Of all the innovative ideas put forth at this week’s NFT Hack 2022, minting street graffiti as non-fungible tokens is quite possibly the wackiest.
Graffiti Mint is a decentralised application (dApp) that aims to digitise, mint, and monetise graffiti events. It integrates ERC1155 NFTs for 4-tier season passes for event supporters and ERC751 contracts to mint street art produced in graffiti events at city parks as NFTs.
Event supporters get an OG (Original Gangster) NFT from each artwork made at events from their season pass, while artists earn funds from the auction of Event Edition NFTs and a percentage of the OG NFT sales.
Last year, Australian street artist Lushsux gained international recognition for his large mural paintings depicting internet meme culture. Melbourne-based Lushsux has since become one of the highest-paid artists in Australia, selling his NFTs for over A$500,000 each.
Also showcased at NFT Hack 2022 (January 14-16):
Charisma, a tool that “reads” your personality by analysing your wallet’s NFT assets and your on-chain activity;
OxPhotos, a stock photography marketplace that puts creators first, where NFTs become future cashflow-positive assets that can be traded on other NFT marketplaces; and
Cropsin, a platform that pays creators in crypto to place independent music artists’ songs in their videos and invests in album art, songs, tickets, metaverse merch and song royalty NFTs.
For a comparison, see Crypto News Australia‘s guide to the top 10 NFT art projects of the past few years.
In celebration of its signature car, Mercedes-Benz has teamed up with Art2People to create an exclusive NFT collection based on its G-Class vehicle line, according to a tweet from the German prestige car maker.
What happens when five #NFT artists take on the challenge of reinterpreting the iconic #GClass?
Mercedes commissioned five NFT artists to create various G-Class-inspired designs, each using different digital mediums to render unique pieces. The artists involved in the project come from diverse areas such as music, graphic design, fashion, creative marketing, real estate, architecture, and luxury design. They include Anthony Authie, Roger Kilimanjaro, Charlotte Taylor, Baugasm, and Antoni Tudisco.
The launch is set to take place on Sunday, January 23, jointly by Mercedes and Nifty Gateway. The drop will only last for one hour and will include pieces in various price categories, ranging from an affordable US$222 all the way up to US$1,554.
To add to the drop, when it hits US$1 million in collective sales, there will be a physical G-Class raffle available for all NFT holders. Another raffle will be held when the drop reaches US$2 million, and each NFT can be bought without having to hold cryptocurrency by using a credit card.
Mercedes Joins Lamborghini and Audi in the NFT Space
Who knew there were non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that could think for themselves?
Altered State Machine (ASM) is a platform to build, train and trade artificial intelligence (AI) “agents” using NFTs, introducing what it calls a new generation of gaming and finance in which AI bots compete and interact with each other.
NFTs With a Brain
Each agent has its own genome – effectively, its DNA. Depending on the agent’s environment, its base values are expressed in terms of strength, speed and size (in gaming) or risk tolerance and randomness (in finance). Think of it as an inboard brain.
Form, on the other hand, is what enables an agent to operate in its physical world. Owners can bring in their existing NFT art or model from another part of the metaverse, or create entirely new forms.
The third facet of agent training relates to its memories. These are specific to the agent’s genome and the world in which they were formed. Each agent can retain multiple memories, created in different worlds.
An ASM Brain NFT. Source: OpenSea
Worlds are applications that exist anywhere in the metaverse using the ASM platform. They may take the form of financial markets or sports fields, combat zones or beach bars. As new worlds grow, new forms and memories are created to explore them.
ASM NFTs are fully compatible with major platforms such as OpenSea and owners can trade their agents on the open market with players who want a head start.
AI Brings New Meaning to Football Headers
ASM Brains has a a decentralised play-to-earn gaming application called AIFA (Artificial Intelligence Football Association) Allstars, unique metaverse-ready footballers to collect and configure.
