Category: News

One of the amazing developments in the NFT world over the last few years is the number of popular franchises that have launched collections. From Baby Shark to House of the Dragon to Stranger Things, many recognizable franchises have entered the NFT space. But with these collections released by the IP holders to the franchise have also come fan-made and even deceptive collections looking to capitalise on the trend.

One of the latest comes from the Pokemon Company International, which has filed a lawsuit against another company Pokemon Pty Ltd which launched an NFT video game using the authorized IP.

Details About the Case

Many of us recognize the Pokemon franchise, even if we did not play the game or watch the TV shows associated with it. Pokemon Pty Ltd has created a mobile game called PokeWorld under the name Kotiota Studios and was marketing to customers. There were also plans to release NFTs that use the Pokemon franchise name and imply a connection with Pokemon Company International.

The problem with this is that it does not have any affiliation with the Pokemon Company International and as such, a court order has been gotten that stops Pokemon Pty Ltd from moving forward with these plans. This court order would essentially stop the company from using any of the Pokemon IPs, including names, characters, images, and so on across both physical and digital media.

This is because while Pokemon itself and its characters are known around the world, not everyone is familiar with the company behind it. And should people see a company advertising Pokemon NFTs with all the imagery they’ve come to know, they might not bother to research who is behind them and might spend money on unauthorized NFTs. 

This situation is also compounded by the fact that Pokemon Pty Ltd has repeatedly claimed affiliation with the company. As per court documents, they have claimed to have worked on Pokemon Violet and Pokemon Scarlet, two popular Pokemon games, despite having no involvement in them. 

And the Pokemon Company International seems especially concerned with its planned NFT rollout as it has deliberately avoided releasing NFTs so far. Many companies, especially legacy projects like Pokemon, often approach the NFT market very carefully so it is understandable why the Pokemon Company International is so concerned about this. These court docs are essentially asking Pokemon Pty Ltd to stop using the image, name, and likeness of the Pokemon brand and it has also been hinted that Pokemon Company International will pursue further legal action if they do not comply.

The Potential of This Case

This development between the two companies shows a few things; first that as NFTs continue to boom, many will try to cash out using IPs that they do not have the rights to. But If the two companies eventually find themselves in court, it will test the limits of IP and NFT rights and could set legal precedents for the industry for a long time to come. 

Couple weeks ago, former US President Donald Trump made history after he released his first NFT collection based on the Polygon blockchain. These NFTs came in the form of trading cards that saw Trump as several different personas. In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said that the NFTs would likely sell out quickly. 

“These limited edition cards feature amazing ART of my Life & Career! Collect all of your favorite Trump Digital Trading Cards, very much like a baseball card, but hopefully much more exciting… Only $99 each! Would make a great Christmas gift. Don’t Wait. They will be gone, I believe, very quickly!” he said at the time.

In the days following the NFTs’ release, however, they have been panned by critics and have even been accused of being plagiarised. 

New Developments With Trump’s NFTs

One thing that is evident about this NFT collection is that it has been financially successful. It sold out within hours of its release and is reported to have brought in about $5 million for the ex-president. But the fact that it was successful doesn’t mean that it was well-received by the mainstream. In fact, many across the world panned the collection as being a cash grab, unoriginal, or just silly.

Late-night host Kimmy Kimmel, for example, implied that the NFTs were not offering any value and were not worth the $99 price they commanded. 

“Trading cards! Not even real trading cards – digital trading cards. Which is another way of saying nothing. At least last time you got a red hat, now he’s selling you nothing,” he said. 

Another late-night host Stephen Colbert accused Trump of being opportunistic in a recent monologue. 

“That’s right, you read that right. The ex-president of the United States, the ex-most powerful man in the world, has launched a line of trading cards […] He’s a business genius, jumping in on the NFT market when it’s at his hottest,” Colbert said. 

