Category: News

NFTs are many things; one of the most famous by-products of blockchain, a somewhat controversial topic in some circles, and a status symbol. In terms of the latter, it’s not hard to see why. 

NFTs from some of the top collections in the world go for millions of dollars and being able to display a Bored Ape piece as your profile picture is a digital status symbol in its own right. 

On top of this, the luxury goods sector seems to have a burgeoning love affair with NFTs. From Louis Vuitton to Paco Rabbane, NFTs are fast becoming a luxury mainstay. The latest development in this regard comes from luxury retail brand Harvey Nichols which recently unveiled its NFT concept retail space. 

Shopping For NFTs

This retail concept space was unveiled in Harvey Nichols’ Pacific Place store and this marks the first time that a luxury department store will sell NFTs to customers. The NFTs in question are not ones minted by Harvey Nichols itself. 

True to its department store roots, the pieces are curated from popular and existing NFT collections. Some of the collections featured include CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, CloneX x Takashi Murakami, Azuki and Doodles.

As per the official website, the price range for the NFTs is between HK$5,000 to over HK$1,000,000. Payments for the assets will be taken in both cryptocurrency and credit cards. 

Besides selling these NFTs, Harvey Nichols has also announced that it is launching a program that will allow NFT creators to sell their works through the vault. There is a catch, though, as all NFTs to be accepted have to be part of blue-chip collections and must be vetted by the company before they can go on sale. 

With this move, Harvey Nichols has stated that they are trying to bring NFTs to a new buying audience. 

“Through the new space, we aim to make NFTs more accessible to a broader audience by featuring a range of NFTs from some of the most successful projects globally available for in-store exploration and purchase,” the official announcement says, adding that the vault is designed to appeal to and cater for both experienced NFT buyers as well as newbies to the space. 

Harvey Nichols’ involvement in NFTs was first reported in late 2021 and now it seems that this in-person sales point is the result. 

Real-Life NFTs?

This Harvey Nichols development is quite significant for the NFT sector. Naturally, a major player in the luxury sector embracing NFTs is always a good thing. 

But more important, it is notable that these NFTs are being sold in person rather than online. Usually, when we think of buying NFTs, we think of logging unto the site to do so and not visiting a physical space where designer clothes are also sold. 

With this, we are once again seeing that NFTs are limitless in the ways they can be sold and this offers yet another point of entry to customers, which benefits the industry.

Slowly but surely, the music world seems to be getting into NFTs. From artists like Madonna buying NFTs from top collections to Snoop Dogg releasing a song as an NFT, they seem to be finding their place in show business. 

NFTs can be easily leveraged to offer a unique experience for buyers, the same way musicians try to do for fans through albums and tours. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that artists are starting to release short and even full-length bodies of works as or with NFTs. 

Now, these NFTs can be properly recognized by the industry as the Official Charts Company in the United Kingdom has announced that NFTs will now be counted towards albums’ chart sales. 

Counted Sales

With this announcement, the first album that will be eligible for chart inclusion with NFTs is the latest release by British band The Amazons. 

The NFTs that will be included with a purchase of the album will be an animated photograph of the group taken at various points in their career. Three images in total will be released. Each will be after an individual drop that will lead up to the album’s September 2, 2022, release. 

After this, the NFTs can be used to access more exclusive content and will not be tradeable in its initial stage. 

One of the more interesting evolutions in the music industry over the last decade has been the inclusion of certain metrics that are not ‘traditional’ album or singles sales towards chart positions. These have included streams, tour and album bundles, and so on.

While the inclusion of these metrics and the specific formula used to decide what counts as an album or single sale has met mixed responses, it is indicative of the state of popular culture. NFTs are clearly an important tool in several industries, including music. 

The fact that more artists are infusing their commercial efforts with NFTs shows that not only are fans willing to spend money on them but also that they can be used to deliver fan experiences in an innovative way.

“The UK’s Official Charts have always strived to evolve as music fans change how they buy and consume their favourite music, and this is another example of how we have always sought to reflect the pioneering spirit of the music industry and, in particular, the UK scene,” says Martin Talbot, the CEO of the Official Charts Company.

The Future of the Charts?

Now that releases with NFTs are recognized and eligible for the UK charts, we could see more acceptance for them around the world. Clearly, there is enough volume of sales and cultural impact for them to be considered and this could be indicative of the future of the industry. 

The Amazons have already offered fans exclusive content with their NFTs but much more could be done. From the in-person access a la Coachella to the music itself, we are just scratching the surface of what NFTs can do for music.

