NFTs In A Nutshell: A Weekly Review

NFTs are just like the broader market: there is usually quite a few up’s and down’s over the course of each week. Over the past week, drama around Metamask has many NFT and crypto consumers looking at other options, a major NFT marketplace added support for an underdog, and a traditional toy company is doubling down on blockchain behavior.

Each weekend, we publish our weekly report covering off on the biggest stories in all things NFTs. Let’s take a look at all of the past week of activity.

This Week’s Non-Fungible Token News

Metamask’s IP Collection Leads To More Decentralized Discussion

If the saga behind FTX so far hasn’t been enough to give you five minutes, the latest chatter behind Metamask’s ConsenSys and it’s underlying Infura API collecting IP addresses as transactions are logged might had some fuel to the fire.

Metamask’s early-mover positioning has served it as the de facto default NFT wallet for many users, particularly Ethereum-based NFT collectors.

General sentiment around Metamask is immensely low, as many have even speculated if ConsenSys is expressing full transparency on the matter. It’s also led to an increased discussion around decentralized alternatives when it comes to wallets.

Magic Eden Announces Polygon Support

Magic Eden has longtime been a Solana staple. However, the NFT marketplace has bigger dreams than being a big fish in one pond; Magic Eden wants to play in several different ponds. After expanding support from solely Solana to include Ethereum earlier this year, Magic Eden is back for more, announcing support for Polygon earlier in the week.

The move comes at a time when Solana is facing substantial challenges ahead, with concerns around degrees of exposure to FTX, Alameda Research and related entities. Meanwhile, layer-2 chain Polygon has been on the attack, finding new traditional brand partners, new avenues of GameFi investment, and even gains in the defi sector – securing a top 5 in defi TVL, according to DeFiLlama data.

Nonetheless, Solana still carries dominance in creator-driven, more D2C-style NFTs, making Magic Eden’s move a win-win; the marketplace is still bound to continue to be vital to Solana’s growth if it can make it through the other side of current headwinds.

Mattel Launches Dedicated NFT Platform

Legacy toymaker Mattel oversees the IP and production of iconic toy companies like Hot Wheels and Barbie. You might’ve heard of NFTs of these toys before, especially Hot Wheels – who have seen substantial success releasing NFTs on WAX.

That’s all changing, according to a new announcement from Mattel this past week. The company is building out a dedicated NFT platform as a part of it’s larger ‘non-traditional toy ventures’ arm, Mattel Creates. That platform will also see Mattel shifting from WAX to the Flow blockchain.

Wax Blockchain (WAX) lost a winner in Hot Wheels and parent company Mattel this week, who are shifting to the Flow blockchain as part of their new commitment to a dedicated NFT platform. | Source: WAX-USD on TradingView.com

NFTs On FTX: Is There Any Hope?

It’s not just tokens that are lost on FTX – there are NFTs, too. Little is known thus far about any chances of recovery for any assets, and while more liquid assets like traditional tokens are expected to be a substantial loss for consumers, there’s even more uncertainty about the future of the platform’s NFT assets.

That’s putting some partners in a difficult position, including iconic music festival Coachella, who partnered with FTX earlier this year and released 10 ‘Coachella Keys,’ lifetime passes to the festival that are now… inaccessible to holders that stored them on FTX’s platform.

Coachella innovation lead Sam Schoonover previously told Billboard: “We’re actively working on solutions and are confident we’ll be able to protect the interests of Coachella’s NFT holders.” Nonetheless, the ‘contagion’ is bound to include more traditional partners across all sorts of verticals that will need to dig in their pockets to find solutions to problems that are a direct result of FTX’s fraudulent behavior.

GTA Turns Down NFTs

Easily the most debated video game topics in crypto often boil down to one title: Grand Theft Auto. The iconic series now hosts massive roleplay servers that command audiences on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, and the title is often rumored to be considering or discussing some lever of blockchain technology.

However, to date, little has actually surfaced past the rumor mill. Last year, speculation centered around potential in-game payments, and this year there has been speculation around crypto rewards in the next GTA title.

A new terms update from creators at Rockstar Games have expressed the contrary to some of these past rumors, and have explicitly stated that any game mods that involve NFTs or cryptocurrency will fall under the title’s ‘commercial exploitation’ violations. The move shut down rapper Lil Durk’s roleplay server on GTA5 after server operators were contacted by Rockstar parent Take-Two Interactive.

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.