non-fungible tokens

UEFA Champions League Winners FC Bayern Munich Embrace Ethereum Blockchain for Tokenization

German football giant, FC Bayern Munich, is the latest entrant in the Ethereum-based fantasy soccer game platform called Sorare, which leverages non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The reigning UEFA Champions League winners become the third German club playing under the Bundesliga league to join Sorare, which has at least 100 licensed teams.

Tokenizing fantasy football

Sorare is a fantasy soccer video game founded on the Ethereum blockchain that enables users to build their preferred teams and trade football player cards. These cards are limited and can be transferred as unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Moreover, the cards earn points on the foundation of every player’s respective real-world weekly performance.

With FC Bayern Munich joining this bandwagon, Sorare users will be able to trade digital cards based on its top players like Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller, and Manuel Neuer, as well as create their own lineups. As per the announcement:

“People play Sorare because they love making new friends that are passionate about global football and scouting players and cheap cards that can become the next big things.”

Boosting blockchain adoption in the football arena

Nicolas Julia, Sorare CEO, applauded FC Bayern Munich’s decision to participate in the platform, noting that it was a major milestone. The reigning Bundesliga champion joins another European champion, Juventus, which enrolled in February.

By creating unique digital tokens and signing top football clubs to its fantasy platform, Sorare seeks to boost digital assets and blockchain adoption in daily life. The football player cards used are based on blockchain technology, and they comprise of built-in scarcity.

In February, the Spanish football giant, FC Barcelona, partnered with Chiliz, a fintech firm, to provide a blockchain-powered fan-engagement platform, which generated the Barca Fan Tokens (BAR). The tokenized engagement network was to be used by its more than 300 million global fans. Reportedly, in June, these tokens worth $1.3 million got sold out in two hours.

Crypto Art Sales are Soaring as Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Market Gains Traction

Crypto art being bought and sold as ERC-721 non-fungible tokens (NFT) has been making headlines based on the record-breaking sales being witnessed. This emerging market is gaining traction in spite of the uncertain economic times, according to data acquisition and analytics company DappRadar.

Crypto art pieces selling for more than $100,000

September 21st marked the first time a crypto art piece had been bought for at least $100,000, following the unprecedented sale of “Matt Kane’s Right Place & Right Time” on Async.art. This served as a signal to show the untapped potential in this emerging market.

Per the report:

“Now, under three months later a second piece has raised over $140,000. A programmable version of a scene depicting Vitalik Buterin of Ethereum dressed like a medieval harlequin leaning against a velvet chair made records this weekend when an NFT representation sold for 260 ETH or over $141,000 at the time of writing.”

The sale of the second piece serves as the icing on the cake in terms of the most paid crypto art in dollars.

The quest for a safe haven

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has triggered a global economic turmoil, and this has heightened investors’ pursuit for a safe store of value. This is one of the factors that is making the crypto art market to gain traction.

DappRadar acknowledged:

“The trend seems to be driven by a few major factors including Investors looking for a safe store of value and the space receiving heightened attention as platforms tried to integrate DeFi mechanics such as the use of NFTs as collateral, Insurance, and the delivery of governance tokens to loyal users.”

These crypto pieces seem to be giving investors value for money because they are unique artworks. For instance, Matt Kane’s ‘Right Place & Right Time’ piece is distinctive because it produces a new image daily.

Furthermore, it comprises 24 programmable layers synchronized with Bitcoin’s price volatility in the past 24 hours. The second piece is also exceptional because it utilizes a programmable technology called layering in remaking itself each day. Recently, the top 10 decentralized applications (Dapps) on the Ethereum Network surpassed 1 million daily users, and among them was Rarible, an NFT marketplace.

WWE Plans to Release the Undertaker NFTs Ahead of WrestleMania 37

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World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. plans to release its first-ever non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to showcase great moments of legendary iconic fighter – Mark William Callaway, popularly known as by ring name the Undertaker.

The goal behind the launch of these NFTs is to celebrate the Undertaker’s legacy and increase fan engagements. Of course, the Undertaker is recognized as the best WWE superstar of all time who won several titles during his wrestling career, including three-time World Heavyweight Champion and maintaining the longest unmatched winning streak at WrestleMania, with twenty-one wins and zero losses. The Undertaker retired from professional wrestling in November 2020, after 33 years of engaging in wrestling activities.

The WWE – the New York stock exchange-listed firm – has partnered with cryptocurrency wallet provider Bitski to roll out the initiative.

The WWE will drop the NFTs on Bitski’s website today April 10 at 10:30 AM Eastern time. The NFTs would be available for auction purchases in two instalments between April 10 and April 11. Participants would need to have a Bitski account, and winners will get NFTs in their wallets.

