The excitement surrounding NFTs was so intense that it was hard to contain. The headlines were glowing and frenetic, and virtual land plots and art collections sold quickly.
Although the market has seen a decrease in excitement, NFTs remain a major news story. Here are some highlights from the most important NFT stories.
Table Of Contents 👉
- NFT Markets Take A -99% Nosedive
- Starbucks Selects Polygon For NFT And Rewards Program Technology
- Donald Trump Promotes A Plagiarized NFT Collection
- Madonna NFTs Auction Flops
- Seth Green Forced To Repurchase Bored Ape After Theft
- Nike Sells NFT Image Of Sneaker For $134,000
- Chevrolet Auctions Off Corvette NFT
- Bored Ape Yacht Club Creator Sues Copycat
- Minecraft Denies Plans To Support NFTs
NFT Markets Take A -99% Nosedive
Everyone, including celebrities and large corporations, invested in NFTs and NFT-based virtual worlds. Mark Zuckerberg donated billions to Meta’s virtual world division and Horizon Worlds metaverse.
NFT trading volume plummeted by 97% between New Year’s Day and September. It was at -99% by November.
Between November 2021 and June 2022, the crypto market capitalization fell by $2 trillion. However, NFTs did worse. Even NFTs with six-figure incomes are down by 99%.
Starbucks Selects Polygon For NFT And Rewards Program Technology
Starbucks announced plans to launch its NFT-based Starbucks Odyssey program in September 2022. Starbucks Rewards customers can now buy experiences or get rewards through this program.
Donald Trump Promotes A Plagiarized NFT Collection
Donald Trump sold an NFT collection through his Truth Social account. The photos featured him as a fictional hero and cost $99 each. They were hated by many, but they sold out. Their value had plummeted by 70% by 20th December.
The collection was then criticized for only being a series of poorly photoshopped images. The NFT community found evidence that NFT creators might have copied styles from fashion brands and taken images from clothing collections on Amazon.
Madonna NFTs Auction Flops
In May 2022, preeminent NFT artist Beeple and pop legend Madonna collaborated to auction off three NFTs that imagined the singer as the Mother of Creation.
Beeple’s previous NFTs sold at auction for as high as $69 million. However, her Mother of Creation NFTs sold for only $135,000, $346,000, and $146,000.
Some blamed the digital asset market’s low prices and poor performance for the decline in NFT markets. Madonna attempted to defend the bad taste in the artwork used for NFTs.
Seth Green Forced To Repurchase Bored Ape After Theft
Seth Green, a phishing victim, admitted on 17th May 2022 that he had lost four NFTs, including a blue-chip Bored Ape and two Mutant Apes. Someone may have bought one of the stolen NFTs before the information became public.
To retrieve his Bored Ape, he paid $297,000 to an NFT collector named Mister Cheese. He had plans to use his NFTs in an animated show called White Horse Tavern.
Nike Sells NFT Image Of Sneaker For $134,000
Nike launched an NFT collection called CryptoKicks in April 2022. It was based on images from sneakers. One of the items sold for $134,000 in May, despite critics that it appeared too cynical and a money grab. It didn’t even offer buyers a pair of physical Nike sneakers.
Chevrolet Auctions Off Corvette NFT
Chevrolet did better than other brands by auctioning a Corvette NFT, which came with a car, specifically a lime green 2023 Corvette Z06. Chevy stated that the car would only be painted this color to reflect the NFT’s unique nature.
Bored Ape Yacht Club Creator Sues Copycat
Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, sued Ryder Ripps in Los Angeles. He claimed that Ripps copied the Bored Apes.
Yuga Labs claims Ryder Ripps, an artist, took satire too far and caused confusion. He also attempted to denigrate the Bored Apes’ reputation by portraying them as Nazis.
Ripps claims that the Bored Apes work was an attempt to recontextualize Bored Ape artwork in a statement posted on his website.
Minecraft Denies Plans To Support NFTs
Minecraft was named one of the top video games to watch in 2022 for an NFT announcement. Everyone wanted to be a part of a possible Minecraft NFT. The announcement was never made.
Mojang, a Minecraft developer, denied any plans to integrate NFTs and said that all Minecraft players should be able to access the same content. Mojang reiterated that independent Minecraft servers could not integrate NFTs or blockchain technology.
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