The NFT market has finally collapsed - 95% of collections have completely devalued
More than 95% of NFTs are valued in terms of market value at $0. Such data in September 2023 is provided by dappGambl in its study of the NFT market. According to researchers, almost 23 million people own economically useless assets.
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This frightening reality should have a sobering effect on the overall euphoria surrounding the NFT market. When reading stories about selling digital art for millions, it's easy to forget that the industry is full of dangers and potential losses, the authors of the study write. |
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An NFT is a digital artwork tied to a cryptocurrency, most commonly Ethereum. In addition, thanks to blockchain technology, an NFT has a unique signature that cannot be forged. In 2021 and 2022, the NFT market skyrocketed, with monthly trading volumes reaching $2.8 billion, while popular collections such as Bored Apes and CryptoPunks were selling for millions of dollars, and various sports and showbiz stars were involved in promoting the market. The boom in the digital art market coincided with the peak of Bitcoin's value – in mid-September 21, the value of Bitcoin on the exchange was estimated at almost $70K. As of September 2023, bitcoin is trading at $27 thousand.
The authors of the study note that 79% of NFTs remain unsold. Even if you exclude low-quality and unattractive products from the sample, most digital artworks have little to no value. Of the 8,850 collections best in market appeal, 18% have no value, and 41% are valued at a maximum of $100. Less than 1% of artworks can trade for around $6,000.
According to the researchers, it becomes obvious that most of the market is characterized by speculative and optimistic pricing, which is very different from the real value of goods. In addition, the large difference between the declared prices and real trading suggests that most market players are waiting for another market explosion, the same as in 2021. However, the researchers claim that such an explosion is no longer possible. [1]
Interros Launches NFT for Art Objects
«Interros and the Hermitage have launched a project to issue NFTs for art objects. It is called "Digital Art" and involves the creation and issuance of digital financial assets in the format of non-refundable tokens, which will reflect the process of restoration of works of art. The funds raised are planned to be spent on the restoration of new works from the Hermitage collection, Interros reported on September 11, 2023. Read more here.
German Intelligence Releases Its Own NFT Collection
On June 5, 2023, the German Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst, BND) unveiled its own collection of NFTs — non-fungible tokens. Read more here.
NFT Audio Collection of Previously Unpublished Speeches by Poet Joseph Brodsky Released
On the occasion of the birthday of Joseph Brodsky, a poet, essayist, playwright, translator, and teacher, an unusual NFT audio collection called "Brodsky's Voice" was released. This collection consists of recordings of the poet's performances in 1990 in Paris, at the Ecole Normale Superieure. The audio recording has not been published anywhere before and exists only in one copy - on a cassette that has been in the archives for more than 30 years and was digitized only in 2023. This was reported to TAdviser on May 19, 2023 by representatives of the Russian NFT marketplace Kefirium, where this audio collection is available for purchase. Read more here.
Completion of Russia's first large-scale token sale for rubles
«VKontakte held Russia's first large-scale token sale for rubles in the VK NFT service and summed up the sale of collectibles from the first CryptoSpotty collection. This was reported by the press service of the social network on May 11, 2023. Read more here.
The owner of the most expensive NFT collection lost all his assets in a few hours by clicking on a malicious link
On January 15, 2023, well-known crypto investor and collector of digital images NFT God reported a hacker attack. As a result of the hack, he lost all his digital assets. Read more here.
SuperRare has reduced 30% of its staff
On January 6, 2023, the SuperRare platform, one of the largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, announced a reduction in staff. Due to the current market situation, the company is forced to lay off approximately 30% of its employees. Read more here.
2022
Forrester: Forecast for NFT Development in 2023
On October 25, 2022, Forrester presented a forecast for the global market for NFTs, non-fungible tokens that serve to confirm the ownership of any digital assets and determine the rights to use them.
It is estimated that in the first nine months of 2022, NFT trading volume decreased by 97%. The economic downturn and high inflation rate may lead to a further deterioration of the situation in the NFT industry. Brands that launched consumer-oriented NFTs expected them to look spectacular and innovative. However, according to Forrester, such days have already passed.
