NFT & Crypto Updates

2023-10-11 16:02:51 NFTs Can't Catch a Break as Protracted Drop in Sales Continues

Although the broader crypto market experienced some uplift, NFT sales didn’t mirror this positive trend. Week after week for the past seven weeks, NFT sales volumes have been plunging. Despite this week’s sales being 11.65% lower than the previous week, there’s a silver lining: the count of NFT purchasers surged by 17.77%, while the tally of sellers jumped by 15.82%. Data sourced from cryptoslam.io reveals that NFT sales on the Ethereum platform took the lion’s share, accounting for $38.10 million of the week’s turnover. This indicates that 57.63% of all NFTs sold over the week were Ethereum-based. However, sales of ETH-based NFTs dipped slightly by 0.84% this week. In the rankings, Mythos NFT transactions clinched second place, amassing $8.79 million — an uptick of 12.29% from last week. Solana rounded out the top three, recording sales of $6.86 million, a rise of 8.87% for the week. Topping this week’s NFT sales charts, the Mythos-linked Dmarket collection clinched $8.72 million, marking a 12.32% increase. Hot on its heels was Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) with $4.13 million, rising by 25.18%. Meanwhile, Polygon’s Draftkings took the third spot, raking in $3.28 million, though it faced a dip of 18.24%. Sorare followed closely, garnering $2.87 million — a 3.87% upswing.

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2023-10-11 10:02:51 Global Mofy Metaverse Limited Announces Pricing of $6,000,000 Initial Public Offering

Global Mofy Metaverse Limited (the "Company" or “Mofy Metaverse”) (NASDAQ: GMM), a technology solutions provider engaged in virtual content production, digital marketing, and digital assets development for the metaverse industry, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering (the "Offering") of 1,200,000 ordinary shares (the "Ordinary Shares") at a public offering price of $5.00 per share for total gross proceeds of $6,000,000, before deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses. The Company has granted the underwriters an option, within 45 days from the closing date of the Offering, to purchase up to an additional 180,000 Ordinary Shares at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts, to cover over-allotment, if any. The Offering is being conducted on a firm commitment basis. Prime Number Capital, LLC is acting as the sole bookrunner for the Offering. Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP is acting as U.S. counsel to the Company, and Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC is acting as U.S. counsel to the underwriter, in connection with the Offering. The Offering is expected to close on October 12, 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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2023-10-11 04:02:51 CrypToadz NFT Sells for $1.6 Million in Ethereum Linked to Tornado Cash

A seven-figure sale of a CrypToadz NFT on Ethereum wasn’t all that surprising during the market mayhem of late 2021. But such a sale today, amid significantly weakened demand for NFT assets, is sure to stand out. And today’s $1.6 million purchase of a CrypToadz NFT is raising some red flags, too, thanks to a connection to Tornado Cash. CrypToadz #4030 was purchased today on the OpenSea marketplace for 1,055 Wrapped Ethereum (WETH), or more than $1.6 million worth. The amount paid is dramatically more than the typical going rate for a CrypToadz NFT. Currently, they start at 0.53 ETH (about $835) on OpenSea, with the best listed offer on that particular NFT coming in a little higher at just below 0.6 ETH ($940). In other words, the buyer paid well above the market rate for this profile picture (PFP) project. Initially, Crypto Twitter commenters pointed to a “fat finger” mistake—that the buyer may have zipped too quickly through the process and accidentally paid far more than intended. We’ve seen apparent examples of this on the other side, too, where sellers have accepted bids that were well below the market price for a particular collection. However, a bit more digging reveals another potential answer: wash trading.

