There’s more NFT debates this week, with Apple policy at the forefront. Meanwhile, for one region, numbers show that NFTs are leading the charge for crypto volumes, and one Solana-based NFT project has signed a headlining licensing deal.
These are a few of the most noteworthy stories across the NFT landscape over the past week – let’s review those, and more, in a nutshell.
This Week’s Non-Fungible Token News
Apple Insists NFT Sales In Apps Are Subject To Platform’s Commission Fees, Critics Voice Disappointment
Young, crypto-first platforms that are looking to utilize NFTs aren’t pleased with Apple this past week. The global tech company has told platforms that want to sell NFTs that they must oblige by Apple’s run-of-the-mill commission structure. But companies have argued that it’s simply not sustainable – as we covered in our report, depending on geographic location these commissions can exceed 30% and include other costs.
Epic Games CEO also spoke out against Apple’s stance for NFT platforms, describing them as a “grotesquely overpriced in-app payment service.”
Asia’s Crypto Adoption Fueled By NFTs, Report Says
Growth of crypto adoption throughout Central and Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) has been fueled by NFTs, according to a new Chainalysis report. Our team took a deep dive into the report, which has shown that despite other regions throughout the globe fueling adoption through major blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, CSAO has seen it’s adoption spearheaded by NFTs.
From a year-over-year period beginning last June and ending in June 2022, this region accounted for nearly one trillion dollars worth of volume in crypto at large, and nearly 60% of that was NFT trading volume.
Solana's (SOL) Okay Bears have proven to be the top dog across the blockchain, at least for the time being. That's exhibited most recently by a new licensing deal with IMG that could see bears on consumer products in the future. | Source: SOL-USD on TradingView.com
Solana’s Okay Bears Signs On With IMG
Solana-based Okay Bears have turned heads this year and emerged as the top project on the blockchain, and a top tier collection – blockchain aside. If you need evidence, look no further than the latest headlines around the collection, with Okay Bears signing a licensing deal with IMG. The 10,000 mint project will see IMG as it’s representative for global licensing around consumer products and experiences. IMG has worked with some of the biggest names in IP and exists within the Endeavor conglomerate that wields substantial presence across entertainment throughout nearly every medium.
Goblins Go Live With Beta ‘Truth Labs Marketplace’
What a long winding road it’s been for the Goblintown.wtf collection this year. The project had unprecedented hype for it’s time at mint, just a mere five months ago. However, the project has cooled and today has a floor price just under 1ETH – after seeing an all-time high of daily average price north of 7ETH back in early June.
That hasn’t slowed down goblins too much, however, as this past week, Goblintown creators Truth Labs launched their ‘Truth Labs Marketplace.’ The marketplace will serve as a dedicated platform for Truth Labs’ collections and will only a charge a flat 5% fee on transactions (compared to OpenSea’s 2.5% + flexible creator royalty).
Universal Studios Launches Halloween NFT Scavenger Hunt
Next month, attendees at Universal Studios in California and in Florida will have the opportunity to bring home an NFT. Up until October 31, the parks will offer a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt with up to 7 million NFTs available to mint. A total of seven QR codes will hyperlink visitors to unique NFTs. The offering comes courtesy of Universal’s partnership with MoonPay; the two joined forces in June and are clearly making quick work of the new relationship.
The NFTs will reportedly offer additional perks (at least, for those who collect all seven of the QR codes), but those perks don’t seem quite clear yet. Nonetheless, it’s another notch on the belt of growing case studies of fan and user engagement for brands and properties. The NFTs have been described as ‘proof of attendance protocol’ tokens that could takeover traditional means of measuring attendance at events and engagements.
Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com
The writer of this content is not associated or affiliated with any of the parties mentioned in this article. This is not financial advice. This op-ed represents the views of the author, and may not necessarily reflect the views of Bitcoinist. Bitcoinist is an advocate of creative and financial freedom alike.
