This Week’s NFT Sales Slid 5% Lower Than Last Week, Ethereum NFT Sales Accounted for 76.8% of the Volume

December 5, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Nifty News: Reddit NFT mints reach all-time high, EU’s $400K Metaverse party flops and more

December 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

With the record mint day for Reddit avatar NFTs, there are now around 4.4 million Reddit NFTs in circulation.

Reddit’ NFT minting hits new high

Reddit’s nonfungible token (NFT) collection hit another milestone on Dec. 3 with a record 255,000 of its “avatars” minted in the one day.

The new minting record beat the previous all-time highs on Aug. 30 and 31, which saw just over 200,000 Reddit avatars minted each day.

The NFTs are primarily used on the social media platform as a users’ avatar and are created by a number of independent artists that use the platform.

At the time of the collection's launch in July, it was widely seen as a way to boost mainstream adoption of blockchain technology as Reddit shied away from using crypto for purchases of the avatars and chose to call them digital “collectibles” instead of NFTs.

*The number of Reddit avatars minted, one bar represents one day. Source:* *Dune*

With the record mint day, Reddit’s Polygon (MATIC)-based NFTs now boast around 4.4 million in circulation, according to data from Dune Analytics.

However, despite the amounts minted, Dune data shows just over 40,000 Reddit avatar NFTs have been sold since their launch, and there are around 3.7 million holders of avatars indicating that most choose to hold onto their NFT.

The sales volume of the collectibles recently hit an all-time high of $2.5 million on Oct. 24 across 1,991 buyers.

Some of the rarer Reddit NFTs have seen premium prices on secondary NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea with some of the most expensive selling for over $300, while the platform’s own marketplace sees prices of around $50.

EU went all out on a Metaverse party, barely anyone came

The European Union’s (EU’s) foreign aid department is understood to have dished out nearly $408,000 (€387,000) on a metaverse and hosted a party on Nov. 29 to celebrate, but only six people reportedly turned up.

Devex reporter Vince Chadwick tweeted a video on Nov. 29 showing his metaverse avatar attending the “gala” and said “after initial bemused chats with the roughly five other humans who showed up, I am alone.”

I’m here at the “gala” concert in the EU foreign aid dept’s €387k metaverse (designed to attract non politically engaged 18-35 year olds — see story below). After initial bemused chats with the roughly five other humans who showed up, I am alone. https://t.co/ChIHeXasQP pic.twitter.com/kZWIVlKmhL
— Vince Chadwick (@vchadw) November 29, 2022

“Is anybody out there?” reads one of the messages on the screen in the video. “The concert is just the same DJ spinning the same music,” another message says.

The EU-crafted metaverse was made to promote it’s “Global Gateway” initiative that aims to develop and build infrastructure in developing nations.

The metaverse, seemingly also named “Global Gateway”, was quietly launched in mid-October with a “depressing and embarrassing” promotional video according to an anonymous EU foreign aid department staff member that spoke to Devex.

Discover the new #GlobalGateway digital platform - https://t.co/DHAdsfwbA1

Our shared digital space is the perfect place to get to know new people and reflect on global issues to make a difference for our shared future. #WhoWeAre pic.twitter.com/IAA01vIYbo
— EU International Partnerships (@EU_Partnerships) October 13, 2022

According to an EU spokesperson the target audience for its metaverse is 18 to 35 year olds “who identify as neutral about the EU and are not particularly engaged in political issues,” and the promo video was “to intrigue that audience, primarily on TikTok and Instagram” and encourage them to engage with the campaign.

TimeX ‘Goes Ape’ with the BAYC

Watch manufacturer TimeX said on Dec. 1 it’s partnered with the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT projects to create custom watches.

TimeX is creating 500 physical watches and matching “twin NFTs” that will allow Bored and Mutant Ape holders to customize a watch including its case, strap and etchings while, of course, featuring the owners’ NFT on the watch face.

We’re going bananas over the launch of our first customizable physical, digital and phygital timepiece in partnership with @CryptoVonDoom, @beijingdou, @Zeneca_33 @JulianGilliam, @TheMiamiApe, @TheeHustleHouse, @daz3d @Metabrands_pro and the @BoredApeYC community.

A Thread pic.twitter.com/sL2YPyNnwf
— Timex (@timex) December 1, 2022

The watches will be gated behind an NFT at the cost of 2 Ether (ETH), or around $2,500, with BAYC and MAYC holders then able to use the NFT to create a watch from mid-December that will ship in in the second quarter of 2023.

