Nifty Newsletter

A decentralized finance borrower used a nonfungible token representing a luxury watch to take out a $35,000 loan.

In this week’s newsletter, read about Ethereum nonfungible token (NFT) royalties hitting their lowest point in two years. Check out Bitcoin Ordinals trading volume, which hit $210 million in the second quarter of 2023, and how a decentralized finance (DeFi) borrower used an NFT representing a physical luxury watch to take out a loan. In other news, find out why Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu is still bullish on blockchain games, and don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring a Sega executive’s opinion on play-to-earn gaming. 

Ethereum NFT royalties hit 2-year low as Bored Ape floor price falls below 30 ETH

A report from blockchain analytics firm Nansen showed that royalties earned by NFT projects have reached a 2-year low. The dip may be fueled by lower NFT floor prices of popular collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club and the Azuki Elementals launch controversy.

According to the report, NFT marketplaces OpenSea and Blur are going head-to-head with each other in terms of royalties paid. However, when the trading volume surges, Blur often takes the lead.

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Bitcoin Ordinals volume hits $210 million in Q2 — DappRadar

The creation of the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain has resulted in a significant trading volume exceeding $210 million, according to DappRadar. The data highlights the surging popularity of Bitcoin Ordinals, leading to a remarkable increase in trading volume throughout the second quarter of 2023.

Starting at $7.18 million in the first quarter, the trading volume soared to $210.7 million by the end of June, representing a staggering 2834% quarterly growth. Additionally, the report reveals that over 550,000 Ordinals trades took place in Q2, involving approximately 150,000 unique traders, further contributing to the remarkable trading volume surge.

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DeFi borrower uses luxury watch-backed NFT as collateral for a loan

A DeFi borrower has used a Patek Phillipe luxury watch to collateralize a $35,000 loan. The watch was sent to an escrow firm that deals with NFTs backed by physical assets in exchange for an NFT representing ownership of the watch. The NFT was then listed as collateral at the DeFi protocol Arcade and was used to borrow the money.

Some expressed positive feelings about the use of Web3 technology in lending, while others believe that it’s adding NFTs where it’s not necessary.

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Animoca still bullish on blockchain games, awaits license for metaverse fund

Despite the waning interest in NFTs and blockchain gaming, Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu highlighted that their firm remains optimistic in the sector. In a Cointelegraph interview, Siu noted that he’s expecting AAA-rated blockchain games to hit the market by 2023.

Apart from this, the Animoca executive also noted that the company is waiting for a license before it can put its much-anticipated metaverse fund to work.

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Nifty News: Sega exec calls P2E games ‘boring,’ Tom Brady’s NFT firm switches it up and more

Shuji Utsumi, an executive from Sega, the company behind popular game franchises like Sonic The Hedgehog, described play-to-earn games as “boring” and said that Sega is discontinuing its plans to develop blockchain games. Meanwhile, the NFT-focused startup of American sports star Tom Brady is reportedly moving away from NFTs, quietly removing crypto language in its materials.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

Swiss bank Credit Suisse has partnered with the Swiss Football Association to release NFTs in support of women’s soccer in the country.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how stolen nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are sold within three hours after being pinched, and check out AzukiDAO’s plans to take back $39 million worth of Ether (ETH) from the founder of the Azuki NFT collection. In other news, investors in Logan Paul’s NFT gaming project CryptoZoo are still waiting for promised refunds from the YouTuber, and don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring blue-chip NFT collections dropping in prices and Swiss bank Credit Suisse releasing NFTs to support women’s soccer. 

Half of stolen NFTs are sold within 3 hours: PeckShield

A report published by security company PeckShield highlighted that half of all stolen NFTs are sold within 160 minutes on platforms like OpenSea and Blur. According to the security firm, 86% of the stolen NFTs they flagged were sold on Blur, while around 13% were sold on OpenSea.

The report also shared figures on the value of stolen NFTs in June. According to the report, $2.27 million worth of NFTs were stolen in June, which is an 85% decrease compared with February 2023, when $16.2 million worth of NFTs were stolen.