AIFA All-Stars. Source: ASM Brains
Players can build a team of Allstars, pair them with ASM Brains and train them to compete in the world’s most popular football code.
Arenas will be more than just a place for your All-Stars to compete in AIFA…
They will also be NFTs, allowing them to be owned, traded, and generate passive income for the Arena's owner. 🏟️
Players open an AIFA box to discover the Allstars and ASM Brain inside. The ASM Brain NFT can be loaded into any Allstar and trained to play AIFA. Owners can change the colour, body parts or accessories of characters and mint them as new NFTs to create a customised four-player AIFA team.
Holding $ASTO tokens will entitle players to vote in the DAO on the future direction of ASM.
Crypto News Australia has a wealth of additional information relating to exciting new play-to-earn NFT projects on the Solana and Cardano networks.
OpenSea has raised US$300 million in its latest funding round, bringing the largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace to a US$13.3 billion post-money valuation and adding to the project’s massive growth in sales and user participation.
Paradigm and Coatue led the funding round with participation from new and existing investors.
Announcing Series C! We’re building the friendliest & most trusted NFT marketplace with the best selection across many chains. The funding helps us accelerate product development, improve trust & safety, and invest deeply in the web3 community & ecosystem. https://t.co/OmRPleMCOX
We are excited to work with these incredible partners, thinkers and builders who collectively bring a depth of experience in Web3, NFTs, and best-in-class consumer experiences.
OpenSea blog post
Via the blog post, the project also announced its new VP of Product, Shiva Rajaraman, whose CV includes stints at Meta, YouTube, Spotify and WeWork. OpenSea’s previous head of product was Nate Chastain, who left the company after it was discovered he had used inside information to buy NFTs before they appeared on the marketplace and sold them at a profit.
OpenSea Sees Massive Growth in 2021
The US$13.3 billion valuation figure OpenSea is reporting demonstrates the growing appeal of NFTs, which can be used as blockchain-based deeds of ownership to any form of digital item. As a testament to their growth, in July 2020 OpenSea was valued at US$1.5 billion after a Series B funding round.
The marketplace has not been slowing down, posting its third-best trading day ever on January 2 with US$243 million in Ethereum NFT volume. OpenSea has recorded US$14.68 billion in sales across 1,387,357 traders worldwide, as well as a major increase in user activity.
Participants Want OpenSea to be User-Owned
Earlier this month, some of the NFT community questioned OpenSea’s ability to intervene in the workings of the platform when it froze 16 NFTs stolen from a collector.
ngl I just hope we replace Opensea w a user owned platform in 2022 that doesn’t chug 2.5% per transaction and go down every 30 min.
Meural digital frames were originally designed for displaying private collections of one’s digital photos. Electronics manufacturer Netgear has now announced its plans to expand Meural Canvas capabilities to include the display of digital artworks (NFTs).
Netgear unveiled the new Meural NFT integration at the tech trade show CES 2022 in Las Vegas, US, and it is currently in beta. The new feature will allow users to connect their MetaMask wallets to the Meural device and access any NFTs they own, enabling digital art collectors to physically display NFTs in a framed “smart” canvas hanging on the wall.
Partnership with Async Art
The Meural online platform is a digital canvas marketplace to which members can subscribe and access thousands of images to display on their Meural digital frames. Joining forces with blockchain-based art platform Async Art, Meural owners will be now be able to showcase programmable NFT artworks. Async allows art enthusiasts to create, collect and trade programmable art. This technology is an extremely exciting innovation for artists and art collectors alike:
Async Art is a new art movement built on the blockchain. Create, collect, and trade programmable art: digital paintings split into ‘layers’, which you can use to affect the overall image. Art that can evolve over time, react to its owners, or follow a stock price is now all possible with programmable art.
