ApeCoin x Benji Bananas, Instagram NFTs, NFTCON, Bandsintown, NFT Alpha, Japan

jungle scene with flaming hair benji bananas character and an ape face on coins

ApeCoin x Benji Bananas

NFT Business News

NFT-Native Apes

The growth of licensing intellectual property that first saw light in NFT Land is really exciting. I began to outline some of the obvious participants in an earlier newsletter including Yuga Labs and Bored Ape Yacht Club.

Then I followed up with a closer look at DNABLOCKS and its REPLIKANT 3d avatar creation and animation engine for NFTs WTF. The company is building tools for both avatar design and for collective community involvement. That combination seems like an extremely good fit for the space.

While I was busy with that, Yuga Labs went on a tear, acquiring CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs. The news was well-taken leading to a surge in CryptoPunks sales.

Now the ApeCoin DAO is dropping $APE, aka ApeCoin, which will be adopted by Yuga Labs for its ecosystem of projects. It will be interesting to see if a community currency will help get new projects off the ground.

Animoca Brands is not waiting to see what happens. It’s already adopted ApeCoin for the play-to-earn rebirth of Benji Bananas!

Instagram NFTs

I guess I was right about Facebook getting into NFTs via Instagram. How it plays out remains to be seen. I’m kind of wondering if this move is possible because of the negative government response to Meta’s crypto project. It certainly gives Zuckerberg reason to consider the possibilities for the realms he controls. And, if Instagram works, Facebook could well follow.

NFTs are a good fit for Instagram though I wonder if Meta will get the kind of negative pushback we’re seeing in the gaming industry.

NFTCON 2022

Dcentral’s annual NFTCON takes place online, March 22 – 24. Interesting lineup of speakers.

Finding NFT Alpha

Nansen is doing a lot of interesting things for NFT investors.  They recently launched NFT Indexes after previously introducing NFT Rarity Dashboards.

They then used the indexes as a basis for a bit of research into how NFTs are currently performing as investments.

NFTs in Japan

Softbank’s Z Holdings, based in Japan, has announced plans to launch an NFT Marketplace in the spring in 180 countries. It may be introduced through the Line messaging app.

Rakuten NFT launched in February. Here’s more about what they’re up to.

Animoca Brands Japan also recently launched and is planning an NFT platform of its own.

I’ll definitely be digging in more on this topic. Just getting up to speed now. If Japan seriously adopts NFTs, they will quickly become one of the top markets for so many good reasons.

Bandsintown Adds NFTs

Music promotion platform Bandsintown is adding NFTs powered by Bondly, a company often found behind-the-scenes of interesting projects:

“Bandsintown’s ‘Big Break’ programme will showcase one artist or group each month via livestream, giving audiences the opportunity to discover new music and also receive a free, bespoke Big Break NFT created for that artist and show.”

NFT Research

NonFungible’s Yearly Report on NFTs analyzing 2021 NFT action is now available.

Albert-László Barabási has a new study out focused on the Foundation NFT platform: Quantifying NFT-driven networks in crypto art

ArtNet has an interview with Barabási on this research and additional thoughts on NFTs.

Fake NFT/Metaverse Trademark News

I don’t want to single anyone out but the headlines about BIG CORPORATION or FAMOUS CELEBRITY planning to do things, in this case, WITH NFTs or IN THE METAVERSE, because they have filed trademarks related to those categories.

It’s called trademark protection. Everyone will do it. And some may do things that relate to those filings. But it’s not an announcement of anything. It’s not alpha. It’s not a big find. It’s not news. It’s just how  the legal protection of trademarks work.

Except in the case of Chuck Norris. I expect him to do all these things.

Till Next Time

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