The Undertaker NFTs will be offered in four tiers – Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The Platinum tier has an opening bid of $10,000 while the Gold one has an opening bid of $5,000.

Silver and Bronze tiers have fixed prices of $1,000 and $100 respectively, with some limited offerings.

The higher bidder for the platinum tier will get two front-row tickets for WrestleMania 38 in 2022 and WrestleMania 39 in 2023, and also get VIP access, hotel accommodation, and a personalized video from the Undertaker himself.

In the recent past, Triple H, a retired professional wrestler and the current WWE executive vice president talked about the integration of NFTs into the sports during an interview with fight author and podcast creator Jeremy Lambert. However, he was unsure when such integration into wrestling sports would happen.

NFTs Attracting Investors’ Interest

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital blockchain tokens that represent ownership of unique items (such as music, art, real estate or even casks of whiskey), whether physical or digital. They are something with units (value) which can be bought and sold like any other piece of property, but they have no tangible form of their own.

NFTs have become the latest craze in the digital and crypto asset world and the hype around such tokens has currently resulted in an explosion of digital art being sold via blockchain technology. Currently, there is a significant growing interest among investors in these tokens.

For example, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey recently sold his first NFT tweet for $2.9 million. A blockchain company recently bought a Banksy art piece worth $95,000. Millions of people across the globe have seen Beeple’s art sold for $69 million and the image has been copied and shared countless times.

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Coca-Cola to Launch First-Ever NFT Collectibles to Honor International Friendship Day

Coca-Cola has partnered with Tafi, a leading designer of avatars and digital wearables, for the company’s first-ever non-fungible token (NFT) to celebrate International Friendship Day to be held on July 30.

Boosting NFT adoption

The leading global beverage company noted that this collaboration was a significant step forward towards NFT adoption. Per the announcement:

“Coca-Cola will be auctioning an NFT loot box on OpenSea that contains Tafi-designed digital apparel that can be worn forever in the virtual world of Decentraland.”

Therefore, Tafi will be tasked with designing the NFT collectables in the form of virtual wearables. They will include a custom Coca-Cola bubble jacket wearable, a friendship card, and a sound visualizer.

An NFT is a digital asset whose ownership is blockchain-based, and its value is pegged on its uniqueness.

Therefore, an NFT is different from a typical crypto token because of fungibility. A fungible token can be exchanged for another, whereas a non-fungible token (NFT) cannot be based on its finite nature.

As a result, NFTs are exceptional because they are non-divisible given that they have to be bought in their entirety. For cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, you can buy a fraction of them, but this is impossible with an NFT.

Reinterpreting Coca-Cola’s cores in the virtual world

According to Selman Carega, the president of Global Coca-Cola Trademark:

“Each NFT was created to celebrate elements that are core to the Coca-Cola brand reinterpreted for a virtual world in new and exciting ways.”

On the other hand, Ty Duperron, Tafi’s COO, said:

“This is truly history-in-the-making, and it is our hope that this inaugural collection of Coca-Cola NFTs will delight and inspire fans and collectors for centuries to come.”

NFTs have emerged as a booming sector in the crypto ecosystem. For instance, they have played a significant role in the adoption of the Ethereum network.

Ethereum’s Perpetual Swaps Open Interest Hit a Two-Month High

The latest surge in the crypto market has made Ethereum’s perpetual swaps open interest to increase, as disclosed by IntoTheBlock.

The data analytic firm explained:

“Ethereum’s Perpetual Swaps Open Interest just reached the highest number since May 19. As Open interest increases with the price of ETH, it points to more longs being opened. Currently, there are $6.16 billion in open positions.”

It, therefore, shows that Ethereum price is positively correlated with open interest.

Ethereum has been experiencing an uptick in different areas. For instance, its crowd sentiment on Twitter recently hit a two-month high after the second-largest cryptocurrency based on market capitalisation jumped above the $2,400 level.

Furthermore, ETH 2.0 validators topped 200.000. Ethereum 2.0 was launched in December 2020 and sought to transit the current proof-of-work (POW) consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake (POS) framework.

ETH hourly fees skyrocketed to $2.53 million following the sale of Stoner Cats

Meanwhile, the Ethereum network has been in high demand in the non-fungible token (NFT) sector.

For instance, Stoner Cats, an adult animated short series sold in NFTs, clogged the Ethereum network leading to the loss of more than 344 ETH in gas fees. Moreover, hourly fees surged to $2.53 million.

IntoTheBlock acknowledged:

“With the highly anticipated launch of Stoner Cats, over 10k NFTs were sold with a total value of 3,650 ETH. But what’s impressive was the high demand on the Ethereum blockchain, which resulted in over 344 ETH wasted in gas fees. Ethereum Hourly Fees skyrocketed to $2.53 million.”