NFT sales increase for first time in 7 months

U.S. dollar-denominated NFT sales have managed to jump 16% in the month of November, bucking more than seven months of decline, according to data from Cryptoslam.

In November, NFT sales amounted to $534 million, up from October’s nearly $460.4 million.

It was the first month since April that NFT sales increased, January saw record NFT sales totaling $4.7 billion, while October was the slowest sales month in 2022.

The increase in November is likely due to high-priced NFT sales, such as two BAYC NFTs that sold for close to $1 million each on Nov. 23 and 24.

Cryptoslam data shows over the past 30 days the top three NFT collections were BAYC, MAYC and Otherdeeds — all Yuga Labs-owned projects. The top BAYC collection has seen 30-day sales increase by 89.5% indicating that high-priced NFT sales could have driven November sales up.

Meanwhile, total transaction volume between October and November saw a 17.6% decrease.

More Nifty News

Internet browser Opera has created an NFT minting tool that allows users the ability to drag and drop media files into its application which will turn those files into NFTs by writing a smart contract and uploading them to a blockchain.

Coinbase has slammed Apple over the firm blocking the latest release of its crypto wallet app. Coinbase says Apple wanted it to disable NFT transactions until it could “collect 30% of the gas fee,” something Coinbase says is “clearly not possible” as Apple’s system “does not support crypto so we couldn’t comply even if we tried.”

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Nifty News: Nike unveils NFT platform, Steve Jobs’ sandals sell for $200K and more

November 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Nifty News: Nike unveils NFT platform, Steve Jobs’ sandals sell for 0K and more

2022 FIFA World Cup

A one-of-a-kind NFT of the Birkenstocks sandals worn by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs at various times during his life has sold for over $200,000.

Nike’s Dot Swoosh platform lands

Footwear and apparel giant Nike has unveiled its latest foray into the nonfungible token (NFT) and metaverse space with the launch of an NFT marketplace named .Swoosh.

While .Swoosh is still in the beta phase, Nike announced that its “first digital collection” is set to launch on the Web3 platform in 2023, with the rest of 2022 devoted to growing the platform and user base.

✅ About .SWOOSH ‍♂️

.SWOOSH is a platform for @Nike's virtual creations, for them to be more accessible and to onboard the next millions into the wonderful world of web3 and digital assets.

pic.twitter.com/F0M7Q8Ddwk
— ycxc RTFKT (@ycxcRTFKT) November 14, 2022

Among the “virtual creations” to become available next year are digital sneakers, apparel, accessories and other collectibles. In addition, some will unlock benefits such as access to real-life products and events.

Following the first collection drop, members can enter a community challenge to win the opportunity to co-create a virtual product with Nike.

According to Nike, the winners of the challenge can earn an undisclosed amount of royalties on the virtual product they help co-create.

Ron Faris, general manager of Nike Virtual Studios, said .Swoosh offers a “gateway into a new digital arena,” while the Twitter post from Nike said the platform would help “onboard the next millions” into the “wonderful world of web3 and digital assets.”

“We are shaping a marketplace of the future with an accessible platform for the web3-curious,” he added.

In 2021, Nike entered the metaverse game through the acquisition of virtual sneakers and collectibles brand RTFKT. It also launched the virtual world Nikeland.

.SWOOSH uses similar tools and technologies but all three are different projects for the company.

Steve Jobs NFT sandals go under the hammer

A one-of-a-kind NFT of the Birkenstocks sandals worn by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs at various times during his life has sold for $218,750 at an auction.

*Steve Jobs sandals, complete with imprints of his feet. Source: Julien's Auctions*

Julien’s Auctions ran the auction from Nov. 11 to Nov. 13, with 19 people overall trying to claim the footwear with offers ranging from $15,000 to $175,000.

Included in the deal was an NFT featuring a 360° digital representation of Steve Jobs sandals, which was minted on the Polygon blockchain.

The NFT is a 1-of-1 edition and included the physical sandals, with the “imprint of Steve Jobs’ feet.” It also came with a hard case for storage and transport and a Jean Pigozzi book titled The 213 Most Important Men in My Life.

Initially, the sandals and NFT were projected to fetch between $60,000 and $80,000, but after 19 bids, the sandals ended up going for $218,750. The new owner of the sandal NFT has not been publically disclosed.

Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple in 1976. Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in 2011.

First airport metaverse takes flight in India

Bangalore International Airport has launched Metaport, a metaverse airport built on the Polygon blockchain.

Hello flyers ✈️ @BLRAirport launches #Metaport, the 's first airport metaverse exclusively #onPolygon to showcase the T2 Terminal.

Experience the phygital world of
Socializing
️ Shopping
Entertainment

Welcome to the future powered by #Polygon, @AWS & @Intel pic.twitter.com/9ESUoIvplm
— Polygon - MATIC (@0xPolygon) November 12, 2022

Inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Nov. 11, the metaverse features a virtual reproduction of Terminal 2 at Bangalore International Airport and allows users to network with other travelers, access entertainment and go shopping in the digital space.

Arpit Sharma, vice president of enterprises at Polygon, posted a Nov. 12 video of Metaport in action.

BLR metaport powered by @0xPolygon, @awscloud, @intel, @BLRAirport goes live today! Super proud!

Bengaluru is leading the way - @Tejasvi_Surya

Kudos to the amazing leaders and team@HariMarar @sandeepnailwal @kamakshi_taneja @nikhilv @kanishkaagiwal https://t.co/5X9BBLOUIL pic.twitter.com/VgTomeNBxz
— Arpit (@Arp_it1) November 12, 2022

In the video, a user logs into the Metaverse airport, customizes their avatar’s appearance and clothing and then wanders around the virtual space.

The avatar interacts with several other users through a text-based chat, goes on an art tour and gets the chance to purchase digital items before a boarding call prompts the user to leave the metaverse.

The project is the result of a joint venture between Bangalore International Airport, Polygon, Intel and Amazon Web Services and is being called the first metaverse airport in the world by its creators.

2022 FIFA World Cup NFTs kicking off

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is rapidly approaching its Nov. 20 kickoff in Qatar and in the leadup, several companies have been releasing NFT collections and announcing Web3 games for the event.

Sportswear manufacturer Adidas posted a Nov. 14 promotional trailer for the World Cup featuring its Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) character Indigo Herz alongside Lionel Messi and other players.

catch our family reunion all World Cup long #ImpossibleIsNothing pic.twitter.com/UCNG2WBnLg
— adidas (@adidas) November 14, 2022

Herz was on a cereal box of “Indigoooooals.”

The footwear giant purchased Indigo Herz, or BAYC #8774, on Sept. 17, 2021, for 46 Ether (ETH) — worth approximately $58,500 at the time.

Yuga Labs grants holders full intellectual property rights to use the characters for commercial endeavors.

Earlier this month, major credit card company Visa released five soccer-themed NFTs for auction on Nov. 1 featuring World Cup goals of famous players. The auction lasted until Nov. 8, with all proceeds donated to a United Kingdom-based charity.

The payments company is also giving fans a chance to create their own NFTs on a digital pitch at the FIFA Fan Festival, which will launch during the World Cup.

On Oct. 14, Budweiser partnered with FIFA to release a live scoreboard NFT collection called Budverse X World Cup.

According to the OpenSea description, once users mint their world cup team, the NFT will follow and track the progress throughout the FIFA World Cup.

Meanwhile, FIFA announced on Nov. 9 they will have at least four Web3 games that fans can play while at the World Cup.

More Nifty News:

NFT marketplace OpenSea announced it will continue to enforce royalties across all collections going forward, following an outcry from creators for considering otherwise.

Web3 technology has opened a whole new frontier for musicians, but the head of IP at Animal Concerts metaverse platform says onboarding someone like Snoop who is active in the space is very different from “artists who don’t typically keep up with the Web3 ecosystem.”

New Digital Collectible Collections Art Gobblers and Keepers Propel NFT Sales 56% Higher This Week

November 5, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Nifty News: Reddit NFTs surge into OpenSea top 10, judge likens NFTs to ‘luxury’ property and more

October 26, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bored Ape Yacht Club

Reddit's NFT collections have taken some of the top 10 spots on OpenSea and seen millions in sales volume over the past week.

Reddit NFTs among OpenSea’s top 10 collections

Reddit’s Polygon-based nonfungible token (NFT) venture continues to impress with three of its tokenized avatar collections cracking the top 10 projects on OpenSea in terms of sales volume this week.

