CoinMarketCap takes a look at some of the most prominent play-to-earn and NFT events, from SuperRare's record month, to entertainment icons and pro sports leagues venturing into NFTs.
As the non-fungible token (NFT) and play-to-earn (P2E) industry continues to grow, professional sports leagues are now more receptive to the idea, according to the company behind NBA Top Shot and NFL NFTs. And, in addition to new celebrities hopping on the NFT trend every week, the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has also joined the party.
Find out more about all the exciting play-to-earn and NFT news over the past week.
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WWE Teams up With Fox Entertainment Blockchain Division
A number of renowned brands have jumped on the NFT bandwagon, and it appears WWE is one of the latest to join the party.
The World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE, has inked a deal with the Blockchain Creative Labs division of Fox Entertainment to debut a new line of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Earlier this year, Fox Entertainment’s Blockchain Creative Labs released an NFT lineup based on the popular singing competition — The Masked Singer. The WWE collection will also be launched on the Eluvio blockchain.
It is worth mentioning that the WWE NFTs will be the first one from Blockchain Creative Labs that is not based on a property owned by Fox Entertainment. Recall that back in 2018, WWE entered into a five-year media and broadcasting deal with Fox.
Meanwhile, collectors will need to create an NFT vault through Eluvio. They can purchase the NFTs using cryptocurrencies, debit cards and credit cards.
Commenting on the development, Scott Zanghellini, WWE’s senior vice president of revenue, strategy and development, said in a press release:
“This new partnership allows us to deepen our relationship with FOX, as we continue to explore new and creative ways to engage our passionate fanbase.”
NFT Marketplace SuperRare Posts Impressive Record Monthly Sales
OpenSea is undoubtedly the reigning king of NFT marketplaces. However, several other platforms are beginning to spring up to challenge its supremacy or capture a share of the market. SuperRare is one such platform.
Interestingly, the number of active users on the platform in October is half of what it was in March. An increase in the average sale price has boosted the platform’s trading volume, with the average from the last 1,000 sales standing at 12.1 ETH (about $50,300).
It is worth mentioning that Starry Night Capital, a $100 million NFT-collecting fund by Three Arrows Capital and renowned collector Vincent Van Dough, accounts for nearly half of SuperRare’s total trading volume in this month.
Starry Night Capital is focused on acquiring top-tier NFTs that it believes will appreciate in value over time. For instance, it purchased a piece on SuperRare from XCOPY over the weekend. The artwork — called “Dankrupt” — was purchased for 469 ETH, or $1.9 million at the time of writing.
Apart from Starry Night, American rapper and NFT sensation Snoop Dogg purchased a piece from XCOPY on SuperRare in late September. Dogg spent a record $3.9 million on the piece.
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Is Yet to Wrap his Head Around the NFT Mania
Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is perplexed by the ongoing frenzy around NFTs. He admitted that he is yet to fully understand why the demand for NFTs is so high.
"I personally don’t understand the appeal of a Rembrandt painting. So, when I see NFTs, part of me is like… I don’t get the appeal of some of these."
Interestingly, despite his limited understanding of the sector, his exchange has dabbled into the NFT waters. Last month, FTX launched its NFT marketplace right after Bankman-Fried released his own NFT auction. His NFT was an image depicting the handwritten word “test,” and it sold for a whopping $270,000 on FTX.US.
While questioning Bankman-Fried’s NFT, the Axios reporter compared his handwritten JPEG to Mona Lisa. He replied, “Well, how about those paintings that are like six lines that cross with each other, how much would that be worth? I think they all look dumb to me.”
Dapper Labs: Pro Sports Leagues Are More Receptive to NFTs
NFTs are still the rave of the moment, and according to Dapper Labs, sports leagues are now buying into the NFT concept following the success of NBA Top Shot.
He added:
"We were lucky to start with the NBA [...] At that time, it was a lot of explanation and we spent a lot of time with lawyers and people in finance to talk about what does it look like to have secondary revenue, you don't have secondary revenue on merchandise... what does it look like to have ownership in perpetuity of assets for consumers... NBA Top Shot has proven that there's something there."