Consumers are losing interest in NFTs in the form of computer art or collectible digital items. Therefore, the next stage in the development of the global NFT market will be customer loyalty programs. Analysts predict that in 2023, many brands will follow the lead of Louis Vuitton and Starbucks, which use non-fungible tokens to provide access to an exclusive customer experience and perks.
According to statistics from Dune Analytic, the trading volume of NFT tokens in September 2022 was approximately $467 million, while in January 2022, a maximum of $17.2 billion was registered. Against this background, marketplaces for non-fungible tokens are forced to reduce employees: in particular, the OpenSea service laid off 20% of its staff in mid-July 2022. In addition, increasing regulatory scrutiny has a negative impact on the NFT market. Against this background, some companies have begun to curtail projects for the distribution of non-fungible tokens: for example, the Chinese giant Tencent announced the closure of the Huanhe NFT platform in August 2022. [2][3]
Attackers stole $2.5 million in NFTs
The thieves stole $2.5 million in NFTs. This became known on October 17, 2022.
The main targets of the attackers were the owners of Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club tokens.
Prosecutors allege that the suspects deceived victims with a phishing site that was supposed to add animation to their NFTs. The five suspects, aged between 24 and 30, have been charged with the following:
- Fraud committed by an organized group;
- Concealment of fraud;
- Organization of a criminal community.
The suspects ran their phishing campaign between late 2021 and early 2022. Two of them, who were allegedly ringleaders, are being held in pre-trial detention.
Christophe Durand, deputy head of France's Central Office for Combating Information and Communication Technology Crimes (OCLCTIC), said authorities had joined the investigation launched by a Twitter user who goes by the username "ZachXBT."
ZachXBT describes himself as a "bloodhound on a chain" and a "rug pull survivor who became a 2D detective" and has created an image of an online detective investigating fraud incidents in the cryptocurrency and NFT spheres.
In a blog post, ZachXBT detailed the investigation. It started with a request from user "Dilly Dilly", who told an online detective that attackers stole BAYC tokens from him after he clicked on a link sent to him by a "verified" member of the BAYC community on Discord. According to the user, he approved the transaction on the site, which was allegedly supposed to create an animated version of his NFT.
Summing up, ZachXBT revealed how the attackers tried to launder the money earned from stolen NFTs. To do this, they took advantage of the now-closed Tornado Cash[4].
World trade down 97%
In September 2022, the global NFT trading volume was only $466 million, while in January 2022 it reached $17 billion, according to data from research company Dune Analytics. The source of information was the platforms OpenSea, NFTX, LarvaLabs, LooksRare, SuperRare, Rarible, and Foundation, on the basis of which the conclusions were drawn.
According to Bloomberg, the decline can be explained by the tightening of monetary policy by many central banks of the world, which reduces the amount of cheap borrowed capital available for investment in high-risk or speculative assets. The first signs of a decline in the NFT market were noted back in the spring of 2022. If at the end of January 2022 there were 21,296 sellers in the NFT segment, then at the beginning of April 2022 there were only 7,210.
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Obviously, the enthusiasm and interest that we saw just recently is gone... I believe that we have achieved something that did not have a sufficient margin of safety. Many token holders report that investments in NFTs are very questionable, because after purchase, their price drops rapidly, said Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile, a major American collector of digital art.
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Dune Analytics experts believe that the collapse in the NFT market is due to a more general trend of a sharp decline in the volume of the crypto asset market, which has lost about $2 trillion since the beginning of 2022. This, in turn, may be due to the tightening of monetary policy by many central banks around the world, which reduces the amount of cheap borrowed capital available for investment in high-risk or speculative assets. [5]
Some analysts reported a sharp drop in NFT sales in the summer of 2022. At the same time, the OpenSea platform categorically rejected the results of DappRadar's calculations, according to which the activity of the marketplace decreased by more than 90%. According to OpenSea CFO Brian Roberts, analysts used incorrect methodology and unreliable sources. Roberts claims that the number of active users and the volume of transactions on the site have remained almost unchanged. [6]
LG has launched an NFT platform that allows you to buy and sell digital artworks
On September 3, 2022, LG Electronics released LG Art Lab, a non-fungible token (NFT) platform that allows users to find, buy, sell, and trade NFTs on LG smart TVs. Read more here.