Looking at the 24-hour sales volume chart, Spooky Season by Reddit user poieeeyee is ranked second with 274 Ether (ETH) ($401,000) worth of sales, behind only Yuga Lab’s Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) at 684 ETH.

The ninth and tenth spots are then taken up by Imagination Station from user Chipperdoodle and The Senses from user Rojom with 121 ETH ($177,400) and 120 ETH ($175,900) worth of sales over the past 24 hours.

Zooming out to the seven-day sales volume chart, Spooky Season is the sole Reddit project cracking the top 10 with its 880 ETH ($1.2 million) worth of sales placing it as sixth at the time of writing.

For anyone unfamiliar with Reddit’s NFT project, it offers a Collectible Avatars Creator Program which enables users to create and sell profile picture (PFP) NFT collections with artwork based on the Reddit mascot logo Snoo.

The move has been a hit so far, with Cointelegraph reporting on Oct. 24 that the number of wallets holding Reddit NFTs had hit around 2.8 million since launch in July.

NFT considered physical property like ‘luxury watches’ in Singapore court

A judge from the High Court of the Republic of Singapore has drawn on existing property laws to grant a motion to refrain a defendant hodler from selling a BAYC NFT, as he likened the asset class to physical property such as luxury watches or fine wine.

The dispute in question involves Plaintiff Janesh Rajkumar, who alleges that defendant chefpierre.eth broke the terms of an NFT loan agreement and foreclosed on the token too early.

According to court documents, via the NFTfi platform, Rajkumar had borrowed crypto assets from chefpierre.eth by putting up his BAYC NFT as collateral, but had set terms in which the asset would not be liquidated without giving “reasonable opportunities to make full repayment of the loan.”

After the NFT was liquidated, chefpierre.eth went on to list the NFT for sale, however, Rajkumar then filed a lawsuit and motioned for the court to bar the sale for the duration of the case.

Explaining his decision to grant the motion, Judge Lee Seiu Kin compared NFTs to physical collector's items, noting that:

“Cars, books, wine and luxury watches … are a few examples of highly sought-after items for collectors, [f]or digital nomads, especially those steeped in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, NFTs have emerged as a highly sought-after collectors’ item.”

Get a teardrop tattoo in the Metaverse, your grandma won’t care

Freshly launched Australian Web3 tech firm Swallow is looking to expand the tattoo sector into the Metaverse.

In a launch announcement this week, the firm outlined that it will allow “metaverse-goers and gamers to customize their avatars and accessories with tattoos and skins from the world’s most exciting tattoo artists.”

A key focus for the firm will be offering tattoo artists ways to expand their presence outside of their shops, bring more exposure to their artwork and designs, and build a digital community.

“Giving people the ability to represent themselves online through wearable art is an important part of their digital experience. Likewise, tattoo artists are looking for ways to expand outside their physical studios and share their designs more broadly,” the announcement reads.

According to Swallow, more than 100 tattoo artists have signed on from the jump, such as popular podcaster Joe Rogan’s go-to artist Aaron Della Vedova. 25 business partnerships have also been penned, including two blockchain-based metaverses in Bloktopia and CrypCade.

Galaxy enters NFT royalties debate saying it’s a ‘core value proposition’

With the recent debate over whether royalties from NFTs are good for the industry or not, in which some projects have opted to move away from the model, asset manager Galaxy has emphasized that the community should be careful about shifting away from what it deems as a “core value proposition of NFTs.”

In a lengthy report, Galaxy highlights data indicating that more than “$1.8 billion worth of royalties have been paid out to creators of Ethereum-based NFT collections” so far, suggesting a “strong contingent of users willing to pay royalties.”

Ultimately, the report notes that it is too early to tell which NFT sales model will be best, as more solutions will likely emerge with different platforms and companies going down different paths.

“Only time will tell if creators continue to reap benefits from secondary sales, or if they will lose out on potential income in favor of a ‘pure’ ownership model.”

Other Nifty News:

After recently enabling NFT purchase support on its app store, Apple has essentially reiterated that its 30% sales commission fee on all in-app purchases will apply to NFTs, as it will not enable apps to direct users to external avenues to purchase the NFTs.

Cointelegraph reported on Oct. 24 that search data from Google Trends shows that the keyword “Web3” has picked up steam and recorded an all-time high in terms of peak popularity in 2022, while global Google searches for “Bitcoin” has reached their lowest point in over a year.

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