Category: NFTs

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Blockchain Crypto News NFTs

Unseen Photos of NBA Legend Kobe Bryant Auctioned as NFTs

Late basketball legend Kobe Bryant will be immortalised on the blockchain via NFT technology. According to reports, a collection of previously unseen photographs of Bryant is being auctioned as NFTs, with funds generated from the sales directed to his non-profit Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.

Kobe NFTs Trades on Cryptograph

The collection consists of eight images of a young Bryant shot in a meatpacking facility in downtown Los Angeles by photographer Davis Factor in 1999. The black and white images were taken just prior to the peak of Bryant’s career as a professional basketball player with the LA Lakers. 

I think this shoot is special because it’s one of his first fashion shoots. The purpose of this NFT drop, for me, is to raise as much money as humanly possible to give to Kobe Bryant’s foundation.

Davis Factor, Smashbox Studios

The NFT photos of Bryant, launched on August 24 to commemorate his death last year, are being auctioned on the NFT platform Cryptograph. One of the photo-NFTs (below) attracted a 3.5 ETH bid, equivalent to US$10,994, at the time of writing. The proceeds go to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which supports young women athletes and deserving communities. 

Widespread Benefits of NFTs

Over the past 12 months, NFTs have grown in popularity in diverse industries, including basketball and sports in general. Recently, Crypto News Australia reported that Indian startup Rario would launch the world’s first cricket NFTs this month. 

The benefits of NFT technology go beyond swapping or trading for quick profits. As seen with the Bryant photo auction, NFTs can serve as another viable medium to raise funds in support of communities. Crypto News also reported this month on how NFTs are helping to preserve wildlife.

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Crypto News NFTs

Lamborghini Launches NFT Collection to Celebrate its Founder

A museum dedicated to the founder of prestigious Italian supercar brand Lamborghini has partnered with crypto art platform Elysium Bridge to launch an NFT collection that will drop on September 25.

In what’s being touted as a “one-time event”, investors can now reserve their spot in line for the opportunity to “own unique pieces of supercar history in an unprecedented NFT drop”. 

The NFT drop will represent items from the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum, which celebrates the life of company founder Ferruccio and was opened in 2014 by his son and heir, Tonino. The museum’s collection includes archival family photos and many of Ferruccio’s original mechanical creations, including the first Carioca tractor that kicked off the company in 1947, Ferruccio’s personal car collection, plus a helicopter prototype and offshore boat with Lamborghini engines.

Video tour of the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum

Digital Drop Lets Investors Lambo Now

Lambo ownership has long been an aspirational symbol of success for crypto enthusiasts, and Elysium Bridge has widely used the “When Lambo” phrase in its promotion of the museum’s digital asset sale.

Elysium Bridge uses NFT technology to digitise art pieces and luxurious physical assets and replicate their value so that investors can own and trade digital assets instantaneously.

Lamborghini’s NFT drop follows an exclusive NFT auction of a design sketch held earlier this month by luxury car maker Porsche via the SuperRare platform. Also in August, German manufacturer Audi released an NFT collection of digital artworks in collaboration with xNFT Protocol.

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Crypto News Ethereum NFTs

Ethereum-based NFTs Have Caught Fire Surging 546% Monthly Trading Volumes

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has seen an exponential increase in volumes following the recent frenzy in the NFT market.

Several metrics including trading volume, monthly sales, fees and active traders on the platform have surged significantly since the beginning of August, according to analytics data.

OpenSea Sees 546% Increase in Volume

At the time of writing, OpenSea gained over US$1.8 billion in monthly trading volume, which represents about a 546 percent increase from the previous volume in July. The record today is significant given that OpenSea only saw about US$284 million in July trading volume. This is over 60 percent of the US$2.7 billion all-time volume on the platform.

NFT Frenzy Statistics – Dune Analytics

Additionally, OpenSea has done over 1.1 million in NFTs sales since the start of August, and only 458,052 NFTs were sold on the platform in the previous month, as per Dune Analytics. The number of registered users on the platform also increased significantly, which shows more people are still jumping into the NFT market. 

Number of NFT Sales – Coin Metrics

The number of sales on OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, reached a peak of over 60,000 per day over the last week, which is close to 8x the peak reached in March, according to a report by Coin Metrics.

Going by the 30-day volume, OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace, followed by Axie Infinity, CryptoPunks, NBA Top Shot and many others.

NFT Mania is Only Getting Bigger

The massive increase in user activities on OpenSea coincides with a growing interest in NFT trading. More people are joining the NFT market and millions of dollars are being traded on a daily basis, featuring content from musicians, artists and celebrities.

