Weekly Roundup: What Happened in Play2Earn Games and NFTs This Week? [Nov. 25, 2021]
GameFi

Weekly Roundup: What Happened in Play2Earn Games and NFTs This Week? [Nov. 25, 2021]

CoinMarketCap takes a look at some of the most prominent play-to-earn and NFT events — from a DAO now attempting to purchase an NBA team, to Macy's NFT collection for Thanksgiving Day.

Weekly Roundup: What Happened in Play2Earn Games and NFTs This Week? [Nov. 25, 2021]

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After failing to purchase a rare copy of the U.S. constitution, a group of crypto enthusiasts have come together to set an even higher target of purchasing an NBA team. Meanwhile, more artists have continued to jump on the NFT train.

Here’s a rundown of some important things that happened in the NFT space over the past week.

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DAO Seeking to Buy an NBA Team Raises $1.7M in Ethereum

Although efforts to purchase the U.S. Constitution by ConstitutionDAO failed, another decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has sprung up with yet another lofty dream. The new DAO Krause House is targeting something far more expensive, an NBA franchise.

Named after the late Chicago Bulls manager Jerry Krause, the DAO was launched back in May with the grand ambition of purchasing an NBA team. Interestingly, Krause House DAO has already pooled over $1.7 million in Ethereum.

Although it has been in existence since May, the DAO recently made the headlines after Krause House contributor Adam Soffer tweeted about the possibility of a DAO owning a sporting team late last week. Responding to Soffer, someone said: “There's a DAO for that,' and pointed me to Krause House DAO."

Krause House ramped up its funding drive in earnest through the sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These tokens represent “a metaphorical ticket” that grants its owners access to the DAO’s Discord server, an allocation of the project’s token KRAUSE, and upcoming events.

The NFTs are being sold in three membership categories – Upper Level at 0.1 ETH, Club Level at 1.0 ETH, and Courtside at 10 ETH.

According to the team behind the initiative, Krause House already reached its initial milestone of 200 ETH (equivalent to $840,000 at current market prices) in just 15 minutes after launching its sale via Mirror. As of Monday afternoon, the project had raised 411 ETH, worth around $1.7 million. The overall funding goal is 1,000 ETH or $4.1 million. Each tier will offer a different level of access and KRAUSE tokens. Meanwhile, a limited edition NFT will be given to the top three backers of the campaign.

In general, Krause House is slowly gaining traction. To date, 1,680 people have joined the Krause House Discord channel.

Despite its strong start, owning an NBA team is no easy feat since it requires billions of dollars. The DAO still has a long way to go. For instance, the Brooklyn Nets became the most expensive sale in the NBA’s history after being sold for $2.35 billion in August 2019. And according to Hoop Hype, the average value of a premier basketball league is $2.2 billion. To make matters worse, any NBA sale needs to get the approval of three-fourths of the owners of the remaining clubs and a nod from the NBA commissioner before it can scale through.

Terry Gilliam to Auction a Surrealist Art as an NFT

Several celebrities are already in the NFT mania, with more coming on board. Terry Gilliam is one of the latest to join the party. The director of movies like “12 Monkeys,” “Brazil,” and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” is set to release his first-ever NFT dubbed “Blessed Before Blast.”

The artwork is based on a surrealist print that he had owned for half a century. Drawn by Gilliam himself, “Blessed Before Blast” dates back to when the American-born British director was still an illustrator and animator. It is based on an original “Monty Python” animation, a 1970s television series that helped establish him as a surrealist artist.

The NFT depicts the futile attempt of an angel trying to escape the destruction of the earth. The angel was standing on a bomb, which is intended to represent the earth. However, in the animated NFT, the angel failed in its attempt to fly away and the bomb explodes before it does.

According to a description on the Decrypt Studios website: 

“Terry Gilliam’s first NFT is a visual representation of the nervousness the artist feels as we march toward a very different and less pleasant planet. The image, drawn from artwork that first appeared in a Monty Python animation, depicts the Earth as a bomb about to detonate while a faceless, overweight angel tries, but cannot escape the gravity of the situation. The original artwork has hung in the artist’s home for 50 years, and was photographed and animated for this project.”

While speaking to crypto news site Decrypt, Gilliam said:

“I have an incredible collection of artwork that I’ve made over the years and much of it has never been seen outside of my home. I thought NFTs would be a good way to share this body of work with the rest of the world.”

Interestingly, despite his latest foray into the NFT space, the director admits that he has no clue about what he was doing and whether NFTs were the future of art. He is just excited about venturing into the space.

As for his NFT, it is on auction on leading Ethereum NFT marketplace OpenSea. Bids will be accepted until November 29.

Martha Stewart Debuts Another Set of NFTs

Talk about coming back for more. Following earlier success stories with her previous NFTs, Martha Stewart, is set to release 100 NFT images and an animated NFT dubbed “The First Thanksgiving ‘remembering 1994.’”

Stewart, who has had a robust career as a TV personality, a magazine editor-in-chief, and home goods expert, has earned herself the title of the "Queen of Thanksgiving" by Time Magazine.

Last month, an animated NFT of her dressed up as a character from a Roy Lichtenstein painting sold for 1 ETH. Similarly, a dressed-up version of her as a “naughty nurse” sold for a whopping 4.1 ETH.

