Weekly NFT Update (Week 6, 09/02/2022 – 15/02/2022)

Chain CEO buys Cryptopunks NFT for $23.7M. McDonald’s plans Metaverse move. Samsung has opened its Decentraland immersive experience.

Key Takeaways

• On Saturday, Chain CEO Deepak Thapliyal purchased CryptoPunks #5822 directly from Larva Labs’ own marketplace for $23.7 million, shattering the previous top sale record by double the amount. 
• McDonald’s plans Metaverse move by filing 12 trademarks for ‘Virtual Restaurant’. If approved, this will allow them to share downloadable media files such as artworks, audio, video, and of course NFTs. 
• South Korean giant Samsung built an entire immersive experience on the Decentraland Ethereum Metaverse. The experience features a gamified exploration of their city corner, allowing the user to play a mini-quest within different locations such as a theatre hall, a dancing disco arena, and a big forest. 
• LooksRare recorded a -62% decrease in sales and a -35% drop in transactions. OpenSea recorded a -14% decrease in sales and a -29% drop in transactions.

Crypto.com NFT in the Spotlight

• Philadelphia 76ers and Crypto.com are proud to bring to life an exclusive and limited-edition NFT collection called ‘76ers Legacy 09: The Chant’. This collection is in celebration of the NBA’s 75^th anniversary, and will showcase 13 officially licensed commemorative tickets highlighting iconic games and moments that took place during the ‘Philadelphia Spectrum’ era of basketball. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Sixers Youth Foundation.
• ‘Crypto Swag Club’ is a collection of diverse NFTs, representing crypto swag culture. Created by South African creative agency Jack Studios, this genesis drop comprises 10 collectibles distributed among 5,000 surprise packs. Diverse representation within crypto is essential in creating the solutions suited to transform the world. We, therefore, intend to build a community of collectors from diverse backgrounds, genders, and cultures.
• The ‘Metaverse Statues’ drop is the first one in a series of three presenting the creations of French artist Léo Caillard. In the future, will museums present statues that are wearing futuristic masks? The metaverse will be part of our everyday lives and these accessories might be a normal part of our lifestyles like sunglasses or hats are today. These statues are iconic figures from the past. Perhaps in a different space and time, where the past collides with the future, they could be wearing these digital additions as well.

Highlights

• Polygon is getting a new NFT content platform
• Alfa Romeo’s new SUV is loaded with all the NFT and blockchain goodies – can it spur sales?
• Grand Theft Auto game publisher ‘highly convinced’ by NFT opportunity
• Salesforce tells employees it’s working on NFT cloud service
• Gucci buys land in Ethereum game The Sandbox to create Metaverse experiences
• Gaming giant Zynga plans to launch NFT-based game this year
• FlamingoDAO’s NFT portfolio is now worth $1B
• The Amazon: NFTs minted to save the forest sell out in one hour
• OnlyFans launches verified NFT profile pictures
• Browser-based metaverse Portals aims to remove the need to get a VR headset
• Smooth Love Potion soars 70% in 24 hours behind Axie Infinity update
• South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund plots push into AI and metaverse investments
• UK tax authorities seize 3 NFTs involved in $1.8M fraud investigation
• Official: Victoria’s Secret forays into NFTs and Metaverse with 4 blockchain-related trademark filings
• AssangeDAO wins Julian Assange x Pak NFT for $53 million

Transaction Volume Benchmark

Top Collectibles

The following chart shows selected top NFTs and their historical floor prices.

Upcoming NFT Sales

The following table shows top upcoming NFT sales (by market cap) and a sample of their art.

Top Artists

The following table shows selected top artists (by sales volume on each platform) and a sample of their art.