Category: NFTs

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Gary Vee: NFT Winter Is Coming

Gary Vaynerchuk, affectionately known as Gary Vee, anticipates a bear market ahead for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) but still believes that “NFTs are going to be here for the rest of everybody’s life”.

Too Much Short-Term Greed Will Cause a Bear Market

In an interview with Decrypt, Vee said he believed that “winter is coming” for NFTs. While the creator of Ethereum-based VeeFriends, and a collector of CryptoPunks and other NFTs, remains very bullish on the future of NFTs, he still believes a significant pullback in valuation is coming.

When discussing why he believed people were investing in the market boom, Vee said:

The conversation is about to get very interesting when we hit an NFT winter, because there’s way too much short-term greed, and supply and demand issues.  

Gary Vee, crypto entrepreneur

Vee has pocketed a pretty penny during the NFT craze with his hand-drawn doodles netting US$1.2 million, outselling similar works by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock.

In early 2021, the NFT market exploded and generated US$2.5 billion during the first half of the year but seemed to fade in the second half, leading some to suggest the NFT market frenzy was just a short-term fad. However, the market surged to new heights in August and DappRadar reported a trading volume of US$10.67 billion for Q3 alone – a 700 percent increase over Q2 2021.

Vee did not say he thinks a pullback per se is coming, but rather believes that a potential drop in the valuation of NFTs might occur in the future. He has previously predicted that the majority of NFT projects would lose significant value over time, but that blue-chip projects might come out even higher at the other end.

Vaynerchuk made specific reference to NFT projects such as CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club, as well as certain pieces from the XCOPY collection, which have seen numerous sales above the million-dollar mark. He added: “XCOPY shows all the nuances of potentially becoming a Warhol, a Banksy, or a Pollock.”

NFTs Will Be Here for the Foreseeable

I do believe firmly that 90 percent of the NFT projects right now, [their] values will be less than that when it’s all said and done … The problem is the 2 percent that are going to be so much more extraordinarily high … that one is required to do the homework to see the opportunity.

Gary Vee

On the current state of NFTs, Vaynerchuk has said that many people are spending money they cannot afford on things they do not understand:

Regardless of his views on the current state of NFTs, Vee predicts: “NFTs are going to be here for the rest of everybody’s life – and [they are] going to get more meaningful, not less.”

Agree with Vee? You Can Now Short the NFT Market

If you agree with Vee that the NFT market is currently overheated, SynFutures is launching NFTures, a product that will allow users to short the future prices of NFTs. As many continue to question the value of NFTs, and with many tokens serving no purpose other than being able to be bought or sold, SynFutures is looking to change the way we derive profit from NFTs.

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Crypto Art Crypto News NFTs Tokens

18,666 Simpsons NFTs Sell Out in Minutes in Issue-Ridden Drop

The first-ever official non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for hit animated TV series The Simpsons dropped November 7 on VeVe, but not without some glitches.

As part of its Golden Moments collection, Disney dropped its first collection of NFTs, The Simpsons. The collection will feature some of the most beloved characters from the franchise featured on Disney+, with the entire collection minted in gold.

About The Simpsons NFT Range

Sold via NFT marketplace ECOMI, the collection launched via blind boxes. This essentially means that buyers did not know which collectible they would receive until after they were purchased.

The two available for purchase were Homer and Bart (“common” collectibles, of which there were 12,333 editions) and Bart’s skateboard (“rare” collectibles, of which there were only 6,333 editions). Each blind box cost US$60.

Problems on the Platform

When users logged on to get in on the drop, however, they were met with endless glitches. According to a tweet by VeVe, “one of our third-party providers [was] not scaled properly at drop time, which caused the performance issues”, leaving many unable to buy NFTs.

Many users took to Twitter to vent their frustrations:

Homer Makes History

With the Homer and Bart collectible sold as “common” and Bart’s skateboard sold as “rare”, questions have been raised about this classification. Buyers are wondering why a mere skateboard, instead of significant characters such as Homer and Bart, is classified as a “rare” collectible.