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AzukiDAO proposes to recover 20,000 ETH from Azuki founder ‘Zagabond’

AzukiDAO — the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) made up of holders of the popular NFT collection Azuki — has proposed to hire a lawyer and take legal action against the Azuki collection’s founder, known as Zagabond, for allegedly “rugging” several projects.

The DAO aims to claim the $39 million worth of ETH earned from the launch of Azuki’s Elementals NFT collection. According to AzukiDAO, any funds that will be retrieved from the lawsuit can benefit its entire Azuki community.

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Investors still waiting on $1.9 million refund Logan Paul promised six months ago: Coffeezilla

Internet detective Coffeezilla once again called out popular YouTube celebrity Logan Paul over his controversial NFT gaming project, CryptoZoo. According to Coffeezilla, communications over the $1.9 million refund promised in January have dried up.

The internet detective highlighted that since the announcement, Paul has not commented on any refund plans. Moreover, Coffeezilla noted that the YouTuber doesn’t seem to have any plans to conduct the 1,000 ETH refund.

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Nifty News: Blue chip NFT prices wobble, Credit Suisse tries tokens and more

Floor prices of the biggest NFT collections are almost at two-year lows. According to data from the crypto price tracking website CoinGecko, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) floor prices have sunk to 27.7 ETH — a price level not seen since September 2021. Apart from BAYC, other collections like CryptoPunks and DeGods have also seen price drops in the last week.

Meanwhile, Swiss bank Credit Suisse is dipping its toes in Web3 by releasing NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. The bank has partnered with the Swiss Football Association to support women’s soccer in the country by donating the proceeds of the NFT sales.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

The German foreign service created a dog-themed NFT collection in the form of a treasure hunt to recruit and test new cyber talent.

In this week’s newsletter, read about the German foreign intelligence agency issuing a dog-themed nonfungible token (NFT) treasure hunt and check out the new NFT stamp collection from the autonomous territory of the Faroe Islands. Find out about Hermès latest win in its infringement case against MetaBirkins, and don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring the NFT Web3 card game Gods Unchained being added to the Epic Games store, and why the United States Secret Service created an NFT collection.

German intelligence service launches dog-themed NFTs to fetch cyber talent

The German foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), launched a collection of dog-themed NFTs on June 19. Aside from cartoon depictions of dogs, the collection features an on-chain treasure hunt to recruit cyber talent.

Dogs of BND NFTs are only collectible by finding a character string posted on the organization’s Instagram that will direct users to a specific Ethereum address. Users would need to use the given information to find the collection and mint the NFT.

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Judge grants Hermès request to halt all ‘MetaBirkin’ NFT sales

On June 23, Manhattan-based U.S. Judge Jed Rakoff granted the request of luxury fashion house Hermès to block all sales of the MetaBirkin NFTs, marking another win for the fashion brand in the infringement case.

Rakoff showed skepticism toward artist Mason Rothschild’s defense against the Hermès’ suit and questioned the artist’s continued marketing of the project. He said that Rothschild’s “entire scheme” was to trick customers into believing Hermès endorsed the project.

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Faroe Islands postal service issues NFT-embedded stamps

The Faroe Islands released its first series of stamps, known as “crypto stamps,” with a digital copy stored on the blockchain as an NFT and still serving as actual postage.

On June 23, the official website for the local postal service announced the collection called Stamps of Maybe, which was produced in collaboration with the company VariusSystems. The Faroe Islands follow two other European countries, Austria and the Netherlands, in issuing NFT stamps.

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Yes, the Secret Service has an NFT collection, and no, it’s not for sale

Cointelegraph spoke with agents from the Secret Service’s San Francisco field office, known as the Digital Asset Technology Alliance Squad, about their NFT collection sitting on OpenSea.

The unit specifically deals with crypto-related crime and said the collection was created to better understand how NFTs worked. One of its forensic financial analysts said it also serves as an example of the agency’s interest in the crypto ecosystem.

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Immutable’s Gods Unchained launches on Epic Games Store

Gods Unchained, the NFT trading card game from Immutable Games, was listed on the Epic Games Store on June 21. The Web3 trading card game is now accessible to Epic’s 230 million customers.