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2023-10-10 21:02:51 Astrology NFT project Lucky Star Currency rugged for over $1M — CertiK

The astrology-themed nonfungible token (NFT) project Lucky Star Currency (LSC) has performed an exit scam for over $1 million, according to an Oct. 9 report from blockchain security firm CertiK. The project’s deployer account called the “withdrawToken” function on both the NFTMerge and AdwardCenter contracts, removing over $1 million in LSC from them. These tokens were then swapped for the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin and sent to another account. Lucky Star Currency is a project that focuses on NFTs and claims to be founded by astrologists. Its contracts include an Award Center and an NFT Marketplace. It is marketed toward the Chinese crypto investment market. The team promotes the project on X (formerly Twitter) under the username AstrAstrol75591. It also has a Telegram channel. As of Oct. 9, the project’s website and user interface are offline. In a second transaction, an additional 1.4 million LSC was drained from the project’s NFTMerge contract. After draining the funds, the attacker swapped them for over $1 million in BUSD via PancakeSwap and then sent them to the account. This account has been receiving BUSD from various sources for the past 82 days, implying that there may be more than one scam depositing funds into it.

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2023-10-10 16:02:53 Clay Nation launches Cardano-Polygon NFT bridge in The Sandbox

Clay Nation, a project of 10,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs), announced the launch of a new blockchain bridge for Cardano and Polygon networks in The Sandbox metaverse. The new bridge, launched in partnership with Hong Kong-based metaverse firm The Sandbox, enables Clay Nation holders to use their Cardano-based NFTs as avatars in The Sandbox game on Polygon, while still keeping the NFTs on Cardano. The NFT market has seen its sales dropping in recent weeks with the Forkast 500 NFT index, a proxy measure for the performance of the top 500 NFTs across various blockchains. The new bridge, launched in partnership with Hong Kong-based metaverse firm The Sandbox, enables Clay Nation holders to use their Cardano-based NFTs as avatars in The Sandbox game on Polygon, while still keeping the NFTs on Cardano. The NFT market has seen its sales dropping in recent weeks with the Forkast 500 NFT index, a proxy measure for the performance of the top 500 NFTs across various blockchains, reaching a new all-time low of 1,871.98 points on Saturday. Clay Nation’s daily sales rose 129% to US$5,685 in the 24 hours leading up to 07:55 p.m. in Hong Kong, according to CryptoSlam data. The Forkast CAR NFT Composite reached a new all-time low of 880.26 points on Sept. 28 and is down 31% year-to-date. The Forkast POL NFT Composite is down 11.15% year-to-date after it fell to a new all-time low of 645.99 points on Monday.

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2023-10-10 10:02:52 Vitalik NFT Collection Soars with Quadratic Funding Drop Pulling in Millions

Metalabel, in collaboration with Web3 funding platform Gitcoin, crafted this NFT collection to honor Vitalik Buterin‘s pivotal role in popularizing Web3 funding models. Although the collection’s open edition mint was launched on March 1, it was the recent surge in secondary sales that truly caught NFT traders off guard, propelling the project’s popularity to new heights. At present, The Quadratic Funding Collection has generated an astounding trading volume of around 4,692 ETH ($7.3 million) within the last 24 hours, pushing the floor price to 0.58 ETH ($905). The remarkable success of this collection exemplifies the strong market demand for NFTs that bear Vitalik Buterin’s stamp of approval. Each NFT within the Vitalik NFT collection, fondly referred to as a “record” by Metalabel, features an album cover-like design and includes a digital copy of the 2018 whitepaper titled “Liberal Radicalism: A Flexible Design for Philanthropic Matching Funds.” This whitepaper, co-authored by Buterin alongside economists Glen Weyl and Zoë Hitzig, is accompanied by the authors’ signatures, enriching the exclusivity of these NFTs. Notably, this project marks Metalabel’s inaugural “Quality Drop” endeavor. The underlying significance of this NFT project lies in its commemoration of quadratic funding.

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2023-10-10 04:02:52 Art Token launches Hangeul-based NFT art

Online non-fungible token art trading platform Art Token on Monday released NFT works based on Hangeul calligraphy, in commemoration of Hangeul Day that celebrates the invention of the Korean alphabet. Byung-chul and converted into 3D digital art. NFT art is entirely digital artwork that is tokenized to be stored on the blockchain. “Shoot Shoot Shoot Goal Goal Goal” and other works were created by calligrapher Park Park's NFT works were released on 2R2, an online global art trading platform run by Art Token. According to the 2R2 homepage, the "Vertical Hangul" series represents the uplifting spirit of victory through Hangeul, along with drawings of the tiger and magpie that have special meanings in Korean tradition: tigers symbolize protection from bad luck, while magpies are bearers of good news. Park is a renowned calligrapher in South Korea and an art director for company called Hangeul Planet that has held Hangeul calligraphy events across the world since 2015. “I think the collaboration with Art Token’s NFT Studio has allowed more variety in Hangeul’s image, resulting in a work that anyone could enjoy. I’m curious to how the world would react (to my work),” he said.