In the 1st half of the year, $2.7 billion was spent on NFTs on the Ethereum network
In the first half of 2022, 963,227 ether worth $2.7 billion were spent on creating NFTs on the Ethereum network.
About 66% of NFT projects collected less than 5 ethers, and 140 collections received more than 1000 ethers.
eBay and Shopify have created NFT trading platforms, and Uniswap and OpenSea are buying NFT aggregators
By mid-July 2022, despite 3 difficult months for the NFT sector, Web3 and Web2 platforms continue to explore the non-fungible token market. Important movements in the industry include the fact that the decentralized exchange Uniswap and the OpenSea platform have bought NFT aggregators, and major e-commerce players eBay and Shopify have created NFT trading platforms.
NFTs have become one of the main uses of cryptocurrency, with more unique NFT traders (375,000) than unique decentralized exchange or DEX traders (369,000) as of June 2022. NFTs, in turn, play an important role in attracting the next wave of Web3 users. The purchase of Genie and Gem aggregators by Uniswap and OpenSea shows the important role such aggregators play in the industry. With these acquisitions, OpenSea and Uniswap are positioning themselves as leading trading platforms in the NFT space.
For aggregators, it is extremely important to quickly ensure compatibility with new marketplaces, otherwise users will abandon the platform in favor of other resources with better compatibility. A similar scenario happened with the Genie aggregator – it lost a significant part of the user base due to the fact that it could not quickly ensure compatibility with the LooksRare marketplace at the time of launch.
Currently, most marketplaces accept Ethereum as the only form of payment for NFTs. Uniswap's DEX infrastructure and previous experience with NFT liquidity pools likely means that multi-coin payment methods and liquidity pool trading will be the primary ways to trade NFTs in the future.
Shopify's NFT platform aims to be the ultimate online storefront for NFT projects, facilitating product development, shipping, and payment. eBay aims to further entrench itself in the rare collectibles trading niche by offering 150 million users to buy NFTs on the platform.
"We will see more traditional online platforms integrate NFTs into stores," said Hanson Chan, an analyst at Huobi Research Institute. - To compete with existing marketplaces, they will have to offer niche and exclusive NFT collections to build a loyal customer base. Companies like Shopify and eBay will be instrumental in driving the mass adoption of NFTs, lowering barriers to entry, and making crypto payments easier for the public."
Waves Enterprise Launches Raritet, an NFT Marketplace
On July 18, 2022, Waves Enterprise announced the launch of the NFT platform Raritet. Read more here.
eBay bought NFT marketplace KnownOrigin
On June 22, 2022, eBay announced the purchase of NFT marketplace KnownOrigin. The company did not disclose the value of the deal. KnownOrigin presents itself as a non-fungible token (NFT) platform. Read more here.
Crypto Community Deceived Hacker and Returned Stolen NFTs
The crypto community deceived the hacker and returned the stolen NFTs. This became known on May 28, 2022.
The cybercriminal received only 2% of the requested price when reselling.
The World of Solana (WOS) crypto community has tracked and recovered some of the NFTs stolen for resale.
It all started with the hacking of the Discord channel of cross-chain game development studio Uncharted NFT. The scammers managed to empty 109 user wallets and steal more than 150 SQL tokens, as well as 25 World of Solana (WOS) non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including 3 rare and very valuable digital collectibles.
In the aftermath of the hack, the WOS community came up with the perfect plan to recover NFTs, increasing royalties for stolen non-fungible tokens to 98% from the traditional 5%.
Two days later, the attacker put all 25 NFTs up for sale on the platform. World of Solana members were able to redeem 15 items from him, the remaining 10 were bought by another user.
Later, a message was sent to this buyer stating that he had purchased the stolen items and would not be able to sell them. The user was offered a refund and agreed to help return the NFT.
There are more than 2000 different heroes in World of Solana. The most expensive avatar for May 2022 sells for 123 SOL ($5600). The current floor price of the collection is estimated at 2.03 SOL[7].