On July 27, a total of 10,420 Stoner Cats in the form of NFTs were put up for sale at 0.35 ETH each, and the entire supply was sold out in 35 minutes.

NFTs have been playing a pivotal role in the Ethereum ecosystem. Recently, Coca-Cola revealed the launch of the first-ever NFT collectables to honour International Friendship Day, to be held on July 30.

Ernst & Young’s Blockchain Technology to Create NFTs for Award-Winning Italian Film

A blockchain-as-a-service dubbed EY OpsChain under big-four accounting and auditing firm Ernst & Young will create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for the award-winning Italian film La Leggenda Di Kaspar Hauser.

Per the announcement:

“EY teams worked with CinTech to design a disruptive business vision for the entertainment industry to help filmmakers reach new audience and drive additional revenue streams.”

CinTech, an Italian-based blockchain startup, tasks to create 62 NFTs using EY OpsChain for the 22 main scenes of the Italian film.

Non-fungible tokens’ ownership is pegged on their uniqueness. Therefore, NFTs are different from typical crypto tokens because of fungibility. Fungible tokens can be exchanged for another, whereas NFTs cannot be based on their finite nature.

Giuseppe Perrone, EY’s blockchain leader, noted:

“We are proud to support a new and innovative way of driving value for the film industry. It demonstrates the tremendous potential to leverage blockchain and truly exhibits how the technology can provide benefits across various sectors.”

Conversely, CinTech founders acknowledged:

“With this initiative, we are showcasing how digital content or assets can innovate business models by creating new revenue streams and financing sources.”

NFTs have emerged as a booming sector in the crypto ecosystem. For instance, Coca-Cola recently announced the launch of NFT collectables in the form of virtual wearables that were to be used to celebrate International Friendship Day.

Furthermore, Stoner Cats, an adult animated short series sold as NFTs, recently clogged the Ethereum network making hourly fees surged to $2.53 million because of high demand.

On the other hand, OpenSea, a popular marketplace, processed $95 million worth of NFT transactions in two days compared to the cumulative volume of $21 million recorded in the entirety of 2020.

The platform’s co-founder & CEO, Devin Finzer, acknowledged that the NFT boom was insane, given that it represented a unique application of blockchain technology.

Ethereum Miner Balances Hit a 50-Month High as ETH Leads in NFT Sales

Ethereum (ETH) miners have seen their holdings go through the roof to the tune of $1.85 billion.

Crypto analytic firm Santiment explained:

“Ethereum miner balances have continued to skyrocket. 532.75K ETH is the largest balance held by miners since July 13, 2016. The value of these coins is $1.85B, easily an AllTimeHigh.”

A price surge coupled with increased usage has been instrumental in pushing ETH miner balances to a record high. For instance, Damian Sowers, the founder of Level Frames, recently stated that Ethereum usage was fifty-four times that of Bitcoin as the neck-to-neck battle between the two leading cryptocurrencies continues.

Ethereum enjoys significant NFT dominance

According to Mason Nystrom, a researcher at Messari Crypto:

“The NFT market officially surpassed $10 billion in secondary sales combined across a variety of categories including gaming, PFPs (profile pics), sports, and collectables. Ethereum leads all blockchains and Layer-2s with over $6 billion in secondary NFT sales.”

Therefore, Ethereum has surfaced as the backbone of the NFT sector, which is taking the crypto space by storm.

The non-fungible token (NFT) industry has experienced an uptick in activities, given that the tokens offered are different from the typical ones because of fungibility.

NFTs are blockchain-based ownership digital assets, and their value is pegged on their uniqueness, given that the tokens are non-divisible and have to be bought in their entirety.

As a result, these traits create intrinsic value for NFTs because of their limited supply.

Different industries continue to embrace NFTs, given that they are seen as significant stepping stones towards a virtual-reality world. For instance, leading Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana recently sold a nine-piece collection of fashion NFTs dubbed Collezione Genesi for a whopping $6 million.

Ethereum realized capitalization scales the heights

According to market insight provider Glassnode:

“Ethereum realized capitalization just reached an ATH of $171,803,527,031.77.”

Realized market capitalization is a metric calculated by valuing each supply unit at the exact price it last moved on-chain or at the last time it was transacted.

As a result, it does not calculate coins that remain unmoved because cryptocurrencies can be lost, unreachable, or unclaimed. This contrasts with the standard market capitalization that values every supply unit evenly at the current market price.

Emirates Airline to Roll Out Bitcoin Payment and Enter the Metaverse

Emirates Airlines has revealed plans to adopt advanced digital solutions, such as cryptocurrency, metaverse, and blockchain, to optimize customer satisfaction rates.