Initially, the game was released in June 2019, growing its user base to nearly 80,000 weekly users by January 2022. Each card in the Gods Unchained world is represented by an NFT on the Ethereum layer-2 network, Immutable X.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

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A project called “Ethscriptions” is bringing Bitcoin Ordinals-inspired inscriptions to the Ethereum blockchain.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how a project provided a new way to mint nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum. Check out Nike’s new collaboration with the popular online game Fortnite, and how rapper Snoop Dogg plans to use NFTs to bring fans with him on tour. In other news, Dmitri Cherniak’s “The Goose” NFT sold for $6.2 million, and artist Kenny Schachter talks to Cointelegraph about blockchain art. 

Watch out, Ordinals — 30,000 ‘Ethscriptions’ land on Ethereum

Ethscriptions, a project inspired by the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol, is bringing a new way to mint NFTs to Ethereum. Similar to Ordinals, the project lets users “ethscribe” images to the Ethereum blockchain.

According to the project’s co-founder Tom Lehman, assets on Ethscriptions use data within a smart contract called “calldata.” The executive claimed this presents a “more decentralized” minting process compared to the old method.

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Nike teases upcoming ‘Airphoria’ NFT sneaker hunt on Fortnite

Footwear manufacturer Nike gave hints on an upcoming sneaker NFT drop on the popular video game Fortnite. In a social media post, the company shared a short video teasing a collaboration with Fortnite, followed by the logo of its NFT arm .Swoosh.

As the company did not provide many details, community members turned to speculation. Some believe that Nike may have used Fortnite Creative 2.0, the game’s island map builder, to create an NFT-related game.

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Snoop Dogg NFT passport lets fans tour with the rapper in digital form

Rapper Snoop Dogg has recently released an NFT that will allow his fans to follow him on tour. The rap icon announced the Snoop Dogg Passport Series, which will provide fans access to behind-the-scenes videos and images uploaded by the rapper while he’s on tour.

According to the rapper, he hopes that other artists will notice what he is doing and “innovate” on their own. He said he believes that digital merchandise is a part of the future.

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Sotheby’s auctions off Dmitri Cherniak’s “The Goose” NFT from 3AC collection for $6.2 million

Sotheby’s auction house has recently sold an artwork by Dmitri Cherniak called “The Goose.” The NFT was a part of the collection that belonged to the collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

Back in August 2021, 3AC purchased “The Goose” for 1,800 Ether (ETH), worth around $5.8 million at the time. In the recent auction by Sotheby’s, the NFT was sold for $6.2 million.

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Slow Food: Kenny Schachter reflects on blockchain art’s past, present and future

Artist and NFT supporter Kenny Schachter has celebrated the end of his first New York City art exhibition in 25 years, titled “Slow Food.” In an interview with Cointelegraph, the artist said that NFTs might not boom in the same way that they once did. However, he added that this is a good thing.

According to Schachter, this may bring the focus back to the many applications of blockchain that go beyond the hype. This includes having a record of provenance, which provides transparency on the previous owners of an artwork.

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Puma launches Black Station, a 3D metaverse experience allowing Puma Pass NFT holders access to exclusive products.

In this week’s newsletter, read about footwear giant Puma’s new metaverse experience for Puma Pass nonfungible token (NFT) holders. Check out Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s comments on the new Apple Vision Pro headset, and how NFT platform Enjin has launched a new blockchain. In other news, GameStop terminated the executive responsible for its NFT push, and don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring Kraken’s NFT marketplace and Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto NFTs.

Footwear conglomerate Puma launches 3D Web3 experience

Footwear company Puma has launched a 3D metaverse experience called Black Station. According to its creators, it’s an experiment to provide Puma Pass NFT holders access to various product drops.

Despite this, the company highlighted that the experience is open to everybody, but those with special tokens airdropped to Puma Pass holders will have perks like the ability to buy digital wearables and a “Rulebreaker” sneaker.

