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Nifty News: Snoop’s $17M NFT collection, movie sold as NFT, QAnon espouser sells tweets

NFT collector revealed to be Snoop Dogg, hybrid NFTs are coming, and an investor lost $300,000 in tokens to hackers.

Hip-hop icon Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., also known as Snoop Dogg, has revealed himself to be the pseudonymous NFT collector “Cozomo de’ Medici.”

While Snoop has not provided further clarification beyond a Sept. 21 tweet unveiling his digital identity, Medici’s NFT wallet is worth roughly $17.6 million, according to DappRadar.

Snoop’s collection features a long list of NFTs, including highly sought-after CryptoPunks, Meebits and Art Blocks tokens.

Cozomo de’ Medici wallet: DappRadar

Snoop’s CryptoPunks represent most of his portfolio’s monetary value, with the tokens estimated to be worth $13.19 million. The collection includes CryptoPunk #3831, which depicts a green alien wearing shades and sunglasses that is estimated to be valued at $5 million

While Snoop’s reveal could comprise clever marketing designed to garner some of the limelight being shone on the surging NFT markets, Cozomo’s Twitter account posted a thread five minutes before Snoop made the reveal claiming that they would soon dox themselves using their personal account.

“As my fame is considerable, the tweet will no doubt be discovered,” they said.

This isn’t Snoop Dogg’s first foray into the nonfungible sector, as the cannabinoid enthusiast previously collaborated with the artist behind the Nyan Cat meme to drop “Nyan Dogg” NFTs on 4/20 (a day sacred among smokers) earlier this year.

NFT collector’s clumsy security practices lead to $294K worth of stolen NFTs

An NFT collector who goes by the name “Baccredited” on Twitter stated that hackers swiped $375,000 worth of NFTs and tokens from two of their Ethereum wallets.

In a Sept. 21 tweet, the victim tallied their losses, concluding that $294,000 worth of NFTs and $81,000 worth of crypto tokens had been stolen from their accounts.

Baccredited noted that while they don't know exactly how the hackers gained access to their wallets, their private keys and seed phrases had been stored in txt files on their computer, stating:

"I know how stupid I was. $375K worth of stupid. I put private keys and seed phrases in txt files on my mac's filesystem. That is a bad idea. I didn't use a hardware wallet for high-value assets. I know. I know. I KNOW"

The victim claimed to have NFTs from widely popular collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club, Art Blocks, Meebits and Pudgy Penguins, marking an expensive lesson in private data storage for the collector.

“Wow, compiling this particular list did NOT feel good AT ALL,” they added.

Feature Film and Hybrid NFTs

Blockchain-based metaverse tech firm Marvion is dropping “Hyrbid NFTs” (h-NFTs) in partnership with Phoenix Waters Productions and AMM Global as part of the release of an upcoming feature film named “Lockdown.”

According to Marvion, a Hybrid NFT is an integrated "smart contract that can execute a transaction and also contains the specific legal terms of the intellectual property ownership and license.”

The first drop will include five limited editions h-NFTs that will be issued a month before the Lockdown premiers in November. The h-NFTs will depict content from the movie, while the firm is also touting the drop of tokenized tickets for viewers who attend live screenings in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

The plot of Lockdown follows the story of an actor who partakes in an audition where the casting director forces them to pass a series of tests to stop someone around him from being killed. The cast includes Xander Berkeley, known for his roles in Terminator 2 and The Walking Dead, and Hong Kong actress Anita Chui.

The specific details of the h-NFT s will be announced in the coming weeks.

Related: Pundits say crashing floor prices and sell volume signal that ‘the NFT market has died’

A tokenized QAnon conspiracy?

Ron Watkins, who is believed to be one of the original espousers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, has announced he will launch an NFT collection via auction to fund a “critical project” that he says will “save America.”

The collection consists of five tokenized tweets from Watkins that were retweeted by Donald Trump prior to the pair being banned from the platform earlier this year.

“A few weeks ago, I decided to start working on a secret project that I feel will help save America. To help raise funds I'm selling a collection of five of my tweets that were retweeted by President Trump as special Non-Fungible-Tokens,” Watkins told the 429,000 members of his Telegram group.

The collection is dubbed the “CodeMonkeyZ Freedom Series,” with the first of the series’ five NFTs currently up for auction on OpenSea. Details about the “critical project” are yet to be revealed.

Roundup

Cointelegraph reported on Sept. 21 that Sorare, a marketplace for tokenized soccer trading cards, raised $680 million in a Series B funding round led by Japanese fintech giant SoftBank.

Professional wrestler and actor John Cena said fans only purchased 7.4% of his World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) NFTs that were dropped last month. Cena called it a “catastrophic failure” as he cited the price points of the NFTs as being too high for fans.

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John Cena calls his own NFT sales a ‘catastrophic failure’

World Wrestling Entertainment offered 500 gold tier packages with Cena's NFT for $1,000, but only a fraction of them sold.

Professional wrestler and actor John Cena said fans only purchased 7.4% of his World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, non-fungible tokens he made available last month.

Speaking at Florida Supercon 2021 on Sept. 12, Cena said it was a mistake to market his WWE NFTs as part of a package with physical collectibles — a hat, shirt, wristbands, belt, towel, autographed picture, and the digital collectible. The organization offered 500 gold tier packages with the NFT for $1,000, but only a fraction of them sold.

“I talk a lot about failure — this idea failed,” said Cena. “Myself and the folks in the WWE thought $1,000 was a fair price point. We were wrong. We were absolutely wrong.”

He added:

“We sold 37 of them. It was a catastrophic failure.”

