ENS Domain Registrations Skyrocketed Last Month, Total Names Created Nears 2 Million

August 4, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Nifty News: BAYC hodler loses 100 ETH in ‘joke’ domain sale gone wrong

July 21, 2022 Coin Telegraph

BAYC

Nickelodeon’s sell-out NFT drop has surged to second place on OpenSea’s 24-hour sales volume chart, and former Simpson’s animator Erick Tran is working on an animated NFT series.

A major Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT hodler lost 100 Ether (ETH), worth $150,000 as a result of a joke bid on his own registered Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain.

The NFT whale, who owns 57 BAYC NFTs and goes by @franklinisbored on Twitter, minted the ENS domain “stop-doing-fake-bids-its-honestly-lame-my-guy.eth” using an alternate wallet on July 20.

The move was a part of a meme discussed with other NFT collectors in the community in which he was attempting to trigger the EnsBidsBot account to tweet about a hefty 100 ETH bid on an ENS domain, essentially to mock the purpose of such Twitter accounts.

What phrase or meme do you want me to have the ens bot tweet out as a .eth address with a 100 WETH bid? Lol I would have to mint the ENS address myself too.
— Franklin ️uilding 57 apes (@franklinisbored) July 19, 2022

However, after his ENS domain actually got a bid of 1.9 ETH ($2,900), @franklinisbored promptly accepted the bid but forgot to retract the 100 ETH bid he had placed beforehand.

Recounting the move on Twitter, he highlighted the ridiculousness of the situation by noting that “this is a mistake that I can’t imagine anyone else putting in the effort to make.”

“I was celebrating my joke of a domain sale, sharing the spoils, but in a dream of greed, forgot to cancel my own bid of 100 ETH to buy it back. This will be the joke and bag fumble of the century. I deserve all of the jokes and criticism.”

Oh no, I lost 100 ETH. I was celebrating my joke of a domain sale, sharing the spoils, but in a dream of greed, forgot to cancel my own bid of 100 ETH to buy it back. This will be the joke and bag fumble of the century. I deserve all of the jokes and criticism.
— Franklin ️uilding 57 apes (@franklinisbored) July 20, 2022

ENS is a blockchain naming protocol that enables users to mint names as ERC-721 tokens that can link to crypto wallets, and has become a handy tool for removing the need to share lengthy automated wallet address ids.

Nickelodeon’s successful NFT drop

The first plunge into the NFT space from beloved children’s TV show developer Nickelodeon has gone off with a bang, with trading volumes surging after the project sold out all of its 10,000 NFT avatars this week.

The drop went live on July 19 and consists of 10,000 NFTs depicting 12 different characters from the Rugrats and Hey Arnold! with randomized and unique traits. The collectibles were sold for $50 a pop, but the floor price on OpenSea has since risen to 0.29 ETH ($440).

Over the past 24 hours, Nickelodeon’s NFTs have generated the second largest amount of trading volume out of any project listed on OpenSea at 1,066.05 ETH ($1.6 million).

#⃣1⃣ pic.twitter.com/r0w0jfUDQa
— nickelodeon_nft (@nickelodeon_nft) July 20, 2022

GameStop NFT surges past Coinbase NFT

GameStop’s NFT marketplace launch has been a relative success, with the platform generating more than double the total amount of sales volume of Coinbase NFT since its launch on July 11.

According to data from GameStop NFT’s website and compiled by Cointelegraph, the platform has generated more than $8.6 million worth of NFT sales so far.

In comparison, Coinbase’s muchly anticipated NFT marketplace has generated just $3.58 million despite launching in May. Notably, GameStop also charges a 2.25% fee on all NFT sales, while Coinbase is yet to introduce fees to the platform.

GameStop NFT has a long way to go to catch industry leader OpenSea however, with the platform generating $22.9 million in just the past 24 hours alone.

At the time of writing, two projects on GameStop NFT have generated more than $1 million worth of sales volume in MetaBoy and Cyber Crew [C4] with $2 million and $1.59 million apiece.