Last month, the Ukrainian government made news when it was announced that NFTs documenting the Ukraine-Russia conflict were being auctioned to raise funds to support Russian troops. When this came to light, it was seen as a prime example of NFTs playing a part in a historical moment. 

Well, it seems that’s not the only contribution that NFTs are playing in the conflict as a Georgian creative digital agency called Leavingstone has also released NFTs to raise money to support Ukraine. 

So, are these NFTs of historical events, original art, or other creative works? Nope. Leavingstone has taken to selling Russia itself to raise funds. 

A Piece of Russia 

Obviously, Leavingstone isn’t actually selling the state of Russia over the internet. As interesting as that would be, the agency doesn’t have the power to do that. Instead, they are selling digital assets that are meant to represent the state of Russia, albeit unofficially. 

The project, dubbed Russia For Sale, has seen the country divided into  2,443 regions, each represented by unique trading cards. Buyers can view these regions on an interactive map and can buy whichever they want.

So far, about 23 regions have been sold in the first phase, with $18,704 in ETH raised. According to co-founder Levan Lefsveridze, all proceeds will be given to Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.

In the second phase of the project, major pieces of Russian architecture and iconic buildings will be sold, including the Kremlin. In the third phase of the project, the late revolutionary Lenin will be sold as an NFT. 

While it is technically possible to sell anything as an NFT, Russia For Sale is perhaps one of the more provocative projects that have come out recently. But Lefsveridze believes in not only its market potential but the social support it will receive.

“We saw a huge potential in it — that the majority [of people] would want to be involved in Russia’s partition,” he says, in an interview with Radio Free Europe. 

Over the last few weeks, fundraising has taken place all over the world in support of Ukraine and this has included auctioning of digital assets, as well as more traditional efforts. 

The Ukrainian government getting involved in NFTs fully signalled their importance in the ongoing conflict and projects like Russia For Sale seem like a natural evolution of this new movement. 

NFTs For War

Far from a fad, it is clear that NFTs are not going anywhere anytime soon. But their role and implications in the current conflict go far beyond just raising funds. 

For years, content documented on blockchains has been used to make political statements, such as anti-government activists blogging on blockchains in China. But it is clear with this new crop of Ukraine-related NFTs that the statement being made is decidedly pro-democracy with even a bit of political humour infused. 

As the Russia For Sale site says, “As an answer to Russian imperialist aggression, we decided to sell Russia’s territories for good!”

There are many things that are rare in this world; a four-leaf clover, a shooting star, and the autograph of your favourite star. The latter has been one of the most coveted collectables among pop culture fanatics and the general public for decades.

Celebrity autographs are known to sell for millions of dollars in some cases and even as the concept of celebrity itself evolves, autographs remain in demand. Now, businessman Mark Cuban is teaming up with Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher to bring autograph collections to the NFT space. 

They plan to do this through a new company called Baked Ink which will act as a marketplace for digital autographs. 

Signatures in a Digital World

Along with autographs themselves, NFTs are also a symbol of rarity and exclusivity, with no two NFTs being the same. Now, Cuban and Kutcher want to combine the immutable nature of NFTs and the fascination around autographs. 

On Baked Ink, users will be able to sign on pieces of digital content like pictures and this immediately turns them into rare collectables. This is similar to the way a signed poster from a celebrity immediately becomes rarer and more valuable in the real world.

But Baked Ink, in essence, wants their NFT autographs to be even rarer than the physical ones. Once Baked Ink’s users have created their collectables, they can share them on social media and list them on both the Baked Ink marketplace and OpenSea for sale. 

Since the launch of Baked Ink, its first collectable autographs have been launched by the singer Lexi Jade, with an average price tag of $20 per piece. 

As the Baked Ink team explains, blockchain technology can be used to create better cultural access for fans and easier access for creators. Given that the creator economy has been expanded because of the rise of social media, there is massive potential for creators to be able to monetize their brands even more

“By pairing the visual uniqueness of an autograph with the computational uniqueness of an NFT, we offer a missing metaphor to cultural consciousness to help usher in the new era of digital property,” the announcement says. 

Signed on the Chain

Clearly, celebrity autographs and autographed items are not a new concept in the least. However, the leveraging of NFTs can solve age-old problems and revolutionize the way that fans buy autographs. 

For example, for as long as celebrity autographs have been a thing, fakes have existed in the market. With NFT marketplaces, fans can have a verified way to buy autographed assets from their favourite celebrity. 

Access to autographed collectables is also easier with NFTs. if you wanted to buy an autographed poster, for example, you’d usually have to physically travel to where it is being sold or have it shipped to you, both of which would cost extra time and money.

Buying an NFT autograph, on the other hand, can be done as easily as logging onto a site like Baked Ink. Needless to say, NFTs certainly have a place in the celebrity autograph industry.