Cena and WWE released two tiers of NFTs for the wrestling star: a 24-hour auction of a “John Cena Platinum NFT” and the 500 limited edition NFTs as part of the aforementioned package of physical collectibles the following day. The platinum NFT reportedly sold for $21,000, with the highest bidder receiving VIP tickets and accommodations to WrestleMania 38 in Dallas or WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles.

The WWE veteran promoted the crypto space on social media long before the surge in popularity over NFTs. Before the 2017 Bitcoin (BTC) bull run — when the price was in the $4,000s — he tweeted a picture of the physical token. Retired professional wrestler The Undertaker, part of the WWE until 2020, has also been featured in NFT collections.

Related: YouTuber trades Tesla Roadster for NFT

It’s unclear if wrestling fans were deterred by the price of the NFT — Cena himself estimated the digital artwork to be worth roughly $500 — or just the physical collectibles. In July, an entrepreneur launched simultaneous auctions for a job application from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and an NFT of the same. The physical paper ended up selling for $343,000, while the final bid for the NFT was 12 Ether (ETH), or roughly $27,460 at the time.

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Nifty News: John Cena collectibles, rum tokens, SuperRare 2.0, and more…

SuperRare is airdropping new governance tokens to platform users, Bacardi is tokenizing its new rum line and the WWE is launching John Cena NFTs.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced on Aug. 16 that it will be dropping nonfungible tokens (NFTs) depicting WWE Hall of Famer John Cena.

Last week the beloved wrestling organization dropped its first NFT collection featuring The Undertaker, with the highest-selling NFT going for $100,000 through auction.

The latest NFT release will see the first tier consisting of a one-of-one “John Cena Platinum NFT” that will be opened up for a 24-hour auction starting on Aug. 20 in the lead up to this year's SummerSlam event.

The highest bidder of the NFT will also receive two front row tickets to WrestleMania 38 in Dallas, or WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, along with VIP access and hotel accommodation.

The second tier will be launched on Aug. 21 and includes 500 NFTs that are accompanied by a limited-edition merch box curated by Cena himself.

Tokenized Bacardi

Popular spirits company Bacardi is dropping a one-of-one NFT to celebrate the release of the new limited-edition “BACARDĺ Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish” rum line.

According to an Aug.16 announcement, The new rum line will go on shelves in September with the NFT set to be unveiled and put up for auction on Sept. 1.

The auction will last for two weeks and the NFT depicts photography of the new rum product from photographer Cam Kirk, who is known for working on projects with Nike, Beats by Dre and Atlantic Records.

BACARDĺ Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish: Bacardi x Cam Kirk. Source: Bacardi

Rum fanatics will be able to participate in the auction online, however, the firm hasn’t specified what blockchain will be used to mint the NFT, or how they can transfer the NFT for sale on secondary markets.

Proceeds from the sale will go to the "Backing the B.A.R." initiative which provides business grants, education, support for Black-owned alcohol-related businesses such as bars, restaurants and nightclubs.

SuperRare 2.0

NFT marketplace SuperRare announced an upgrade dubbed “SuperRare 2.0” that introduces Independent store fronts, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), “sovereign smart contracts” and the $RARE curation token.

According to an Aug. 17 announcement, the storefronts or “SuperRare Spaces” and the DAO will be governed by the $RARE token, with the upgrade part firm’s “decentralized vision for the future” for the platform.

Holders of $RARE along with the SuperRare Governance Council (voted on by token holders) will be tasked with overseeing “SuperRare Spaces, the community treasury, and the platform’s future.”

“In the near future, we expect that the next great artistic talent will not be discovered by a gallerist or gatekeeper, but by the community of $RARE curators,” the announcement reads.

The self-titled “sovereign smart contracts” will enable artists to deploy custom NFT minting contracts and import NFTs minted on other platforms.

As part of the announcement, SuperRare is now air-dropping 150,000,000 $RARE (15% of total 1 billion supply) to eligible participants who have bought or sold NFTs on the platform prior to July 2, 2021. The amount awarded will be based on user engagement on the platform, with the biggest sellers and collectors set for the largest amounts of tokens.

Related: Alibaba launches NFT marketplace for copyright trading

Ice-hockey great Wayne Gretzky plays the NFT field

NHL Ice-hockey legend Wayne Gretzky launched a non-fungible collection on NFL star Tom Brady’s NFT marketplace Autograph on Aug. 17.

Gretzky is the NHL’s all-time leader in points, goals and assists and his drop includes 10 open editions or varying rarities that are priced from $12 to $1,500 per NFT. Four of the more expensive editions have been digitally signed by the former pro.

Wayne Gretzky Ruby NFT; Autograph.io

The NHL legend serves on the advisory board for Autograph alongside former NFL player Derek Jeter, skateboarding icon Tony Hawk and tennis star Naomi Osaka, who all have NFT drops listed on the platform as “coming soon.”

"I was lucky enough to play during such a great era, and I see Autograph NFTs as a new way for superfans and collectors to own and experience these exciting sports moments," Gretzky said, "I want my NFTs to appeal to both new and longtime collectors, and the price range makes it much more approachable for a wide demographic."

Roundup

Earlier this week gorilla-themed NFT collectible project CyberKongz was responsible for the burning of 1,430 ETH, or $4.7 million, over 24 hours on Monday as demand for the NFTs clogged the Ethereum network.

Cointelegraph also reported that the Creator of the beloved Pepe the Frog meme, Matt Furie, filed a DMCA takedown request against the $4 million Sad Frogs District NFT project, with the NFTs now delisted from OpenSea.

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