Page One #29
The most entertaining thing that happened this week was the rapid sale of ENS domains, so was there really anything entertaining that happened this week? Monthly volume for June was, uh, bad, so here’s hoping things turn around a bit in July. In the meantime we’ll keep covering the happenings - read our June recap if you’ve already forgotten what went on last month, subscribe for more token talk and hit the button below to come hang out.
TLDR:
Clone X releases full 3D files with commercial rights
Deskheads match avatars with their desktop knickknacks
Dope Ape Club uses IP rights from Bored Ape holders
ENS Domains heat up again, proving the market is bored
Genesis Boxes mint sees top 25 buyers snag 20% of supply
God Hates NFTees capitalizes on Bobby Hundred’s protest
Jenkins the Valet’s Bored and Dangerous mints July 11
Meka Rhinos succeeds using classic pixel-animal formula
Moonbirds run after “Ravens” trademark is discovered
The Possessed blends familiar style and unique animations
WAGMI United brings crypto innovation to League 2’s CTFC
WZRDS spikes gas, crashes site during free mint
Zipcy’s SuperNormal sees rush of volume over the weekend
News and Notes:
Clone X releases full 3D files with commercial rights
Every Clone X holder can now download 3D files of their Clone to use just about any way they want. The files are available in a variety of formats for easy integration with programs like Blender and Unreal Engine. In their tweets announcing the release, RTFKT says they expect to see Clones in game demos, as Vtubers, and in fan art NFTs, which can be sold using the commercial license (besides Murakami Drip Clones). Providing holders with the ability to use their NFT in whatever fashion they choose is a big step for the space, especially when it comes from a leader like RTFKT.
ENS Domains heat up again, proving the market is bored
The ENS madness we saw in late April was apparently just a warm up. Domains have been flying over the past week or two, with ENS taking the top spot for 7D volume on Icy at over 7,000Ξ. The previous run was fueled by the 999 and 10k Clubs, domains made up only of three or four digits. This time around, a glutton of 999 and 10k Clubs have sprung up including Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Hindi numerals. We also saw the 2nd largest ENS sale ever as 000.eth sold for 300Ξ.
Moonbirds run after “Ravens” trademark is discovered
A few days after former COO Ryan Carson spent 750Ξ for 34 birds for his new fund, word started to spread across Twitter that PROOF had filed a new trademark. The trademark is for “Moonbirds Ravens” and covers a variety of uses relating to digital tokens and services - notably, the filing mentions the provision of an online marketplace. While the trademark doesn’t necessarily confirm anything, don’t be surprised to hear the name - or see the birbs get their own marketplace - in the near future. Oddities also saw volume on the news - they reveal on July 20.
24Ξ floor | 10,000 supply | 2.5Ξ mint | minted 4-15-22
Oddities: 3.8Ξ floor | 10,000 supply | 0.0Ξ mint | minted 5-22-22
Zipcy’s SuperNormal sees rush of volume over the weekend
This eclectic collection of portrait-style avatars was released nearly six months ago and hasn’t made too much noise since. Founded by Zipcy, an experienced artist, Andrew Choi, an engineer at Coinbase, and team, the collection’s floor nearly doubled over the weekend and saw an unusual amount of sales, leading some to speculate there is an announcement coming. Their roadmap includes a second collection of 20,000 SuperNormals that can change clothes - maybe they announce it soon.
Recent Launches:
Dope Ape Club uses IP rights from Bored Ape holders
While Bored Ape derivatives aren’t usually the most interesting projects, Dope Ape Club comes with a small differentiator. The collection was developed using the IP rights of seven actual Bored Apes, which were authorized using Sigroll. Sigroll is a peer-to-peer on-chain licensing protocol that allows owners to authorize their NFTs for use by others in various ways. While Dope Ape Club might not be the next big thing, Sigroll opens a world of possibilities for NFT IP usage.
Genesis Boxes mint sees top 25 buyers snag 20% of supply
While the forward auction used for the Doodles Genesis Box sale allowed the market to determine a fair price, it also gave large buyers the opportunity to grab a large amount of the supply. Familiar names like Pranksy and 9x9x9 sat atop the holder’s leaderboard which is heavily skewed towards the top, seeing the 25 largest holders end up with nearly 5,000 Boxes. This sales structure, previously employed by others including MetaDrop, is usually unfriendly to the secondary market. Boxes currently sit a bit below mint price as holders wait to hear what’s next.