Users of NFT project AkuDreams lost $34 million due to a mistake
On April 25, 2022, it became known that users of the NFT project AkuDreams lost $34 million due to an error.
The money turned out to be forever locked in a smart contract and inaccessible even to developers
As a result of a technical error, users lost 11,539 Ethereum coins forever.
At the end of the auction, the losing participants were supposed to withdraw their ETH, but due to an error in the contract logic, they cannot use the emergencyWithdraw function, which is responsible for withdrawing funds. The project team also does not have the ability to withdraw assets "due to incorrect increment mathematics."
The founder of the Gangster All Star NFT project wrote on his Twitter that unknown persons were able to disrupt the processRefunds function by placing a bet from the contract. The authors of AkuDreams say that unidentified persons did not do this maliciously, and also promise that they will pay all victims 0.5 ETH as compensation[8].
Hackers stole $3 million worth of NFTs from Bored Ape Yacht Club's collection
On April 26, 2022, it became known that unknown attackers hacked the Instagram page (the social network is recognized as extremist in Russia, banned and blocked in the Russian Federation) of the well-known collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) Bored Ape Yacht Club and published a link to a phishing site, thanks to which they managed to steal $3 million worth of NFTs from users who fell for the bait.
The World's Largest NFT Collections Have Merged into One Company
In March 2022, Yuga Labs, the creator of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT image series, announced the acquisition of the CryptoPunks and Meebits series, as well as all rights to them, from their creator Larva Labs. Thus, now one company will be responsible for the development and sale of all three series. This deal is characterized as a merger of the world's largest NFT collections. Read more here.
OpenSea Marketplace Reports $1.7 Million NFT Theft
On February 19, 2022, the OpenSea marketplace reported the theft of non-fungible tokens of some users as a result of a phishing attack. In three hours, 254 tokens with a total value of more than $1.7 million were stolen. Read more here.
The UN has approved NFT standards for the first time
On February 9, 2022, a draft technical framework for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), led by Tencent Holdings with participation from Ant Group and others, was approved by a specialized UN agency, making it the world's first UN-approved draft standards for digital tokens, according to the company.
The project, titled "Technical Framework for Digital Collection Services Based on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)," has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations agency for information and communication technologies.
NFTs, more commonly known in China as "digital collectibles," are non-fungible units of data stored on the blockchain that can be sold and traded. Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology, a digital record that guarantees the accuracy and security of data recording without the need for a trusted third party. Blockchains are used for decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and provide a secure record of transactions on a peer-to-peer network.
Chinese NFTs do not use public decentralized blockchains as the Chinese government has banned cryptocurrencies and the country is developing its own networks to support digital collectibles that are mined on locally controlled blockchains and must be bought with yuan. China's state-owned Blockchain Services Network (BSN) has deployed infrastructure to support the deployment of non-crypto NFT projects.
Led by internet giant Tencent, the project is also supported by other companies, universities and institutions, including Ant Group, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and Zhejiang Lab, an innovation hub founded by the Zhejiang provincial government, Zhejiang University and Alibaba Group Holding.
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The international standard aims to define the technical architecture, technical flows, functional and security requirements for blockchain-based digital collectibles, and it can help build consensus and common understanding around the world regarding the formation of a technical framework for digital collectible services, Tencent said in a statement. [9] |
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A project to transfer bitcoin into the DNA of a mouse and sell its corpse through NFTs
In February 2022, it became known that anonymous artists decided to sew bitcoin into the DNA of a mouse, wait for its death, and sell it as a digital NFT.
They want to put bitcoins in a cold wallet, generate a private key for it, and then encode it in a mouse's DNA strand by genetic engineering. It is planned to introduce the obtained biomaterial into mice during artificial insemination. It is expected that its descendants will carry information about the cryptocurrency. If this option doesn't work, the plan is to encrypt the key in a secure virus and plant it on the mouse. In this case, bitcoin data will not be inherited.
It is planned to sell the preserved corpse of the "primordial mouse" at a crypto auction. A group of anonymous artists has already started fundraising for this project called BitMouseDAO.
China Creates NFT Industry on State Blockchain Platform
On January 13, 2022, it became known that an infrastructure is being created in China based on the state-owned Blockchain Services Network (BSN) to support the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which is an important step towards creating a local NFT industry unrelated to cryptocurrencies. Read more here.