Watch the video below explaining how Async Art works:
NFT art has grown into a US$11.7 billion industry over the past year. It’s no wonder that hardware companies such as Netgear are cashing in on the opportunity to provide new products to service this fast-growing market. Check out the Meural Canvas II in action in the video below. The frames are already available in stores, although the added NFTs function is not yet released.
Netgear Follows Samsung into the NFT Market
Netgear isn’t the only tech company with eyes on the NFT market. Samsung is also set to release smart TVs with NFT trading capabilities. These new digital display devices with blockchain interoperability will help drive the online digital art movement into the mainstream and real world.
There are already online NFT art galleries in cyberspace, and it won’t be long before real-world art galleries exhibiting NFT art in digital displays such as Meural Canvas become the new normal.
Slim Shady – aka Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem – joined the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) community late last year by buying a non-fungible token (NFT) from the collection for a sobering 123.45 ether. The rapper paid US$452,000 to add BAYC #9055 to his already impressive collection of 166 NFTs.
There is no doubt 2021 was the year of the NFT, with the BAYC NFT project alone grossing over US$1 billion in trading volume worldwide. BAYC recently entered partnerships with Rolling Stone to release two digital magazine covers featuring Bored Ape Yacht Club characters. Adidas also recently announced a collaboration with Bored Ape creators Yuga Labs to enter the metaverse. As a show of good faith, the sports apparel brand also bought its own BAYC NFT.
On December 30, Eminem joined the BAYC project by purchasing BAYC #9055 for a cool 123.45 ETH, or US$452,000. The rapper shared his new purchase by changing his profile picture on Twitter:
Eminem’s new Twitter profile picture. Source: Twitter.com
The BAYC #9055 purchase was further confirmed by the OpenSea platform, which indicates the new owner of the NFT to be “Shady_Holdings”. The portfolio also owns a number of Lil Baby Doodles X NFTs, Ditaggdogg#1 featuring a stencil image of the famous rapper, and Superlatives Apes #3880.
In fact, Eminem owns a number of ERC721 NFTs, including Shaq Gives Back #4077, and Adult Fantasy Sub-Dude (130/151). He bought BAYC #9055 from the NFT’s former owner GeeGazza, who took to Twitter to share his excitement:
I’m living in a simulation.
Thank you @Eminem for buying my ape and joining the club!
The sale was facilitated by digital agency “Six”, who proclaimed on Twitter that its creator-focused agency helped secure the ape for Shady, and are now calling the NFT “EminApe”. Admittedly, the ape does rather resemble its new owner.
According to data from dappradar.com, the rapper owns 166 NFT assets from 32 collections. As it stands, Shady_Holdings address holds 1.52 ETH following the purchase. Eminem got 124 ETH from an account that uses the name georgio.eth. That account holds 504 NFTs from 51 different collections, including BAYC #4936, and it also spent 43.98 ETH on two CryptoPunks.
Non-fungible token (NFT) data provider DegenData.io will be auctioning its CryptoPunk, with the buyer of the NFT finding business IP and all supporting assets attached.
On December 20, DegenData announced the January 1 auction of CryptoPunk #5761, and as a twist “the new owner of this Punk will have the rights to claim DegenData product and assets”.
We see the lines of what NFTs are beginning to blur. Digital and physical worlds are intertwined now. NFTs aren’t just profile pictures. They are becoming the value of what you create around them. It is time for us to push the space to think more about what NFTs represent.
DegenData tweet
Why Sell the Platform?
DegenData (DGD) is owned by Pink Swan Trading, Inc (PST), which owns another brand and is developing another crypto analytics product called Genesis Volatility. The owners want to sell DGD and use the proceeds to further develop Genesis Volatility, since the team feels it can be pioneers in the nascent DeFi sector.
Our team feels strongly that we can be pioneers in crypto options analytics and pioneers in DeFi crypto options; for that reason we decided to sell DGD and use the proceeds to help build Genesis Volatility to its full potential, especially as we dig deeper into the DeFi world.