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‘Already explored’ — Apple Vision Pro fails to impress Mark Zuckerberg

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently shared his thoughts on Apple’s newest product, the Vision Pro headset. According to the executive, while he had not yet experienced the product firsthand, he believes that the Meta team had “already explored” and contemplated the constraints of laws and physics, indirectly suggesting the new product may not be groundbreaking.

The Meta CEO also highlighted that Apple added increased capabilities, leading to a sevenfold cost increase.

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NFT platform Enjin forks Polkadot parachain Efinity to new mainnet

NFT platform Enjin has launched a new mainnet called the Enjin Blockchain. To further Web3 adoption, the team said that the blockchain would provide solutions that do not rely on smart contracts but rather have functions integrated directly into the blockchain’s code.

The new chain enables various features like allowing developers to subsidize user transaction fees and letting users directly interact with projects within the blockchain without downloading specific wallet software.

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GameStop fires CEO Matt Furlong months after axing crypto push

GameStop has recently terminated its CEO Matt Furlong, the executive who led the company’s push into the NFT space. In a statement published by the company, Furlong was fired while Ryan Cohen was promoted to executive chairman.

The development follows GameStop’s 2022 announcement that the company would no longer focus major efforts toward NFTs or crypto after an earnings call that showed almost $95 million in losses.

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Nifty News: Kraken NFT exits beta, Coinbase’s ‘Stand with Crypto’ gains support and more

Crypto exchange Kraken has recently announced that its NFT platform has launched out of its beta phase. With the launch, the marketplace noted that it expanded the number of collections supported and integrated the Polygon blockchain. Meanwhile, Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto NFTs strengthens as the community supports the campaign’s push for sound regulation.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

Cointelegraph spoke with Future Primitive’s Jayden Windle and Benny Giang to learn how NFTs can be used as digital wallets through ERC-6551.

In this week’s newsletter, read about GameStop’s nonfungible token (NFT) platform partnership with game company Illuvium, and check out how NFTs can store digital assets, and how blue-chip NFT collaterals are being used in NFT lending. In other news, Nike’s NFTs are coming to EA Sports games, and don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring upcoming blockchain games from Epic Games.

GameStop NFT back in the spotlight after partnership with Illuvium

GameStop has partnered with Web3 gaming project Illuvium to launch an NFT collection called Illuvitars. The drop will feature GameStop-branded Illuvitars that can be traded on Illuvium’s decentralized exchange.

Holders of the NFTs will also get early access to Illuvium’s collector games, Illuvium Overworld and Illuvium Arena. The collection will be available on June 12 and will include 20,000 NFTs.

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Here’s how developers aim to store crypto inside NFTs

In a Cointelegraph interview, Future Primitive’s Jayden Windle and Benny Giang spoke about ERC-6551 and how it allows NFTs to function as wallets. According to the duo, NFTs can now own any on-chain assets through the new token standard.

The developers explained that the new feature could be applied to various industry sectors, from an inventory system in blockchain gaming to storing decentralized autonomous organization member histories.

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Blue chip collaterals help stabilize NFT lending: Paraspace

A report by Paraspace and BitKeep recently revealed that NFT borrowing and lending had reached over $430 million, with more than 43,000 borrowers participating. Popular NFT collections like Wrapped CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club were some of the top sources of collateral for the loans.

The introduction of a digital collectible lending protocol by NFT marketplace Blur also contributed to the growth. The platform recorded over $16 million in loans within a day of its launch, led by Taiwanese celebrity Machi Big Brother. However, the surge in total NFT market transaction volume in March, driven by Bitcoin Ordinals, declined to $330 million in May.

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Nike NFTs to make their way into EA Sports games and its millions of fans

Footwear company Nike’s NFT platform, “.Swoosh” announced that it will soon integrate with EA Sports games. The integration is a massive step toward adopting Web3 technologies in mainstream gaming.

Without revealing which games will include Nike’s “virtual creations,” the platform announced that they would be incorporated into EA Sports games in the coming months. Nike Virtual Studios exec Ron Faris said it would “unlock” new experiences for the community.