One of the biggest parts of sports fan culture is the buying of merchandise. This could be the jersey of your favourite player, the sneakers they endorse, and so on. This practise has existed for decades and continues to endure and evolve with the times. 

Now, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced a new and updated way for basketball fans to get closer to their favourite teams and players; NFTs. As per an official announcement, the NBA in partnership with NBPA, will be releasing a collection of basketball-related NFTs called The Association NFT.

The New Trading Card

The Association NFT will be launching on April 22, 2022, and will consist of 18,000 NFTs that will be minted for the 2022 NBA Playoffs participants. Out of this, 75 NFTs will be minted for the 240 rostered players for this season. 

These NFTs, unlike some sports-related web3 endeavours, will not cost any money to mint. Once the NFTs are minted, their appearance will not remain static throughout the season. Instead, they will change based on how the players they are designed after perform. 

This will be seen in the frames of the NFTs themselves, which are designed to look like trading cards. When a player manages a sweep or upset, for example, the frame will be changed to reflect this. 

Out of the 18,000 NFTs that will be released, 2,000 will go to those who already hold Dapper Labs’ NBA Top Shot NFTs. As for the remaining 16,000 tokens, they will be given to users who first sign up via the NBA Discord group and connect their NFT wallets. 

While the NFTs themselves are free, there are gas fees associated with minting them and these have to be paid for using ETH. Once fans are able to get the NFTs in question, they will not know which player they have received until the reveal on April 22, 2022. 

This adds another element of mystery to the sale and this has whipped fans into a frenzy, with whitelist spots completely taken shortly after the announcement. 

NFTs for Sports Fans

Sports fans have always bought collectables of their favourite players and teams, and trading cards have been used since the 1930s. Now, they seem to be getting an upgrade via NFTs. 

In many ways, this new initiative by the NBA taps into many parts of sports fan culture. Fans can get NFT cards of beloved players and thanks to the changing appearance of the cards based on the real-life players’ performance, can enjoy the competitive side of the sport as well. 

Clearly, this has proven to be popular with fans, seeing as the whitelist filled up so quickly. The Association NFT being backed by an organization as powerful in sport as the NBA could also lead to more of the same in other sports. 

If we’re lucky, each new season could be marked by sports fans clamouring to get their hands on the news batch of NFTs.

While the NFT sector is still very much establishing itself, there are a few aspects of the industry that seem to already have their star players. For example, when it comes to NFT marketplaces, platforms like OpenSea reign supreme, acting as the host for billion-dollar NFT collections and being a benchmark of the industry. 

Well, it seems that OpenSea might have some competition on its hands as Coinbase, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world, has announced on April 20, 2022, the launch of the beta version of its NFT marketplace. 

Coinbase Joins the NFT Race

While the beta site is just being launched today, Coinbase had made announcements about its incoming NFT marketplace last year. At that time, users were encouraged to sign up for its waitlist to get a chance to test the site once it was launched. 

Coinbase says that it will be choosing those at the top of the waitlist and over time, others will be allowed to join the platform as well.

Now, they, along with others, can visit the site at nft.coinbase.com. Beta testers can also set up Coinbase NFT profiles to buy and sell digital assets using any self-custodian wallet. For now, Coinbase is not charging any fees but as per the official announcements, fees will be added in the future.

There is also a lot of emphasis on the community aspect of the NFT platform as opposed to it being only a marketplace. 

“The rise of NFT communities have shown us that online conversation extends far beyond the moments around transactions. We’re building a place that’s for more than just buying and selling. We want Coinbase NFT to be a place that helps creators and collectors build and engage their communities,” the announcement says, adding that users can leave comments on NFTs, follow others, and upvote or downvote others’ comments. 

Each user will have a ‘Discover feed’ that will be curated by the algorithm based on whatever NFTs they seem to engage with the most. This is similar to the explore and ‘For You’ pages that Instagram and TikTok users enjoy. 

While Coinbase’s NFT marketplace is still new, it has already secured pieces from creators such as  Doodles, Boss Beauties, and Azuki, all of whom are featured on the site. The announcement also hinted that Coinbase NFT will be offering support to creators over the next few months. 

New Marketplace on the Block

In the blog post announcing the marketplace, Coinbase explained that it will be adding more features in the future including drops and support for credit cards. All these not only benefit Coinbase NFT users but also helps to create a more robust NFT market. 

While sites like OpenSea have served the market so far, it is in everyone’s best interest that there are a plethora of NFT marketplaces to choose from as opposed to just a few all-powerful ones. This ensures more variety for the consumer and NFT creators alike.

