Polygon x Nat Geo 1888 ‘GM’ NFT Pool Enters Secondary Market ⋆ ZyCrypto

by James · February 18, 2023

To mark its 135th anniversary, National Geographic teamed up with Polygon on Wednesday to release a super-rare NFT photography collection titled “Good morning: Daybreak around the world,” or “GM” for short. The collection, comprising 1,888 NFTs, is a compilation of 16 early morning photographs taken by renowned photographers from locations around the world and remastered into 118 editions each.

Set at a retail price of 215 MATIC (~$200) per piece, Nat Geo aims to bring storytelling to Web3 with the public sale. Only 18% of the collection has been sold so far on the self-proclaimed premium NFT platform, Snowcrash, drawing skepticism to the timing of the release and the general market sentiments of NFTs at the moment.

Nat Geo x Polygon

Nat Geo tips Polygon as its blockchain of choice due to its multi-chain capability, fast transaction capability and huge commitment to environmental sustainability. Polygon currently has a transaction rate of 65,000 TPS and has remained carbon neutral for nearly two years. In the pre-merger periods, Ethereum suffered major setbacks due to the rising costs of minting NFTs.

For Polygon, the partnership with Nat Geo is the latest in a series of efforts to advance the value of L2 Ethereum scaling solutions. In 2022, it partnered with various mainstream companies such as Starbucks, Adidas, Reddit, Stripe, Meta, Adobe, The NFL and Walt Disney, to name a few.

The big setback

On social media, Nat Geo had struggled to contain the barrage of criticism that rocked its pages following the announcement. The attempt to adopt an image of a BAYC NFT for advertising purposes angered many supporters, with one NFT artist describing BAYC as “the most flimsy and tasteless example” of an NFT.

To a few others, the whole idea of publishing an NFT felt like a scam—one that didn’t befit a centennial brand like Nat Geo.

The NFT market has suffered an irreparable blow since the beginning of the crypto winter. Retail losses peaked at $450 million last quarter, and total market capitalization fell by ~70%. The once prestigious Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT – originally valued at $1.3 million – now trades for just over $70,000, representing a 97% erosion in value. Many critics have based their skepticism on these statistics.

Some of the top artists in the collection include Kris Grave, Reuben Wu, Cath Simard, Delphine Diallo, Yagazie Emezi, Michael Yamashita and Justin Aversano. Despite the negative sentiment, Nat Geo hopes to raise ~$370,000 from the primary sale and give users a chance to cash in on their collection on the secondary market.