Analysis of NFT's high-end gameplay: a billion-dollar boom
Original source: old yuppie (WeChat public account id: laoyapi)
A few years ago, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were not considered a thing. If these topics were brought up at a dinner party, most people would probably have deadpan faces and glazed eyes. You may find yourself trying to understand the concept while a loud guest tries to explain it to you through the cheese board. Then you might nod your head and frantically search under the table for what "homogenization" means. In the past two years, however, NFTs have suddenly gained more prominence. Today, many people may have some awareness, while others are aware of it and want to get a piece of this market. The pandemic has played a role; what better time for a virtual concept to evolve than at a time when physical contact is banned and digital communication is fostered?
Of course, some people have taken this to extremes. In 2022, the first batch of NFT billionaires will be born. Opensea founders Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer have boosted the market value of their New York-based company by about $13.3 billion, making them both worth $2.2 billion. Recording NFTs on the blockchain, Opensea (a blockchain startup) has grown to allow users to monitor asset ownership as well as create and trade NFTs, taking a 2.5% fee from each transaction.
They're not the only group. Despite their billionaire fathers, Kiat Lim and Elroy Cheo founded ARC, an exclusive community whose members include Asian entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, Web3 developers, cryptocurrency experts, and social influencers. Even people like Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon, and Serena Williams have become NFT collectors.
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creator
Take World of women, which used to cost $200 but is now in the six figures and has attracted interest from Ava Duvernay and Eva Longoria. It's one of several groups doing NFTs for girls, desaturating the male-dominated NFT world and quickly moving things forward. WoW, along with feminist art initiatives like Rewind Collective and Guerilla girls, will not let the market follow in the footsteps of global misogyny.
The signing party of WoW is Madonna's manager Guy O'Seary, who is also a successful NFT person himself. Under his stewardship, many of the industry's biggest names have been locked up, including Bored Ape Yacht Club, whose creator Yuga Labs has just been valued at $5 billion. WoW announced their deal with O'Seary in January, and Portuguese founder Yam Karkai is now also on its books. Karkai is a digital illustrator with a passion for bringing women into the spotlight, addressing certain aspects of their lives through her artwork. She defends the good with "a little fantasy" and creates "a universe with its own aura." “Guy has been instrumental in opening doors to the program and maximizing our visibility,” Karkai said. “His vision and connections make him a great asset for us. His expertise is truly timeless.”
So far, WoW has generated more than $120 million in transaction volume, and based on a base price of roughly $30,000 per NFT, the project has a market capitalization of $300 million. “Our goal is to take WoW to the next level. We believe that NFT will become more and more mainstream,” Karkai added. "Having so many celebrities and role models coming in and educational content being released can only benefit the community. We hope this will also bring more diversity and representation to the space, and we're working hard to make that happen a little."
Just over a year ago, at Christie’s, Mike Winkelmann (aka Beeple) made amazing progress trading NFTs. The artist had previously sold his work for $100, but at a March 2021 auction, his work fetched $69 million. At the time, Christie’s and contemporary art specialist Noah Davis showed us all the work, which he described as “significant and speaks volumes about what NFTs can do.” Maybe this is the real moment NTF went mainstream. In a simple and obvious (yet obviously genius) way, Beeple gained momentum from his digital following. What could be better than making $69 million on digital? Beeple has nearly 3 million followers on Twitter and Instagram, but he's still not resting on his laurels. He posts a new piece of digital art every day (think fluorescent pink toadstools, metallic alien babies, and Mark Zuckerberg driving Santa's sleigh), and he does It has been 15 years.
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Amar Singh had his eye on the NFT world long before celebrities realized it was a fad and tech giants realized its huge profits. As owner of Ama Singh Gallery, he has supported women artists and underrepresented people for six years. His family and entrepreneurial background is in activism with a focus on LGBTQ+ and women's rights. Singer has embraced the predicament the pandemic has created for the arts, closing theaters and galleries and holding virtual exhibitions during the lockdown. In the past year, he has secured $500 million in NFT deals with some of the largest companies, platforms, and artists in the world. Singh is on track to secure $1 billion in NFT deals by 2024, and he owns 100% of all of its businesses.
When asked about his transition from traditional art to NFTs, Singh said: "The opportunities here are a thousand times greater than in the traditional art world, which means the same goes for the ability to create positive impact for women and the LGBTQ+ community." Asked about his 2022 goals, he added: "2021 was a year of great gains in business. And my grandfather and a close friend died of cancer. Those two extremes caused so much Turmoil, so I’m committed to a calmer 2022. Of course there are some bumps along the way, but calm leads to better productivity, especially when riding the NFT roller coaster.”
Always a man of action, Singh’s $100 million deal with multibillion-dollar NFT app VeVe was struck when he DMed founder David Yu on Instagram. "I'm going door to door if I have to, I'm trying to change the world here," Singh said.
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Amar Singh
Originally from New Zealand, VeVe signed deals with Marvel, DC Comics and Universal Pictures last summer. As a multi-billion dollar franchise, who wouldn't want a piece of the action? With such big trees as Thor and Iron Man, VeVe can create digital collectibles for this highly collectible franchise. But perhaps the smartest aspect of this collaboration is that the NFT is exclusive to its buyers. Owning a Marvel NFT is more valuable than owning a first-edition Spider-Man. These are unique.
"It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with this talented team." "Collectively, these franchises have hundreds of years of creative content. Now that we have found a new channel and audience, there is no doubt It's the culmination of my 25 years in games and collectibles."
The collaboration took place in the summer of 2021, when the pandemic was still raging, and VeVe's success was not without obstacles. For example, studio owners are finding it difficult for them to understand the idea of selling digital collectibles, or whether there is a marketplace for NFTs.
But they did. If the partnership with Marvel didn’t help the NFT to proudly display in front of the world, VeVe also launched the first James Bond NFT last year for Daniel Craig’s final performance in 007’s Speed. Fans around the world are buying the items and talking about them excitedly on Instagram — digitally communicating their one-of-a-kind purchases and leading others to get involved. Older millennials are just as excited as young, wide-eyed Superman fans want their own Ghostbusters memorabilia and have extra money to spend. NFTs are officially mainstream.
So, what’s next? It seems like the Metaverse is catching on, with companies like WoW asserting that the use of NFTs will multiply and predicting that one day it will even find ways to reduce energy consumption.
Singh, who has signed contracts for more than 50 NFT projects, recognizes that these projects are stepping stones to a wider market that can create more impact for those who are underrepresented. "NFTs are not just virtual artwork, they are a gateway into digital clubs; but soon, these clubs will become digital worlds and brands, and will offer their customers their own metaverse. Imagine if, among all these digital There is a strong sense of equality across the board regardless of race, gender and sexual orientation. That’s what I’m trying to build, and my partners, like David Yu, are helping to lead that direction.”