Rapper Tyga is creating an NFT Platform

Crypto News Australia recently reported that the latest edition of Floyd Mayweather’s NFT collection was launched on August 13. The retired boxer also claimed that a substantial portion of his portfolio worth “over a billion dollars” is invested in digital currencies.

German automaker Audi is among the few big-name companies to launch an NFT collection and aggregator platform for car NFTs.

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Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Ethereum NFTs

VISA Buys a CryptoPunk for $150k

VISA, the largest payment processor in the world, bought an Ethereum token. But why? Are they really interested in NFTs, or is it all just a big PR stunt?

The Punk bought by VISA

VISA bought CryptoPunk 7610 for 49.50 ETH (approximately US$149,939). The interesting thing about the transaction was that in order to purchase the CryptoPunk, Visa actually had to buy ETH to make the transaction. This is very bullish news for Ethereum, that companies as big as VISA are buying ETH to make transactional purchases.

Cuy Sheffield, VISA’s head of crypto, said in a company blog post that VISA wanted to “signal our support” for people involved in the NFT market.

Visa Enters a New Era of NFT-Commerce

VISA announced via Twitter: “We enter a new era of NFT-commerce, VISA welcomes CryptoPunk #7610 to our collection.”

We think NFTs will play an important role in the future of retail, social media, entertainment and commerce.

Cuy Sheffield, VISA’s head of crypto

Essentially what this means is that VISA is open to cryptocurrency. Crypto trader and YouTuber That Martini Guy says that by participating in the space, VISA is showing massive support for blockchain as a whole and adds: “This is one of the reasons why I’m so bullish and so confident on cryptocurrency in the long term. These companies know that they don’t have a choice. If everybody continues to use all of these systems, they have no choice but to adopt these systems.”

Since purchasing CryptoPunk #7610, the official VISA Twitter account has changed its profile pic to an Ethereum-based CryptoPunk NFT:

VISA Twitter profile – archive.is

It is no secret that VISA has major plans for cryptocurrency adoption. By getting on the NFT bandwagon and buying a Punk, this not only gets it some free press but also helps crypto reach the mainstream media. For more, read Crypto News Australia‘s recent story on the first Aussie VISA crypto debit card.

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Crypto Art Crypto News NFTs

$100 Million ‘Feisty Doge’ Briefly Becomes Most Valuable NFT Token Ever

The ‘Feisty Doge’ non-fungible token (NFT) was briefly the most valuable NFT ever, valued at over US$100 million. The owner of the NFT allowed the public to buy part ownership of the digital art piece, pushing the price to record heights.

The Nine-Figure NFT

The Feisty Dog NFT recently became, but is also no longer, the world’s highest valued NFT. How does this happen, one might ask. The owner of the NFT announced it would be fractionalised, allowing the public to buy a share of the 100 billion tokens made available.

By fractionalising NFTs, an interested party can gain exposure without the large upfront cost. As the news spread that there was a possibility to buy into the acclaimed NFT, investors jumped in. The price of the fractionalised asset shot up 721 percent, pushing the estimated value to over US$100 million.

The tokens trading under the ticker NFD can be bought and sold on SushiSwap or Uniswap like any other token. Users with just a few dollars can buy a piece of this NFT (in the form of an ERC-20 token), with hopes that the implied value will rise with time, or that someone will make a fixed price offer for the entire NFT and pay out all the holders in ETH.

NFD Token Price Chart

Based on the total NFD token supply sitting at 100 billion, the token’s price briefly gave the NFT a valuation of US$110 million, making it the most valuable NFT ever, overtaking Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” that sold for US$69 million.

The Feisty Doge picture is part of a shoot with the Japanese Shiba Inu Kabosu, which rose to internet fame as the actual dog behind the Doge meme. It was sold as an NFT back in June, fetching a total of US$43,279. With its price cooling down, the NFT is now hovering around US$50 million.

Feisty Doge NFT – Fractional

While those who bought in early enjoy their gains, some have been critical of @Cryptopathic’s project. Twitter user @0xShual called the Feisty Doge fractions a “scam”, highlighting on-chain data that shows @Cryptopathic removing liquidity from NFD/ETH trading pairs, taking profits in the process. 

While removing liquidity is not technically a scam, doing so has previously drawn the wrath of the crypto community. Also, the opportunity for a rug pull becomes apparent when 90% of tokens are held in just two wallets.

Fractionalised NFTs the Next Big Thing?

Unlike many tokens, there’s no underlying protocol, team, mission or revenue-producing product when it comes to most fractionalised NFTs. People who buy are purely speculating on what the cultural value of the underlying image will be down the line.