In any case, buyers are urged to HODL to this piece of history.

Added Utility for Simpsons NFT Range

As with other NFT collectibles, buyers bought in just for the sake of collecting them. With The Simpsons NFT range, buyers who purchase NFTs from the Simpsons Golden Moments range will also receive a three-month subscription to Disney+.

This is similar to what actor/producer Mila Kunis is doing for the Stoner Cats series. Fans of Stoner Cats have to mint an NFT to get access to the first five-minute episode, but that NFT will also function as a lifetime pass for all subsequent Stoner Cats episodes.

Hollywood Gets Into the NFT Game

Amid the NFT boom, Hollywood also has skin in the game. Just last week, writer-director Quentin Tarantino announced he would release seven never-before-seen scenes from his cult classic film Pulp Fiction as NFTs. Earlier this week, Warner Bros, owners of popular film franchise The Matrix, also announced it would release a series of NFTs for just US$50 each from November 30, ahead of a Matrix reboot, The Matrix Resurrections, due for cinema release on January 1.

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Blockchain Crypto Art Gaming NFTs

Warner Bros Releases Matrix NFTs with ‘Red or Blue Pill’ Options

Ahead of the first Matrix reboot in 18 years, Warner Brothers is set to release a range of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for just US$50 each from November 30.

In conjunction with social NFT platform Nifty’s, Warners will launch 100,000 avatars themed around The Matrix Resurrections, the fifth instalment of the blockbuster film franchise and the first since 2003’s twin release of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Resolutions, set to open in Australian cinemas on January 1.

The series centres on a cyberpunk story of humanity’s technological fall, with the creation of artificial intelligence (AI) heralding a race of self-aware machines that imprison mankind in a virtual reality system – the Matrix – to be farmed as a power source. Some of the prisoners break free from the system and, considered a threat, are pursued by the AI both inside and outside of it.

Your Choice: Red Pill or Blue Pill?

A central theme of The Matrix is the dilemma of choice versus control, symbolised by the red pill and the blue pill: you can learn a life-changing truth by taking the former or remain in a state of blissful ignorance by taking the latter.

Similarly, buyers of the Matrix NFTs have a choice: choose the blue pill, and their avatar’s character remains in the Matrix; choose the red pill, and their avatar transforms into a resistance fighter.

If you think about all the ways fans of content can interact with their favourite characters and stories in 2021 – via retail stores, theme parks, social media, collectibles, or online shops – digital art and collectibles are certainly on that list now. NFTs are another touchpoint for fans to engage.

Pam Lifford, president, Warner Bros consumer products
Scene from The Matrix Resurrections, opening in Australia on January 1. Source: techbriefly.com

Warner Bros are far from the only filmmakers exploring the potential of NFTs for creative and commercial purposes. New 2021 feature films Lockdown and Zero Contact were both released as NFTs, while 2015 martial arts movie Kung Fury director David Sandberg has launched a line of NFT characters that may feature in his upcoming movies. And just last week, Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino announced the release of a line of NFTs based on his celebrated 1994 film.

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Crypto News NFTs Sports

Could NFTs Solve FC Barcelona’s $1.56 Billion Debt?

FC Barcelona, the world’s second-most valuable football club after Real Madrid, will be auctioning non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of memorable moments from the club’s 122 years in the game.

Barcelona is jumping on the NFT bandwagon with its new range of “historic club moment” NFTs, joining other major football leagues such as La Liga and the German Bundesliga. The NFTs will be made available on November 24 on Ownix, an Ethereum-based marketplace.

There is scant information about its plans but it appears that the club will allow fans to bid on clips of highlights in a style similar to that of NBA Top Shot. Barcelona NFTs will be selected by a “special joint committee”, then minted – first as unique one-off auctions, then later as a broader limited edition or collection.

