Can Bill Murray save Coinbase NFT?

There has not been much good news for Coinbase sine (COIN 0.69%) non-fungible token platform, Coinbase NFT, lately. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the digital assets of a blockchain that are often represented by images; examples include Bored Ape Yacht Club or CryptoPunks. According to Dune Analytics, Coinbase, one of the leading crypto exchanges, has sold only $ 2.95 million of NFTs on its platform since its launch on April 20. That is a meager sum compared to the 6 billion dollars that are sold on OpenSea, the industry’s leading NFT marketplace.

To make matters worse, NFT trading volume has been down around 75% in dollars for NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain since mid-April. If NFTs are in decline and Coinbase cannot take part, what would you do? How about calling actor Bill Murray and the culture and photo site CHIVE?

Bill Murrays Coinbase NFT

Today, Bill Murray will release, or release, 1,000 NFTs in a collection created with CHIVE and brand agency Project Venkman. There are 100 story NFTs, each with 10 color modifications to each image that make up the collection. The drop will be auctioned off with one real painting and promises “once in a life time experiences with the man, the myth, the legend. “

The NFT release is one of four upcoming, including one related to NBA star Damian Lillard, a feature from graphic designer Jeff Staple, and a “Historical Figures” collection that includes Athena, Queen Victoria and others.

In general, the idea is to bring celebrity exposure to Coinbase NFT. But the challenge is that buyers of NFTs today are probably already used to trading on one of the existing platforms, so moving from a marketplace like OpenSea to Coinbase NFT is not so appealing.

The NFT problem

Maybe it was just bad timing, but Coinbase NFT was launched at a time when sales of NFTs were falling like a rock. You can see below that OpenSea’s volume is down about 75% from mid-May and Coinbase NFT has not been able to capture more than 1% of the transaction volume in more than a day or two.

Is this a question of Coinbase entering a declining market and not succeeding in attracting existing users? Would Coinbase NFT not have improved if the NFT market in general had grown?

It is impossible to know what caused Coinbase NFT’s poor launch, but it is safe to say that it is not gaining market share today. Can celebrities change that? I’m not sure.

An eye on the future?

I have to wonder if NFT drops like this herald what is coming for Coinbase NFT. We know from Coinbase’s conference call in the first quarter of 2022 that the company has bigger plans. It said there are “features we plan to add, the ability for people to make NFT drops, create their own NFT tokens, there are token-gated communities we want to support, and even the ability to purchase a only directly with your credit card or other funds you have in your main account for Coinbase. ”

The marketplace now shows several NFTs with US dollar prices, although a purchase must be made in Ethereum. This decline will also be testing auction features. We can see a high-profile test of embossing tools, or tools that make NFTs on the blockchain, that can come to market.

Coinbase and the NFT long game

I do not think Coinbase’s long game is just competitive with OpenSea. Its growth potential is to make NFTs easier to create, buy and own, and this is where integration with the Coinbase app, Coinbase Wallet and Coinbase Pay can make it easier to include the next generation of users.

This is a very long game that Coinbase NFT plays, but it must both prove that the tools (coinage and auction) work and attract buyers to the platform. Bill Murray is a name that can do both, but it’s an uphill battle against the entrenched business at OpenSea.