Following the FTX meltdown, a number of high-profile NFT holders have suffered catastrophic losses. The most popular of these losses go to Justin Bieber, who spent over $1.3 million for a Bored Ape NFT, the fair value of which has now fallen below $70,000. The news comes as an indicator of how drastically NFTs in general have fallen in the last year, with most of the hype surrounding them now seen with serious skepticism.
The big tech company, Sony, has recently been flirting with the idea of incorporating NFTs into its Playstation platforms, without making explicit references. Following a recent patent filing, management personnel has hinted about the inclusion of a system whereby users would be able to exclusively own and trade specific in-game resources and collectibles with each other. Most notably, these transactions are said to verify under a blockchain-based system. This could revolutionize NFTs in an unprecedented manner, given the sheer influence that Playstation commands at a global level.
The most recent NFT-related milestone by a giant brand comes from the sports apparel king, Nike Inc. The company has officially launched Swoosh, a Web-3 platform through which users can collect, trade, and use polygon-based NFTs. These will feature digital apparel for users’ avatars in the metaverse and virtual spaces. Swoosh represents another major milestone toward NFT normalization, and powerful brands are being compelled to tap into its potential.
NFTs to Watch
Valhalla NFT
The Valhalla NFTs have been trending this week, with substantial social media chatter detected mentioning these hot tokens. This collection is aimed at seasoned gamers who hold an appreciation for online gaming culture which has been evolving for decades.
The collection features avatars based on the Valhalla game, which combines the dystopian elements of Blade Runner and The Matrix. The futuristic aspects of the Valhalla space are designed to be highly immersive, and hence amplify the appeal surrounding the collection. Based on sales volume alone, Valhalla is the top project listed on Opensea, as of the writing of this newsletter.
Invisible Friends NFT
The Invisible Friends NFT is another red hot one, currently under the market spotlight. The collection features 5,000 characters, which fall under the broader umbrella of the Random Character Collective. These tokens are essentially looped graphics of walking Invisible Friends, of which only their clothes and apparel are visible. The smoothly looping animation thus induces a sense of calm tranquility to the viewer.
The wider ecosystem also features a collection of 3D Invisible Friends adding to the appeal surrounding the broader project. Invisible Friends has 520,000 followers on Twitter, thereby, making it one of the most popular in the social media spaces.