As NFTs surge, we think it is important to give those collectors who are Barça fans an opportunity to own a piece of the club’s history.

Guy Elhanani, CEO, Ownix

NFTs to Connect More Closely With Fans

Sports teams worldwide have clamoured to get aboard the NFT bandwagon to spur fan engagement in addition to creating a new stream of revenue. This is all part of Barcelona’s global expansion strategy to increase its “commitment to seek out new channels and formats to connect with new generations, while providing a different form of interaction with fans around the world”.

Barça has a very large fanbase around the world and leads the way in the digital domain with over 400 million followers in social networks. Given this scenario, the club is constantly looking for new ways to connect with its fans, and we believe that creating these NFTs is a unique opportunity.

Joan Laporta, president, FC Barcelona

In addition to FC Barcelona moments, Ownix will host sales of NFTs in other sports, art, music, movies, design, and more.

Selling NFTs to Soak Up Debt?

FC Barcelona claims to be “the first premium football club” to launch a crypto offering. The truth is it might have even been a little slow off the mark, with more than two dozen European football teams now offering their own digital tokens or NFTs.

The club is in the midst of a debt crisis, reportedly around US$1.57 billion in the red this northern summer. The club’s previous leadership is accused of reckless spending on a number of players who have subsequently underperformed.

This summer the club was forced into a fire sale and, due to salary cap rules, was unable to retain Lionel Messi, one of the world’s best-known and most successful players. Messi instead signed with French club Paris Saint-Germain, causing the PSG fan token to surge over 50 percent.

Some are of the opinion that the FC Barcelona NFT project is simply a means to plug some financial holes.

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Blockchain Crypto News NFTs Privacy Tokens

Quentin Tarantino to Auction 7 Unseen ‘Pulp Fiction’ Scenes as NFTs

Quentin Tarantino will auction off seven never-before-seen Pulp Fiction scenes as non-fungible tokens amid the expanding NFT craze, the legendary film director announced earlier this week.

The Secret Is Out

The NFT market has truly exploded in 2021, and Tarantino is the latest to join in on the mania. Tarantino’s film Pulp Fiction, released in 1994, quickly became a cult classic, earning US$213.9 million on a US$10 million budget, and its writer/director an Oscar for best screenplay.

Quentin Tarantino announces his Pulp Fiction NFTs. Source: gamingdeputy.com

And to keep fans on their toes, Tarantino will now auction off seven NFTs that will include previously unseen content only accessible to its buyers. The collectibles will be “Secret NFTs” built upon the SCRT Labs’ Secret Network, which will enable the NFTs to have both a public-facing and a secret element.

The collection will be auctioned off on OpenSea and will be built on Secret Network, a blockchain focused on privacy. Secret Network allows its users to post content that has hidden embeds. Secret NFTs are tokens issued on the network that allow their creators to include public and private metadata, with the choice of displaying ownership or keeping it confidential.

The public-facing element of the NFTs will be uncut and unreleased scenes from the film, each NFT containing a ‘secret content’ item that will only be accessible by the buyer. Among the seven NFTs, the secret elements will include the first uncut handwritten scripts of the film and exclusive custom commentary from Tarantino himself, in which he reveals secrets about the film and about himself.

“I’m excited to be presenting these exclusive scenes from Pulp Fiction to fans,” Tarantino said, adding:

Secret Network and Secret NFTs provide a whole new world of connecting fans and artists and I’m thrilled to be a part of that.

Quentin Tarantino, director, screenwriter and producer

Guy Zyskind, co-founder of Secret Network and CEO of SCRT Labs, highlighted the power and obsessive madness surrounding NFTs in saying that “NFTs could be the most disruptive technology to come out of this decade”. He continued:

The art community is alive with innovation and the media is actively exploring all the potential use cases associated with the technology. Now, we have privacy and access controls courtesy of Secret Network. Ultimately, that will enable a whole litany of new potential use cases.

