The biggest NFT trends for 2021: art to gaming

The biggest NFT trends for 2021: art to gaming
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According to Research, the total value of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) sold this year could exceed $18 billion. Collectors, investors, and philanthropists alike are interested in these minted certificates of ownership for digital goods on blockchains, which range from artwork, music, and in-game characters to films and images. They’re also freely tradeable on decentralised NFT platforms like OpenSea. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the most important trends in the NFTs field.

1. Celebrity and contemporary NFTs

Of course, at number one this year, as the entertainment sector had no shortage of NFT drops and partnerships. Mila Kunis’ Stone Cats NFTs sold out in just 35 minutes, causing gas costs on the Ethereum network to skyrocket in order to process the transactions.

Snoop Dogg, the musician and songwriter, auctioned off a 3D collage of ten different photographs of himself at various times in his professional career in November, with the winning price totaling 188 ETH (about $700,000). NBA player Kevin Durant announced a collaboration between his companies Thirty Five Ventures and Coinbase on NFT drops in mid-December.

Then there was Quentin Tarantino, who announced that seven uncut sequences from Pulp Fiction will be auctioned as NFTs on the privacy-focused Secret Network.

Tarantino, on the other hand, may have gone a little too far in embracing the frenzy, as his production firm, Miramax, has launched a lawsuit against him for alleged copyright infringement coming from his NFT sale.

The most popular NFTs, according to crypto fans, are those with “pixelated punks” produced by artist Crypto Punks. The group now has the highest sales volume on OpenSea.io, having transacted 750,300 Ether (ETH) worth of digital art (about $3 billion at today’s price) since the platform’s creation in 2017. Their success has led to collaborations and agreements with renowned Hollywood agents.

2. Play-to-earn NFT games

NFTs aren’t just designed to be looked at. Axie Infinity, a blockchain game, has users battle nonplayable characters and completing daily objectives with in-game creatures known as Axies. Each Axie is a one-of-a-kind NFT that can be purchased and sold on the Ethereum network. Breeding is the process of minting Axie NFTs in the game, with rarer Axies having better stats and hence costing more. The total volume of Axies acquired and traded in the last 30 days, according to its official marketplace, is over 125,000 ETH, or over $500 million.

In addition, in the game, players can buy virtual land NFTs. Such digital real estate serves as a breeding ground for monsters and bosses, as well as a repository for a wealth of materials. Last month, the most expensive Axie Infinity land ever sold for 550 ETH ($2.3 million at the time).

Sorare, an NFT fantasy soccer game, is another popular option. Players can control their own soccer teams using Sorare’s digital player NFT cards. According to Nicholas Julia, the platform’s CEO, nearly half a million players joined naturally, without any marketing efforts.

3. Metaverse NFTs

Since Facebook relaunched itself as Meta in October, developments in the Metaverse, a digital environment that includes 3D augmented reality, have gained traction. NFTs are important in the Metaverse because they ensure the uniqueness of virtual assets like player avatars.

Bloktopia is now constructing a gigantic 21-story tower in the Metaverse to honour the maximum 21 million Bitcoin (BTC) that can ever be created. Consumer brands like as Adidas and Nike have entered the Metaverse as well, collaborating with contributors to create NFT artwork for their own brands. Above all, the creators of the virtual metaverse game Sandbox want to protect the realm from large tech domination.

4. NFT philanthropy

In 2021, the number of nonprofits accepting crypto donations has increased significantly. The Giving Block, a platform that facilitates such transactions, saw donations rise to over $100 million this year, up from $4 million in 2020. The company is collaborating with NFT platforms so that a portion of auction earnings can be directed to crypto non-profits, with direct NFT donations as a future development path. In the United States, investors can deduct charitable contributions from their regular income over a period of time, usually a few years, resulting in a win-win situation for everyone.

However, humanitarian endeavours in the NFT sector go much beyond that. NFT auctions have raised enough money to help build a school in Uganda and support frontline healthcare workers so far. An upcoming NFT auction in 2022 will provide funds for contemporary artists with developmental challenges.

5. NFT world art

Traditional painters must travel throughout the world to participate in exhibits and auctions in order to make their work known – a privilege granted only to those with sufficient financial resources. However, with the rise of decentralised NFTs markets, anyone from anywhere in the globe may mint, promote, and sell their work with little to no start-up money, bridging cultures around the world.

Melanated NFT Gallery and Mongol NFTs are two famous examples. Landscapes, images of jazz legend Miles Davis, DJ music, guitar audio, trading cards, and other sounds are among the works on display at Melanated NFT Gallery. Meanwhile, the Mongol NFTs site features NFT visuals of the namesake country’s pastoral nomadic steppes, as well as its history, traditions, and customs as told by Mongol artists. It already has over 100,000 registered users and sales of 1.5 billion Mongolian Tugrik ($550,000).

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