NFTs and Gaming Show Bright Spots in the Market
As the digital world waits to see if Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to recover from the recent down market, bright spots are emerging in the NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and online games sectors.
Yes, the NFT barometer may be “cold,” according to the NFTgo analytics platform. There are more sellers than buyers. And the market is a fraction – less than $300 million – of its all-time high of nearly $6 billion in January. But believers continue to show faith that the market will pick up.
“Nearly 500,000 users joined the growing pool of NFT investors in June and July alone who intend to hold for the long-term, taking the number of holders above 3 million at the time of writing,” Cointelegraph reports. “Out of all the NFT categories, PFP (picture for proof) NFTs boast the biggest market capitalization of $13.95 billion.”
A big discussion in the NFT marketplace continues to evolve around whether traders should pay artist royalties on sales.
“It’s not a new discussion, but it’s one that has been amplified considerably with the launch and rising adoption of SudoAMM, an Ethereum NFT marketplace from Sudeoswap that does not honor artist royalties on sales,” Decrypt.co reports. “In other words, you can sell an NFT on the marketplace and not have to pay the extra 5% or 10% (or whatever amount) set as a creator royalty.”
Launched on May 4, SudeoAMM reached a trading volume of $10 million on August 11, showing the market’s appetite for royalty-free trading and instant liquidity. “Traders can enjoy low-slippage swaps between NFTs and tokens, and liquidity providers can better control the price ranges they LP for as well as set up dynamic buy/sell walls,” SudeoAMM explains.
Meanwhile, yet another first is occurring in the NFT market as the first “phygital” ring will be auctioned off by Sotheby’s, the icon of fine auctions worldwide. The ring was “conceptualized” by Francine Ballard of Metagolden, a web3 emporium “showcasing the finest luxury collectibles (art, jewelry, fashion) by way of collaborations between digital creators and IRL artists and brands.”
The sale is set to occur from September 24 to October 4. The phygital ring is defined as simultaneously physical and digital. “The buyer of this one-of-a-kind 18k gold and emerald ring will own the piece in both the physical world and in the "metaverse."
Metagolden, according to its website, anchors luxury physical investments to NFTs to authenticate and ascribe provenance to her creations, but also to provide long-term value in purchasing the item's "digital twin," which might be a piece of digital art, or an AR (or VR) digitally wearable asset that appreciates in value independently from the physical item and can be worn in the metaverse.
Digitally wearable assets are capturing new audiences as more people are finding being a creator in the metaverse can be lucrative.
“With Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft collectively boasting hundreds of millions of users, there is growing demand for avatar accessory designers, game developers, consultants and influencers to help accelerate the market for digital goods in the metaverse,” NBC News reports. “While its virtual worlds are ideally navigated in 3D using a VR headset, many are still largely in nascent stages and often simulate browser-based video gaming. Today, anyone with a computer and internet connection can explore Roblox, the Sandbox or Decentraland as a digital avatar and buy goods on their respective marketplaces with cryptocurrencies tied to each one.”
Major brands are already on the bandwagon and have bought up millions of dollars of landscape in the metaverse. “Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reorienting the tech giant around the metaverse, saying earlier this year that he expects virtual worlds to drive hundreds of billions of dollars in digital commerce within the next decade,” the NBC report said.
Billions of dollars is right. Bloomberg analysts estimate that the metaverse market “may reach $783.3 billion in 2024 vs. $478.7 billion in 2020 representing a compound annual growth rate of 13.1%.
“Video game makers continue to elevate existing titles into 3D online worlds that better resemble social networks, their market opportunity can expand to encapsulate live entertainment such as concerts and sports events as well as fighting for a share of social-media advertising revenue,” the analysts said. “The total Metaverse market size may reach 2.7x that of just gaming software, services, and advertising revenue.”
A cold market or is it heating up? Traders looking for bright spots can find them in the DeFi (Decentralized Finance) universe, where creativity and curiosity are setting up new ways to join the metaverse movement.
Joyce Pavia Hanson
Contributor