Here’s a list of some of the most interesting NFT (non-fungible token) projects coming out this month. Some are P2E (play-to-earn) with innovative features while others are joining the metaverse frenzy.
1. Meta Legends
Allow your avatar to roam the metaverse in Meta Legends.
Meta Legends is an upcoming NFT collection of 12345 avatars categorised by levels of rarity, and stored as ERC-721 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. The auction starts on December 11, and the funds will be used to start a number of initiatives, such as building a metaverse called Meta Life, where the community will be able to stack crypto, own property and more.
2. ReforestNation
Grow your own forest and earn carbon credits on ReforestNation.
ReforestNation is a collection of real estate NFTs issued on the Cardano blockchain, where each NFT is a forest plot with its own carbon credit score, allowing users to offset their crypto carbon footprint. By becoming a member of ReforestNation, users gain access to the ecosystem, including the platform’s marketplace, and a personal portfolio that can be managed through the mobile app or website.
The protocol wants to bind the tokens to real-world lands and forests and benefit from them. Every NFT owner has the opportunity to participate in collective decisions on real-life forests and land.
3. Sugar Village
Sugar Village features customised sweet shops.
Sugar Village is a P2E virtual village where users can promote their virtual sweets. To get involved, users have to participate in the initial public sales or buy SHOPs from NFT markets such as OpenSea or Rarible. SHOPs are the customised stores on Sugar Village, which can be prepared to promote the users’ artworks or sold on the aforementioned marketplaces.
4. Inuland
Players can interact with their NFTs in the Inuland Metaverse.
Inuland is multiplayer P2E game where users can collect NFTs in the form of fantasy cosmos creatures known as Inhabited Inues. These creatures can be gathered, bred, and sold in the marketplace.
The community-governed Inuland Metaverse is where users can explore the wide range of more than 170 traits across nine different categories from 10,001 NFTs. By buying the protocol’s native token, INU, players have access to the INULAND P2E game and can earn rewards in the form of INU tokens.
5. Spatial
Spatial is a VR ecosystem accessible by phone.
Spatial is a platform where users can create 3D avatars by taking a selfie with their phones and interacting with other users online while exploring community spaces. The protocol provides a virtual reality ecosystem where anyone can share ideas and visualise them in their own spaces.
6. Property’s
Explore the metaverse and play P2E games in Property’s.
Property’s is an Ethereum-based metaverse hosting 6000 NFTs that users can own in the Property’s metaverse. Besides exploring the metaverse and interacting with other users, players can compete in P2E games or even create their own (and receive) rewards.
Pretty much whatever you do in real life can be done in the Property’s metaverse, from admiring art pieces and purchasing them to attending music festivals and events.
Presale began on December 10, public sale from December 12.
7. World of Norja
Be an orc, a paid mercenary fighter in the World of Norja.
World of Norja is a P2E game where users (orcs) embody mercenaries and embark on a journey in the land of Norja, conquering and exploiting other lands to earn money. Every mercenary is rewarded with $NORJA, the game’s native token. Players receive tokens via airdrop for being part of the army, but they can win more by participating in quests, dungeons, and disputes over territory control. There are 10,000 orcs stored as ERC-721 tokens, each orc unique with equipment and characteristics randomly generated.
8. Lilims
Lilims are an NFT collection of 3,666 hybrid demons with feminine aspects, each of them unique with different traits.
Hybrid feminine demons pose as hand-drawn assets on Lilims.
Lilims will be revealed on December 15, all of them generated via hand-drawn assets. Buying a Lilim is straightforward – simply click the “Mint a Lilim” button to get one. To avoid expensive gas fees, the protocol has chosen the Matic network over Ethereum.
9. Remember
A dedicated commemorative artwork in the Remember metaverse.
Remember is billed as the first commemorative metaverse. Users can craft Memorial Stones, which are dedicated artworks to commemorate the stories of loved ones as NFTs. These also provide users with a key to their personal Memorial Hall, where they can keep, curate and celebrate their memories.
