NFTs in a nutshell: A weekly review

Your favorite kids’ shows are being reincarnated as NFTs, there’s a heated debate surrounding zero-royalty NFTs, and OpenSea is once again making policy changes. While NFT volumes have slowed and stuttered, there is still plenty of activity and action to consider. That’s why we give you a little recap every weekend – and keep you updated on all things NFTs from the past week.

Let’s dive into these stories, and more, from the past seven days of NFT action.

This week’s non-fungible token news

Does Zero Royalty NFT have a future?

Last week nut shell, we highlighted the societal debate around CC0 and licensing/rights holding for NFT holders. This week, the talk shifted to royalties, as many large community members shared their thoughts on zero-royalty NFTs, which seem to be gaining momentum.

Power Rangers NFTs are next for Hasbro and Funko

Funko Pop’s digital NFT series, ‘Digital Pop!’, has generated mixed reviews from hardcore Funko fans, but that hasn’t slowed the company’s persistence in playing in the NFT space. Look no further than the latest upcoming release for the firm, in partnership with toy company Hasbro (who have also been aggressive in the space). On August 23, the brands will release “Power Rangers” NFTs, with a total of 22,500 packs (or 450,000 total NFTs) available to fans.

OpenSea adjusts stolen NFT policy

It seems that every week we have a small section of OpenSea policy adjustments on nut shell. We’re back again this week as the leading NFT marketplace made an announcement earlier last week that they would be implementing a crime and stolen item reporting policy to comply with US laws.

However, this had some unintended effects for users who unknowingly bought stolen NFTs. The biggest highlight here is that theft victims will be required to file a police report within the first week of the theft to prevent stolen items from circulating on the platform. Otherwise, NFTs would be freely traded.

Solana (SOL) is the blockchain of choice for 'Single,' the audio and video NFT platform that is teaming up with Shopify. | Source: SOL-USD on TradingView.com

Music NFTs Are Still On The Table, As Shopify Teams Up With Blockchain Music Firm ‘Single’

Shopify is not only one of the biggest e-commerce facilitators in the game today, but they are also becoming increasingly NFT friendly (and of course increasingly crypto friendly as well). We’ve seen Bitcoin Lightning integration, and last year the company made a splashy announcement about their intentions to build out merchant support for NFTs.

Last year, and heading into early 2022, there was a lot of anticipation surrounding the future potential surrounding music NFTs. Many saw them as the next category to break into the scene, as speculators tossed around ideas of what could be the next GameFi. 2022 has shown mild results as the market has cooled, to say the least. Top that with other major setbacks, like Audius – one of the leading names in audio NFTs – being hacked for roughly $6 million in ETH in recent weeks.

Nevertheless, all hope is not lost. Shopify has made strides in the past week to serve creators directly, teaming up with Solana-based “Single” to offer solutions for music and video creatives. Simply CEO and founder Tommy Stalknecht stated:

“It shouldn’t be harder for anyone to collect digital goods than it is physical, so we want to make sure people can buy NFTs just as easily, creating immediate value for fans.”

New EU law categorizes NFTs alongside crypto

NFTs that are part of a collection fit the bill with broader crypto, according to new EU legislation under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Act, or MiCA. This is according to a panel at Korea Blockchain Week from EU advisor Peter Kerstens. Kerstens’ sentiment follows earlier expectations that NFTs in most, if not all, forms would be excluded from the MiCA legislation. Additionally, with MiCA inclusion, this will require NFT crowdfunding issuers to likely issue a whitepaper alongside their crowdfunding – and will limit outlandish claims or unreasonable promises to potential buyers. While this may be more stringent regulation than many would prefer, it may also lead to a more consumer-friendly outcome, and ideally reduce fraud and fraudulent schemes.

MiCA is about two years in the making and has been amended as lawmakers debate potential implications.

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.