But being mocked by late-night hosts and on social media is not the only challenge that this project is facing. The trading cards show Trump photoshopped in a number of scenarios such as in Camo and it was assumed that they were done with some sort of photoshop application. But according to a story by Gizmodo, the images were plagiarised from a number of small businesses with Trump’s face superimposed on them. This was apparently revealed through a Google reverse image search. 

Perhaps as a result of all these scandals, the price floor for these assets has fallen sharply from its initial peak of d 0.84 ETH. Many had rushed to list the assets on the resale market but demand for them seems to have cooled over time. 

The Last of Trump NFTs

While this venture, like many things relating to Trump, has been highly controversial, it is likely not the last time that we will see Trump release NFTs. Given his wife’s multiple NFT ventures and the initial success of this one, we might get another drop soon enough.

With NFTs becoming as popular and polarizing as they are, it comes as no surprise that more content regarding them is being made. From videos explaining how they work to endless written content documenting the space, NFTs are having their moment.

Now, they are being put on one of the biggest platforms in the world as Amazon Prime Video has released its new NFT-centered documentary NFTMe. Just in time for the holidays, this documentary speaks with about 50 pioneers in the NFT space and takes a deep dive into how the industry emerged and where it appears to be going. 

All About NFTs

This documentary consists of 6 episodes and each is 30 minutes long. In them, 50 people across 80 countries and 6 continents touch on their journey with NFTs and the industry as a whole. Some of those featured include the music producer Peter Rafelson and even rapper Eminem and each contributes towards the bigger narrative of the series. 

The first episode of NFTMe explains to the audience what an NFT is and gives some insight into the industry, setting the scene for the rest of the experience. In subsequent episodes, Refik Anadol, a digital artist, describes their experience creating art for NASA and Eminem discusses his NFT journey. The rapper famously featured Bored Apes in his most recent MTV VMA performance and this is yet another way that he is getting involved in the industry. 

But the rest of the documentary doesn’t focus just on the individuals in the NFT space but on the firms as well. The different ways that NFTs have been applied commercially are explored as well as the many ways that they can be further explored to drive even more adoption. 

Currently available in the US and the UK and coming worldwide in 2023, this documentary has been in the works for years and Amazon saw contributions from  Jonny Caplan, the CEO and founder of Tech Talk Media, to create it. The documentary should have initially come out in 2019 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the team behind it have to get creative with its developmemt. 

But now that it has been released, Caplan has said that he hopes for it to become an educational touchstone for the industry.

“NFTMe intends to be the MTV of NFTs, providing the default go-to for information on NFTs in a clear, understandable, and effective way, enabling viewers to absorb the plethora of terminology, diversity, and opportunity in the Web3 realm, while experiencing the culture, the mood, the style, and the energy,” he said, 

Why This is Important 

In terms of adoption and getting NFTs unto the world stage, it is paramount that we encourage blockchain-related education. After all, if people do not know what NFTs are or have a wrong impression of them, they are unlikely to embrace them. This is why having a documentary appear on such a large platform as Amazon Prime Video is important and should be celebrated. 

At this point, IKEA Is practically synonymous with furniture and is one of the most recognizable home brands in the world. Many of us might have memories of strolling through their store picking out items or struggling to assemble tables at home. 

After conquering the real-world furniture sector, IKEA is now on a mission to change the way that we interact with our furniture and is doing this through Space10, its research lab. According to a recent statement, Space10 is designing Carbon Banks, a speculative design project that plans to connect furniture to NFTs in order to drive sustainability. 

How Carbon Banks Works

As the official statement on the Space10 website says, the company is looking to extend furniture lifecycles and promote end-of-life recycling. And the way that the company intends to promote these sorts of behaviours among consumers is through NFTs. 

More specifically, IKEA intends to pursue its Carbon Banks initiative to change consumer behaviour. 

“Carbon Banks proposes a future generation of NFTs called digital amplifiers as one of these new possibilities. Digital amplifiers act as a virtual layer attached to a physical object, highlighting and augmenting some of the object’s features and ultimately shifting the way we relate to these items,” an official post said.