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Nifty News: Pixel Penguin accused of ‘charity rug,’ Epic adds new NFT games and more

Game developer Epic Games announced it would add new blockchain games to its store. This includes a Pokemon-inspired combat game called Defimons, and Project Red, which seems to be an open-world game similar to Grand Theft Auto. Meanwhile, more NFTs owned by bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital will go on sale on June 15. This time, Sotheby’s will auction off 37 pieces in what they call the biggest auction for digital art.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

The value of popular NFTs has sharply declined over the past year, with drops of up to 95%.

In this week’s newsletter, read about some of the most popular nonfungible token (NFT) collections and top metaverse properties taking massive price hits in 2023. Check out how the Hong Kong Police Force launched its own metaverse platform, and how Reddit’s digital collectibles have managed to onboard almost 10 million users to the crypto and NFT space. In other news, infamous crypto hater Peter Schiff has launched his own NFT collection on Bitcoin Ordinals. 

Popular NFT collections take massive price hit in 2023

The value of popular NFTs from 2022 has plummeted over the past year. NFTs like Doodles, Invisible Friends, Moonbirds and Goblintown have seen their Ether (ETH) value drop by as much as 95%, while even blue-chip NFT collections have experienced an average decrease of over 40%.

Despite these losses, NFT investors remain undeterred. The number of blue-chip NFT holders has increased by over 90% in the past year, although there has been a 30% decrease in buyers alongside a 32% increase in sellers.

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Reddit collectible avatars onboard nearly 10 million into the crypto, NFT space

After initially surging and reaching around 3 million holders in November 2022, the number of Reddit avatar holders experienced significant growth in 2023.

Since the beginning of the year, the number of Reddit avatar holders has risen by 80%, resulting in a market capitalization of $38.4 million and a collection of 13.7 million NFT avatars. Notably, there have been 303,033 sales, generating a cumulative sales volume of $32.6 million.

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Hong Kong Police Force launches new metaverse platform, ‘CyberDefender’

The Hong Kong Police Force’s cybersecurity unit has launched CyberDefender, a metaverse platform to educate the public about the risks associated with Web3 and the metaverse.

The platform was introduced to prepare citizens for the challenges of the digital age, particularly in preventing technology-related crimes. An event called “Exploring the Metaverse” was held on the platform, emphasizing the need for caution in the metaverse and addressing crime prevention strategies.

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Crypto hater Peter Schiff to drop Bitcoin Ordinals NFT art collection

Prominent economist and crypto skeptic Peter Schiff, known for his criticism of Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies, has surprisingly unveiled a collaborative NFT art collection on the Bitcoin network.

The “Golden Triumph” collection includes physical paintings, prints and digital versions inscribed as Ordinal NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain. The announcement has garnered mixed reactions from the crypto community, with some finding it baffling or amusing, while others see it as hypocritical given Schiff’s previous negative stance on crypto.

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Top metaverse property investments suffer massive losses: Report

While tech giants and major economies continue to explore the potential of the metaverse through investments and initiatives, the market for virtual lands has faced significant depreciation.

The prices of virtual lands in top metaverses have experienced a significant decline, with most properties losing around 90% of their value since their peak in 2022. Metaverse properties like Otherdeeds, The Sandbox, Decentraland, Somnium and Voxels have all depreciated, according to a study by CoinGecko.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

Elon Musk’s May 10 tweet featuring Milady NFT artwork drove the floor price to 7.3 ETH before settling at 5.69 ETH.

In this week’s newsletter, read about the United States Secret Service’s nonfungible token (NFT) collection, and how Elon Musk’s tweet caused a surge in an NFT collection’s floor price. Check out how someone tried to sell an image for Bitcoin (BTC) months before the infamous Bitcoin Pizza Day, and learn about LG’s new patent for an NFT-trading TV. And don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring the popular gaming franchise Assassin’s Creed revealing its “smart collectibles.” 

Secret Service owns crypto, loves blockchain and has an NFT collection: Reddit AMA

In a recent ask-me-anything (AMA) session on Reddit’s r/cryptocurrency subreddit, representatives from a task force within the United States Secret Service revealed that they own crypto, maintain an NFT collection and recognize the potential of blockchain technology in combating financial crime.

