NFT Innovation Digest #21

Most innovative (author's pick)

Programmable cashflows platform Superfluid has a new feature of "Streaming to NFTs", which enables the streaming of tokens over time to a specific NFT holder. If the NFT is transferred to a new holder, the stream is also transferred.

More:

• The Streaming to NFTs functionality allows rent charging for a Metaverse land, instant revenue distribution from an NFT project, and more;
• The feature has not yet been extensively explored by the platform, but the source code is open for the community to build on top of Tradeable Cashflow; NFTBillboard; Budget NFT.

Most discussed

GameStop partnered with Ethereum Layer 2 Immutable X to launch its NFT marketplace. The gaming company is looking to expand beyond its core physical video game business, building an online hub for gaming NFTs such as character skins and power-ups.

More:

• Gamestop and Immutable also partnered to launch a $100M fund, denominated in Immutable X's IMX tokens, to back new projects on the marketplace;
• Shortly after receiving the $100M grant from Immutable, GameStop sold almost 12M IMX tokens currently worth $42M.

In an article published on Feb 4th, BuzzFeed disclosed the real names of the Bored Ape Yacht Club's pseudonymous founders. Journalist Kate Notopoulos was able to uncover the pair's identities by searching the publicly available record of Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Apes.

More:

• The non-consensual exposure of identities has raised criticisms from part of the web3 community. The journalist reported receiving messages threatening to reveal her home and work addresses;
• On the same day of the article's publication, Yuga Labs indicated that it was in funding talks with A16z, one of Silicon Valley's top VC firms, which has valued the collection at $5 billion.

AssangeDAO, a DAO committed to helping free Wikileaks founder Julien Assange has raised 16,593 ETH (~$53M), surpassing ConstitutionDAO's total fundraising in ETH terms. The DAO will look to buy an NFT created by the artist Pak and Assange, with proceeds going toward Assange's legal fees.

More:

• Assange spent the past three years in London's Belmarsh Prison. The U.S. government recently won its appeal of a U.K. court ruling barring Assange's extradition. If extradited to the U.S., Assange could face up to 175 years in prison.

Mainstream Adoption

Bud Light partnered with Nouns DAO for an upcoming Super Bowl ad airing on Sunday. According to Bud Light's senior director of digital Corey Brown, Nouns DAO gifted Bud Light NEXT with a Nouns NFT in exchange for the Nouns glasses to be featured in the Super Bowl commercial.

More:

• The ad will be for Bud Light NEXT, a new no-carb beer. Last month, the company launched its first NFT project "Bud Light N3XT" with 12,722 unique NFTs.

Ubisoft partnered with The Sandbox to bring Rabbids to the Metaverse. Ubisoft will have its land in The Sandbox which the company can customize and monetize at will. The publisher will launch its interactive space bringing games of the goofy, rabbit-like alien creatures that users can use within the game’s VoxEdit and Game Maker tools.

More:

• Ubisoft also plans to bring other IPs from popular game franchises. Currently, the publisher's IP includes Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, but no additional IP has been announced to enter The Sandbox yet.

International Olympic Committee partnered with nWay to launch Olympic Games Jam: Beijing 2022, a play-to-earn multiplayer game with NFT prizes. Players can download the game on mobile and compete in a series of winter sports to earn Olympic NFT pins.

More:

• The Olympic NFT pins give exclusive access to higher tiers of play plays, character skins, and extra superpowers for the characters;
• The game does not require a crypto wallet and it is free to play. It launched on Feb 3rd, one day before the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 opening ceremony.  

New products and ideas

Metaverse avatar platform Ready Player Me to release 3D avatars based on CryptoPunks. The collection will contain 10,000 unique avatars geared toward CryptoPunks owners that can be used in various virtual worlds.

More:

• The NFTs will grant owners access to 1,000 companies integrating their avatars into apps and games, such as VRChat, Somnium Space, TCL, and Hiberworld;
• The avatars will have the same traits as the original CryptoPunks, featuring unique badges with Punk's attributes, although the project has no official affiliation with Larva Labs, the creator of CryptoPunks;
• Each NFT will be available for minting for 0.33 ETH and half of the mint and secondary sales revenue will go to developers behind the apps and games compatibles with the Punks and other NFT-based assets.

Neil Gaiman’s ‘What You Need to be Warm’ film to be auctioned as an NFT. The proceeds from the auction will go to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise funds to support Afghans who’ve been displaced amid the Taliban takeover.

More:

• The winning bidder will also receive an exclusive explainer video exploring the evolution of the project, a signed copy of Gaiman’s ‘The Sandman’ comic book, and a personalized message.

NFT Artist of the Week - Sotuland

This week's Artist of the Week is Sotuland, an NFT artist focused on "surreal and automatic drawings of a subconscious mind". Sotuland's work brings an iconic and surreal design to different characters and adventure landscapes.

To claim your exclusive Art POAP, subscribe to the NFT Innovation Digest for free and follow Sotuland on Twitter, you will receive an email with your personal claim link within a day. Each claimed POAP will get the chance to win a free NFT giveaway by the Artist of the Week.

Recommended Readings

• The next big trend in NFTs: This Bankless article explores the landscape, innovation, and relevant projects in the Music NFT ecosystem;
• Web3 Social Landscape: This article by Forefront breaks down the web3 social landscape, covering social, community and coordination tools;
• NFTs and their value: This NFT Insight article explores different dimensions of the value of NFTs, such as ownership, membership, identity, and more.

New podcasts and shows

• Unchained Podcast: In this episode, Laura interviews Jesse Walden and Li Jin, co-founders and general partners at Variant, a venture capital firm focused on ownership economy;
• Overpriced JPEGs Podcast: In this episode, Carly breaks down the most interesting projects in the NFT space such as Rug Radio, Creepz, Club NFT, & EpoHeroes;
• CoinGecko Podcast: In this episode, Ben interviews Alex Salnikov, Co-founder of Rarible. Alex gives an insight on what makes Rarible different from other NFT marketplaces such as the support for several Layers and its road to decentralization.

Save the date

• 17th - 20th February: ETH Denver is the largest and longest-running ETH event in the world, with several panels, workshops, and hackathons, it's a no-brainer.

NFT space in numbers

The values below are from 3rd - 10th February 2022. Source: DappRadar.

Top Marketplaces

Top Sales

Top Collections

*Most of the sales in the collection occurred on the LooksRare marketplace and may be a subject of wash trading.