Simpsons animator launching NFT-based series

Former animator of iconic cartoon series The Simpsons, Erick Tran has partnered up with blockchain-based Film and TV production firm Mogul Productions to launch an NFT-based animated series inspired by the history of Hollywood.

The show will be called The Mogies and it will be accompanied by a collection of 1,923 NFTs, in a nod to the 100th anniversary next year of the Hollywood sign being erected. Each Mogie NFT will depict a parodied version of a famous Hollywood celeb, and holders of the tokens will be granted IP rights to the content depicted in their NFT.

Tran and his team at the CHAVVO studio are working on the series, and the story is set to follow the stories of the parodied icons as they make their way through Hollywood. The project will also see the launch of the exclusive Mogieland Metaverse for NFT hodlers, who will gain access to benefits such as virtual red carpet events and behind-the-scenes content.

*The Mogies: Mogul Productions/Chavvo Studios*

Other Nifty News:

On Wednesday, Minecraft's developer Mojang Studios said that it would be excluding the integration of NFTs, alongside blockchain technology as a whole, in its popular namesake game.

The United States Office of Government Ethics (OGE) issued a legal advisory recommending various instances when senior government officials are required to disclose their investments in NFTs.

Nifty News: NFT and Web3 gaming console to launch in 2024, Chinese firms to check ID for NFT buying, and more

July 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain Game

The console's creators say it will be compatible with eight blockchains and have its own digital wallet, token, and marketplace, with a prototype coming in “a few months.”

Polium, a company that markets itself as “building the products and infrastructure for Web3 gaming,” has said it's launching a gaming console that will support multiple blockchains and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

The “Polium One” console announced on July 3 is slated for an initial Q3 2024 release and will support the Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), BNB Chain (BNB), ImmutableX, Harmony, EOS, and WAX blockchains.

We are introducing the Polium One, A multi-chain console for Web 3 Gaming. #Web3OnConsole pic.twitter.com/tkRaP2O13A
— Polium (@Polium__) July 2, 2022

Currently, the only specifications listed for the console are that it will support a 4K Ultra HD resolution at 120 frames per second. Polium says its community will help them build the console’s hardware and software and states it will have a functional prototype in “a few months.”

According to Polium, the console will feature its own multichain cryptocurrency wallet, and the controller will have a wallet button for users to make trades more efficiently. Security and verification of transactions from the console will be enabled via a fingerprint scanner on the controller.

The console's price is unknown, but Polium does plan to mint a “Polium Pass” NFT, which will allow holders to claim a console on the initial launch day. Pass holders will receive another NFT, which in the future can be staked for a “PLAY” token, the console's native token for transacting on its marketplace app.

Polium plans on releasing 10,000 consoles to Polium Pass holders and partners on the Q3 2024 initial launch, with more units manufactured for the public in Q3 2025. It has set a goal of selling over 1 million units.

The company has already received criticism for its logo looking similar to another popular console, the Nintendo GameCube. Polium said it didn’t copy the logo and is already creating a new logo “that is original.”

Man logo looks kinda familiar... pic.twitter.com/bruj4gX35D
— ben shambrook (@shambrookben) July 4, 2022

Chinese tech giants to check ID before NFT purchases

China’s NFT industry players and the country’s largest technology firms have signed an agreement to check the identity of users using digital collectible trading platforms, according to a report on July 4 from the South China Morning Post.

A so-called “self-discipline initiative” document was signed by companies with a stake in China’s NFT market, such as JD.com, Tencent Holdings, Baidu, and digital payments platform Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group.

The document was published on June 30 by the China Cultural Industry Association and, while not legally binding, calls on the firms to “require real-name authentication of those who issue, sell and buy” NFTs, and “only support legal tender as the denomination and settlement currency.”

The initiative also seeks for the companies to promise not to create secondary marketplaces for NFTs to combat trading speculation.

The popularity of NFTs in China is on the rise, and digital collectable platforms have grown 5X in just four months from February to mid-June 2022 despite multiple warnings from the government.