Associated Press to Launch Platform to Sell Photos as NFTs
On January 10, 2022, the Associated Press news agency announced the launch of a platform for the sale of non-fungible tokens in order to obtain photo rights. The marketplace will start operating on January 31, 2022. Read more here.
2021
Top 10 Most Expensive NFT Works
In 2021, the volume of the non-fungible token market reached $22 billion at the end of the year. According to Dappradar, the key factor in the growth of trade was the leading companies that entered this industry, such as Coca-Cola, Gucci, Nike and Adidas. RBC has prepared a selection of the most expensive lots that were sold at international auctions.
- Merger - $91.8 million
The NFT was sold on December 6, 2021, for $91.8 million on the Nifty Gateway decentralized marketplace.
- First 5000 days - $69 million
The NFT was sold in February 2021. The initial stake was only $100, but the total value of the token exceeded $69 million.
- Person One - $29,98 million
An astronaut figurine in the form of an NFT, made as a 3D sculpture on a scale of 1:1. The lot was sold at auction on December 9, 2021.
- Cryptopunks No. 7804, No. 3100, and No. 7523 - $26.9 million
Larva Labs' CryptoPunk series features nine works depicting alien punks generated on the Ethereum blockchain. Cryptopunk No. 7523 sold for $11.7 million. CryptoPunk No. 3100 sold for $7.58 million, NFT series number 7804 sold for $7.57 million.
- Xcopy: "Right-click and save as a boyfriend" - $7.09 million
The NFT was sold on December 10, 2021 to a certain Comozo de Medici for $7.09 million.
- Art blocks: Calls No. 109 - $6.93 million
The project creates digital works using the technique of regenerative art. A lot with continuous circles or rings was sold in October 2021 for $6.93 million.
- Perekrestok - $6.6 million
The creator promised that NFTs will change depending on who wins the US presidential election in November 2020. The NFT sold for $6.6 million in February 2021.
- Edward Snowden's token - $5.4 million
In April 2021, ex-NSA and CIA employee Edward Snowden sold his only NFT token. The work cost $5.4 million.
- Internet NFT - $5.4 million
In the summer of 2021, Tim Berners-Lee sold an NFT token with the source code of the World Wide Web (WWW) protocol. The starting price of the lot was $1,000, but in the end, the token went under the hammer for $5.4 million.
- "Save thousands of lives" - $4.5 million
An NFT created by Noora Health. The piece sold for $4.5 million in May 2021. The profits were used to save the lives of newborns. [10]
Global NFT sales soared 21,000% year-over-year to $17.6 billion - Nonfungible
According to a report by NFT data company Nonfungible, in 2021, sales of non-fungible tokens increased by 21,000% and exceeded $17.6 billion. In 2020, the volume of this market was measured at $82 million.
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At the end of 2021, we will face a market that has been more susceptible than ever to excessive speculation, with new, inexperienced buyers and increasingly unrestrained risk. Add to this the almost infinite proliferation of projects with relatively low added value, contributing to market saturation and raising suspicions about the real added value and potential of NFTs, the report says. "And yet... The ecosystem has never been so innovative and mature." |
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The report explains: "NFTs can take the form of a digital work, virtual land, domain name, or even inventory in a video game. NFT is simply a technological environment that allows you to store and distribute any digital item virtually on the blockchain. To some extent, NFTs can be compared to computer files in the sense that their type and uses can be extremely diverse."
According to a study by Nonfungible, in 2021, more than 2.5 million crypto wallets were owned by people owning or trading NFTs, up from 89 thousand in 2020. The number of buyers rose to 2.3 million from 75,000.
The report states that in terms of profits alone, investors ultimately made $5.4 billion through NFT sales in 2021 and more than 470 wallets were able to make a profit in excess of $1 million. One of the most famous NFT sales in 2021 occurred in March, when an NFT featuring a collage by digital artist Beeple sold for a record $69 million at Christie's.
The most popular NFT category was collectibles, which accounted for $8.4 billion in sales, while gaming NFTs such as Axie Infinity made up the second largest category, with $5.2 billion in sales.
