Social media platforms are turning the dial up on NFTs this past week. Both TikTok and Twitter caught some attention in NFT communities as the platforms take steps towards ingraining NFTs in their respective businesses. Meanwhile, Dogecoin’s co-founder suggests that NFTs could be a solution, and Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney isn’t sold yet on NFTs.
It’s just another action-packed week of NFT headlines. Let’s dive into the past seven days of action in the world of non-fungible tokens.
This Week’s Non-Fungible Token News
Twitter Teases NFT “Checkmarks”
Things can move quick in crypto at times. After last week’s Nutshell covered Twitter’s initial expressed interest at NFT avatar verification, we’ve already seen developments.
Our team at Bitcoinist covered the first look that was revealed around what that verification process could look like, after a Twitter software engineer gave a sneak peak.
Primary feedback from the NFT community centered around accessibility and addressing fake projects on OpenSea.
NFTs On DOGE?
If you’re no stranger to crypto, you’ve probably been hearing about Dogecoin’s mild performance lately. Dogecoin co-founder, Billy Markus, suggested in recent days that NFT compatibility and a Dogecoin-Ethereum bridge could be two major catalysts that could help the meme-token’s future.
DOGE volume and declining prices have put the token at risk at falling out of the top 10.
A Solana-Based Project’s Rugpull
It’s not always sunshine and rainbows. NFT project ‘Iconics,’ which was reportedly ran by a 17-year-old 3D artist, pre-sold 2,000 NFTs at 0.5 SOL. With nothing to show for it, the project rugged over $100K worth of SOL. Artwork that was promised was not delivered, and the artist’s Twitter account disappeared. The project’s Discord channel has had no subsequent announcements, and the general chat is disabled.
The money taken from the pre-sale has been spread across multiple accounts, according to reports. Solana has had some challenges around authenticity and rugpulls in it’s early days of NFT engagement. Hopefully there are brighter days to come for Solana NFT fans.
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TikTok Aims For Limited NFT Release
TikTok has teamed up with Immutable X this past week and announced their first NFT release. This coming week, the social media powerhouse will release a limited set of creator-curated NFTs. The initial release is headlined by creatives like Lil Nas X, Bella Poarch, Gary Vaynerchuk, and more.
Solana (SOL) had a skyrocketing September, and looks to continue holding high ground despite some challenges in the NFT space. | Source: SOL-USD on TradingView.com
Variety’s First NFTs
We’ve seen a few traditional media companies get involved with NFTs, but Variety became the first entertainment industry-dedicated publication to do so this past week. The company held a ‘Power of Women‘ event in Los Angeles, and partnered with Sweet to gift attendees a special NFT.
The publication has shared that by the end of the year, they anticipate famous Variety headlines and front pages to have increased exposure on the Sweet platform.
Ripple’s New Creator Fund, With A Focus On NFTs
Ripple (XRP) has had it’s fair share of headwinds in recent years. However, in their most recent Developer Summit, the platform announced a new $250M Creator Fund. The fund is aimed towards building creator engagement on XRPL.
Solana, Polygon, and Flow are just a few blockchains that have made significant strides to be major players in the NFT space; could Ripple be the next to make a name for themselves with creators in crypto?
Epic Games’ Sweeney: “Not Touching” NFTs
Epic Games has created some legendary games over the years, such as Fortnite and Rocket League. NFTs consistently have ties over the video game landscape, mostly because of the concept of ‘digital ownership’ that inherently comes with things like Fortnite and CS:GO skins and wraps, or FIFA Ultimate Teams, for example.
However, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted this week that Epic “isn’t touching” NFTs, citing too many scams in the space.
An Automotive NFT
Sure, we’ve seen some racing engagement in crypto. Back in August, Porsche even auctioned off a digital sketch as an NFT on SuperRare. However, we haven’t seen too many dedicated NFT hires. This week, Ford hired a new global Brand Merchandising Director, citing NFTs directly as a potential option in expanded branded offerings from the company, according to AdAge.
Ford has faced increased competition from electric-first brands coming to market, so it will be interesting to see if the company turns to NFTs in an engaging and unique way to potentially connect with consumers.
Related Reading | Cardano Welcomes Ardadex Protocol As It’s First Decentralized Exchange And Curated NFT Marketplace
Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.com