The NFT market remains an integral part of the crypto world, and despite some difficulties, it continues to develop and gain the interest of many users. In this article, we will talk about NFT news: today’s market situation, new opportunities, and some fresh NFT examples.
Market Decline
This year has been a difficult year for the NFT due to the bear market as well as other factors. According to Bloomberg, NFT sales this year have plummeted: in September, these digital assets were sold for $466 million, which is 97% less than the $17 billion that was raised in January.
One of the factors in the collapse was the announcement of the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange, which negatively affected the cryptocurrency market in general and the NFT ecosystem in particular.
Starting Nov. 7, when FTX customers had withdrawal issues, the NFT market is recording a steady decline in sales volume, market capitalization, daily NFTs traded, number of traders, and many other metrics.
A deeper dive into the efficiency of the NFT sector in early November revealed a significant drop in the blue-chip index (Bored Ape Yacht Club, Cool Cats, CryptoPunks, Art Blocks, and CloneX). According to the analytical platform NFTGo, the blue-chip index is calculated by weighing the market capitalization (ETH/USD) of the largest NFT collections, which makes it possible to assess their performance.
According to NFTGo, since November 7, the total capitalization of the NFT market has fallen by 8%; over the same period, total sales fell by 32%.
Only sports fan tokens can boast of outstanding success now, as the trading volumes of those skyrocketed while the market was waiting for the 2022 World Cup.
Let It Become Money
On November 11, FTX Trading Ltd., Alameda Research, and 130 other affiliated companies began voluntary proceedings under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Along with this, it was announced that Samuel Bankman-Fried was leaving the post of CEO of the platform.
After this news, 1.3 thousand tokens with various images of the ex-head of the problematic exchange were put up for sale. In total, the collection contains almost 7 thousand items.
More than 2.1 thousand users purchased NFT from the Bankrupt FTX Yacht Club collection dedicated to the collapse of the exchange.
The total cost of the sold NFTs is 187 ETH ($233 000), and the minimum price (the price of the cheapest token in this series) reached 0.1 ETH ($125), but by now it has dropped to 0.0092 ETH ($11).
The collection was posted by the creator of the NFTs - S60SSYe - on the evening of November 11. At the same time as the Bankman-Fried series, he also presented 3.8 thousand tokens called Caroline Town by BFTXYC (Bankrupt FTX Yacht Club) with the image of the head of Alameda Research Carolyn Ellison. These NFTs are less popular. Currently, about 700 users own such items, and the total amount of token sales amounted to 6 ETH ($7.5 thousand).
Instagram and Facebook Have the Opportunity to Post NFTs
Meta has opened up the opportunity for all US users to post digital collectibles, i.e. non fungible tokens or NFTs, on Facebook and Instagram. On Instagram, this feature is also available to users in over a hundred other countries.
To work with the option, you need to connect a crypto wallet to your profile on the social network, after which it will be possible to create publications with NFT objects from this wallet. At the same time, the creator of the object and its owner are automatically marked in the publication.
A special section dedicated to digital assets has now appeared in the application settings, and wallets created on five platforms, including Coinbase, MetaMask and Dapper, can be connected to the profile. Theoretically, this operation is available not only in the mobile application, but also in the web interface — but the authors of assets, The Verge, said that the second option is still malfunctioning.
Release and Sell NFT on Instagram: Now You Can
Meta announced that it has begun testing the mechanisms for releasing and selling NFTs on Instagram. The first access to new features will be given to "a small group of authors in the United States". The set of options for demonstrating NFT objects on the platform has also expanded.
Meta has prepared a set of tools for working with NFT: it will allow you to issue tokens on the Polygon blockchain so that you can then sell them either on Instagram or outside the platform. The developers specified that the Solana network was added to the supported Ethereum, Polygon and Flow blockchains to withdraw NFT purchased elsewhere on Instagram. In addition, there was a download of metadata from the OpenSea marketplace, as it was done on Twitter.
Last year, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said the platform was no longer viewed as a photo-sharing app. Now it is an entertainment venue. Therefore, authors should be able to make money either from advertising or from selling NFTs and gifts from the audience.
Buy NFT From the AppStore
Recently, Apple Inc. updated the rules for non-replaceable tokens (NFTs) in the App Store. Developers can now sell NFTs hosted at the App Store, but only through the internal payment system. That means content creators will be required to pay Apple a 30% fee on sales.
Apple is interested in ensuring that users do not bypass the commission for buying NFTs using cryptocurrency. Therefore, the company introduced even more restrictions.
Thus, the new rules prohibit the use of cryptocurrency, crypto wallets, and QR codes to unlock functions in the application. In addition, development companies must have a license to work in the country where the application is sold.
And despite criticism of the high commissions, the company's management believes that the possibility of buying NFT from the AppStore for fiat will attract people who consider cryptocurrencies difficult to the market.
OpenSea New Tools
Marketplace OpenSea has launched a new tool for royalty fees. So far, it can only be applied to new collections of non-fungible tokens.
“There’s been a lot of discussion over the past few months about business models for NFT creators & whether creator fees (“royalties”) are viable.
Given our role in the ecosystem, we want to take a thoughtful, principled approach to this topic & to lead w/ solutions”. OpenSea (@opensea)
The team reserves the right to collect royalties for authors. From November 8, the platform will begin to charge commissions only from those new collections that use the corresponding tool and run additional options and improvements for fees in new collections.
The marketplace team said that they are already thinking about alternatives in order to help the authors of existing collections navigate the changes in the NFT market. For the latter, they promised not to introduce any changes until at least December 8.
Also, the largest trading OpenSea marketplace is preparing a stolen token detection and sales block system on the platform.