Speaking to a media gathering at the Arabian Travel Market, Emirates CEO Adel Ahmed Al-Redha disclosed that the Bitcoin payment option would be rolled out with more flexibility. Furthermore, non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles would be traded on the company’s website.

As the largest airline and flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the aerospace giant seeks to streamline and trace aircraft records using blockchain technology.

Furthermore, the Airline sees NFTs and the metaverse as stepping stones toward meeting customer needs. Al-Redha noted:

“With the metaverse, you will be able to transform your whole processes — whether in operation, training, sales on the website, or complete experience — into a metaverse type application, but more importantly, making it interactive.”

Since the metaverse and NFTs are new technological fields, Emirates intends to hire new staff to enhance this sector by developing applications to monitor customer needs. Different airlines like Norwegian Air have joined the crypto bandwagon as they seek to offer clients a worthwhile experience.

Meanwhile, the decision by Emirates to enter the crypto space might be influenced by a paradigm shift being witnessed in the UAE as the nation’s interests are changing from oil to cryptocurrency and metaverse, among other blockchain and broader technological innovations. For instance, the country intends to become a blockchain capital by establishing a legal framework to aid the operation of blockchain and crypto companies.

The UAE has already established multiple free zones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Moreover, crypto companies got the green light to set up business in the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC) free zone last year.

NFT Sales Slide to a 12-Month Low Amid Crypto Meltdown

The bloodbath in the crypto market has contributed to sales in the non-fungible token (NFT) sector slipping to a 12-month low, according to crypto analytics firm Chainalysis.

NFT sales slightly topped $1 billion in June, the worst performance since June 2021, when sales reached $648 million.

NFTs became the talk of the town when sales hit an all-time high (ATH) of $12.6 billion in January this year, but a sluggish start is witnessed in the second half of 2022.

Ethan McMahon, an economist at Chainalysis, pointed out:

“This decline is definitely linked to the broader slowdown in crypto markets.”

Factors like tightened macroeconomic conditions have not been friendly to the cryptocurrency market as its value has nosedived to less than $1 trillion from approximately $3 trillion in November last year.

For instance, the US Federal Reserve recently increased the interest rate by 75 basis points (bps), making the hike the highest in 28 years.

Therefore, McMahon believes that consolidation will continue to be experienced in the crypto market, including NFTs. He noted:

“Times like this inevitably lead to consolidation within the affected markets, and for NFTs we will likely see a pullback in terms of the collections and types of NFTs that reach prominence.”

Despite NFT sales exceeding $42 billion so far in 2022, their prominence has been dented by various factors that have engulfed the crypto market.

For instance, the collapse of LUNA and the algorithmic UST stablecoin by Terraform Labs sent shockwaves to the crypto market.

In May, things started going south when UST’s price experienced a free fall to the extent that leading crypto exchange Binance temporarily halted its withdrawals together with that of LUNA.

Since NFT Google searches had surpassed those of Ethereum and crypto in January, it remains to be seen how things shape up for this market moving forward.

South Korean Car Dealer Launches NFTs to Reduce Paperwork Costs

Han Sung Motor, a South Korean imported car dealer, has rolled out non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to offer customers a secure and convenient experience based on the option of checking car details using their smartphones.

Therefore, the company sees the NFTs as a stepping stone toward minimizing paperwork costs. Ulf Ausprung, Han Sung Motor CEO, noted:

“We will continue actively integrating digital systems in the future to increase brand familiarity and immersion among millennials and Gen Z.”

By digitizing its system, the auto dealer intends to follow an emerging global trend and appeal to the younger generations by creating “fandom.”

Therefore, the NFTs will comprise texts, videos, and pictures certifying ownership of the digital warranty for second-hand cars bought at Han Sung Motor. Ausprung added:

“Han Sung Motor will continue to digitize different sectors and will actively launch ESG campaigns to communicate with customers in their 20s and 30s.”

The NFTs developed by blockchain firm Alman Co. seeks to revamp the auto dealer’s operations by acting as a digital warranty.

Non-fungible tokens are blockchain-based digital assets whose value is pegged on their uniqueness, given that they are non-divisible and must be bought as a whole.

As a result, NFTs are different from typical crypto tokens because of fungibility. A fungible token can be exchanged for another, whereas an NFT cannot be based on its finite nature.

Therefore, these traits create intrinsic value for NFTs because of their limited supply.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways recently revealed plans to release its first NFT collection aimed at boosting travellers’ satisfaction levels, Blockchain.News reported.

The NFT collection would comprise 2,003 limited-edition collectibles, including Etihad’s Manchester City FC and Greenliner-themed aircraft and was expected to open the doors to future metaverse merchandise.