Her latest release features a plethora of images from Stewart’s home magazine Martha Stewart Living. It includes images of sandwiches, pies, cornucopias, and multiple-styled rooster sculptures, in addition to the story-based animated NFT. Stewart attempts to tell a story of a thanksgiving dinner with her family in 1994 New Jersey through the NFTs. According to her, she and her mother would wake up at 4 am every year to start preparing for dinner by 1 pm.

The price of the First Thanksgiving collection ranges from $100 for a photorealistic image to $1,000 for an impressionist rendition. Meanwhile, items like palette knives, watercolor and oil painting restyles cost $500. As expected, the most expensive item in the collection is the animated NFT, which is currently up for auction on OpenSea. The starting price for bidding has been set at 3 ETH.

Macy’s Release NFT collection to Celebrate Thanksgiving Day Parade

Stewart may have bagged the title of the “Queen of Thanksgiving,” but she is not the only one who wants to celebrate the season with NFTs.

Macy’s, the American chain behind the eponymous Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York is giving out 9,500 free NFTs to celebrate its 95th anniversary. And just so you know, ten “ultra rare” versions from the collection are already on auction and have generated over $41,000 in bids.

Will Coss, the Executive Producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, explained:

“As we celebrate our rich legacy, 95 years in the making, we were struck by the unique place the Parade holds in pop culture, always evolving and reflecting the greatest characters and artists of each generation. To celebrate that history, we created art in a new form through NFTs that would bring the magic of the Parade to a new generation while raising funds for our partner Make-A-Wish.”

The collection was designed by REOMETRY, a digital agency led by REO and Eth Brown. It features one of ten Macy’s balloons and depicts legacy characters and ornamental figures that have appeared in the 95-year history of the parade from the late 1920s to date.

Parade fans nationwide will stand a chance to win one of the free Macy’s NFTs on Thursday, November 25 at 10 am EST. The non-fungible tokens are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and as fans claim their NFTs they will also automatically enter a sweepstake to win $10,000. Sweepstakes will be on until Tuesday, November 30.

As for the ultra rare collection, all the proceeds from the sales will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Earlier this month, firm managing member Guy Phillips urged the company to embrace digital assets and distinguish itself as a “World-Class New Age retailer.” He wrote:

“Macy’s should announce immediately that they are partnering with various Crypto platforms to allow digital payments. Macy’s can be one of the first major retailers to accept Crypto, joining companies like Starbucks and Whole Foods.”

Rarible Introduces Messenger Feature to its NFT Marketplace

Peer-to-peer NFT marketplace Rarible has introduced a first-of-its-kind feature that allows users to directly interact with others on its platform. The new messaging functionality will allow prospective buyers and sellers to interact about transactions and other share interests.

Although Rarible is the first to introduce such a feature, other players might join the party soon. Recall that leading exchange platform Coinbase recently announced plans for an upcoming NFT marketplace with a social layer. But while Coinbase’s approach appears to be more like a Facebook kind of activity feed, Rarible would allow direct communication between users.

The tool is already available via Rarible’s marketplace. There are, however, plans to launch Rarible Messenger as a standalone Web 3 communication product. Needless to say, users can block others if they want to.

Dapper Labs Launches Football Version of its Popular NBA Top Shot

Following the massive success of its NBA-based NFT series NBA Top Shot, Dapper Labs is making a bold foray into the football industry. The new flow-based NFT platform is scheduled to launch this season, with notable appearances from the likes of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and several others like Marquise Brown, Trevon Diggs, Nick Chubb, Josh Allen, and Davante Adams.

Back in September, Dapper Labs disclosed that it has inked a deal with the National Football League and NFL Players Association to replicate the success of NBA Top Shot in pro football via the launch of an NFL-branded NFT platform.

The new platform is called NFL All Day and is set to launch in a closed beta test during the current NFL season. Interest collectors can sign up for early access through a waiting list.

NFL All Day appears to be very similar to Top Shot in its approach. Primarily, collectors can buy “moments” from official video highlights of the top league plays as NFTs.

Christie’s Teams up With OpenSea for NFT Auction

Famed auction house Christie’s is proving to be more than just a traditional giant in the industry. In a bid to reinforce its identity as a place for digital art auction, Christie’s has teamed up with leading NFT marketplace OpenSea on a series of curated auctions beginning on December 1.

The partnership, dubbed "Christie's X OpenSea," will be available on OpenSea’s website. Collectors will have to go through the NFT marketplace to bid and make payments in Ethereum on the digital art being showcased.

The auction features artwork from Andre O'Shea, Alpha Centauri Kid, Beige, CyberKongz, DotPigeon, EtherRock, FriendsWithYou, KESH, Krista Kim, Mad Dog Jones, Tom Sachs, and several others. It is being headed by Christie's Head of Digital and Online Sales Noah Davis, entrepreneur Ronnie Pirovino, and NFT news and analytics site NFT Now.

"With this collaboration, we are bringing the Christie's brand boldly onto the blockchain. Our collaboration with OpenSea allows us to combine our expert curation and prestigious provenance with the convenience of decentralization."

Potential buyers will be able to browse the collection of NFTs from December 1-3. Open bidding will be live from December 4-7.

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