NFTs in a nutshell: A weekly review
Are NFTs Finally Infiltrating the AAA Gaming Space? Meanwhile, leading Solana marketplace Magic Eden deals with community discord, and the biggest name in coffee kicks off their new NFT rewards program.
It’s just some of the biggest stories that we collect and present to you a nice little fashion every weekend.
This week’s non-fungible token news
Magic Eden’s royalty structure a cause for debate
A new royalty structure proposal on Magic Eden, Solana’s largest NFT marketplace, has the SOL NFT community in heated debate. The new structure, titled ‘MetaShield’, is aimed at NFT buyers who avoid royalties from creators when purchasing NFTs.
The tool allows creators to change the royalty against watermarks, which can be removed when the collector pays the respective royalty fee. However, some users argued that royalties are not the problem – and that MagicEden is.
Epic Games Launcher supports the first NFT-based game
Very few major game developers and publishers have shown willingness to engage with NFTs or blockchains at large. However, that is not the case for Epic Games this past week. CEO Tim Sweeney has shown an open door for Epic Games to get involved in the space, stating that whatever developers they engage with should be fair game. Sweeney’s sentiment so far has been somewhat emblematic of the idea that if developers want to build around NFTs, then so be it—Epic won’t restrict it.
From Sweeney’s mouth to the Epic Games Store this past week, apparently, as the store now supports NFT-based ‘Blankos Block Party’, the first title of its kind to be supported on the Epic Games Store.
Polygon (MATIC) will be the blockchain of choice for Starbucks' upcoming reward program with NFTs. For Polygon, it's another premier partner in a growing list of brands. | Source: MATIC-USD on TradingView.com
Yuga Lab’s latest from NFT’s rumor mill
Are Bored Ape Yacht Club creators Yuga Labs planning their next release? A speculative report this past week outlined “Mecha Apes,” an alleged upcoming release that has been rumored to be Yuga’s latest spin-off project.
The project reportedly aimed to hit the market before the end of the year, with a goal of raising $50 million. Yuga co-founder Garga quickly dismissed the report, only tweeting out “fake news” in a quote tweet referencing the story.
Doodles end big round of fundraising
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and longtime ‘Doodle’ owner led the latest equity funding round for the NFT project, sealing ‘Doodles’ with a $54 million raise led by Ohanian-led firm Seven Seven Six. Ohanian isn’t shy about sharing his bullish sentiment on NFTs, and it shows here, as the raise for Doodles secures them at a value of over $700 million. Many NFT community members were surprised to see the project have such a high value, especially given the recent criticism surrounding Doodle’s quiet movement in the market.
The 10,000 coin project currently has a floor around 8 ETH, a modest number compared to the project’s 35+ ETH peak just three months ago.
NFTs as Rewards: A Look at Starbucks’ New Partnership with Polygon
Starbucks is integrating a new reward mechanism using NFTs, a project that has been in the works for a long time but is apparently finally finding some legs. We first heard about the program about 6 months ago from previous (and three-time) CEO Howard Schultz, and despite Schultz’s departure since the program’s announcement, new CEO Laxman Narasimhan appears to be seeing the project through to launch.
This past week, the next step in the launch of the NFT rewards program was brought to life, as Starbucks announced its latest partnership with the Polygon blockchain. Starbucks calls the program “Odyssey,” and is expected to compliment its current rewards program and also include an NFT marketplace.
What will it look like? There’s still a lot to uncover, but as our team at Bitcoinist covered with our in-depth report , users are expected to be able to earn digital assets, called “travel stamps,” and Starbucks CMO Brady Brewer stated that the company wants the program to be “super easy and accessible.”
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.
