New here? Read up on our past NFT issues to get the most from this post.
July 1 | ± 6 minutes
HIGHLIGHTS:
- NFTs are melting down
- Biggie gets his own NFT
- Are Moonrunners more than FOMO?
- Beeple probably uses a lot of drugs
This week’s issue is being edited by Wyatt, so please forgive typos, errors, omissions, shameless self-promotion, and general f-ck ups.
Let’s go!
Table of Contents
NFTs in 2022
Last week, we changed our Fractional Index, looking at returns since 2022 rather than September 2021. The change means that if you bought all the NFTs on Otis and Rally at the beginning of the year, the ROI would be -59%. This helps us give a more accurate picture of how the market has operated this year.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve documented the pain in the NFT markets. According to theblock.co, this week is on pace to be the lowest trade volume in more than a year. The same thing happened five weeks ago, and then again, three weeks ago. Just when we think we’ve hit a bottom, it turns out it we can go lower.
Our NFT Market Cap Weighted Index takes the top 9 NFT projects we chose and compares their weight to bitcoin and Ethereum. From mid-March to the beginning of May, the graph showed that NFTs held the highest weighted average – even as the entire crypto market was crashing.
NFTs have shown a slight decoupling from Ethereum and for the past few weeks have mirrored the weighted price action of bitcoin.
NFTs Last Week
NFTs on Fractional Marketplaces
Most of the assets in the fractional marketplaces are trading at or near the same levels that they have been for nearly a month. “Trippy Fur” Bored Ape #8827 (and its Otherside Deed) opened for trading last week and in a sign of the times, has dropped 78% in market cap value from its IPO.
“Trippy Fur” Ape IPO’d for $820k in January and is now trading at a market cap of $185k.
In other news, Otis published a news release of all the assets it intends on transferring to Public.com and which assets it intends to sell at auction or in private sales. Of the seven NFTs on Otis, five of them will move to Public. The two not moving? The Grimes NFT Collection and Chromie Squiggle #524. The Grimes NFT Collection comprises 6 NFTs.
Both the Grimes NFT Collection and Squiggle #524 will be moved to OpenSea where offers can be made on them. Since its announcement, Chromie Squiggle #524 has received several offers ranging from $6k to $9k. The asset IPO’d at a market cap of $25k.
NFTs on OpenSea
Moonrunners takes the top spot on the weekly OpenSea volume trading. Moonrunners is a collection of NFTs that minted for free on Sunday. The collection has taken off with similar momentum to Goblintown.
On June 29th, there was a full moon and every Moonrunner’s background changed to include a full moon. The project’s contract seems to allow the creators to tinker with the images depending on the lunar cycle. There are also rumors that Moonrunners is backed by Gary Vaynerchuk.
A word of caution: about 24 hours after the mint, the floor price reached 0.7 ETH. The floor price currently sits at 0.2 ETH. A check-in on Goblintown shows the project at a 2.79 ETH floor price. Last week it was at 3.78 ETH.
Checking in at #7 is Dooplicator, the highly-anticipated second release by Doodles. Rarity traits have been revealed, but the actual images of the project have not. .
NFTs This Week
Fractional Marketplaces
There are no IPOs this week.
Project to Follow
Sky’s The Limit The Biggie Collection
Mint Date: July 26, 2022
Site: OneOf
- A generative art collecting featuring the Notorious B.I.G.
- One of the only ways to buy the NFT will be by joining the Allowlist
- Being a Biggie NFT holder gives collectors a share of ownership of a 17-year-old Biggie rapping in what is now known as the Fulton Street Freestyle.
- NFT holders will also get access to a Biggie metaverse taking them back in time to 1990’s Brooklyn
- Holding a Sky’s the Limit NFT will access grant holders to future projects planned with Biggie’s family
ArtBabel on NiftyGateway
Mint Date: Ends on July 2nd @ 6:30 pm
Site: Nifty Gateway
- In celebration of Rio Festival Babel in Madrid, the largest Digital Art Collection to date in Spain, Nifty Gateway is showcasing 16 artists and works that will be displayed at the festival.
- Each artist is making available an open-edition artwork with a mint price of $149.
- The collection is a good opportunity to browse from a mini-catalog of world-renowned artists at a fair price.
Industry News
Some tidbits from around the NFT world:
It’s been a rough week for OpenSea. First, its policy on stolen NFTs has drawn the ire of the NFT community for unfairly punishing buyers of stolen artwork who had no idea they were doing so.
When an NFT is reported stolen, it takes OpenSea several hours to document and act on it. By that time, a scammer has likely sold the NFT if it comes from a coveted collection.
When OpenSea does take action, it then freezes the asset….indefinitely. Nothing can be done about it. The person who lost the NFT can’t retrieve it. The person who buys it has a notification listed on it that the asset is frozen due to suspicious activity. The scammer, however, gets away with thousands of dollars.
Seth Green, whose Bored Ape was stolen, had to buy back his NFT for a reported $300k. He had to use the site NFT Trader to buy it back because OpenSea wouldn’t allow the first buyer to do anything with it.
And then…I received this email early Friday morning….
Yuga Labs is suing Ryder Rips for profiting from “copycat” art. Rips re-minted Bored Ape #3100 on the Ethereum blockchain as the first part of the RR/BAYC collection. He then minted an additional 9,999 Apes with very similar imagery and references to BAYC.
Rips maintains that buyers knew RR/BAYC to be a protest and satire of the BAYC collection. He has reportedly made more than $2 million from the collection.
The lawsuit also comes on the heels of Rips alleging that BAYC is a front for a subversive, underground movement to promote Nazi propaganda and iconography. He is alleging that BAYC is really an undercover Nazi movment. Yo no sé.
Last but certainly not least, Christie’s ended the Christie’s Auction for Psychedelics on June 28th with all the proceeds benefiting the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Which makes sense, because quite frankly, how do you make some of that art with just a few cups of coffee and cigarettes
The auction, which included art work from Beeple and Mad Dog Jones raised about $1.6 million.
‘We have seen a significant overlap amongst people who have a passion for NFTs, blockchain, and psychedelics,” said Dr. Rick Doblin, MAPS’ Founder and Executive Director. ‘All speak to the decentralized nature of experience, and we look forward to continuing to explore the intersection of both communities.’
I hope you enjoyed this week’s issue. We take all feedback into consideration, so please feel free to reach out with tips, comments, or suggestions on what you’d like to hear about next.
Until next week!
Horacio