NFT Trading Volume Up 43000% Year-on-Year to $13 Billion - The Block
According to analytical data from The Block, the turnover of NFT tokens has grown by an impressive 43000% in 2021. If in 2020 the turnover of non-fungible tokens was $33 million, then in 2021 the volume of transactions increased to $13 billion.
The rise in NFT trading volumes in 2021 is due to the wide scope of adoption – tokens have become objects of art, sports club cards, and the basis for a play-to-earn model for virtual games. A report by Art Trade shows that in the first half of 2021 alone, more than 500,000 NFTs were sold, totaling more than $6.8 billion.
An important step to increase NFT trading volumes was the development of technology and the emergence of new marketplaces. The main exchange market for all types of non-fungible tokens was the OpenSea platform, which accounts for most of the token turnover. Major players in the crypto market have also picked up the trend – platforms such as Coinbase, Huobi, Binance, and many others have announced the launch of NFT trading.
Moreover, NFT mania has expanded beyond the crypto industry and attracted players in the traditional market. For example, Sotheby's said in a report by The Block that it has earned $100 million from the sale of NFTs this year. Sotheby's noted that 78% of NFT bidders were new to auctions, and more than half of them were under the age of 40. Given the current trend, Sotheby's has also launched its own NFT platform called Sotheby's Metaverse.
As NFT technology and capabilities develop, innovative creative business models are being created, and the range of applications for fungible tokens will only grow, according to Alfan Gogus, General Manager of Huobi Global in the CIS and Turkey:
"The digitization of physical assets opens up incredible opportunities and affects many of the processes we are used to. NFTs can represent value as both a digital asset and the equivalent of a physically existing asset. In the future, states will be able to produce their bonds as NFTs and trade them around the world. At the same time, metaverses are emerging, allowing virtual space and assets to be bought and sold. This trend is just emerging and has huge potential. At Huobi, we are carefully exploring the possibilities of NFTs and gradually implementing them into our business model."
Scammers Began to Use NFTs to Steal Crypto Wallets
On February 14, 2022, ESET, an international developer of digital security solutions, presented a report on the cyber threat landscape in 2021. An upward trend is the distribution of threats through unique NFT tokens, which have become widespread in the computer games industry. Read more here.
Ferrari started selling NFT goods and attracted a company from Ukraine for this purpose
On December 27, 2021, Ferrari announced that it had signed a multi-year agreement with firm Velas Network to create digital content for its fans in the form of NFTs. This agreement will be the first between the racing team and the digital asset industry. Read more here.
The World's First SMS Message Sold as an NFT for €132,680
In December 2021, the world's first SMS message was auctioned off by Aguttes in Paris as a non-fungible token (NFT). An unknown buyer paid 132,680 euros for the lot. He received the original communication protocol through which the message was transmitted, as well as a digital frame depicting the message.
The first text message read: "Merry Christmas." The message was sent from an Orbitel 901 phone on December 3, 1992. The recipient was Vodafone CEO Richard Jarvis, and the sender was engineer Neil Papworth, who was working on the company's short message service at the time. Initially, it was expected that the sale of the digital asset would be sold for $225 thousand, and the proceeds from the sale of such a token are planned to be donated to charity at the UN Refugee Agency.
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They had end-of-year events in full swing, so he sent him a "Merry Christmas" message. After all, it is the most popular holiday, and since it has religious roots, residents stick to old traditions and visit churches with their families," said Maximilien Aguttes, head of development at the Aguttes auction house. |
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NFT digital objects, which include images, videos, music, and text, have been traded since around 2017 and exist on a blockchain, a record of transactions stored on networked computers, and each NFT has a unique digital signature. The sale of intangible goods is not legal in France, so the auction house packaged the text message in a digital frame with the code and communication protocol. The buyer will receive a copy of the original communication protocol over which the SMS was transmitted, and the proceeds will be sent to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). [12]
The owner of a rare NFT sold it for $3000 instead of $300,000 due to a typo
On December 14, 2021, one of the traders accidentally sold a $300,000 "Bored Ape Yacht Club" NFT for $3000, CNET reports. The reason for the costly oversight was an inappropriate decimal point. Read more here.