How this will work is that the physical furniture will have unique patterns that will bind them to NFTs. When these patterns are scanned, an NFT is generated and these digital assets will evolve in a similar way to plants. 

The physical furniture is made out of wood which acts as a ‘carbon sink’ that stores carbon for the duration of its lifetime. As long as the furniture is kept, the NFT will continue to evolve like a tree and this acts as an incentive for the user to prolong its lifespan.

Besides the amount of time that the furniture is kept, its linked NFT will also grow based on the data that is received by its smart contracts such as environmental, ownership, and care data. As such, all the actions that the owner takes will be reflected in the growth speed, colour, leaf shape, and so on. 

The end goal of this is for the furniture owner to feel connected to the item in their home and make more responsible decisions regarding them. The team believes that people will be encouraged to care for their items if there is a digital roadmap of their lifecycle.

NFTs’ Potential Use in Furniture

While we have seen NFTs being applied in a myriad of ways, this project from IKEA is one of the most novel thus far. But upon closer inspection, it makes a lot of sense.

There is currently a big push towards sustainability and creating a way for consumers to be less passive towards the furniture that they choose to buy is certainly a step in the right direction. While Space10 has not yet revealed a rollout for the Carbon Banks items, we can only hope that they come soon.

As time goes on, we see more and more intersections between the video game space and the NFT world. From the various gaming projects that have incorporated NFTs to the rise of GameFi, NFTs seem to just be getting started in gaming. 

One of the latest developments in that field comes from none other than the popular gaming company Activision Blizzard. As was announced in a new blog post, Daniel Alegre, the outgoing Chief Operating Officer at Activision Blizzard, will be joining Yuga Labs as the new CEO next year.

Alegre Comes to Yuga Labs

Those in the NFT space will recognise the name Yuga Labs; it is the parent company behind such iconic collections as the Bored Ape and Mutant Ape Yacht Club. Needless to say, it is one of the most important companies in the space and whoever is at its helm will have a lot of influence. 

But the current Yuga Labs team seems confident in this choice as the press release says that it needed someone with experience at building at the highest level possible, which Alegre does. 

“Daniel has vast experience scaling media and gaming companies. As President and Chief Operating Officer at Activision Blizzard […] He also spent over 16 years at Google where he was the company’s President of Global and Strategic Partnerships, President of Shopping, and Payments as well as President of Asia Pacific and Latin America throughout his career there,” the post notes, describing Alegre as a visionary executive who shares Yuga Labs’ creative vision. 

While Alegre will be joining Yuga Labs in the first half of 2023, its current CEO  Nicole Muniz will stay on after that as a strategic advisor and partner. It was noted that Muniz was the company’s first CEO and heavily contributed to developing the 2-year-old company’s existing structure that it is now looking to scale. 

This harkens back to the requirement that Yuga Labs had for its new executive in that it needed someone who had operated on a high level. In the gaming sector, few companies are quite as big as Activision Blizzard and if Yuga Labs is to get to the level that it wants, that sort of insight will be invaluable to its cause. 

A New Dawn for Yuga Labs and Crypto

The crypto winter that we have experienced this year has tested even the most solid of NFT projects and the next year is going to be very significant for the industry. This is because as the dust settles for the NFT sector, projects that will survive will need to develop their utility and community outside of speculation and this was alluded to within the press release. 

“We know we still have a lot to do. We’re extremely bullish on NFTs and the utility this technology brings in the long term. Yuga Labs will continue to stretch the boundaries of what is possible and keep our community updated on all the cool shit we’re working on along the way,” the post concluded.

If you follow NFT news then you’ve probably heard of the company Animoca Brands which is very active in the space. Just recently, it launched a second batch of educational NFTs through its subsidiary TinyTap and is also working towards launching its own metaverse. Needless to say, Animoca Brands is deeply involved in NFTs. 

