NFT Mania in the Big Apple

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NFTs in the Big Apple

This week, John and Caitlin were in NYC for events surrounding NFT NYC, the leading annual NFT event. Thousands gathered for not only the conference but for community-based events surrounding them—they had access to these events because of the NFTs they hold.

Caitlin's Take:

As someone newer to the NFT space, I was blown away by seeing the number of people who are not only passionate about the space but who are putting in the work to build projects and products during this time. Every single person I met was working on something different and their convictions for what they were building were so encouraging.

Similar to our VeeCon experience in May, it was so fun to attend events in real life we had access to because of holding NFTs (even if we did have to stand in the rain in line - team memories). During this time in the market, it was so valuable to spend time with others in real life who also believe WAGMI.

John's Take:

The vibe was very different than last year's event (Nov 21, nearly the peak of NFT mania) but I honestly liked it more. The folks still working in the space are super convicted, they're building the foundation of what will become the future of the internet, and they're much more focused on building useful tools than the floor price of their NFTs.

The current market conditions feel painful, but I believe will make for a better long-term version of Web3. A lot of the hype and speculators have cleared out, and now it is up to the industry to build solutions that are better than the status quo. We'll see if they can deliver on that promise.

Cristiano Ronaldo Partners with Binance

Here are a few ways to describe Cristiano Ronaldo:

Soccer icon, heartthrob, five-time Ballon D’Or winner, the most followed person on Instagram, Austin’s childhood hero, and… early NFT supporter?

That’s right. CR7 has entered the web3 chat. Binance, a leading crypto exchange, recently announced a multi-year partnership with the Real Madrid and Manchester United legend.

The Project →

Although nothing has been revealed yet, the partnership will contain soccer-related NFT collections with Ronaldo at the helm. The collection will include “unprecedented experiences and access” to those that purchase it. The project will go on sale on the Binance App later this year.

Why this matters →

Sports and NFTs have been in sort of a weird relationship for a long time now. At first, new web3 companies reached out to sports teams and athletes in order to reach a wider audience. Now, those same teams and athletes are realizing the power that NFTs have. They allow athletes to connect with fans in an entirely different way, and they give fans new ways to experience the sport or athlete that they love.

eBay Acquires KnownOrigin

Want to buy a Donald Trump Chia Pet, a giant, inflatable unicorn, fart spray, an exploding golf ball, or maybe, just maybe, an NFT? eBay has you covered. They actually began allowing sellers to list and sell NFTs on their site last year, but the process was incredibly clunky. It seems like they realized that too, so this year they went out and purchased an entire NFT marketplace to do their bidding. Did you like that pun? Me too.

KnownOrigin is a semi-popular NFT marketplace. As of today, they’ve done about $7.8 million in sales all-time on the site. This is pretty low, and eBay will look to grow that market significantly so that they can compete with the likes of OpenSea ($30.46 billion in all-time sales).

The Mint Staff likes this move. eBay needs to keep its customer base happy as collecting starts to transition from a physical process to a digital one, and this will do just that. Their acquisition of KnownOrigin will allow them to streamline the NFT buying process for all of the hungry digital collectors that will be flocking to their site in the years to come.

NFTs for Kids

I don’t know about you, but literally, the only thing I cared about in 1st grade was my trading card collection. I did everything in my power to collect as many Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Cards as I could. But for some reason, my friends always had better cards than me. SMH.

Cryptoys is looking to capture that same energy in the metaverse. The a16z-backed brand is aiming its projects at a younger audience as a way to onboard them into web3 and the metaverse. Their platform features adorable animal characters with hats, sunglasses and, you guessed it, uniqueness from the blockchain. Once unlocked, you can use your character in all kinds of online games and show it off to your friends.

As I look at the new landscape of collectibles, I’m not too surprised that things haven’t changed very much. Kids love having things that other kids don’t have. They also have this weird way of driving up demand for some of the weirdest products. Remember Silly Bands? Every kid flocked to the store to buy those, and I think it’s just a matter of time before the same thing happens with NFTs.

Minty-Fresh News

• Facebook adding NFT features soon

• Bill Murray is releasing an NFT collection

• Doodles NFTs brings on Pharrell Williams as Chief Brand Officer

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Past Mints

• New and Old NFT Platforms Gain Steam

• SD’s First-Ever NFT Project is a Go!

• Mastercard is Banking on NFTs

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