Guy Zyskind, CEO, SCRT Labs, and co-founder, Secret Network

Hollywood Presents: the Blockchain

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Hollywood is expanding its reach into the blockchain. Earlier this year, it was announced that Zero Contact, a pandemic-themed picture with Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins in the lead role will premiere on the new NFT platform Vuele. The film will be the world’s first to be offered for sale as an NFT.

Furthering the role of blockchain in Hollywood is Roman Coppola, a member of one of Hollywood’s most influential filmmaking families. He and his two sisters have founded Decentralized Pictures (DCP), a decentralised film financing platform based on blockchain technology.

The company aims to use its blockchain-powered platform to decentralise the film financing process, hoping it will lead to the discovery and support of many underrepresented filmmakers.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum NFTs Tezos

The Grammy Awards in January 2022 Will Use NFTs as Awards

The 64th annual Grammy Awards are set to take place in January 2022, and it has been announced that NFT collectibles will be awarded as prizes.

The digital tokens will be produced in a collaboration between the US Recording Academy and NFT platform OneOf, backed by famed music producer Quincy Jones.

Grammys Goes Green for NFTs

Built on the Tezos blockchain, OneOf is hailed as an environmentally friendly NFT platform specifically designed with the music industry in mind. The platform does not charge artists and creator partners any minting fees to create NFTs, and claims to use 2 million times less energy than other blockchains such as Ethereum, which is the network utilised by most NFTs.

The platform also lowers the barrier to entry for fans by accepting debit and credit cards.

At the moment, NFTs do not offer the best user experience in that they are expensive and the only scaling solutions available compromise on security. This is the reason why more environmentally friendly initiatives are needed. Last month, Sydney-based tech business Immutable raised US$60 million for an eco-friendly NFT games platform.

Academy Scholarship Fund

According to the Recording Academy, the collection will include digital collectibles in a similar concept to what World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) now offers its fans. The Academy added that a portion of the proceeds from NFT sales will go towards its scholarship fund.

According to Recording Academy co-president Panos Panay:

As an academy, we are always looking for ways to help artists discover new forms of creative expression while also creating new ways of income generation and ways for fans to interact with the artists that they love. OneOf shares that vision, and we are proud to work with a sustainable NFT company.

Panos Panay, co-president, Recording Academy
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Ethereum Industries Loopring Markets NFTs Tokens

Loopring Token Soars Over 100% on Rumour of GameStop NFT Marketplace Collaboration

GameStop, the American video game, consumer electronics and gaming merchandise retailer, is rumoured to be working with Loopring (LRC), an Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution, to build an NFT marketplace, causing its native token to make sizeable gains.

As speculation about GameStop’s NFT marketplace increases, Loopring’s LRC token has climbed over 100 percent in the past seven days, following various signs pointing to an unnamed partnership to help develop blockchain technology with the gaming giant.

According to a post on GameStop Due Diligence (GMEdd), a website focused on the corporation, a leak in the Loopring GitHub public repository appears to indicate a possible collaboration with GameStop Corporation (GME) for a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. The code posted on GitHib reveals that GameStop NFT is built on EIP-1155, which allows the creation of fungible, non-fungible, and semi-fungible tokens in one single token standard.

Additionally, the amended code in the branch “NFT-DEV” under the GitHub commit titled ‘NFT feature’ makes reference to ‘gameStopMeta’ and an IPFS URL, a well-known distributed system for storing and accessing files, websites, applications and data.

Loopring’s ‘NFT feature’ code reveals several references to GameStop.

Nobody knows for certain what GameStop’s NFT division has been working on. Loopring is keeping secrets as well, with CEO Daniel Wang disclosing that the Ethereum-based technology company is “working with a premium partner who demands they keep quiet”.

Loopring Solving the Gas Problem

According to Loopring’s official website, it boasts the industry’s most secure scaling method, which is independent of external validators, consensus, or crypto-economic assumptions.