NFTs are one of the more recent innovations in blockchain technology with power to change the arts and culture landscape. But since the technology is in its infancy, there are lessons to be learnt and new methods of utilising the technology to be understood.

In a related story, a new Aussie NFT project suffered from errors on launch and will reimburse affected users.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum NFTs

Rap Star Tyga to Launch OnlyFans Competitor Platform with NFTs

In the wake of OnlyFans’ recent announcement that they will ban sexually explicit content come October, multiplatinum artist turned entrepreneur Tyga has announced the launch of his own content platform called Myystar.

Tyga took to social media to announce that he has deleted his OnlyFans page and will be starting his own content platform to compete with OnlyFans.

Set for full release in October, Myystar will allow users “creative freedom” in response to the ban set by OnlyFans. Tyga’s platform will be taking only 10 percent of creators’ earnings – half of OnlyFans’ 20 percent.

Helping Others

Not only will Myystar house content from comedians, athletes, musicians and podcasters, but creators will be able to sell their own NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.

Tyga expressed his concern that many people make a lot of money on OnlyFans and most of their revenue is made there:

I want to give those people hope.

Tyga

Myystar is Tyga’s next business endeavour after launching Too Raww, a modelling agency aimed at helping people get started on OnlyFans.

Joining the NFT Craze

Myystar will join CumRocket, a new DeFi project which recently created its own private subscription platform and NFT marketplace.

NFTs provide artists with exposure, revenue and connection with their fans, as we saw earlier this year when Melbourne street artist Lushsux made over US$500,000 from selling NFTs.

The NFT craze is diverting the attention of musicians, artists and celebrities who now see it as an opportunity to promote their work and make some extra cash.

By Jana Serfontein, Crypto News Australia Guest Author

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Crypto Exchange Crypto News Crypto.com NFTs

Crypto.com Partners with Italian Football Lega Serie A for TV Broadcasting and NFTs

Not content to rest on its lucrative 2021 partnership agreements with the UFC, NHL and Formula One, Crypto.com now has skin in the game with Italy’s Lega Serie A football competition.

In its latest multi-year sports deal, Crypto.com becomes the first Innovation & Technology Partner of Italian football. This means it will be involved in every broadcast moment where technology enhances a match, as the official presenting partner of Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) and Goal Line Technology.

As part of the deal, Lega Serie A’s VAR Centre in Lissone, Lombardy will be co-branded as the “Crypto.com VAR Centre”. In addition, Crypto.com will present the Lega Serie A Goal of the Month.

Lega Serie A was the first sports league in the world to introduce VAR technology in 2017, and the 2020/2021 season saw a total of 2,372 incidents where VAR technology was required. VAR interventions are included in Lega Serie A’s global broadcasts reaching more than 775 million TV households in more than 150 countries.

With over 10 million users worldwide, Crypto.com is a top-10 finance app in both the App Store and Google Play and its Visa card is the world’s most popular crypto card, available in more than 30 countries.

Football Feels the Crypto.com Love

This year the company also announced global partnerships with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Formula One racing, and became the first crypto platform to partner with a National Hockey League (NHL) team, the Montreal Canadiens. Now it’s football’s turn to feel the Crypto.com love.

“Since its introduction, VAR has brought greater transparency and reliability to football, features we value deeply at Crypto.com,” says its co-founder and CEO, Kris Marszalek.

We are extremely proud to deepen our partnership with Lega Serie A to enhance the fan experience with technology and innovation at the core.

Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO, Crypto.com

Building on the success of the NFT collection Lega Serie A and Crypto.com created for this year’s Coppa Italia, new NFT collections related to Serie A, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana will be developed as a result of the new partnership.

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Australia Crypto News NFTs

Aussie NFT Llama Project Promises Refunds Amid Error-Plagued Launch

The development team of Australian-based Llama NFT platform Sollamas has announced it will refund or otherwise compensate all disgruntled users affected by its error-plagued launch earlier this month.

What Happened With Sollamas’ Llama Auction?

Based on the Solana blockchain, Sollamas intended to algorithmically issue 10,000 unique llamas on August 17. Each llama was listed for 4 SOL and the collection sold out a few hours after the platform went live.

However, the launch didn’t go as planned as some of the users began complaining they didn’t receive the llamas they minted. Other investors ended up receiving more or less than they paid for: 

The team at Sollamas admitted the incident was a result of an error and proposed issuing another iteration to the first sold-out set of llamas. They also planned to refund the investors who overpaid or didn’t receive the llama they initially paid for. 

Aussie Koalas Set for NFT Debut

Although the Llama project has come to grief, the Australian NFT market is in rude health regarding other animals. Crypto News Australia reported this week that the so-called Koala Intelligence Agency would be auctioning 10,000 unique NFT koalas on the Ethereum blockchain, from August 23 at 18:30 EST.

