Weekly Roundup: What Happened in Play2Earn Games and NFTs This Week? [Oct. 15, 2021]

Collectors Splash $60M on MekaVerse NFTs

The demand for MekaVerse, a Japanese mecha-themed NFT series, is currently levels above other NFT collections — trading volume between the initial mint, slightly over a week ago on Oct. 7, and secondary sales climb to $60 million in a single day. As of Oct. 14, the volume traded on OpenSea reached 34.9K ETH, or roughly $132 million at Ethereum prices today. The most intriguing aspect of the frenzy is that secondary market buyers and minters who could not view the final images, still spent thousands of dollars on the tokens.

The Mekas reveal was held on Oct. 13, 2021, and holders could finally see which Meka they own on OpenSea.

— MekaVerse (@MekaVerse) October 13, 2021Our reveal is now live! 🎉 → https://t.co/pYZdfI2fey 🌐

Keep in mind that it takes time for OpenSea to load each Meka. You may refresh the page by clicking the "refresh" button. 🤍🚀 pic.twitter.com/98Y8c6Qkrv

The MekaVerse collection consists of 8,888 NFT profile pictures. The series draws its inspiration from the Japanese mecha anime series, with a particular focus on “Mobile Suit Gundam.” No two NFTs are alike as each 3D-rendered image is randomly generated from a pool of traits.

The collection is the brainchild of French artists Matt Braccini and Mattey. It saw a lot of traffic on Thursday but rather than hold an open mint, which is typically associated with gas wars, the creators opted for a raffle.

A total of 172,876 unique wallets registered for the raffle, out of which only 8,593 NFTs were minted at a fee of 0.2 ETH ($725). According to the team, the unredeemed slots will be used for future promotions and giveaways.

Barely 24 hours after the mint, secondary sales of the MekaVerse NFTs went through the roof. NFT marketplace OpenSea recorded a trading volume of over $53.7 million in less than 24 hours. Additionally, the cheapest prized MekaVerse NFT is currently around 5.6 ETH ($20,275).

NFTs Debut on Bitcoin, Fuels Rally of Stacks Token

Despite the high transaction fees plaguing the network, Ethereum is still the reigning king of the NFT sector. Nevertheless, a few other networks have sprung up to challenge the supremacy of Ethereum. From Binance Smart Chain to Polygon, Cardano, Solana — and now Bitcoin — these blockchains are enabling smart contracts functionality.

— stacks.btc (@Stacks) October 8, 2021And yes, #BitcoinNFTs are thriving. 🌱
Check out The Stacks Foundation's recent newsletter "The Big Bitcoin NFT Edition" to know more about the various creators of the Stacks ecosystem.https://t.co/92Qt8FZQft

Despite settling all its transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain, Stacks supports smart contracts. And as for its NFT market, the project is slowly gaining traction. On Monday, a 12-year-old sold a collection of around $8,000 worth of hand-drawn pixelated Bitcoin bird NFTs in less than an hour. By Thursday, the collection had become the most transacted NFT on the Stacks marketplace, recording a sales volume of about $21,000.

Despite Clampdown on Cryptos, NFTs Are Still a Big Deal in China

According to a publication by crypto news site Decrypt, “NFT communities, from JPEG speculators to DAOs to play-to-earn clubs, are alive and well in China even after multiple crypto crackdowns.”

China’s Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 NFT scenes are particularly flourishing.

For some context, Web 2.0 NFTs are relatively cheap JPEGs created by Chinese internet giants, such as Tencent and Alibaba. They live on a centralized ledger, can be exchanged in RMB, have no real crypto element, and are not tradable on the secondary market.

Web 3.0 NFTs, on the other hand, are the NFTs most people are familiar with. However, the author claims that they showcase elements of Chinese culture, such as the Rivermen and KungFu Hero. They are also multi-chained and gamified, often selling a surprise experience.

That being said, the author proceeds to recognize two “compelling” NFT communities in China — Club721 and MAODAO.

Club721 is an NFT club where collectors share the latest news, analysis and NFT drops. So far, the community has grown to more than 7,000 members. Meanwhile, the older kid on the block — MAODAO — is arguably the largest community of NFT contributors, thought leaders and advocates in China.

NFL Star Rob Gronkowski to Release NFTs on Tom Brady’s Autograph Platform

Months after raking in $1.6 million worth of ETH from the sale of NFT trading cards, NFL star Rob Gronkowski is back for more action. This time around, the four-time Super Bowl champion will be releasing a set of new collectibles on the platform of his longtime teammate Tom Brady.

The NFTs will be sold via Autograph, a platform co-founded by Brady. Earlier this week, the athlete shared an Instagram video of the players, with a caption that says:

“They say blood is thicker than water—so Tom Brady move over, I’m joining the Autograph.io family. My signed digital exclusives are headed your way this week.”

