“I think the main reason why NFTs started to blow up over the last two weeks is that people started to realize it’s just a natural evolution of the market,” said the anonymous collector known as WhaleShark who is thought to be one of the largest NFT holders in the world. The most valuable NFT he’s ever owned came from NBA Top Shot, a platform that marries the trading of the league’s top highlights with cryptocurrency, likely would sell for up to $1 million, he said.
At least one YouTube sensation has gotten in on the action. With a sale starting on Feb. 19, Logan Paul raked in more than $5 million selling Pokemon-inspired NFTs of himself for one Ether each. In the process, he introduced his nearly six million Twitter followers to the burgeoning marketplace. “Logan Paul is normalizing NFTs,” says Tiffany Zhong, chief executive officer of Islands, a platform helping creators monetize their audiences.
Updates on @LoganPaul’s 1st NFT sale:
• Total sales: ~$5,081,490 (1 ETH = $1965 rn)
• Total NFTs sold: 2586 NFTs
• NFTs available to buy: 414 NFTs
• 14 more hours before the remaining NFTs are destroyed forever
h/t @Art_T_J
— TZ (Tiffany Zhong) (@TZhongg) February 21, 2021
Anthony Pompliano, the Bitcoin evangelist and co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital Assets, joined the fray Tuesday by putting ‘The Innovator’s Dinner’ on the auction block for a whopping 639 Ether (more than $1 million at the current rate of exchange). The surrealist interpretation of Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ substitutes Jesus Christ and his apostles for luminaries of industry and pop-culture such as Steve Jobs and Beyonce, with a dunking Michael Jordan in the background.
We are listing the iconic Innovator's Dinner NFT for sale tonight.
The 1 of 1 piece was commissioned from @FEWOCIOUS a year ago and has become one of the most sought after pieces of digital art in the world.
It will be the first NFT to sell for $1 million. pic.twitter.com/jG7qpm8WhP
— Pomp (@APompliano) February 24, 2021
Crypto-experts like Coin Metrics co-founder Nic Carter caution that the market is in danger of overheating.
“It certainly seems frothy, but the kernel of a good idea is there and will continue to thrive,” said Carter.
But even if the current mania for art-based NFTs ultimately goes bust, the groundwork is being laid for a later time when more assets live on blockchains.
“In the future I expect that we see NFTs move beyond the domain of ‘autographed PNGs’ and move into the domain of more instrumental tokens—digital artifacts tied to some genuine utility,” said Carter.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.