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2023-10-09 21:02:52 Ben Armstrong’s Decision to Sell His Bored Ape NFT Sparks Controversy and Criticism

The Bored Ape Yacht Club, created by Yuga Labs, has gained significant popularity within the NFT space. Each Bored Ape NFT represents a unique and distinct digital collectible, featuring various combinations of ape characters with different traits and accessories. Owners of these NFTs gain access to exclusive benefits and perks within the Bored Ape community. In a recent blog post, Ben Armstrong surprised the crypto community by revealing his decision to auction his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT. The specific NFT up for sale is the highly desirable Bored Ape Yacht Club #8424. To sweeten the deal, Ben Armstrong has also offered a physical statue valued at approximately $10,000 and an accompanying painting worth $2,500. These additional physical pieces add an extra layer of exclusivity and value to the overall package. Born in 1982, Ben Armstrong has made a name for himself in the world of alt-finance and cryptocurrency. As an American YouTuber, he has garnered a substantial following through his engaging podcasts on the BitBoy Crypto YouTube channel and his informative website. With over 1.5 million YouTube subscribers and 1 million Twitter followers, Ben has become a prominent figure in the crypto community. BitBoy Crypto, Ben Armstrong’s platform, has flourished through strategic investments in cryptocurrencies and collaborations with prominent projects, exchanges, and funds.

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2023-10-09 16:02:52 Improbable’s pivot to metaverse experiences is paying off, says CEO Narula

Most would not think of 2022 as a particularly good year for those involved in the business of metaverses. It was a period in which Meta’s Reality Labs division lost $13.72 billion, followed by another $3.99 billion in first quarter of 2023. The jobs of staff in that unit now appear under threat. Horizon Worlds — Meta’s virtual realm — has struggled to generate any kind of traction, although it is responsible for some pretty memorable memes. Meta is by no means the only company to have been swept up in the metaverse craze, but it’s bet on the concept was so large, and the apparent failure of that bet so damaging. Yet for Improbable, an eleven-year-old British gaming company that has been through several pivots, a gamble on the potential of metaverse technology appears to be paying dividends. “We began pivoting and restructuring our business so that all of our capital would go towards one thing and one thing only, which is enabling this. And really what drove that was just the adoption,” said Herman Narula, Improbable’s CEO. “It’s all about going from building games to building experiences which are game-like but which live within a metaverse context.” Improbable said last week that it had cut losses to £19 million ($23 million) in the 2022 fiscal year, down from a whopping £131 million ($159 million) the previous year, while revenues more than doubled to £78 million ($95 million) in the period.

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2023-10-09 10:02:52 Donald Trump’s Second NFT Sales Soar 350% Amidst Speculation of Ex-President Assuming House Speaker Role

The spike in sales can be attributed to the recent removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a significant event in American political history. Following this development, speculation has arisen among members of the House regarding the possibility of former President Donald Trump assuming the position of Speaker of the House. Trump addressed this matter in a press statement delivered in New York on Wednesday, acknowledging that he has received numerous inquiries about the speaker role. The popularity of Trump NFTs has been evident since the launch of the first collection by the company behind Trump Digital Trading Cards. Remarkably, the initial collection achieved the impressive feat of selling 45,000 trading cards within a span of under 12 hours. The surge in sales of Trump NFTs follows the previous success of his first collection, which experienced a 300% increase in sales coinciding with the release of Melania Trump’s NFT collection, titled “The 1776 Collection.” The newly introduced Series 2 set continues the theme of the original collection, featuring Trump in various larger-than-life settings. The NFT artwork portrays Trump adorned with a championship pro wrestling belt, depicted as a hunter, and wearing firefighting gear. These striking visual representations have captivated collectors and enthusiasts alike, driving the surge in sales.

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