As such, it comes as no surprise that Animoca Brands has announced its own NFT collection to be called Mocaverse. As per a December 15, 2022 press release, these NFTs will be “its official PFP NFT collection designed to strengthen the company’s ecosystem of Web3 and metaverse-centric projects.” and are due to be launched in the first quarter of 2023. 

Details About Mocaverse

The press release explains that these NFTs will represent the shared values of both Animoca Brands and its portfolio of associated companies. The collection will comprise 8,888 NFTs featuring characters called Mocas and these will be divided into five categories; Dreamers, Builders, Angels, Connectors, and Neo-Capitalists, with each representing different groups of people in the web3 space. 

In terms of utility, the Animocas will have four different types, which are referred to as realms; learn, play, build, and do good. These will serve as channels for Mocaverse holders to interact with one another while also enjoying a plethora of benefits for their participation. More utility is expected to be added over time and these NFTs are designed to foster connections between Animoca Brands’ group companies, partners, portfolio, cross-project collaborations, and so on. Animoca Brands currently has over 380 projects in the web3 space and the company is hoping that this new NFT collection will lead to even more cohesion between them.

“The community of Animoca Brands stretches around the world and across the open metaverse. Our family and friends include builders and leaders who are shaping Web3 culture and creating the future of this space. Mocaverse is an opportunity to create a tighter and more synergistic community as we strengthen the connections between our teams and portfolio, and create new ways to build the next great projects and platforms,” says Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands.

In terms of access, the press release explained that the NFTs will only be available to four different groups of people. These will include Animoca Brands’ institutional and retail investors, employees of Animoca Brands and its subsidiaries, management teams of companies in Animoca Brands’ Web3 investment portfolio, and partners of Animoca Brands. 

Animoca’s Web3 Ambitions 

While it has already made a name for itself in the NFT space, Animoca Brand’s 2023 plans seem to be geared towards uniting its various web3 projects. While many such innovative projects exist, they tend to be fragmented and have little connection to each other. 

As such, this NFT collection will connect them under a single umbrella and allow for more cohesion within Animoca as it moves into the future. Needless to say, NFT lovers can expect to see even more exciting developments from Animoca Brands to come.

If there is one thing that the NFT space, unfortunately, has a lot of, it’s scammers who are more than happy to steal valuable assets. And these scammers target all sorts of people, from top celebrities to everyday people and sometimes, even the creators of the NFTs. 

One of the latest incidents involving NFT scammers features one who stole a whopping 14 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs worth a combined $ 1 million. These activities were reported by a web3 security analyst who goes by the name @Serpent on a December 17, 2022 Twitter thread. 

How the Scammer Pulled it Off

As Serpent explained, this heist wasn’t a quick operation but was more of a months-long ‘social engineering scam’ that involved a fake licensing deal. These days, it is fairly common for owners of Bored Ape NFTs to license them for commercial deals and this is what the scammer, who was allegedly identified on Twitter, leveraged. They claimed to be working for a company called Forte Pictures which had offices at Sony Pictures Studio and used the fake name, Jason Brubeck. 

While there is actually a company called Forte Pictures, it has no association with the scammer, who created a fake website and even social media pages for the company and a fake NFT platform called ‘Unemployed’. According to Serpent, the scammer took great care to convince the user of their legitimacy, hosting Twitter spaces and creating fake accounts for nonexistent Bored Ape users to interact with Unemployed. 

“They spent many hours in calls, talked with victims for weeks, created fake pitches and partnerships, formed fake legal contracts, hosting frequent Twitter spaces[..] This was a long-term sophisticated scam, slowly building credibility over a long period of time,” Serpent says.

After the victim was convinced of the legitimacy, contracts were sent via email and they were told to accept a ‘bid’ for licensing the apes on the Unemployed website. When the victim visited the site, they were told to digitally accept the bid. However, the ‘bid’ them bundled all their NFTs together, worth about $1 million, and sold it to the scammer for 0.00000001 ETH. 