High Ethereum gas prices make it difficult for ERC-20 projects to run any microtransaction payments, defeating the idea of using the Ethereum network for GameStop’s primary use cases – forcing it to consider Layer 2 solutions or other blockchains.

Additionally, Loopring announced it will be enabling NFT support, “allowing anyone to mint and trade NFTs instantly and gas-free”, adding that the functionality is being used as the foundation of a new NFT marketplace launching soon.

Loopring Price Skyrockets

Following breadcrumbs picked up by GMEdd, and the progress of the project, the price of Loopring has shot up. Since the beginning of October, Loopring LRC/USD has risen from US$0.36 to $0.58, and is now trading at $1.58, smashing its previous all-time high in a matter of days.

LRC/USDT price: Tradingview
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Facebook NFTs Social media Virtual Reality

Facebook Rebrands as it Shifts Focus Towards the Metaverse

Troubled social media giant Facebook sees the growing metaverse – think of it as the internet on steroids – as the future of its business, and has now made it official by announcing the company will henceforth be known as Meta.

Meta will be the name for the overall company, although most of its individual apps and services – such as Facebook itself, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram – will maintain their current branding under the Meta umbrella.

“The metaverse isn’t a single product one company can build alone,” tweeted Nick Clegg, Facebook’s Global Affairs VP, exactly a month ago. “Just like the internet, the metaverse exists whether Facebook is there or not. And it won’t be built overnight. Many of these products will only be fully realised in the next 10-15 years.”

It’s clear that, by very definition, Meta fully intends to own the metaverse, starting right now. “I think we’re basically moving from being Facebook first as a company to being metaverse first,” CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg said after announcing the name-change during the streaming keynote for this week’s annual Facebook Connect event.

What, Exactly, Is the Metaverse?

So what, exactly, is the metaverse? It’s a term loosely describing the future evolution of the internet, in which the flat apps and websites used today are gradually replaced by 3D environments and shared spaces, making interactions more “immersive”, to use a word Zuckerberg is especially fond of.

The metaverse won’t be a single entity, rather a conceptual collection of open worlds and settings joined by interoperable assets and experiences. Collectible NFT assets, for example, could be turned into 3D avatars that owners could place into all sorts of web spaces, whether for work, play, exercise, or social interactions.

Facebook – sorry, Meta – clearly wants to lead the charge into the metaverse. The company has announced it will invest US$50 million over the next two years into research and partnerships, and that it aims to hire 10,000 people across Europe in the next five years to aid in the effort.

The Ultimate Diversionary Tactic?

The company has said it will help build the metaverse “responsibly”, and took time in this week’s keynote to highlight its focus on privacy and open collaboration with external creators and firms. Cynics might say that’s a direct response to criticisms directed at Facebook over the years (and especially lately, by whistleblower and former employee Frances Haugen) in regards to privacy, security, its failure to control fake news, misinformation and hate speech, and accusations of incipient harm to teenagers’ mental health.

The US Federal Trade Commission has also filed an antitrust lawsuit against (pre-Meta) Facebook accusing it of anti-competitive practices. As Forrester Research director Mike Proulx has said, changing FB’s name to Meta “doesn’t suddenly erase the systemic issues plaguing the company”. In other words, never mind all that, look at our new, shiny name!

On December 1, FB/Meta shares will start trading under a new ticker symbol, MVRS. Hmmm … wonder what that stands for?

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Australia Blockchain Ethereum Gaming NFTs

Australia’s ‘Immutable X’ Inks Esports Deal to Enable Gasless NFTs

Immutable X, the Australian Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has partnered with a leading esports company, ESL Gaming, to provide gas-free trading of ESL Pro Tour NFTs on its platform.

ESL Gaming has been a giant in the gaming industry since 2000, raising more than A$10.76 million in prizemoney for gamers and helping to push the industry forward to where it is today.

