NFTs in a nutshell: A weekly review

by James · August 28, 2022

Are digital swoosh NFTs really doing numbers for Nike? This week’s reports suggest so. Meanwhile, Solana has a crypto-beer coming out (first time we’ve written that sentence, I suspect) and power player Animoca Brands secured a hefty amount of fundraising for their Japanese division.

There are just a few big stories we’ve seen this past week around all things NFTs. Let’s review.

This week’s non-fungible token news

Table of Contents

Nike tops the charts for brand revenue via NFTs

“Just do it.” The iconic mantra can only be associated with one brand, Nike. This past week, the sportswear leader made headlines for being the leader in generating revenue from NFTs. That includes beating out respectable competitors with established, high-paying audiences like Adidas, Dolce & Gabbana, Tiffany, Gucci and more.

This has of course been led by Nike’s acquisition of RTFKT, and brought to life by the first release – ‘Cryptokicks’ – back in April. In all, the sneaker brand has raised a significant $185 million from NFT sales. Not bad considering the weight of the bear market this year.

Solana’s Summer Shandy: Beer Meets NFT’s Once Again

Budweiser was one of the first major companies to publicly show interest in getting involved with NFTs, but they have to come out with this one this week as a new name in NFT beer is in town. This time it’s independent, as Solana-based barrelDAO, a self-proclaimed community-run brewery, is slated to release a ‘Solana Summer Shandy’ beer.

The canned version of Solana summer will also host some of the blockchain’s biggest NFT projects, with projects like DeGods, Okay Bears and more taking on the box’s branding.

Reddit Airdrops NFTs… without saying NFTs

It feels like Reddit gets mentioned almost once a month for their dialogue about NFTs, and we’re back again this week with more. Last year we suspected that the social media platform was exploring building an NFT marketplace; in early 2022, this perspective changed as reports surfaced that Reddit was exploring NFT profile pictures instead. By mid-year, Reddit paired up with Polygon for “Collectible Avatars,” their iteration of NFT engagement.

After seeing some small-scale engagement of the avatars in recent months, released them last month; this month, Reddit is sending them for free to eligible Reddit users with enough ‘karma’ on the platform. Amusingly, in the midst of the bear market, Reddit seems to have veered away from reinforcing the idea of NFTs, and is instead leaning heavily on the name ‘Collectible Avatars’ – positioning them as something particularly unique and avoiding grasping the idea. that ‘all NFT will hold.’ Seems like a smart approach in today’s market.

Solana-based barrelDAO is dropping limited-edition 'Solana Summer Shandy' beers. Crack open a cold one with some of your favorite Solana-based NFTs on the can. | Source: SOL-USD on TradingView.com

Animoca Brands raises $45 million

Animoca Brands Japan raised $45 million this past week, pegging the company’s valuation at roughly $500 million. Best known for being the creators of The Sandbox, the firm has also formed partnerships with powerful IP owners, including the likes of Disney, AMC and their ‘The Walking Dead’ series, Formula E, and more. Animoca’s portfolio has grown to now over 300 investments and this latest fundraising for their Japanese subsidiary will be used for NFT business opportunities in the Japanese market.

Bored Ape Yacht Club Band teams up with M&M’s Candy, while the project secures talent partners with Eminem and Snoop Dogg

It was a busy week for Bored Ape Yacht Club-obsessed Yuga Labs and Ape owners alike. The leading name in NFTs nailed a number of different deals during the week, including a major brand collaboration with legacy candy M&Ms and BAYC ‘band’ KINGSHIP.

KINGSHIP is signed to UMG and has yet to release any music, but is certainly making some kind of effort with their publicity-focused attempts to secure deals and make moves that might garner some attention.

In anticipation of the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), Yuga Labs announced a more formal relationship with hip-hop artists Eminem and Snoop Dogg, sharing that the two would perform a Metaverse-inspired collaborative track “From The D 2 The LBC.”

Both artists have explored NFTs and both are BAYC holders, so it’s no surprise to see a more formal relationship begin to blossom.

Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com

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