As popular as the NFT market has become in the last few years, it is still in a complicated place when it comes to its regulatory status. Because NFTs are so new and the limits of their use have not been fully defined, regulators around the world are still figuring out what to do with them. 

Well, one online casino developer in the United States was recently contacted by regulators regarding its NFT dealings. According to reports, securities regulators in Alabama and Texas ordered the casino to stop selling NFTs due to claims that it was selling unregistered securities. 

Trouble With the Law

The casino in question is called the Sand Vegas Casino Club and was founded in Cyprus but has operations in the United States. As per the reports, the casino had offered 11,100 NFTs for sale. The ‘Gambler’ and ‘Golden Gambler’ NFTs were advertised as giving their users a share of casino profits. 

The co-founders of the casino, Martin Schwarzberger and Finn Ruben Warnke, had told investors that their funds would be used for the development of metaverse-based casinos. In return, they were promised profits of up to $81,000 per year. 

Unfortunately, this was not to be so as securities regulators in two US states, Alabama and Texas, sent cease-and-desist letters to the company. According to the regulators, selling these NFTs to represent ‘shares’ in the company constituted the selling of unregistered securities and defrauding the public. 

Since the notice was sent, the company has ceased all promotions of the NFTs and OpenSea has confirmed that the company has disabled sales on its profile. Despite this, it has been estimated that about 4,200 of the Gambler NFTs and 624 of the Golden Gambler NFTs were sold and how the buyers will be compensated is still up in the air.

While the metaverse-based casinos might not be moving forward, the company does plan to continue with the development of regular online casinos. 

NFTs As Shares?

NFTs’ place within the global regulatory framework is a bit tricky. Things such as art and virtual experiences can be sold as NFTs with no issue but selling what amounts to shares in a company via NFTs is very new territory. 

Crypto lovers might remember the period when Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) were all the rage in the industry, bringing in billions for blockchain companies. Years after the ICO craze has died down, regulatory bodies in the US are still prosecuting many of the organizers for selling unregistered or fraudulent NFTs. 

Famously, the SEC in the United States had a legal dispute with Telegram over its TON token, which the Commission claimed was an unregistered security. The pattern has remained clear over the years; any digital asset sold as a share of security has to be registered, and this includes NFTs.

It is possible that NFTs will become a form of securities sold openly in the future but for now, it seems regulators aren’t having it.

Because it is relatively new, it is quite easy to underestimate just how robust the NFT space is. Oftentimes, NFT critics will suggest that the ‘hype’ around them is fleeting and has died down. But every now and again, a project is launched that exceeds all expectations and shows just how high the demand for NFTs is.

Over the weekend, Moonbirds, a new NFT collection was launched and set new sales records for the industry in just a few days. Since its launch on April 16, 2022, the collection has grossed over $200 million on OpenSea.

To The Moon

The collection consists of 10,000 pixelated images of different owls and has been linked to the PROOF Collective, which is a private network of NFT owners. The collective is known to be quite influential, with members being required to spend roughly 99 ETH to be admitted. 

Clearly, this association has worked in Moonbirds’ favour as it is now placed at the top of OpenSea’s leaderboard, alongside iconic collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Those who bought the NFTs will have several perks as a result, including access to the private PROOF Collective Discord channel, in-person meetups with other members, and so on. 

The PROOF Collective also has its own metaverse in the works and once it is launched, it will be called ‘Project Highrise’. While the Moonbirds collection was certainly successful within the market, it did spark some debate online. 

First, some complained that the mint price of the collection, which was about 2.5 ETH, was too high. There were also accusations of those with intimate knowledge of the project practising rarity snipping. 

But more than this, it was suggested that the sudden success of the project implied that the NFT market has become less democratic and instead, influence and resources were being used to manufacture inorganic success. 

As one Twitter user said, “In the last 7 hours, Moonbirds have done more volume than BAYC, MAYC, Azuki, Beanz, Punks, Doodles, and CloneX have done. Over the last 7 days. Combined.

This is ridiculous. Our market is simultaneously maturing & behaving immaturely at the same time.”

Several Twitter users also said that their feeds were spammed with messages promoting the collection. Allegedly, the accounts posting the messages were verified but were not known within NFT and blockchain circles on Twitter. The verdict for many was that these accounts were bots.

High in the Sky

The Moonbirds debut shows a few key things. First, the NFT market is thriving and can reach many new heights, especially when projects are intentionally promoted. At the same time, it does show that NFT lovers are frustrated with what they see as market manipulation. 