ESL Gaming NFT Platform

The partnership will result in ESL getting its own NFT platform running on Immutable X technology, giving Counter-Strike enthusiasts around the world the opportunity to buy, sell and exchange NFT assets within the CS:GO ESL Pro Tour.

The platform has 11 million members and in 2020 alone, content from the ecosystem’s tournaments was broadcast for a cumulative total of 265 million hours across the world, generating over 675 million social media impressions and 52 million social media views through ESL Pro Tour CS:GO events. With fans in more than 190 countries, all tournaments from ESL Pro Tour CS:GO combined generated over 905 million video plays in 17 languages, not including China.

The Immutable team has gaming in their DNA and we share the same vision for the future of NFTs. In combination with a deep passion for the community, this is the only way to forge meaningful innovation in the space.

Bernhard Mogk, SVP, global business development, ESL Gaming

Carbon-Neutral, Gasless NFTs

The partnership with Immutable X will ensure ESL is provided with the required scaling infrastructure, granting access to esports fans to carbon-neutral and gas-free minting and trading of NFTs. Users will also be able to trade on the platform with their minds at ease, since Immutable X’s secure protocol directly inherits the Layer 1 security of Ethereum. The solution is powered by StarkWare‘s innovative technology, offering instant trade confirmation and massive scalability of up to 9,000 transactions per second.

Immutable X has committed to offset any carbon footprint with its certified climate-conscious partners, Trace and Cool Effect, making every NFT on its Layer 2 100 percent carbon-neutral.

The future is full of NFTs and drops that unlock exclusive perks for their owners. Players and enthusiasts can look at ESL Gaming’s previous NFT drops here. With the increasing amount of NFTs being produced across the globe, Adobe Photoshop has added a new feature to help verify the authenticity of digital art pieces.

Immutable’s solution to carbon-neutral and gas-free trading of NFTs fits our needs perfectly, and we can’t wait to show fans what we’re building …

David Hiltscher, VP, fan value management and analytics, ESL Gaming
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Blockchain NFTs Sports Tokens

Wrestling Fans Can Now Buy WWE NFT Collectibles and ‘Memorable Moments’

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has formed a tag team with LA studio Bento Box to launch a new line of NFTs in a multi-year deal with Blockchain Creative Labs.

After WWE entered a five-year media deal with Fox Entertainment in 2018, Fox announced a US$100 million investment in its then-new blockchain division.

The WWE NFT drop is the first from Blockchain Creative based on a property not owned by Fox, after it released an NFT line based on popular TV competition The Masked Singer earlier this month.

Fans Will Need a Digital Media Wallet from Eluvio

Like those tokens, the WWE collectibles are on the Eluvio blockchain, in which Fox is also an investor. Fans will need to create a digital media wallet via Eluvio to allow them to purchase NFTs with credit cards or crypto, as well as trade and sell them.

Each of the WWE tokens will be tied to images of past and present WWE superstars and tentpole events such as Wrestlemania and SummerSlam. The NFTs will be listed on WWE’s NFT Marketplace, the name of which and official launch date to be announced in the “next few weeks”.

This is not WWE’s first foray into NFTs. In April, timed to coincide with WrestleMania 37, it dropped a set highlighting the career of recently retired star Mark Calloway, better known as the Undertaker.

We know WWE’s passionate fan community will love owning authentic digital goods across the organisation’s creative universe, from past and present stars to classic, culture-defining moments.

Scott Greenberg, CEO, Blockchain Creative Labs and co-founder/CEO, Bento Box Entertainment

Still Think Wrestling Is Fake? Adobe May Have a Solution

In the same week as news of the WWE NFTs broke, Adobe Photoshop announced the upcoming launch of a new security feature in its Photoshop software that can assist in verifying an NFT’s authenticity. Perhaps Adobe could talk to the WWE about a possible solution for those cynics who continue to doubt the authenticity of professional wrestling.