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05.06.22



 

EDITOR'S NOTE 

Solana, with its high-performance speeds and lower fees, has long been posed as an up-and-coming rival to Ethereum — and this week, the blockchain saw its popularity boosted with the launch of Okay Bears. While raking in the SOLs, the collection has helped increase Solana’s overall trading volume (so much so that the blockchain has reported congestion issues), ensuring its continued rise. Read on for how the week shaped up for Solana and its peers.

— Juhi Mirza
Content & Community Manager


Reach out to us with NFT-related tips or stories for potential coverage in our upcoming editions.

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THE BIG STORY


What's fueling the NFT conversation

Image: Yuga Labs on Twitter

YUGA LABS’ OTHERSIDE METAVERSE CRASHES ETHEREUM

WHAT HAPPENED: On May 1, Yuga Labs launched its much-awaited Otherside metaverse to accompany its NFT hit, Bored Ape Yacht Club. Powered by BAYC's independent governance token ApeCoin, the Otherside offers virtual deeds and plots, while introducing Yuga’s mysterious new series of characters dubbed Kodas. The project raked in a whopping $561 million in sales on launch day, in a frenzy that crashed the Ethereum blockchain and swelled gas fees into the thousands. As of writing, the project has sold nearly 55,000 plots of land

WHY IT MATTERS: The Otherside project ups the already-booming value of BAYC, adding more utility to the NFTs as an investment and expanding their use cases. At the same time, the injection of Kodas signals Yuga’s intentions to diversify its collections by savvily building on BAYC’s popularity. However, for a land offering that’s the largest NFT drop to date, the Otherside mint was plagued by major hiccups — not least a gas war that has disillusioned a few BAYC holders and led Yuga to contemplate “migrat[ing] to its own chain in order to properly scale,” a far cry from the crypto realm’s decentralized ethos.

 

THE NFT DROP TO KNOW


The release shaking up NFT commerce

Image: Okaybears.com

ARTWORK: Okay Bears NFT Collection

THE LAUNCH: On April 31, a Solana-based NFT project was launched, toppling several leading Ethereum NFT projects in its wake. Dubbed Okay Bears NFT, the project boasts 10,000 unique bear avatars that have special characteristics in terms of style and expressions. An Okay Bear NFT holder is also entitled to receive additional perks and benefits such as access to an exclusive metaversal shop retailing Okay Bears merch as well as admission to real-life pop-ups and conferences.

THE RECEPTION: According to NFT Stats, Okay Bears’ raked in $23.1 million on the day of its drop, with the collection selling out within 24 hours of its launch. Currently, on OpenSea, the floor price for an Okay Bear NFT sits at 79 SOL ($6,915).


WHY IT MATTERS: Mainly, the meteoric rise of Okay Bears offers proof that Solana, a cost-effective and eco-friendly blockchain, has the mechanisms in place to host a long-term NFT project. As a collection that has outsold Ethereum-based projects like Akutars and Azuki, Okay Bears, with its metaverse buildout and roadmap, might just be the community to accelerate and solidify the Solana ecosystem.

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THE WEEK'S NFT RANKINGS

In partnership with  

                                                                          Last 7d Sales                   Last 7d Changes
 1  Otherdeed                                                   $755,102,328                          ▲0.00%
 2  Bored Ape Yacht Club                                $164,805,615                        ▲154.23%
 3  Mutant Ape Yacht Club                              $139,534,131                          ▲70.27%
 4  Okay Bears                                                  $44,433,462                         ▲108.21%   
 5  Doodles                                                        $40,208,592                         167.50%
 6  Moonbirds                                                    $36,503,799                          ▼68.66%
 7  MurakamiFlowers Seed                              $31,885,844                           ▲21.62%
 8  Azuki                                                             $30,323,309                          ▲92.80%
 9  Beanz                                                            $29,788,864                         ▲152.34%
 10  CloneX                                                        $28,664,165                          ▲22.92%
For the week ending 5/5/22. Source: Cryptoslam.io
IN THE STATS

Image: Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2021

WHY ART BUYERS ARE PURCHASING NFTS
Insurance provider Hiscox’s 2021 Online Art Trade Report has brought forth insights into the sale of NFT art over the past 12 months. The report revealed the growing interest in NFTs among surveyed art buyers, with 35 percent of respondents reporting buying an NFT in 2021 and about a quarter saying they’re likely to purchase NFTs in the coming months.

And why would they buy digital collectibles? According to the survey, the majority of respondents (82 percent) rank NFTs’ value potential or return on investment as a purchase driver, way ahead of other factors such as the emotional (67 percent) and social (38 percent) aspects. 

EVENT SPOTLIGHT


Upcoming NFT events to watch

THE VIRTUAL HORIZON: WHAT VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS HOLD FOR CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS | MAY 10 | VIRTUAL
To explore why the metaverse matters for museums, Jing Culture & Commerce, in partnership with The Meeting Place on Spatial, will present “The Virtual Horizon: What Virtual Environments Hold For Cultural Institutions" on May 10. Featuring guest panelists Kate McGregor, Director of Education at Computer History Museum, Linda Spurdle, Head of Digital for Birmingham Museums Trust, and Benny Orr, Co-Founder of The Meeting Place, the virtual event will share insights into how museums can best leverage virtual environments to enhance their programs, audience outreach, and visitor experience. REGISTER NOW
NFTS IN THE NEWS

Image: ARTECHOUSE

TRUST NFT BY ARTECHOUSE
Immersive art company ARTECHOUSE has entered the crypto realm with the release of its first experiential NFT. Launched on May 1, TRUST is a one-minute video NFT, minted of the physical exhibition of the same name that was created by digital artist fuse*, offering collectors a rare chance to own a part of an immersive exhibition. 


