanges and blockchain gaming startups. 

So, what will these NFTs reportedly entail? A lot of these seem to be geared towards gaming and Amazon is allegedly looking into offering blockchain games through which users can claim NFTs. This would make sense given how popular and successful blockchain gaming has been in the last few years, even seeing investment from such companies as GameStop.

All this is speculation for now but the sources say that the company will be makings its plans public by April of this year. And regardless of speculation, Amazon entering the crypto and NFT space will be a major disruptor. Even the most established companies in the NFT space would struggle to match Amazon in terms of resources and its entry could change the NFT landscape as we know it. 

“We knew it was possible. But now it seems like it’s really happening. That’s going to affect the existing players in the space — if they execute and do this right and are smart about it,” a source quoted in the report said. 

And then there is the fact that Amazon already has millions of users which will make its foray into NFTs much easier. The same way Amazon entered the streaming and music space and instantly had millions of customers, the same could happen for its web3 ventures. 

“With the [number] of customers Amazon has, they could make a huge splash in the NFT marketplace,” another source said.

And apparently, Amazon’s approach is more aggressive than initially thought. In the past, executives were leaning more towards releasing some NFT collectables in collaboration with artists. Now, the company is looking to jump head-first into the space and offer what is surely an ambitious project to its customers. 

While representatives for Amazon declined to comment on the issue, we should get some confirmation by spring on whether or not these reports are true. If it is, the NFT space is about to become even more competitive. But on the flip side, NFTs will be given a higher level of global visibility and stamp of approval. 

Just like his political career, the saga of Donald Trump’s NFTs seems to be never-ending and overly complicated. When the former US President released his NFTs back in December 2023, they sold out immediately, grossing almost $5 million in the process. But even with this financial success, they flopped in the resale market, with many of the assets seeing bids of only a fraction of the initial price. 

But all this could be changing. Recently, the NFTs have seen a resurgence in interest and value. As of the last 24 hours especially, the tokens have seen a value surge of up to 800%. 

Trump NFTs Making a Comeback

Because of their association with such a well-known (albeit controversial) public figure, these NFTs were bound to do well in their initial run. But the fact that its first drop was successful financially does not mean that it was a critical success. On the contrary, the NFTs were panned by several late-night talk show hosts as being a cash grab or downright silly. Critics also pointed out that the NFTs (which featured images of Trump as various archetypes) appeared to have been plagiarised. 

All these led to the value of the assets dipping the weeks after they were launched and many considered them dead and forgotten. But in the last week, the assets have made a comeback of sorts. According to data from Cryptoslam, the assets have seen a value spike of about 800% in the last week, proving that there is hope yet. 

So what caused the increased interest in the NFTs that have been in the market for over a month now? Most of this seems to be related to Trump the person and the brand. For starters, the former president seems to be on his way back to social media. 

In 2021, he was banned from several social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, which took a major toll on his public visibility (Trump was infamous for his tweets especially). But on the conservative social media site Truth Social, Trump claimed that he will be coming back to Instagram and Facebook.

“Facebook has lost Billions of Dollars in value since ‘deplatforming’ your favorite President, me, has just announced they are reinstating my account.” he said. News of Trump possibly returning to social media sparked headlines around the world and renewed interest in not just him but his limited edition NFTs. And if this is true and he does make a permanent return to social media, these NFTs could see even higher values as time goes on. 

Ups and Downs

The story of the Trump NFTs is a perfect illustration of how complex and unpredictable the NFT space is. On arrival, they were a success followed by a quick decline and now a recovery. The markets have always been fairly volatile and it shows that no collection should be completely written off as conditions and demand can change as a result of a single announcement. 

Regardless of their polarizing nature, it is hard to deny that NFTs are very versatile in their use. Simply put, NFTs can do a lot for consumers; they can act as an investment, a collectable from their favourite franchise, and a way to access exclusive events and perks.

Now it seems they can help people…pay for their parking tickets? As bizarre as it sounds, this is the case as musician Arden Jones intends to do just this through his hit song “Parallel Parking”. As part of the song’s anniversary celebration, Jones will be paying off fans’ parking tickets and will be using NFTs to do so. 

The Peculiar Case of Parking Tickets

When it was first released two years ago, the Parallel Parking song got the traditional rollout and was released on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify and was quite successful on them, raking up millions of streams. Now, it has been released on Sound.xyz, an NFT music site. 

Those who are interested can buy the song on the platform for 0.05 ETH and these funds will be pooled together into a community fund.

This is being done to support what is called the “Parallel Parking Fund” which will pay off the parking tickets for fans. To get their debt paid off, fans have been encouraged to submit their unpaid parking tickets on social media. Winners will be chosen at random and will have their tickets paid off. 

And while this is a celebration of the song that kicked off Jones’ career, he has also said that offsetting the cost of parking tickets is something that he considers very important.

“A lot of parking tickets (especially in Los Angeles) are given out unnecessarily and excessively. I also feel that so many ‘No Parking’ signs in L.A. are purposefully confusing and are set up to make money, not to restrict parking where it’s necessary,” he said to Decrypt. 

The Power of NFTs in Fan Engagement

So far, 18 of the 100 NFTs have been sold, raising over $1,000 for the cause which the beneficiaries will be sure to appreciate. And beyond this initial project, this shows the potential for web3 and how NFTs can connect musicians and other creatives with their fans.

This is a narrative that is often shared in the web3 industry but usually, this manifests as creatives releasing commercial projects as NFTs. And while Jones is releasing his song as an NFT, it is for the purpose of giving back to fans. 

By doing this, a more mutually-beneficial relationship is fostered between the two parties and could even be a driver of adoption. As Jones has admitted, a lot of his fans were not initially familiar with web3 and this influenced his choice of platform for the project. 

“I know that not all of my fans are familiar with the Web3 space so I want to make it as easy to access as possible,” he said.