NFT Market Reaches $22 Billion
The global non-fungible token (NFT) market reached $22 billion in 2021, according to DappRadar in mid-December.
According to DappRadar researchers, the NFT market reached $22 billion in 2021, up from just $100 million in 2020. At the same time, the minimum market capitalization of the 100 largest NFTs ever issued was $16.7 billion.
The most valuable NFT deal in 2021 was the sale of the digital artwork "Everydays: The First 5000 Days", created by artist Beeple (pseudonym of American digital artist Mike Winkelmann). This artwork in the form of an NFT token was sold at auction in March 2021 for $69.3 million.
Other multi-million dollar NFTs included the "Bored Ape Yacht Club," a collection of 10,000 NFTs represented as cartoon primates that are used as profile pictures on their owners' social media accounts. This project has grossed $26.2 million. Among the owners of BAYC's artwork are talk show host Jimmy Fallon and rapper Post Malone.
As noted by DappRadar, a key factor in the growth of NFT trading has been the leading companies that have entered the industry.
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Hollywood, sports celebrities, and major brands like Coca-Cola, Gucci, Nike, and Adidas have all contributed to the market by bringing NFTs a new level of exclusivity. The power of appeal of these well-known names has profoundly impacted NFTs and the blockchain industry as a whole, DappRadar notes. |
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In 2021, NFT activity was booming. In the coming years, the situation will calm down, and NFTs will evolve into something more similar to today's contemporary art market, where the consensus on value is stronger. However, it will be years before any cryptocurrency market, let alone NFTs, begins to resemble what traditional markets call stability, said George Monaghan, an analyst at research firm GlobalData. [13] |
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Selling the first page of Wikipedia at auction as an NFT for $750,000
On December 15, 2021, at Christie's auction in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT), Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales sold the first post published on the online encyclopedia's website for $750 thousand.
Nike Buys RTFKT Metaverse NFT Developer
In mid-December 2021, Nike announced the acquisition of RTFKT, an NFT studio specializing in creating collectibles for the metaverse. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, Nike expects that the agreement will accelerate the company's digital transformation. Read more here.
Soccer Fans Spend Hundreds of Millions on Club Crypto Tokens
On December 10, 2021, the results of an analysis conducted by the BBC were published. According to the data, football fans around the world spent more than £260 million ($350 million) on virtual tokens.
By December 2021, 24 clubs in several European leagues had launched or are considering issuing fan tokens. Eight of these clubs play in the English Premier League, considered by many to be the most prestigious football league in the world.
Most of the clubs analyzed offer fan tokens, which are essentially club-specific cryptocurrencies. Some clubs, such as Manchester City, also sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Most of the clubs that offer fan tokens have signed up with a company called Socios, which organizes the initial sale and subsequent trading of cryptocurrencies.
Socios reported that between $270 million and $300 million worth of cryptocurrencies were sold through their app.
Buyers of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, as in other markets, speculate on the rate and trade their tokens in an attempt to make money, while football clubs make money on their issuance. The value of the tokens held by the top 13 clubs together exceeds $1.9 billion, while there are only $376 million in circulation.
In addition to speculators, football fans make up a large share of buyers. Max Rabinowitz of Socios said the system was designed to reward fans who hold on to tokens rather than trade them.
Offers such as "permanent 5% discounts in the digital store, opportunities to win tickets" were more important to fans than earning "five or ten dollars" by selling their tokens, he said.
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There is no benefit from trade," Rabinovich said. - If you want to collect loyalty points for a team, if you want to vote, you always have this token to use. It's all about buying and keeping. |
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Rabinowitz also believes that clubs should provide more meaningful perks than votes on secondary issues, such as "what song should we play in the stadium when the players come out?"
Another way clubs lure fans is through the use of NFTs or non-fungible tokens.
Manchester City, Rangers, and Juventus have all released official NFTs, and some of the fans have spent tens of thousands of dollars on these unique digital images and videos with embedded code proving their ownership.
One of the fans, millionaire NFT collector Mike Busis, said he spent about $40,000 on five of them.
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