Nike looking to create video game NFTs

A patent filed by Nike Inc. on June 30 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shows the fitness clothier is interested in a “video game integration” of NFTs.

As per the filing, Nike seeks to patent a method where a “virtual object” will display in games, where that object is a “virtual shoe, article of apparel, headgear, avatar, or pet.” Other language in the filing suggests Nike plans to sell the physical shoes and clothes represented within the NFTs.

The reasoning presented in the filing suggests Nike is concerned with counterfeit digital collectibles and says there “exists a need for a retailer to more directly influence and control the nature and ultimate supply of digital objects within this virtual market.”

It also reasons an opportunity exists for it to capitalize and engage with video game players as most games feature customizable characters, which could make them “more engaged with a brand in the physical world.”

More Nifty News:

The second-largest sale of an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain not only in U.S. dollars but also in Ethereum happened on July 3 when the domain “000.eth” sold for 300 ETH, roughly $320,000. The highest sale of an ENS domain was for “paradigm.eth” in October 2021, which fetched 420 ETH, around $1.5 million at the time.

Social media platform Facebook will add support for NFTs, and a “digital collectibles” tab will appear on the pages of selected creators in the U.S., with a feature to cross-post between Instagram and Facebook rolling out eventually.

Nifty News: ‘Blue-chips’ halve in value, free-to-mint Goblintown NFT volume surges

May 30, 2022 Coin Telegraph

BAYC

Data on the most well recognized nonfungible token (NFT) projects show that key metrics have fallen with floor prices and market capitalization over the past month.

“Blue-chip” nonfungible token (NFT) collections have seen their floor prices and market capitalization slide over the past 30 days, with some of the most well-recognized projects halving in value for these key metrics.

Data collected on key Ethereum (ETH) NFT projects by DappRadar show the floor prices of established collections such as CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), and Moonbirds, are at most down around 55% over 30 days.

The MAYC is the worst off of the four with the floor price diving 55% to 16.7 ETH ($31,300). The more popular BAYC has fallen over 47% to 86.7 ETH ($163,000), and CryptoPunks by almost 49% to 45 ETH ($85,000).

The only collection to gain in the month was Moonbirds up 22% with a 19.6 ETH floor price, roughly $37,000.

Whilst the floor price for Moonbirds may be up, its market cap has fallen 55% to $368 million. The others have also tumbled with the biggest losses being the MAYC, down over 71% to under $610 million, whilst BAYC and CryptoPunks were down 62% and 51% respectively.

Despite the falling metrics the collections still continue to dominate the top NFT sales over the past 30 days the most expensive being a BAYC NFT sold for 410 ETH on May 5, worth about $1.2 million at the time.

Free-to-mint collection tops charts

A free-to-mint NFT collection called Goblintown launched on May 22 now commands a nearly $50 million market cap and is in the top 30 NFT collections.

Despite the website stating the NFTs have “No roadmap. No Discord. No utility.”, Goblintown is in second place for volume over the last seven days at nearly $23 million according to DappRadar, beating out collections such as Otherdeeds and the Bored Ape Yacht Club.

The collection features 9,999 “goblins” which debuted without any real marketing, fanfare or the usual hype-building for a NFT project. The team behind Goblintown is not known and often post seemingly nonsensical and crude tweets from the official Twitter account.

ₐₐₐᵤᵤᵤᵤgggg ₙᵤₘbᵤᵣ ₒₙₑ pic.twitter.com/eLGl6ASJXI
— goblintown.wtf (@goblintownwtf) May 22, 2022

Despite all of these factors, the floor price of the collection was 2.7 ETH or around $5,000 on NFT marketplace OpenSea at the time of writing. The most expensive NFT sold from the collection has fetched a price of 69.4 ETH or about $130,000.

