With every passing day, blockchain technology has something new and exciting to offer. One such emerging facet that is quite popular among people these days is NFTs. So let us learn about what they are, how they work, and the three crypto projects shaping the future of NFTs.
NFTs or Non-fungible tokens are digital assets representing different types of unique intangible and unique tangible items, such as collectible sports cards, artworks, digital sneakers, etc.
Unlike regular cryptocurrencies, NFTs can not be exchanged directly because no two NFTs are the same. Instead, the majority of the NFTs are built using one of the two Ethereum tokens standards called ERC-1155 and ERC-721. These standards help developers deploy NFTs and make sure that they are compatible with crypto exchanges, wallet services, and other components of the ecosystem.
NFT projects are the recent craze. Artists, buyers, and sellers seem to be ready to pay any amount to own digital art. These tokens were introduced to grant ownership rights to artists and relieve them of the hassles around organizing workshops and exhibitions.
However, due to their uniqueness and value, NFTs have developed into the latest trend. Considering the current scenario, multiple NFT projects are rising and have become the topic of discussion these days.
Here are the top 3 NFT tokens to keep an eye on.
1. CryptoPunks
CryptoPunks is one of the oldest and most popular NFT platforms available currently.
CryptoPunks is one of the early NFT projects. It is a set of randomly generated pixel-based avatars. Notably, some of the rarest, most desirable CryptoPunks have sold for millions of dollars.
Created by development studio Larva Labs, CryptoPunks are a series of 10,000 images tokenized as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. An NFT is effectively a deed of ownership to a digital item, and in this case, holding a CryptoPunks NFT means that you are the sole owner of a one-of-a-kind pixel avatar.
Each CryptoPunk is randomly generated from a list of dozens of attributes, which means there is an array of designs: people, zombies, apes, and even aliens. The aliens and zombies are among the most popular avatars that have raked in some of the highest sale prices to date.
CryptoPunks were released for free back in 2017. The two-person team at Larva Labs released them as an experiment. Ethereum wallet owners snatched up the 9,000 CryptoPunks released to the public, while Larva Labs held onto the rest.
NFT volume gradually rose over the next three years. But it was not until late 2020 and especially early 2021 that demand skyrocketed for these provably scarce digital collectibles. The secondary market value for CryptoPunks shot through the roof, leading to multi-million-dollar NFT sales, auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
One of the biggest drivers of demand for CryptoPunks is that they are one of the oldest NFT projects. They were also the first set of randomly generated profile pictures to click with the crypto community. They went on to inspire a rising tide of profile picture NFT sets, from Bored Ape Yacht Club to Pudgy Penguins and plenty more, each of which only reinforces the influence and legacy of the source project. CryptoPunks have some high-profile owners, too, such as rapper Jay-Z and influencer and investor Gary Vaynerchuk.
Many other factors make CryptoPunks desirable and valuable to collectors. Alien avatars are the rarest of the randomized images, and as such, alien CryptoPunks are among the most expensive NFTs sold to date. Ape and zombie designs are also in demand. However, most of the CryptoPunks look like humans with varying features and accessories. The plainer-looking ones are close to the market floor in terms of the asking price on NFT marketplaces.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
2. Bored Ape Yacht Club
Jump on the NFT bandwagon and check out the Bored Ape NFTs.
Bored Ape Yacht is among the more recent crop of projects inspired by CryptoPunks. Bored Ape NFTs have now generated more than $750 million worth of trading volume, including subsequent variant sets, per data from CryptoSlam, adding on to the Twitter NFT avatar of choice for athletes, musicians, and more. Buying a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT grants access to the titular “club,” and membership has benefits.
Developed by Yuga Labs, the Bored Ape Yacht Club is a collection of 10,000 profile pictures minted as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Buyers can own an illustration of a disinterested-looking ape with randomly generated traits and accessories. Naturally, no two images are exactly alike.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club is not alone on that front, as many other popular NFT avatar collections have sprung up recently, including Pudgy Penguins and 0N1 Force. But the Bored Apes have found an avid base of collectors.
As the name suggests, the Bored Ape Yacht Club is billed as an exclusive society or social organization, and owning one of the coveted NFTs unlocks that membership. In addition, it earns users access to an exclusive Discord server, for example, where fellow owners (including celebrities) hang out and chat. Apes also tend to flock together on social media, where the increasingly familiar avatars have united a digital brotherhood of sorts.
More importantly, owning a Bored Ape NFT earns you access to additional NFT collectibles, which can then be resold for potentially considerable amounts of cash. For example, Yuga Labs first offered free Bored Ape Kennel Club dog NFTs to Bored Ape owners and later released free “mutant serum” NFTs that generated a Mutant Ape Yacht Club image. It is almost like paying a one-time fee for an ongoing subscription plan for NFTs and perks.
Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs are available through secondary markets, most notably OpenSea. Some may be listed for sale at a fixed price, while others can be listed for auction. You will need an Ethereum wallet, such as MetaMask, to purchase an NFT on the site, as well as enough ETH to cover both the purchase price and Ethereum gas transaction fee.
3. Loot
Consider investing in Loot, an emerging NFT project budding with potential.
Loot was launched on August 27 by Dom Hofmann, widely known as the co-creator of shuttered video-sharing app Vine. Hofmann earlier announced Supdrive, an upcoming video game platform, in which the Ethereum-based NFTs are the actual, playable games. He is also a co-founder of Nouns, a project that spawns one new NFT per day and grants access to a DAO, a group that controls the project’s future and a growing stash of ETH.
There was no minting cost for each Loot NFT, just the Ethereum network’s gas fee for the transaction. A total of 8,000 of the NFTs were available and were all claimed within a few hours. As a result, thousands of people now have a randomized list of gear, including the “Holy Greaves of Giants," “Grim Shout," and the “Falchion of Reflection.”
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that Loot "has it right." In a wide-ranging Twitter thread, Buterin praised Loot’s approach in fully opening its direction to the community and accepting all subsequent creations as legitimate.
Bottom Line
The future of these tokens looks very promising. We are still in the early stage of NFT development, and we can expect a lot of new cutting-edge platforms based on NFTs in the coming years. The market is still raw in terms of experimentation, and there are several opportunities to explore in the space for new-age entrepreneurs.
Based on popularity and features, CryptoPunks, Bored Apes Yacht Club, and Loot are some of the best NFT projects in the market.
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Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
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