Once the scammer had control of the NFTs, they sold all of them privately and converted the assets to DAI and sent them to a wallet. The funds and NFTs have still not been recovered and this serves as an example to others, Serpent said. They also outlined a few steps that users can take to avoid such situations such as not signing Seaport signatures outside of OpenSea and always confirming identity. It should also be noted that centralized platforms have popped up that connect NFT holders with those looking to license their assets.

The Dangers in Licensing 

Licensing is a new way for NFT holders to make money off their assets but as this incident shows, scammers are trying to take advantage of it. 

While this incident is unfortunate, some guidelines can be gotten from it to avoid anyone else falling victim. 

Anyone who is involved in the NFT space will tell you that the community around it is just that- a community. From NFT lovers exchanging collection recommendations on Twitter to the forums speculating on the next Bored Ape project, those who are passionate about NFTs go all out and have become a demographic that businesses want to tap into. 

The latest effort to foster community within the NFT sector comes from the popular marketplace Magic Eden, which has announced its new loyalty program. Dubbed ‘Magic Eden Rewards’, this initiative was confirmed on December 14, 2022. 

How Magic Eden is Rewarding its Users

This program is geared towards Magic Eden’s community of collectors and as the official announcement says, it exists to create value and celebrate them. How this will work is via a points program that will allow users to earn ‘points’ based on their activities on the platform. 

“The vision that we’re working towards is that Magic Eden Rewards Hub will help you make the most out of your experience on Magic Eden. By joining our loyalty program, you can claim rewards from ecosystem partners and creators, earn Magic Points based on your Magic Eden activity, and enjoy progressively greater fee discounts based on your points,” a statement from Magic Eden says.

To get started with this rewards program, users need to sign in to Magic Eden and then connect all their digital asset wallets. After doing this, they will be assigned a ‘level’ which is based on their highest activity level in November or December 2022. The level they are assigned (there are five possible levels) determine the number of rewards users can receive and the first batch of rewards is due to be distributed before the end of the year. 

Users may also collect rewards points by participating in the ecosystem and these are based on transaction volumes. For every 1 SOL that a user spends, they may earn 5 magic points and these can be used to upgrade to an even higher loyalty program tier and earn more rewards. Each month, the rewards earned will recycle. 

And what will these rewards entail? As Magic Eden has explained, they will include airdrops from top collections, discounts from ecosystem partners, and discounts on fees within the ecosystem. Magic Eden also touched on its current fee model, noting that while it briefly suspended fees on its platform, it is looking to re-introduce them in a way that is fair to all. 

“We believe users should be rewarded based on how much they transact on Magic Eden. An everyday trader should receive lower fees than someone who is buying an NFT for the first time. That’s why we have decided to offer greater fee discounts at each level of trade,” the announcement says. 

The site will now be adopting a maker / taker model and will give those on different levels of its loyalty program discounts on its fees, with those on the fifth and highest level getting 45% off their fees.

Regardless of where you land on the political spectrum, most of us can agree that ex-US President Donald Trump was a headline-grabbing figure. From his often-erratic tweets to his policies, international media reported endlessly about him during his term and has kept up with his activities even after.

The latest of his activities is, somewhat surprisingly, an NFT venture. That’s correct, a former US president is launching an NFT collection. Announced on December 15, 2022, these NFTs are in the form of trading cards that show Trump in a number of different themes. 

This launch was confirmed by Trump himself on the social media platform Truth Social. 

“These limited edition cards feature amazing ART of my Life & Career! Collect all of your favorite Trump Digital Trading Cards, very much like a baseball card, but hopefully much more exciting… Only $99 each! Would make a great Christmas gift. Don’t Wait. They will be gone, I believe, very quickly!” he said. 