God Hates NFTees capitalizes on Bobby Hundred’s protest
Allegedly created by 67-year-old “Mr. Peters,” God Hates NFTees backpacks off the viral protests staged by Bobby Hundreds at NFT NYC a few weeks ago with a collection of Rick and Morty style protestors. Their website sets out their manifesto, emphasizing their “4channer spirit” and private Discord community which culls those who don’t participate. The community is somehow “managed through a DAO,” although there are no further details on what they do or how. Regardless, the collection has seen nearly 2,500Ξ in volume over the past few days as the floor price shot quickly upwards. An interesting project to keep an eye on.
Meka Rhinos succeeds using classic pixel-animal formula
Employing the tried-and-true formula created by CyberKongz and iterated on by many, Meka Rhinos captured some attention after minting on Sunday. Each pixel avatar earns 10 RHNO per day when staked. A Mutant Rhino can be minted for 550 RHNO, although the staking system is not yet live. While not the most innovative collection, its encouraging to see a few projects doing well in the current market.
The Possessed blends familiar style and unique animations
The newest boisterous avatar collection, The Possessed, minted out on the 30th after receiving over 70,000 entries to their public raffle. Given their higher mint price and the relative lack of volume in the market, the sale’s success may be a signal that things aren’t quite as bad as they seem. Each animated avatar will switch between “blessed” and “possessed” states. The reveal is currently schedule for July 7.
WZRDS spikes gas, crashes site during free mint
After seemingly emerging from nowhere on June 25, WZRDs debuted on the 29th with quite an entrance. The free mint drew over 50,000 users to their website and sent gas to above 1,000 gwei. The collection, which sports a detailed website complete with a prologue comic, comes from Dompi, but other details are scarce. The project is preparing to start a community-driven storyline much like goblintown and others, but appears to have their resources put together well in advance. For those who have enjoyed the recent narrative-driven collections, WZRDs is one to watch.
Upcoming Launches:
Deskheads match avatars with their desktop knickknacks
Deskheads brings a unique spin to traditional avatars by placing each one at a desk full of detailed and varied desktop items. The multitude of items available give each NFT more character, hopefully allowing holders to find one that shares their hobbies. Each Deskhead can be staked to level up, unlocking a range of rewards including web tools (one screenshot shows Adobe Creative Cloud) and IRL experiences and items. They are also developing The Studio, a web3 incubator for Deskhead holders to collaborate and create using proprietary tools. The mint is planned for Friday the 7th and more specific details will be shared this week.
Jenkins the Valet’s Bored and Dangerous mints July 11
Since last mentioned a few weeks ago, Jenkins the Valet has provided more info regarding the release of their first novel, Bored and Dangerous. In addition to its ability to generate DAO tokens via staking, each B&D NFT can be burned for an Azur Root, the mint pass for their upcoming avatar collection themed around the the world of Azurbala. The team at Tally Labs is slowly crafting a narrative universe full of genuine storylines, accompanied by a thoughtful token ecosystem. More info regarding the drop will be announced this week, but check out Azurbala here and watch their explainer here.
WAGMI United brings crypto innovation to League 2’s CTFC
In April, Pixel Vault co-founder Preston Johnson and a group of crypto investors including Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon, fellow Pixel Vault co-founder GFunk, Gary Vee and gmoney, among others, formed WAGMI United and scrapped together enough Ether to purchase Crawley Town FC, an English football club currently competing in League 2, the fourth division in England. On Friday, the WAGMI United NFT releases to those who won various Premint raffles. The NFT grants holders special input on the future of the team, a limited-edition adidas team jersey (which features a Chromie Squiggle), access to IRL events and more to be announced. This experiment with community ownership of a sports team could become a case study.
NFT Market Overview:
The month of June recorded the lowest total NFT volume on Ethereum since July 2021, coming in just above $1B. It’s a huge drop from the $4B of volume in May and makes the $17B total in January feel egregiously silly. Regardless, things continue chugging along and projects continue releasing (sometimes even good ones). Users and transactions have remained far more consistent than volume, although have not been unaffected - monthly transactions dropped from over 4M in May to 3M in June. The tweet below from NFTstatistics does a good job giving some context to what this means in practicality.
Other Stuff Happened/ing
NFTs:
BAYC passes CryptoPunks in all-time USD volume
Punks Comic Issue #3 has started minting
Takashi Murakami posts Flowers roadmap on Twitter
The Otherside collects applications for two load tests before First Trip
General News:
DOJ indicts 6 in 4 crypto scams including “Baller Ape” NFT
Facebook begins testing Ethereum NFTs on Profiles
Gem introduces Live Mints, allowing collections to mint on their website
Manifold introduces Claim Pages
OpenSea user emails leaked - watch out for phishing attempts
Shopify posts video about how NFTs will change commerce
TAG Heuer teases new watch that can display your NFTs on the face