NFT-based Fantasy Football Platform Sorare Investigated by the UK Gambling Commission

“The Gambling Commission is currently carrying out enquiries into the company to establish whether Sorare.com requires an operating licence or whether the services it provides do not constitute gambling.”

The platform, which recently raised $680 million in a Series B funding round, allows users to trade officially licensed digital trading cards of players from more than 100 soccer teams as NFTs. In addition to being able to buy and sell cards, users can build a weekly lineup with their cards and compete against other users. They earn points based on the real-life performance of their players, and top players get to win free cards or Ethereum rewards.

The statement of the UK Gambling Commission suggests that Sorare may actually be offering a gambling service to an extent. However, the watchdog has decided not to comment any further on the issue until its investigation is complete.

Responding to the investigation launched by the Commission, Sorare stated that it does not offer any forms of regulated gambling.

“When a product with a nascent technology becomes successful, such as Sorare’s digital collectible cards and game, it is normal and expected to be regulatory questions […] We are very confident Sorare does not offer any forms of regulated gambling. This has been confirmed by expert legal opinions at every stage since the company was founded, including during a number of fundraising rounds. We will always engage and have an open dialogue with authorities who reach out to us to learn more about our game. We believe this is the responsible way to grow our game and community globally.”

Actress Reese Witherspoon Jumps on NFT Bandwagon, Snoop Dogg Drops Some Advice

— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) October 11, 2021Just bought my first NFTs ! I’m learning so much. 🤖😺👾Would love to know about amazing women creating #NFTs. Talk to me #cryptotwitter

As the NFT crusade continues to gain more ground, actress Reese Witherspoon is one of the latest people to come on board. Witherspoon revealed in a Monday tweet that she had just purchased her first NFTs and would love to know more about women creating NFTs. She, however, did not disclose the particular NFT she bought. Instead, she asked Crypto Twitter for advice.

It was at this point that Snoop Dogg, who can now be considered as an NFT veteran, stepped in. The American rapper suggested that Witherspoon connects with Priyanka Desai, head of operations at OpenLaw.

Creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club Mulls Over Expansion Into Music, Film

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) will definitely go down as one of the most successful NFT collections, having attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in trading volume in just a few months.

Following the success of its NFT collection, the creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, Yuga Labs, have inked a deal with veteran music manager and tech investor Guy Oseary to expand its brand into other aspects of media.

Earlier this week, Yuga Labs announced that it had signed Oseary to help explore media opportunities across various formats, including music, film, television and video games.

"We're excited to work with Guy Oseary to bring the Bored Ape Yacht Club to a broader sphere […] have many ambitious projects in the works and we're thankful to have Guy's expertise as we move the club into this new chapter, for the benefit of the entire BAYC community."

The latest move by Yuga Labs comes at the heels of a similar initiative by Larva Labs. The creators of the highly popular CryptoPunks recently signed with United Talent Agency.

Meanwhile, Oseary is the manager for Madonna and U2. He is the co-founder of venture capital firm Sound Ventures and was formerly chairman and CEO of Maverick Records. The music manager invested in crypto companies like OpenSea and Dapper Labs through Sound Ventures. He also recently collaborated with famous crypto artist Beeple to launch WENEW, a platform that auctions off images of iconic moments in sports and culture.

Coinbase to Launch its NFT Marketplace Later This Year

Since spring, the leading exchange platform has left clues suggesting that it will launch an NFT platform. However, very little was offered in terms of the details until Tuesday when the company announced “Coinbase NFT,” a new service that would allow creators, collectors and fans to engage in a social . The company wrote in an official blog post:

"Creating an NFT should be as simple as tapping a few buttons ... Coinbase NFT will be a peer-to-peer marketplace built to enable creativity [w]ith an intuitive design built on top of a decentralized marketplace."

Although the company did not give a specific date for the launch of the service, a spokesperson revealed that it will be live by the end of the year. Meanwhile, a waitlist where customers can sign up for the service has been launched.

In addition to enabling the trading of NFTs, Coinbase will also introduce a “personal feed” feature. It appears the goal of the new functionality is to combine social media with NFTs.

"We’re designing for social engagement. By fostering connections, Coinbase NFT will help creators, collectors, and fans build community. Based on your interests we’ll curate your personal feed. Your profile will showcase all your NFTs in one place, helping you connect with like-minded fans or artists."

Top 10 NFT Collections by Trading Volume for the Last 7 Days

MekaVerse is not just the newest kid on the block. It is also the best-performing NFT collection over the past week. This NFT collection 8888 generative Mekas recorded a weekly trading volume of over $85 million for 4,312 sales.

Sitting at second place is MutantCats, with a 7-day trading volume of $15 million from 4,741 sales. It is worth mentioning that sales figures dropped by over 50% over the past week.

Other NFT collections that made this week’s top-10 list on the basis of their trading volume include CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Art Blocks Curated, Ether Orcs, GOOP TROOP, Bears Deluxe and Bamboozlers.