Last month, Aussie digital entertainment firm Virtually Human Studio announced it had raised US$20 million from The Chernin Group, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Red Beard Ventures to accelerate the expansion of its horseracing NFT platform ZED RUN.

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Australia Crypto News Gaming NFTs

Axie Infinity Token Climbs 56% in a Week Joining the Top 50

NFT gaming appears set to continue its red-hot run. One of the frontrunners in the space, Axie Infinity, has seen its token, axie infinity (AXS), skyrocket over 50 percent in the last week.

Axie Infinity universe. Source: TechinAsia

Earlier this year, the price of the AXS tokens, also known as “shards”, reached a new all-time-high (ATH) of US$75.73. With the latest moves, however, and despite being 10 percent down from its ATH, AXS is currently the 34th largest crypto project by market capitalisation at just under US$4.15 billion.

Over the past three months, AXS has enjoyed a truly stellar performance, gaining 934.35 percent against the US dollar and 840.61 percent against bitcoin. Interestingly, these sharp recent moves have coincided with massive increases in Google search volumes, as well as Axie Infinity website traffic, both of which have also increased by 300+ percent over the same period.

Axie Infinity on the Lookout for Scams

With crypto fever in the air, the space is ripe for opportunists and bad actors to take advantage of inexperienced investors. Whether you are talking about the largest heist in DeFi history or the endless news of rug-pulls, it is perhaps not surprising to hear that a host of “Axie Infinity” scams have arisen. This has led the Axie Infinity team to caution investors and provide some much-needed guidance on asset security.

In addition, to help new users onboard, they have provided extra step-by-step information on how to get properly set up within the Axie Infinity ecosystem. This will hopefully assist users in avoiding issues such as downloading a fake Ronin wallet that drains users’ funds.

NFT Gaming – Want to Learn More?

Despite NFT gaming being in its infancy, there are clear signs it is catapulting towards mainstream adoption. To avoid making rookie mistakes, it’s worth doing your homework on how you can participate without getting your fingers burned.

To get started, Crypto News Australia partner Zipmex has provided a useful overview of what Axie Infinity is and how it works.

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Crypto News Ethereum NFTs

Australian Koalas on ‘Top Secret Missions’ Set for NFT Debut

Move over Pudgy Penguins, the Koala Intelligence Agency (KIA) is coming through on a mission to raise some ETH.

The Koala Intelligence Agency is a cute collection of 10,000 unique Koala NFTs. Launch day is August 23, at 18:30 EST: the countdown has begun, minus six days and counting.

No fewer than 100 koalas on “special force top secret missions” will be gifted or “deployed” through the project’s Discord community. Among these are five “secret agents”. Users can recruit (mint) up to 15 koalas per transaction. Floor price for a koala NFT is 0.05 ETH (about US$150), and full commercial rights and ownership of recruited koalas will belong to the NFT owner.

Recruitment Perks

Each koala has a unique entry code, enabling every central intelligence officer (KIA NFT owner) access to KoalaHQ (a members-only club of crypto-koalas sharing top secret underground crypto information). The Private Koala Network will offer a “regulated undercover Discord channel, available for central intelligence officers to share intel and debrief accordingly“.

To add further intrigue, the project will discharge Geocache Challenges – where “stealthily located crates will be planted in real life, the locator will receive a hidden prize”, including but not limited to ETH and NFTs – and Experimental Projects, involving “future missions” that will come to light including “top secret experimental opportunities for koalas”.

Koalas are fully trained and prepared to deploy. They are masters of disguise, sifting their way through the general public without a shred of evidence left behind.

koalaintelligence.agency

If you know anything about marketing and NFTs, a creative backstory combined with a well-executed PR campaign and strong online network of social media followers will help get you off the tarmac. Throw in a splash of philanthropy and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Conservation Component

Following the launch of the final phase of KIA’s strategic plan, Koala Academy, a donation of 12 ETH has been promised to the Australian Koala Foundation. At current prices, that’s worth around A$50,000 – not a huge amount compared to other NFT drops that raised over US$1 million on launch.

Any finer details about the KIA project are strictly top secret, lending an element of mystery to what else is to come. Other than the big launch, the roadmap on KIA’s website lacks any actual dates or further information, so stay tuned.

The “NFT Summer” remains hotter than ever. Statistics from OpenSea show Ethereum’s NFT marketplace raking in record amounts of monthly and daily transactional volume. If you want to find and surf the next big NFT wave, start by learning from the best in the game. Two influencers who keep close eyes on all things relating to NFTs are @elliotrades and @ZssBecker.