The developers have prepared a system that will automatically track transactions with stolen tokens and block such sales on the platform. Now the system is in the stage of limited testing.
To track suspicious NFTs the system is going to use "many sources of transaction data." In addition, the system itself will check the seller's wallet for suspicious activity, for example, many NFT movements.
An important innovation is checking links in ads for possible fraud. Scammers often used the OpenSea platform itself for fraud posting phishing links in ads.The new system will check both the NFT description and the URL link in the description. The developers promise to limit the clicks on suspicious links automatically.
Starbucks Unveils NFT-Based Loyalty Program
Starbucks has officially unveiled a new NFT-based loyalty program in the virtual world. The Starbucks Odyssey project is the coffee chain's first experience of building a virtual community using web3 technology.
The new format combines the classic Starbucks Rewards loyalty program and the NFT platform, where guests can earn digital assets, which can then pay for exclusive services.
Starbucks Rewards members will be able to use the services of Starbucks Odyssey through existing accounts, there is no need to re-register. Once in the new virtual space, they will be able to participate in various special projects, which Starbucks called "travel": for example, playing interactive games or taking part in surveys aimed at deepening their knowledge of the Starbucks brand or the coffee business as a whole.
As these "travels" are completed, participants will be able to purchase some items from NFT collections. True, here Starbucks deliberately leaves the technical slang and calls these collectibles in the NFT format "road stamps." Despite being hosted on the Polygon blockchain, these NFTs will be purchased with a credit or debit card, no crypto wallet is required. The company believes this will make it easier for consumers to interact with web3 by lowering the entry barrier.
It will be possible to swap "stamps" for a virtual class for preparing espresso martini, or access to indoor events at Starbucks Reserve Roasteries, or even a trip to Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia coffee farm in Costa Rica.
Items in the NFT collection can be earned, exchanged in the community, or simply bought.
Square Enix Fans’ Disappointment
Square Enix has officially announced the NFT game Symbiogenesis. It will be released in the spring of 2023 along with the free browser service of the same name.
The publisher registered the Symbiogenesis trademark in October. Then the players thought that under this brand a continuation of the sensational Parasite Eve which came out in the late 90s or something related to this series would be released. They came to this conclusion because the word symbiogenesis means the process of combining two separate organisms into one. It is this process that underlies the Parasite Eve plot.
Symbiogenesis is a brand-new entertainment project that will take place in an autonomous world, where the symbiosis of many characters can be assembled in a digital art format.
In Symbiogenesis, all user-generated content can be used as a profile avatar on social media and as a playable character in a story that takes place in the digital world. The authors promise a lot of plot in the NFT game.
Something New From The Sims Creators
The creator of the iconic The Sims and the city-planning simulator SimCity Will Wright has announced his new game called VoxVerse. This is a virtual sandbox consisting of huge cubes in which players can extract resources, own land, and build various structures.
Unfortunately for many players, VoxVerse is largely built on NFT technology. Players will be able to trade characters from The Walking Dead and DreamWorks' cartoon Trolls. According to Wright, blockchain technology will help players make "secure transactions."
At the same time, the cult developer himself expects that three types of users will be formed around the game: some will simply play, the second will be slightly involved in the project economy, and others will enter VoxVerse exclusively for the purchase and sale of items. However, Will Wright is much more interested in "a million ordinary players than in 10 thousand rich whales" that will bring him money.
More Life in the Metaverse
There is not yet a single metaverse, and its first versions often cause mixed feelings due to the feeling of artificiality. To "revive" the virtual space, startups offer to add virtual animals to them. The general idea is not new, but the new features imply that the pet will not be limited to specific hardware. Now in the early days of Web3, a new wave of start-ups is attracting investment to bring our furry friends to the metaverse.
One of the striking projects is Tiny Rebel Games' Petaverse Network creates virtual cats in an NFT drop format that is promised to be used for decades. To do this, they are trying to ensure that their metapets can be recreated by different development teams working on different platforms, regardless of how the technology changes.
Another project, Digital Dogs, is going to "tag" the metaverse and is developing cross-platform AI puppies for virtual worlds, digital games, and social platforms.
According to co-founder and CEO Itay Hasid, these dogs are not intended to replace a furry friend. These are rather companions for users of the metaverse, who may become an occasion to start a conversation, which is not enough, in his opinion.
ECO-Friendly NFT
If you love nature and are worried about the safety of animal species and ancient traditions, now you have the opportunity to curate your own deer.
The deer NFT collection containing eight tokens has appeared on the market. The Digital Reindeer Herder project was developed in Yakutia. Also, the republic began to issue futures of supplying deer antlers in a certain number of kilograms. The money from the sale, in particular, will go to the development of reindeer husbandry in Yakutia.
"Futures will increase the number of animals and commercialize the antlers market. A similar contract can be used by people who want to help the ecology of the Arctic and contribute to the development of the North, " said the press service of the republic.
The Bottom Line
NFTs have been more than just pictures with painted stones from the Internet for a long time, sold for a lot of money. Attractive assets with their philosophy are rapidly becoming an integral part of modern culture, opening up new opportunities for monetization of their resources for artists and enthusiasts of the idea of an attractive Metaverse.
Large companies one way or another enter the market, wanting to maintain their significance and relevance. Using technology, opening their own marketplaces, or releasing their own collections, large players not only increase their funds but also popularize NFT for the masses.
Booms and busts inextricably accompany the development of the young market, presenting opportunities to make good money for experienced participants, and a nice chance to successfully enter the market for beginners.
And we at SwapSpace are preparing something in this space ourselves. Stay tuned!
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