From accusations of exploitative minting costs to concerns about Twitter bot campaigns, it is clear that the industry needs improvement in specific areas. Like Twitter user Zeneca.eth said, there are parts of the industry that have retrogressed and this is not addressed, it could cast suspicions on NFT drops in the future.

When it comes to NFTs, one of the biggest recurring questions is whether or not people like them. Naysays would argue that no one actually sees value in NFTs or appreciates them in popular media while NFT lovers would say the opposite. 

This is particularly true when it comes to gaming. Many gaming companies like Ubisoft have embraced NFTs in recent times and the responses to these projects once again bring about the question of how the public feels about NFTs. 

It seems that Activision Blizzard would also like to know as it has been reported that the company put out a survey trying to gauge users’ attitudes towards NFTs.

Customer Feedback 

It was reported that over the last weekend, Activision put out a survey through the popular customer response site YouGov. As part of the survey, users were asked how they felt about emerging trends in the gaming sector. 

On the list were things like Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and also NFTs. Soon after this survey was published, users took to social media to show screenshots and their accounts of taking the survey. 

“So it seems Blizzard/Activision is trying to see if players are interested in crypto and n.f*t in games. I got a survey from them and it is on the survey. I said very disinterested to them,” one Twitter user said. 

Interestingly, some reported that after they completed the survey, they were redirected to the official Blizzard store. The story went viral on social media and  Activision Blizzard president Mike Ybarra even chimed in. 

Responding to a Twitter user who said that the company was gauging interest in NFTs and play-to-earn games, he said, “No one is doing NFTs.” 

While this likely signals that there are no NFT projects currently in the works, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that some might be added eventually. The gaming sector seems to be playing around with the idea of NFTs and this could be some preliminary research on the part of the company before moving forward with any projects. 

We should also keep in mind that Activision is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft following several scandals, including lawsuits for sexual harassment claims. Once the acquisition is done, the company might move in a new direction with its offerings and NFTs might find their way into the mix. 

NFTs Take Center Stage

It is telling that NFTs were in a survey about emerging trends in gaming alongside Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence. All have spawned highly lucrative sectors in their own right and have become a part of the gaming world as we know it. 

If Activision Blizzard does develop NFT-based gaming projects, there is a wealth of options. Some games include NFTs as collectable items and some games have their characters as NFTs. 

NFTs in the gaming sector seem to just be scratching the surface and considering the fact that NFTs were barely on the radar a few years ago, this is a clear sign of progress.

News publishing has seen quite an evolution in the last few decades. With a decline in print starting in the 2000s, the industry has made a pivot to digital media, with new revenue being brought in via subscriptions, ads, and so on. 

Now, it seems that NFTs might just be the next big money-maker for the news industry. This comes via a report from the Press Gazette that news publishers have brought in a combined $12 million in the last year through various NFT-related projects. 

Extra, Extra!

Some of the news corporations profiled in the Press Gazette report were CNN, Time magazine, Forbes, and so on. Out of all, Time was found to have made the most from NFTs, with a reported $10 million raked in. 

Time’s first foray into the NFT space came in March 2021, with three covers sold as NFTs. Following that successful venture, Time has set up a store on OpenSea where covers are regularly sold as NFTs. This has helped not only bring in massive profits for Time but has also established it as a news publishing leader in the space. 

Other efforts include the New York Times which auctioned one of its columns as an NFT, The Economist selling a cover as an NFT, Forbes launching a collection of digital billionaires for sale as NFTs, and CNN’s NFTs which consist of short videos and images. 

In total, 10 media outlets were profiled by the Gazette and the report showed a variety of projects that were set up by them to leverage blockchain. The most common example was of covers being minted as NFTs, which seems to be a more common practice these days, especially for publications like Time magazine.

Then there are other, more experimental, concepts such as the New York Times selling a column and Gannett selling an interactive mosaic as an NFT and Forbes digital billionaires. 

In terms of how long these projects have been ongoing, there is also some variance. While publications like the Gannett seem to have had a one-time NFT stint, Time magazine seems to be committed to NFTs in the long haul. 

Its store on OpenSea and the constant sales from it (the report states that in January 2022, 100 sales were made in a four-day period)  have made it the biggest earner on the list and perhaps the most visible mainstream magazine in the NFT space. 

Will Print Remain in Web3?

From this report, it is clear that the news publishing industry has made a successful leap into Web3 with a slew of innovative projects. While these projects have certainly been lucrative for the organizations, the question remains of whether or not this will continue. 

While some like Time magazine seem to be positioning their NFTs endeavours as long term projects, others seem not so sure. Either way, the market for them exists and as long as there is a consumer base that is willing to support the media houses through NFTs, the overall presence of the industry in Web3 should continue.