NFTs of Donald Trump

As per an official statement from Donald Trump, these NFTs are based on the Polygon blockchain and a total of 45,000 ‘trading cards’ will be minted. They will have different rarity levels, with some being one-of-ones while others will be one-of-tens (the official site has stated that no more than 20 will exist of a single NFT). These will be sold exclusively on Trump’s own collecttrumpcards.com site and will come at a cost of $99 plus transaction fees. 

So what do these trading cards look like, exactly? They all show Trump as different characters such as him in military attire holding a gun, as a superhero and in front of the Hollywood sign (though it is redesigned to show ‘Trumpland’). It is loosely reminiscent of Anthony Hopkins’ recent NFT collection that shows the various archetypes he has embodies in his decades-long Hollywood career.

Besides the rights to these images, those who buy these NFTs can also enjoy some perks. Anyone who buys at least 45 NFTs (a nod to Trump being the 45th president of the United States) will win an invitation to a gala dinner in Florida with Trump. Along with this, the site is running sweepstakes that will see winners get access to meet-and-greets with Trump himself, a Zoom call, and even the chance to play golf with him.

While it is certainly unusual for an ex-US president to launch a project like this, Trump is not the first in his family to do so. His wife, Melania Trump has launched several holiday-themed NFTs over the years and they have proven to be a success in their own right.

What This Means

Just like with everything associated with Trump, those who love him will criticize it and his hardcore supporters will likely rally around this project. But the endless controversy around Trump aside, it does show that NFTs have reached a high level of public visibility. 

If nothing else, the NFT industry can say that an ex-US president has endorsed the asset class.

It is the age-old dilemma that has puzzled both the crypto and NFT world for years; do blockchain-based assets qualify as securities? The question of what makes a security, an asset, a currency, and so on have been tackled by everyday investors and lawmakers alike and it seems that no one fully agrees. 

Unfortunately for Gemini and its NFT platform Nifty Gateway, someone is quite convinced that NFTs are indeed securities and is ready to take this all the way to court. According to a post by Law360, the two have had a class action lawsuit brought against them for allegedly selling unregistered securities. 

Gemini and Nifty in Court

Anyone who follows NFT news might have heard a similar story before. This is because Yuga Labs, the parent company of the Bored Ape Club, has faced similar accusations in the past and last we heard, a law firm was seeking past investors to bring forward a class action lawsuit against them.

In the case of Gemini and Nifty, a plaintiff has already begun proceedings, filing a suit through the Herman Jones law firm in New York. In the suit, the plaintiff is accusing Gemini and Nifty of selling securities to investors without properly informing them of the risks associated with digital assets. 

It should be noted that the NFT sector is currently going through a bear market and as such, many assets have lost significant value, with the price floor of even blue-chip collections like the Bored Ape Club falling significantly. The plaintiff notes losing millions from an NFT investment and this, along with the unregistered securities claim, seems to be the basis for this lawsuit. 

These touch on some of the most delicate issues in the industry; ‘are blockchain assets securities’ and market volatility. It is standard for platforms and crypto/NFT investment schemes to add a disclaimer about the unpredictable nature of the industry and note to investors that they could lose all of their money and this is even emphasized by regulatory bodies. 

If Gemini and Nifty offered these warnings, holding them responsible for the failure of a project might be difficult to uphold in court. And just like with Yuga Labs’ recent lawsuit, in which several celebrities are named, it brings into question what level of disclosure NFT-focused businesses have towards investors. 

So far, neither Nifty Gateway nor Gemini has not made a public statement regarding the lawsuit and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds. 

Why These Lawsuits Matter

Ultimately, the lawsuits being faced by Gemini and Nifty Gateway have bigger stakes than just them potentially having to pay compensation to disgruntled ex-investors. These lawsuits can go on to set legal precedents that will affect the rest of the industry. 

If, for example, a judge decides that Gemini and Nifty were indeed selling unregistered securities, it could open the floodgates for other projects to be sued for the same claim. And if it is determined that NFT projects can be sued for investors losing money..well, that is a whole new can of worms.