NFT Innovation Digest #38

Cover: Rinascita #1107 by Stefano Contiero

Most innovative (author's pick)

Ocean Protocol released version 4, which uses Data NFTs as a more flexible way to handle data ownership as it becomes a yield-bearing asset. Data NFTs represent the copyright for a data asset on the blockchain, making Ocean’s data ownership more flexible and integrating it into the wider NFT ecosystem.

More:

• Data NFT owners can sell their data rights on marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible, or even link Data NFTs to physical items via WiseKey chips;
• “With the development of NFTs and those maturing, we saw that the ability for you to encode your ownership right of the data set into NFT was very powerful [...] Data NFTs can work on a subscription basis or something like a royalty-based license of an NFT.” said Ocean co-founder Bruce Pon.

Most discussed

US senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis introduced a new crypto bill that would treat digital assets more like commodities than securities. The bill aims to clarify the mostly unregulated crypto market and integrate digital assets into current laws.

More:

• The bill would classify crypto assets as commodities, such as oil and energy, and give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) new powers over the industry in place of the SEC;
• The text also proposes taxes on small-scale payments and a new law to regulate stablecoins.

PoolTogether hits its crowdfunding goal of 769 ETH (around $1.4M) to cover its legal defense fees. The platform is selling three tiers of NFTs as part of the funding campaign "PoolyNFT" to fight a class-action lawsuit that it feels has “no merit”.

More:

• The class-action lawsuit is led by the former technology lead for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign, Joseph Kent, who filed a lawsuit against the project in January after spending $12 on lottery tickets via PoolTogether;
• Kent is alleging that PoolTogether is operating an illegal lottery in New York, and he is seeking compensation worth double the value of the funds spent on PoolTogether ($24) plus attorney’s fees and costs of legal action.

Mainstream adoption

Popular PC marketplace Epic Games announced the launch of its first NFT game, GRIT. While the leading PC gaming marketplace Steam has decided to ban crypto-powered games, its rival Epic Games Store will be open to them and is set to host its first Web3 title developed by Gala Games.

More:

• GRIT is a battle royale shooter free-to-play online multiplayer game and will feature user-owned NFT assets that can be purchased and sold within the game;
• Gala games will launch 10,000 player avatars for the game, offering unique looks and customization options to owners.

New products and ideas

Software as a service pioneer Salesforce launched NFT Cloud, and NFT minting and sales platform. The platform will help brands and businesses mint and sell NFTs. NFT Cloud will not use energy-intensive proof-of-work blockchains, so it will not support Ethereum.

More:

• NFT Cloud is currently a pilot program available to limited customers, but it's expected to be offered widely in October;
• “NFT Cloud is all about helping our customers mint, manage and sell NFTs, and of course, it’s all no code. So it’s super easy on our platform, abstracting all the complicated technology in this [new] web3 world,” said Adam Caplan, SVP of Emerging Technology at Salesforce.

Germany-based DAO MetaBrewSociety is offering voting rights over a brewery via NFTs. The DAO is selling 6,000 NFTs to fund the purchase of a brewery, and the NFT holders will have a voice in the operation of the brewery as well as an annual beer allowance.

More:

• MetaBrewSociety also plans to offer a Metaverse version of its brewery on Sandbox;
• “If the NFT holders like what they get, they will be our greatest brand ambassadors and will help to onboard friends and family to the MetaBrewSociety experience, thus building the basis for insane future growth,” said Holger Mannweiler, CEO of the MetaBrewSociety.

Recommended reading

• How to create your own NFT collection from scratch: This Twitter thread by Pastry explains all the steps to develop an NFT collection with no coding experience. The tutorial explains how to create an NFT, host it on IPFS and deploy the smart contract;
• NFTs & IRL Utilities – is This the Key to Providing Value?: This NFT Plazas article explores successful NFT projects with "in real life" utilities such as Vee Friends, and derivative projects delivering utilities on top of successful collections, such as Ape-In Productions and Bored & Hungry.

New podcasts and shows

• Overpriced JPEGs: In this episode, Carly interviews Danny Greene, the General Manager of the MeebitsDAO. Greene covers what has changed with Meebits since the Yuga Labs Acquisition, the future of Meebits, and MeebitsDAO's approach to building the open Metaverse;
• Bankless: In this episode, David and Ryan host a debate between Vitalik Buterin representing Soulbound NFTs and Evin McMullen taking the side of verifiable credentials NFTs.

Save the date

• 20th - 23rd June: NFT NYC is the leading annual NFT event, don't miss it!

NFT space in numbers

The values below are from 4th - 10th June. Source: DappRadar.

Top Marketplaces

Top Sales

Top Collections

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