TOYOLOGY Toyology-The Action Men of the batteries not included industry
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The NFT (Non-Fungible Token) market heated up, has had its detractors but we’re thinking now is the time to be taking a look. The endless printing of fiat currency, tax-payer backed governmental borrowing and the success of cryptocurrency coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, have left traditional investment markets appearing risky and, whilst Blockchain investments have seen a flattening of late it’s time to take a look considering, over the years, there’s been some mind-boggling yields.
The NFT market is relatively simple to understand: unique pieces of branded art, sold on platforms such as Opensea, are bought to be part of an exclusive club. At least, they were. Celebrity endorsements have driven certain NFT’s to truly impressive heights. They are digital assets given credibility by high-profile celebrity purchases, which is in the interest of the project designers, the celebrity themselves (who watch their asset increase in value exponentially) and anyone else lucky enough to have bought into a popular project at an early floor price.
The best example of this is the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT’s – a newfound favourite of the rich and famous. Back in January, Serena Williams’ husband bought her a pink Bored Ape NFT, #5797, for a whooping £324.5k. That is dwarfed, however, by the £1.3 million spent by Justin Bieber on #3001. Other owners include: Madonna, Jimmy Fallon, Eminem, Tom Brady, Kevin Hart and Paris Hilton, to name but a few. This has helped the floor price of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT’s to reach $350k only 6 months after selling for around $1500 each.
But the versatility of NFT’s, and the Metaverse generally, is being pushed into new realms with Giraffe Generals (which go on Opensea from early May), who literally risk their lives to fight illegal poachers; Sea Shepard, who fight and “take down” illegal fishing ships that exploit international agreed safe zones; and Amazon Frontline, who themselves team with indigenous tribes to fight against illegal logging. Each of these charities have been selected as representing the frontline of the fight for a safer and cleaner planet teeming with a wide variety of wildlife, as opposed to the giant organisations who are accused of skimming money away from the cause to remunerate well-paid directors and consultants. A fine idea!
The real magic of the direction Giraffe Generals have taken NFT”s is that they offer a winning scenario for all involved: as the tokens themselves become more popular, the charities receive further funding, owners enjoy bolstered values of their NFT’s and companies whom want to be seen as “giving back to charitable causes” and “in the thick of the fight” when it comes to environmentalism, Giraffe General NFT, which, unlike an anonymous donation (or a crassly self-publicised one) is retained by the organisation as a highly valuable asset! And can be Promoted to its audience in a light that sees them as moving with the times and doing a good deed!
Sceptics will undoubtedly say that NFT’s will not last the course, although they are likely to be the same people who said Bitcoin was a daft investment when they were selling for less than a dollar ten years ago: they are now worth $60k per coin.