As the non-fungible token (NFTs) boom continues to explode, new projects are popping up left, right, and centre. One of the more recent developments in this burgeoning market is the use of NFTs as digital avatars, along with some meme projects set for imminent launch.
Follow this guide for the inside scoop on 10 bizarre meme avatar NFT projects ready to launch this month:
1. Chimp Club
Chimp Club NFTs are fully customisable. Source: Chimp Club
Set to launch on December 10, Chimp Club is a collection of 10,000 handcrafted and randomly assembled chimps who all live on the Ethereum blockchain. Out of a wide variety of personalities – from hackers and artists to degens, boomers and zoomers, with each chimp built from a unique combo of hair, hats, eyes, mouths, and outfits – owners are able to fully customise their chimp’s profile.
Chimp Club is a community-driven initiative, which will allow holders of Chimps to take part in coordinating the club’s treasury, development and direction. By purchasing a chimp, buyers will be granted full and complete rights to do whatever they want with the NFT and the artwork included, commercially or otherwise. To mint a chimp, holders can use MetaMask, Wallet Connect or Wallet Link.
2. Eraser Heads Lead Rebellion
Unique, generative Eraser Heads. Source: Eraser Heads Lead Rebellion
Eraser Heads is a collection of 11,111 unique, generative NFTs that exist on the Ethereum blockchain. From the December 8 presale, Eraser Heads also exist on the Polygon blockchain network, which means there are no gas fees associated with minting so holders are able to keep more of their initial investment. These NFTs have some additional utility, with buyers earning tokens just by holding.
3. Eternal Utopia
A Utopian living on the Ethereum blockchain. Source: Eternal Utopia
The Eternal Utopia is a collection of AI-generated humanoid characters (Utopians) that are residents of an alternative planet Earth on the Ethereum blockchain, doubling as ERC-721 tokens. Each NFT is hand-sketched using a different colour palette and shading group by the artist, Shoeb. Utopians are created by using generative arts randomly shuffled from 101 different traits, including skins, accessories and expressions.
4. Ghetto SharkHood
Ghetto Sharks gain holders lifetime membership to the club. Source: Ghetto Sharkhood
Already available for purchase on the OpenSea marketplace, Ghetto SharkHood is a limited collection of 10,000 Ghetto Shark NFTs stored on the Ethereum blockchain as ERC-721 tokens. By purchasing a Ghetto Shark, holders gain lifetime membership to the SharkHood, along with members-only benefits. Each Ghetto Shark is unique and programmatically generated from 180 possible traits, including expressions, headwear, accessories and skins.
5. Foxtoons Club
Randomly generated “Boodles”. Source: Foxtoons Club
Launched on December 8, Foxtoons Club is a collection of programmatically generated NFTs built on the blockchain. The first generation consists of 3333 random Foxtoons, which are randomly assembled and picked from a pool of 500,000 possible outcomes. The club derives from a variation of faces, bodies and hats, with each “Boodle” randomly generated and unique. Ten percent of all sale proceeds generated will be sent to a community safe, which will be returned to holders in the form of contests and raffles.
6. Axolols NFTs
Axolols. Source: Axolol NFTs
Axolols are a collection of 8,888 hand-drawn and algorithmically generated axolotl profile pictures on the Ethereum blockchain, living as ERC-721 tokens. Each Axolol is generated from more than 120 individual traits of varying rarities, with rankings to be created after launch. Axolols will be available to mint for 0.03 ETH (plus gas) at up to 20 each time, and will be 3000 x 3000 pixels and stored decentrally in the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). The project intends to use funds generated from the sale of the NFTs to help fund various conservation efforts.