In contrast to some regulators who view cryptocurrencies as tools for fraudsters and scammers, the task force expressed enthusiasm for the transparent and public nature of blockchains. They described it as an “amazing opportunity” for law enforcement agencies to effectively trace the movement of funds, aiding the fight against illicit activities.

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Milady NFT floor price surges after Elon Musk tweet

On May 10, Elon Musk’s tweet featuring artwork from the Milady NFT collection caused a surge in the floor price of Milady NFTs. Initially reaching a peak of 7.3 Ether (ETH), the price eventually settled at 5.69 ETH.

The Milady collection, created by digital arts collective Remilia, comprises 10,000 anime profile picture NFTs that draw inspiration from street-style tribes. Artist Charlotte Fang played a significant role in the design process.

The name “Milady” cleverly plays with the expression “my lady,” traditionally used to address noblewomen. However, the internet has satirically associated the expression with overzealous chivalry and “nice guys.”

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Primordial NFT? Someone tried to sell a JPEG for BTC months before Bitcoin Pizza Day

On May 14, a tweet by developer Udi Wertheimer ignited a brief frenzy on Crypto Twitter. The tweet suggested that the world’s first real-world purchase made with Bitcoin might have been for a JPEG image, challenging the commonly known narrative of Bitcoin’s first purchase being for pizza.

The shared screenshot, dated Jan. 24, 2010, predates the famous Bitcoin Pizza Day by four months. It shows a user named Sabunir attempting to sell a picture on the Bitcointalk forum for 500 BTC, which was worth approximately $1 at that time. The screenshot even reveals that Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin, was trying to assist in facilitating the sale.

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LG Electronics files patent for NFT-trading TV

South Korean company LG Electronics has filed a patent application for a blockchain-based smart TV that enables NFT trading. The application was published in May in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s database.

LG’s proposed technology aims to facilitate seamless connectivity between devices, crypto wallets and an NFT market server, thereby enabling transactions. The smart TV incorporates onscreen QR codes when connected to an NFT market server, allowing users to complete transactions via a cryptocurrency wallet.

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Nifty News: Assassin’s Creed unveils ‘smart collectibles,’ MechaFightClub winds down and more

Ubisoft’s popular gaming franchise, Assassin’s Creed, released customizable “smart collectibles” on May 16. These collectibles include a transparent 3D-printed cube housing a character figure and a Polygon-based NFT called a “Digital Soul” that serves as proof of ownership.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

Sotheby’s marketplace will attempt to set itself apart by presenting a range of artists curated by experts from the auction house.

In this week’s newsletter, read about Sotheby’s auction house launching a secondary nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace. Find out about the popular marketplace Blur introducing an NFT lending protocol, and learn how a neobank has introduced soulbound NFTs for Know Your Customer (KYC) information. In other news, sellers are dominating the NFT market, and Meta is offsetting losses in its metaverse unit with artificial intelligence efforts. 

Sotheby’s auction house launches on-chain secondary NFT marketplace

Sotheby’s has launched an on-chain marketplace for NFTs. The platform allows purchasing secondary NFTs with Ether (ETH) or Polygon (MATIC), with artist royalties automatically paid according to their chosen rate through smart contracts.

The platform will try to distinguish itself by offering a selection of artists handpicked by specialists from the auction house. On May 1, Sotheby’s announced that its platform would launch with works from 13 digital artists, including XCOPY, Claire Silver, Tyler Hobbs and Hackatao.

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Blur introduces NFT perpetual lending protocol

Budding NFT marketplace Blur has launched Blend, a perpetual lending protocol that supports NFT collateral. The platform was developed in partnership with venture capital firm Paradigm and aims for “financialization to scale,” while offering no oracle dependencies or expiries.

Blend matches lenders and borrowers through an off-chain offer protocol with no fees. The protocol offers indefinite borrowing positions until terminated, allowing borrowers and lenders to extend the loan expiration time by a predetermined period.

