NFTs In A Nutshell: A Weekly Review

There’s been plenty of chatter in all things NFTs this week. BendDAO’s liquidation mechanism is testing blue chip NFTs, a Solana wallet is looking to implement a burn mechanism, and there’s potentially a new blockchain on the block for OpenSea.

As always, it’s all in a week’s worth of action in the NFT space. Let’s review all of movement in the past week.

This Week’s Non-Fungible Token News

BAYC Hits 8-Month Low As BendDAO Liquidations Threaten; Punks Challenge Apes’ Floor 

Could a lending protocol send the entire NFT market in a downward spiral? It’s a looming question, at least across Crypto Twitter and beyond as lending platform BendDAO, which allows users to post NFTs as collateral for other assets, has started to see a liquidation wave for a number of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. The sell-offs have already contributed to a challenge of floor leaders, as both BAYC and CryptoPunks have bounced between 65-70 ETH in floor price over the past day. Both projects are some of the most recognizable in the space.

While relative durability has sustained for BAYC holders, there’s still major concern that a wave of liquidations could lead to a major sell off that is more substantial. Take a look at our team’s full report to learn more.

Solana-Based Phantom Wallet To Allow Burning Of NFTs

Solana’s Phantom wallet has been working on a tool called ‘Burn NFT‘ that looks to mitigate scams on the network. In an announcement over the week, Phantom launched a burning NFT mechanism to help users remove spam and unwanted clutter. Users currently earn small amounts of SOL with each NFT burned.

It’s a progressive feature for the major Solana wallet, which faced a setback after some Phantom wallet holders faced their wallets drained due to a hack from outside software infrastructure. Some have speculated that it was due to mobile software vulnerabilities.

Anthony Hopkins Explores NFTs, Partners With Orange Comet

British actor Anthony Hopkins is known for his work as an actor, director and producer – but the legendary entertainment powerhouse is the latest to explore NFTs. Despite approaching his mid-80s, Hopkins seems eager to explore the space. Last week, Hopkins paired with NFT marketplace Orange Comet and will be launching ‘Eternal Collection,’ his first NFT project – inspired by character archetypes from his long and lauded career.

Hopkins said around the release that “offers an incredible opportunity to connect with an audience in an entirely different way… I’m probably the oldest guy in the NFT community and on social media, which proves all is possible at any age.” Orange Comet adds another major collaboration to the growing list that already includes the likes of the NHL’s New York Islanders, AMC’s Walking Dead, and more.

Tencent (OTC: TCHEHY) has been a force in Chinese social media, but faces an end to the road with NFTs as it has shuttered it’s one-year-old marketplace, Huanhe, this week. | Source: OTC: TCEHY on TradingView.com
Galaxy Digital: Bored Ape Club Has Misled Buyers On Rights

Crypto merchant Galaxy Digital released it’s “A Survey of NFT Licenses: Facts & Fictions” report last week, which expresses that ownership rights “remain(s) far off.” The report even goes to cite the recent switch from NFT project Moonbirds, moving from commercial use to creative commons, or CC0, rights (though not without controversy, as we’ve covered in a recent Nutshell. Rights have been a focal point of NFT discussion and dialogue in recent weeks as jpeg owners are faced with hard realities around where rights start and end with their NFTs.

Additionally, the report goes on to state that Yuga Labs (the leader of Bored Ape and CryptoPunks projects) holds the licensing terms for these powerhouse projects. While metaverse platforms (such as Decentraland or The Sandbox) make better strides, there is still a long road to travel for digital ownership via NFTs, the report argues.

Tencent Forced To Shut Down NFT Marketplace 

Chinese social media powerhouse Tencent launched NFT marketplace Huanhe just a year ago, and this week announced an official halt to operations following increased regulatory scrutiny. China’s receptiveness to NFTs seem to be static, with trading of tokens banned throughout the country – with no suggestion that we’ll see changes anytime soon.

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.