Crypto Advocates Urge Valve to Reconsider its Ban on Crypto and NFT Games
The Blockchain Game Alliance includes members like Ubisoft, Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Polygon, Atari, and The Sandbox publisher Animoca Brands.
An excerpt from the letter reads:
“Valve, web3 games are a fast-moving and exciting category of games that have a place within the Steam ecosystem. Please consider changing your stance on this issue and permit tokens and, more broadly, the use of blockchain tech on the Steam platform. Don’t ban blockchain-based games on Steam.”
Timbaland Launches his own Music NFTs
Timbaland will not just be releasing his own music NFTs. He will be breaking the songs into NFT chunks that can be mixed and matched to create new jams.
Scheduled to launch on November 2, the NFT collection is built around tracks from his upcoming EP, the “Opera Noir.” Each track in the extended play record has been divided into several individual elements, including stems, hooks, and beats. They will be auctioned off individually as Ethereum NFTs.
Meanwhile, collectors who are able to grab at least two of the NFTs will be able to access a web-based mixing app that will allow them to plug in and manipulate the components of the NFTs to create a custom remix.
Bored Ape Yacht Club #8817 Sold for a Record $3.4 Million
Since its entry to the NFT scenes, the NFT collection of Bored Ape Yacht Club has remained a major hit, notching nearly a billion dollars in secondary market sales.
‘DeFi Rabbit Hole’ NFT Cover From The Economist Sells for $419K
Following the massive attention its “Alice in Wonderland” themed DeFi cover received from the crypto community, The Economist has leaped even further into the NFT space.
On Tuesday, the news publication sold a one-of-one NFT cover for 99.9 ETH, or nearly $419,000 at the time of writing. The cover titled “Down the rabbit hole: The promise and perils of decentralized finance,” depicts an illustration by Sir John Tenniel from “Alice in Wonderland.” It was adapted for Web3 display by digital artist Justin Metz.
“We have always written about the potential of technology to change the world, be it self-driving cars or gene therapies. NFTs, and the crypto infrastructure they sit on, could transform finance. By minting and selling our own NFT, we are experiencing this first-hand."
The Economist will also be retaining a 10% royalty stake in the cover. Proceeds from the auction and all other future sales will go to an independent charity, the Economist Educational Foundation.
Baseball Legend Willie Mays Releases NFT Collection on Nifty Gateway
Willie Mays has collaborated with the Costacos Collection to release a series of NFTs celebrating his roots, life and career.
The launch, which comes right at the heels of the 117th World Series this month, is dedicated to the Baseball Hall of Famer — his life and career, from playing in the Negro American League to bagging the Rookie of the Year title with the New York Giants in 1951. The collection was released on October 24, commemorating Mays’ 90th birthday celebration.
All proceeds from the drop will go to the Mays’ Say Hey Foundation, which will then be used to establish a baseball academy for underprivileged Alabama youths, as well as to restore the historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham.
"I've never forgotten the people who supported me, taught me, and helped me find my way. I want every child to have the same chances that I had, and this gives me a way to do that starting in my original hometown."
Top 10 NFT Collections by Trading Volume for the Last 7 Days
The NFT space has had quite an interesting week. CryptoPunks is this week’s best-performing NFT collection, having seen a trading volume of $35 million from 69 sales. Along with the volume, which increased by 21% over the past 7 days, the number of sales increased by 25%.
Coming in at second place is the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. It recorded a trading volume of $23 million from 130 sales. Meanwhile, Doodles generated $19 million from 2,707 sales.
Other NFT collections that have performed quite well over the past week include JUNGLE FREAKS BY TROSLEY, Boonji Project, Kaiju Kingz, Party Ape, CyberKongz, HeadDAO and CrypToadz by GREMPLIN.
In terms of the number of weekly sales, Boonji Project is currently leading the pack with 5,177 sales. It is followed by Doodles and Party Ape, which saw volumes of 2,707 and 2,892, respectively.