Imagine working on a NFT project for months, setting up collabs with the biggest projects/alpha groups, getting 200K followers engagement farming WL spot giveaways, then after mint everyone bricks the floor under mint price

goblintown: free mint, no collabs, no WL, no discord pic.twitter.com/bMiJoWufyg
— ashrobin (@ashrobinqt) May 22, 2022

Nike scoops ENS domain

RTFKT (pronounced “artifact”) the Web3 arm of sportswear and sneaker giant Nike has added an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain to the company's repertoire, purchasing “dotswoosh.eth” for 19.72 ETH, about $37,000.

Whilst it’s unclear what use Nike will put the domain to, the company has been investing in Web3 through the creation of multiple sneaker-based NFT collections with RTFKT, and has defended its claim to the space, taking a reseller of Nike NFT sneakers to court.

The purchase of this latest ENS domain brings the total owned ENS domains by the company to ten.

More Nifty News

The popular move-to-earn NFT game Stepn has banned users in China from its app to adhere to Chinese regulations. Mainland Chinese users make up 5% of the platform's overall user base and Stepn’s founder has said the move will not have a significant impact on the firm's finances.

The community for a Solana (SOL) based NFT game has dished out payback to a scammer after the developer of the game raised royalties to 98% on a batch of NFTs stolen in a Discord hack phishing scam. Community members bought back the NFTs to return them to their original owners whilst the hacker made a measly 2% on each sale.

Interest in Ethereum Name Service reaching ‘critical mass’

May 23, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The latest metrics on new registrations and renewals of existing domains on ENS show that interest in the digital identity service has shattered previous records.

The Ethereum Name Service is having its best month on record for new registrations, account renewals, and revenue thanks to community awareness and low gas fees.

Lead developer at Ethereum Name Service (ENS) Nick Johnson tweeted on May 23 the metrics for the Web3 domain service through May so far. He noted numbers were poised to shatter existing records because they were already at all-time highs, “and there’s still a week of May left.”

May is now an All Time High for every single ENS metric we track - registrations, renewals, revenue (ETH & USD) and income (ETH & USD).

And there's still a week of May left.

pic.twitter.com/u0tTcVPr3f
— nick.eth (@nicksdjohnson) May 22, 2022

Jonson told Cointelegraph on Monday that the main factor contributing to higher demand in ENS domains is that it is a place where people can “form shared communities without any overarching structure imposed on them beforehand.” This has had astounding results for the domain service.

“ENS has reached a critical mass of awareness and adoption; most wallets support ENS names, so the usability factor is significant.”

ENS is an open-source blockchain protocol founded in 2017 that allows people to assign a digital identity to their Ethereum (ETH) wallet. Each name is a nonfungible token (NFT) that ends with .eth and can act as an address, a cryptographic hash, or a website URL.

The data shared by Johnson shows that there have been 304,968 new registrations, 13,260 renewals, and 3,165.85 ETH in revenue so far in May. All of these metrics leave previous highs in the dust.

Johnson also said that ”low gas fees definitely have an impact” on the higher onboarding and renewal rates. To send a fast transaction on Ethereum costs about 22 GWEI as of the time of writing, worth about $0.92 according to gasprice.io. In periods of high volume, gas fees can be higher than $50, which may act as a deterrent to using the network unless in emergencies.

“You can register a 5+ character ENS name for a year for $5 - high gas fees can make the cost several times that, so gas prices have a big impact on the affordability of ENS names.”

Interest in ENS domains has been quickly rising since April when social clubs such as the 10k Club within ENS gained tremendous attention. The 10k Club was formed by owners of ENS domains numbered between 0-9999. Both new registrations and renewals have nearly doubled since then.

ENS’s record high revenues coupled with a market downturn has sparked plans in the ENS decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to squirrel away funds for ongoing development. Johnson stated that the income slated for funding development and maintenance “for the indefinite future” would help the project weather further market volatility.

“With that guarantee against market effects, additional funds can be used more freely to help grow the ecosystem.”

However, the bullish metrics have not been reflected in ENS prices. The token has been on a steady decline since its November 2021 launch in which all .eth domain holders were airdropped a portion of the supply. ENS has fallen 86% from its November all-time high to $12.21 according to CoinGecko.

ENS Domain