Tag: NFT collection

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Crypto News Ethereum NFTs

Moonbirds NFT Collection Soars on Debut, Racking $200m+ in Sales

Since the highly anticipated Moonbirds NFT mint launched last weekend, the Ethereum-based collection has seen north of US$200 million in sales. However, the debut project from the PROOF collective seems to be stirring the pot:

Moonbirds has joined the ranks of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks in near-record time, becoming the top-selling collection with 10,000 pixelated birds raking in sales of approximately US$281 million just days after minting.

But what is it makes these birds so popular?

How’s This for PROOF?

The Moonbirds project is the product of tech entrepreneurs Kevin Rose and Ryan Carson, and is the first project from the PROOF collective, a private NFT community led by the pair. The community consists of 1,000 members including big industry names such as Beeple and Gary Vaynerchuk. Membership of the community grants access to a private Discord chat, collaborations and special events.

However, both the mint and success of this collection are not without controversy. Concerns of rarity snipping – the act of project leaders using insider knowledge to buy rarer NFTs – are circulating. Beyond this, there are complaints of potential raffle manipulation and frustration over the 2.5 ETH minting price:

Only 7,875 NFTs were released by PROOF via an allow list formed through the raffle process. Another 2,000 were free mints for PROOF collective NFT holders. Membership of PROOF can be purchased for just over 97 ETH (about US$300,700).

Mixed Reactions to Other NFT and DeFi Launches

Earlier this month, Star Trek fans were making news for their contempt towards the launch of a Star Trek NFT collection. The launch was considered “tone-deaf” by fans and contrary to the franchise’s spirit – if not directly opposing Star Trek’s values, illustrating that the content of an NFT collection should always suit the intended audience.

One project that has been far better received this month is Opulous. The new blockchain-based music platform has seen the value of its token – OPUL – rocket up 175 percent following the announcement of DeFi staking, S-NFT sales, and CEX listings.

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Airdrop Metaverse NFTs Tokens

Controversial Pudgy Penguins NFT Collection Sold for 750 ETH

The Pudgy Penguins NFT collection has sold for 750 ETH (US$2.6 million), separating its inherent cuteness from its controversial roots. LA-based entrepreneur Luca Netz, of Netz Capital, is now leading the project and plans to use it to “spread love across the Meta”:  

Pudgy Penguins Eye the Future

Netz has purchased full control of the collection – totalling 8,888 Pudgy Penguins – from the four original co-founders, alongside future royalties. Full ownership of the project means that Pudgy Penguins can now release its own token, $PENGU, and investigate the option of potential airdrops to existing penguin holders:

This follows the ousting of the founders via a January Discord vote over their failure to meet project goals. Co-founder ColeThereum had promised a game, an educational book, and a token, all of which the project failed to deliver. With turmoil behind the scenes and threats issued regarding the project, controversy had been rife within the community.

The sale of Pudgy Penguins will offer a fresh start for the collection. While the originators will no longer be a part of the project, they acknowledge that Netz has the connections and experience to level up the collection in the future.

NFT Controversies and Acquisitions

Pudgy Penguins isn’t the only collection with a controversial history. In February, YouTube ‘Internet Detective’ CoffeeZilla helped to expose a US$20 million crypto scam. Thanks to the joint efforts of CoffeeZilla and the NFT community, the ‘Squiggles’ project was foiled before it came to pass.

In other big acquisition news, last month the creators behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) purchased CryptoPunks – another highly successful NFT collection. Yuga Labs now owns the IP and commercial rights to BAYC, and the company’s first move after doing so was to give full commercial rights to NFT holders.

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NFTs Scams

Crypto Twitter Outraged by Tai Lopez’s NFT Collection, Described as ‘Ridiculous Cash Grab’

Entrepreneur, investor and internet personality Tai Lopez has come under fire this week over his latest NFT collection, which is accompanied by questionably expensive opportunities to meet Lopez. Twitter has uncovered some damning information about the project and has labelled it a “ridiculous cash grab”:

Crypto Influencers Arc Up Over Tai Lopez’s NFTs

Tai Lopez’s ‘OG (Original Garage) Social Club’ NFT collection is “personality-based”, meaning some of the options available to investors include opportunities such as watching a movie with Lopez or shadowing him in his office – for a fee. However, the extreme prices of the actual NFTs are drawing the most extreme reactions from a lot of crypto influencers.

Prominent crypto user @Ox_Beans accused Lopez of immediately siphoning funds to his team’s wallet once an investor mints:

Lopez’s reputation is also being called into question, with many suggesting he may have a inflated sense of his own importance. @EddyisKongz was one of the first to question the sky-high pricing of the OG NFTs and Lopez’s associated inducements:

OG Social Club has also been running several “giveaways”, yet concerns have been raised about their legitimacy with some of the “winners” failing to get a response from Lopez’s secretary. If you’d like to know more about the OG project, check out the video below:

NFT Scams and Rug Pulls

Unfortunately, the NFT industry is rife with dodgy behaviour and the community remains the primary defence. This was seen in mid-February when YouTuber “Coffeezilla” explained how he and a group of crypto users had prevented an alleged scam involving US$20 million.

Earlier this month, NFT project “Pixelmon” disappointed investors who had pooled US$70 million when the release failed to live up to pitch quality. The result was crashing floor prices, which led investors to label the project as “pretty much a rug pull”.