According to a recent report by Cointelegraph Research, the volume of non-fungible tokens (NFT) sold this year could exceed $ 18 billion. From art, music and game characters to videos and photographs, these imprinted proofs of ownership of digital assets on blockchains are in demand by collectors, investors and philanthropists. They can also be traded freely on decentralized NFT platforms such as OpenSea. Let’s just take a look at the biggest trends that are developing in the NFT area.
Celebrities and modern NFTs
Definitely number one this year, as the entertainment industry has not lacked NFT drops and collaboration. Highlights include Mila Kunis’ Stone Cat NFT drops, which sold out in about 35 minutes and resulted in sky-high gas prices on the Ethereum blockchain to process transactions.
In November, rapper / songwriter Snoop Dogg auctioned off a 3D collage of 10 different portraits of himself at various stages of his professional career, winning a bid of 188 ETH (approximately $ 700,000). In mid-December, NBA star Kevin Durant announced a partnership between Thirty Five Ventures and Coinbase to work together on NFTs.
Then director Quentin Tarantino announced the auction of seven uncut scenes from Pulp Fiction as NFTs built on a secret network focusing on privacy. However, Tarantino may have had too much appetite to take part in the hype when the production company Miramax filed a lawsuit against Tarantino due to an alleged copyright infringement from his NFT sale.
However, the most popular NFTs are those that contain “pixel punks” made by the artist Crypto Punks, after direct consideration by crypto enthusiasts. The group currently has the highest volume on OpenSea.io with digital art sales of 750,300 Ether (ETH) (approximately $ 3 billion at current prices) since its inception in 2017. Their success has also attracted partnerships and agreements with top Hollywood agents .
2. Play to earn NFT games
NFTs are not just for viewing. In one blockchain game, Axie Infinity, players battle each other or NPCs and complete daily missions with the creatures in the game known as Axies. Each Axie is a unique NFT that can be bought and sold on the Ethereum blockchain. Characterizing an Axie NFT is known as breeding in the game, with the rarer Axies having better stats and then costing much more. According to the official trading platform, the total volume of Axies bought and sold in the last 30 days is over 125,000 ETH, or around 500 million dollars.
In addition, players can purchase virtual land-based NFTs in the game. Such digital property represents places where monsters and bosses appear, and also contains many resources. The most expensive Axie Infinity land ever sold was sold last month for 550 ETH ($ 2.3 million at the time).
Another popular choice is NFT Sorare fantasy football. Through Sorare, players can manage their football teams with NFT cards for digital players. According to CEO Nicholas Julia, over half a million players have joined the platform organically without any marketing efforts.
3. NFT Metaverses
Changes in Metaverse, a digital world made up of 3D augmented reality, have had an impact since Facebook renamed Meta in October. NFTs play a key role in Metaverse by guaranteeing the uniqueness of virtual assets such as player avatars. Metaverse Product Manager Vishal Shah said in a statement that the new platform “will make it easier for people with limited education to display digital objects such as NFTs in their digital space and even resell them to the next person for sure.”
Bloktopia’s massive 21-story Metavers skyscraper is currently under construction to pay tribute to the maximum 21 million bitcoin (BTC) that can ever be created. High-profile consumer brands such as Adidas and Nike also join Metaverse, collaborating with members to design NFT illustrations for their namesake. Above all, the developers of Sandbox virtual metaverse want to protect the kingdom from the threat of monopoly from large technologies.
Screenshot of Blocktopia in the game. Source: Blocktopia
4. NFT charity
2021 saw a significant increase in the number of charities that accepted cryptocurrency donations. The Giving Block platform facilitates such transactions, so donations will increase to more than 100 million dollars this year, up from 4 million dollars for the whole of 2020. The company collaborates with NFT platforms so that part of the income from auctions can go directly to crypto non-profit organizations.