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Neobank introduces soulbound NFTs for wallet holders’ KYC information

Cogni, a neobank with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage, is introducing soulbound NFTs for KYC information to its crypto wallet holders. The bank’s soulbound NFTs are nontransferable, and decentralized applications (DApps) can decrypt them only with the owner’s permission. The NFTs will satisfy KYC requirements in the United States and will be available to partnering DApps without further action required.

According to Cogni founder Archie Ravishankar, they are trying to provide a crypto wallet that offers something similar to the “normal banking experience.” Cogni also foresees the creation of a DApp marketplace that can be connected with only a few clicks, including KYC verification.

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NFT markets are out of balance, with sellers dominating: Data

The NFT market has struggled due to buyer and seller mismatch in April. According to data from NFT tracker NFTGo, the number of sellers outnumbered the number of buyers in the NFT market throughout the month.

The data shows that on April 5, there was an increase in buyers, recording 18,495 NFT purchasers. However, the analytics site also recorded 36,423 sellers on the same day. Meanwhile, April 19 became the second-lowest point in the past twelve months with only 5,893 buyers, a slight increase from the lowest recorded date on June 18 last year.

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Metaverse division’s $4B loss drags on positive first quarter for Meta

Despite its losses from its metaverse unit amounting to almost $4 billion, Meta posted a solid profit of $5.7 billion in its earnings report. The firm’s artificial intelligence projects offset the losses in its metaverse efforts. According to Mark Zuckerberg, its AI efforts have provided promising results across the business.

In addition, the Meta CEO also highlighted that the company is becoming more efficient in building better products. This puts them in a better position to deliver long-term results.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.

Sotheby’s auction house is set to sell NFTs that are part of collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital’s digital collection.

In this week’s newsletter, read about how Romania plans to drive Web3 adoption in the country using NFTs. Check out how Sotheby’s will auction off some NFTs of the collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. In other news, find out how games and tokenization are driving the maturation of the NFT space and how a second batch of Trump NFTs sold out a day after launch. And don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring Yuga Labs’ victory in court.

Romania plugs into Web3 with national NFT marketplace

Romania’s National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics, known as ICI Bucharest, has announced that it will launch an institutional NFT platform to drive Web3 adoption in the country.

According to Paul Niculescu-Mizil Gheorghe, ICI Bucharest’s blockchain laboratory coordinator, NFTs have become valuable assets for institutions due to their innate capability of creating unique and scarce assets. Gheorghe said this can be applied to numerous use cases.

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Sotheby’s will auction off part of 3AC’s digital art collection

Fine art broker Sotheby’s announced it will auction some NFT artworks assembled as part of collapsed hedge fund Three Arrows Capital’s (3AC) digital portfolio. The company will begin the auction with seven NFTs Sotheby’s executive Michael Bouhanna described as “some of the highest quality and rarest works.”

The auction includes a zombie CryptoPunk, an Autoglyph and “The Golden Goose,” which was bought by 3AC’s founders for around $5.8 million in Ether (ETH).

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NFT.NYC: Games and tokenization are driving NFT industry maturation

At the recent 2023 NFT.NYC conference, Cointelegraph’s ground team spoke with companies and developers to find out how NFT-powered gaming projects are coming online and driving the industry’s maturation.

Immutable co-founder Alex Connolly said that there’s increased competition within Web3 gaming as new projects aim to address challenges like interoperability.

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New Trump NFTs sell out on day one

A second collection of NFTs that licensed the name and image of Donald Trump sold out on April 19. The collection netted over $4.6 million and featured 47,000 Trump NFTs worth $99 each.

Despite Trump’s image being the center of the NFTs, the collection is neither owned nor managed by Trump or The Trump Organization. Instead, it uses the former United States president’s name and image under a paid license.

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Nifty News: Yuga Labs scores court battle win, Mandala Metaverse to drop on Polkadot and more

Cross-chain augmented reality (AR) game Mandala Metaverse will drop an NFT hosted by Polkadot parachain Astar Network. Dubbed “Cryptonauts,” the drop features avatars that will become playable characters in the game. Meanwhile, Yuga Labs scored a key win in its court battle with the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club copycat collection RR/BAYC.

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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.