METAHISTORY HALL OF FAME
Meta History: Museum of War, an NFT marketplace launched to fundraise for Ukraine’s war efforts, unveiled its second drop over the weekend. Featuring works by Ukraine-based artists such as Waone Manzhos, Sestry Feldman, Danya Shulipa, and Irene Neymar, the NFTs, each priced at 0.15ETH ($424), continue to commemorate events of the war in art and verified tweets, with all profits benefiting the Ukrainian army and civilians


THE GERALDS BY G-EAZY
On April 28, G-Eazy launched his first NFT collection, The Geralds, in collaboration with digital artist Dzanar on OneOf. The digital collectibles feature a 3D rendering of the rapper, styled in a variety of fashion items, and come packaged with benefits including limited edition music and VIP concert tickets.


Image: “Carnaval de Binche” by James Ensor, 1924 / KMSKA


ROYAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS ANTWERP’S AST OFFERING
On April 27, the Royal Museum Of Fine Arts Antwerp, in association with digital platform Rubey, launched its first art security token offering, centered on Belgium artist James Ensor's 1924 canvas "Carnaval De Binche." The painting has been fractionalized on Ethereum and Polygon blockchain into one million ASTs, each priced at €150 and entitling holders to co-ownership perks such as private viewings.


SUPERRARE GALLERY
From May 19 to August 28, NFT marketplace SuperRare is hosting its first brick-and-mortar pop-up gallery in New York. Five rotating shows are planned — with the first, Visions from Remembered Futures, overseen by SuperRare Gallery curator An Rong — as are programs centered on digital art. The platform’s independent token $RARE is also integrated into the gallery.

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THIS WEEK IN LUXURY NFTS


Brought to you by 

Image: Dior

DIOR ENTERS CHINA’S METAVERSE
Luxury house Dior launched its first-ever metaverse fashion show in China on Baidu’s Web3 social app XiRang, showcasing its Fall 2022 menswear collection through an interactive experience. The exhibition comes after the luxury house's dive into the metaverse last year, when it collaborated with Web3 platform Ready Player Me. As China continues to build its own ecosystem in the digital realm, Dior's latest initiative suggests that the house is working towards forming a strong Web3 consumer base across the country's mainland.


PHILIPP PLEIN’S CRYPTO CONCEPT STORE
On April 28, luxury designer Philipp Plein transformed his London flagship store into a "new crypto concept" retail space, with plans to roll the scheme out to many of the brand’s other stores over the next few weeks. The four-story flagship features an NFT art gallery alongside a metaverse information center. The designer has also launched a free and independent NFT trading platform online in conjunction with the concept outlet’s opening.


ASTRONOMICA METAVERSO BY JACOB & CO
Jacob & Co's latest NFT collection, Astronomica Metaverso, features a different watch for each planet in the galaxy, with some also paired with an IRL counterpart that corresponds with the token. The auction is set to take place via the digital luxury and culture marketplace, UNXD, with dates yet to be confirmed.

ON OUR RADAR


What's on the NFT horizon

Image: @thevisixyz on Twitter

THE VISI BY THE AMBROSIANA LIBRARY
Milan's Ambrosiana Library, home to a sizable collection of Italian paintings, sculptures, and manuscripts, is set to launch a PFP collection based on Leonardo da Vinci’s works in its holdings. Titled The Visi and slated to go live this spring, in time for the 570th year of the master’s birth, the project will create digital avatars out of a number of rarely seen da Vinci drawings. The sale is intended to benefit the organization’s conservation and restoration efforts.


VATICAN CITY'S NFT GALLERY
Vatican City has announced plans to launch a NFT gallery in partnership with VR company Sensorium, as part of its push to “democratize art.” The upcoming gallery will be available on desktop and in the metaverse sometime this year; no word yet on what it might contain (or if NFTs might be for sale), though the Vatican does sit on a repository of works by Renaissance masters including Michelangelo and modern artists such as Vincent Van Gogh.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT


Catch up on Jing's NFT coverage

Museums need to acknowledge NFTs as a natural step in the evolution of contemporary art, in sync with our digitally-driven lives.”

— Jennifer Wong, Co-Founder, Seattle NFT Museum

What’s Inside Seattle’s First (And Only) NFT Museum
Launched in January, the museum wants to "provoke thought, discourse, and interpretation" of the medium of NFTs.

What Crypto Art Does China’s Gen Z Want?
Not even China — with Beijing’s restrictions on crypto — is immune to the NFT hype. But to engage Gen-Z collectors, brands need to think local.

What Art Dubai’s Digital Art Section Signals For The Future Of NFTs At Art Fairs
The art fair surfaced three aspects necessary in a long-term digital art strategy: community, experience, and education.

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