7. Birds ’N’ Blades
Game-esque avian characters. Source: BirdsNBlades
Dropping December 8, the Birds ‘N’ Blades NFT project is a collection of unique avian warriors in a style of roleplaying game-esque characters. Developed by Polynode Studios, 3,333 randomly generated pixel NFTs will represent the first stage of Project Aves, with the collection inspired by famous pop-culture characters. After the first stage of the project is completed and every bird is minted, it will move toward phase two with an extended universe collection.
8. Sol Amphibians
Hold two of these for a month and they’ll ‘breed’. Source: Sol Amphibians
Living on the Solana blockchain, Sol Amphibians are a collection of 4,444 unique 3D NFTs handcrafted using AI and algorithmic attributes. Users will enjoy Breeding Functions, which are built in by simply holding any two for a period of four weeks to receive a free baby amphibian delivered to the holder’s Solana wallet. All Amphibians are metaverse-ready.
9. Mr.Uncommon
“Uncommon” NFTs that “refused to be common”. Source: Mr.Uncommon
Mr.Uncommon (who refused to be common) is a collection of 10,000 handcrafted generative art portraits that all live on the Ethereum blockchain, created by industry-leading artists. The aim is to highlight the hidden talents or attributes of individuals to help holders achieve their desired state of life, or at least one matching their aspirations.
Each “Mr.Uncommon” NFT has its own vibrant colour scheme, 277+ traits and many rarities, and is a singular masterpiece that conveys a novel message. The NFTs are available for purchase on the OpenSea marketplace.
10. Everyday Sloths
Everyday Sloths, directly interactive within OpenSea. Source: Everyday Sloths
This groundbreaking collection of 7,777 unique sloths hangs on the Polygon network. Everyday Sloths are the first of their kind, fully customisable and directly interactive within OpenSea. Monthly drops of limited item collections are available with owners allowed to continually customise their sloths beyond minting. Every token sale will include a portion that goes to the Sloth Conservation Foundation.
On purchase, each owner will receive a virtual adoption package including:
a personalised adoption certificate;
full biography and sloth history;
high-resolution photos; and
two original sloth illustrations.
As NFTs and meme avatar projects continue to boom, Crypto News Australia has published guides to help users navigate among them.
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is auctioning off “The Birth of Wikipedia”, made up of the very first post on the reference site in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT), along with the strawberry iMac computer used by Wales when Wiki launched on January 15, 2001.
So… first tweet for $2.5 million?
How about my Strawberry iMac I used when I launched Wikipedia?
It isn't an "NFT" but it's real and I could bring it to you and sing Sweet Home Alabama.
The token will be sold through London-based auction house Christie’s and will run until December 15. Part of the proceeds will be used to support WT.Social, “a decentralised, non-commercial social network free of advertising, tracking, information harvesting, and misinformation”, which Wales launched in 2019.
The NFT, which reads “Hello, World!”, written on the Ethereum blockchain, will be launched as a JPEG and will incorporate an interactive feature – allowing the buyer to edit the window, along with a timer that will reset it to its original state after five minutes. Christie’s hopes that the NFT will sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, as this novel art form has become a staple of auction houses and the art market.
The strawberry-coloured iMac used by Jimmy Wales at the time of the Wiki launch. Source: Christie’sThe NFT of the very first Wikipedia edit made by Jimmy Wales circa 2001. Source: Christie’s
When Wales sent out his initial greeting in 2001, he could not have imagined that the project would grow so massively. “I always say I’m a pathological optimist,” he admits. “I thought if we did a really good job we might be a top 100 or top 50 website, but I didn’t really know that we would have this really fundamental impact.”
Today, Wikipedia has recorded 228 million daily visitors in the past month, with each person reading nearly four minutes online from Wiki’s 6,408,480 articles.
Exciting Developments in NFT World Where ‘Cool’ Rules
Amid the current market hype, NFTs have facilitated a number of, for lack of a better word, “cool” events to take place. What could be cooler than owning a unique piece of internet history such as the first Wikipedia entry? But the question remains, why even buy the NFT if you can’t show it off?
