Hype Around NFTs Re-Kindled into The New Year, Marketplaces Record Massive Sales Figures

The NFT space has kicked off the year quite strongly, and if current figures are to continue, this month might see a new all-time high in trading volumes on the peer-to-peer marketplace OpenSea. Meanwhile, the adoption rate of these unique tokens is surging, with South Korean brands LG and Samsung recently showing their interest.

Samsung introduces new NFT feature to 2022 line-up of TVs

Electronics manufacturer Samsung on Monday unveiled its latest soon-to-be-launched TVs, including MICRO LED, Neo QLED, and Lifestyle TVs. These TVs come with a sizeable degree of personalization options and the newest technology in picture quality, as Samsung describes it.

With the announcement also came a revelation that marks the company's first major stride into the world of NFTs. The South Korea-based tech company said it would be bringing a new Smart Hub, which, besides the Gaming Hub and Watch All, would also feature an NFT platform. The feature would allow TV owners to discover, sell or buy digital art on this series of TVs.

According to The verge, Samsung said in a press release that given the continued demand seen on the NFT market space, they needed to provide a reasonable solution to the fragmented viewing and purchasing nature of NFTs. The TV-based NFT explorer would allow users to browse, display, buy and sell art directly on their TV screens. The TV would also come with a smart calibration feature to automatically adjust display settings to consumer pre-sets.

The press release came just a few days before the much-awaited Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 that kicked off today and is expected to run through to January 8. A day after Samsung's announcement, its global electronic competitor LG Electronics confirmed in a press conference that it also has plans to incorporate NFTs. The announcements from the two multinational conglomerate corporations will potentially help draw in more users into the space. However, there are concerns about the functionality of these television NFT platforms.

OpenSea records four-month trading high

The NFT explosion has dragged on into the first days of the year, and Ethereum-based NFT markets are seeing good trading volumes. According to public blockchain research tool Dune Analytics, OpenSea recorded $256 million in Ethereum trading volume on Monday, January 3, the best day since August. On Sunday, the said markets had soared to $243 million. Driven by sales of Bored Apes and Doodles, the cumulative volume figures since January 1 is over $1.12 billion as of writing. This is nearly double the figure of trading volume ($700 million) seen from January to June in 2021.

A chart of OpenSea monthly volume

Monday's figure marked the third-best day in the ecosystem behind August 29's $323 million and a volume of $267.5 on the next day. Last month, OpenSea finally defied the four month-downward trends in Ethereum trading volume as it hit another $3 billion. Recording $3.25 billion in sales showed a 36.7% rise in volume over November's $2.4 billion, but $177.5 million shy of August's record $3.4 billion. According to research by The Block, Ethereum-based marketplaces reached $2.26 billion in December, the first month-over-month rise in this figure since August. The increase was credited to a surge in focus on gaming and BAYC NFTs.

OpenSea capped the exciting start with a late Tuesday announcement that it had secured $300 million in a Series C fundraising led by Paradigm and Coatue. The NFT giant platform is now valued at $13.3 billion.

Korea presidential candidate to run NFT-based campaign fundraiser

According to The Korea Times, Lee Jae-Myung, announced a new initiative via which his campaign will collect donation funds via NFTs. Myung is set to run as the ruling Democratic Party's representative in the presidential elections on March 9 this year.

Supporters who donate their money will not exactly be buying the NFTs but would instead receive collectables containing the candidate's image and policies for their contributions. Jae-myung and his campaign team are targeting the younger generation to whom this contribution channel is likely to appeal.

Even with the launch, there reigns obscurity over the state of NFTs in South Korea. First, there are concerns of whether the NFTs' use for the collection of campaign funds violates the Political Funds Act or the Public Official Election Act. There is also murkiness on the state of NFTs i.e. whether or not they should be regulated. The South Korea Financial Services Commission went from excluding NFTs from regulation to listing them for taxation starting this year within the space of two months

NFT Marketplace 3 Art bridges the online and offline worlds of art

South Korean Blockchain firm 3 Space Art recently launched its NFT platform, which will enable users to discover and collect pieces of art created by emerging artists. The one difference it holds is that there will be more than just a virtual congregation of artists and buyers.

Instead, it would integrate offline venues, including corporate entities, departments, galleries, and event organizations to facilitate the showcasing of art. The new venture would allow NFT art enthusiasts who are not interested in crypto to acquire art if they attend offline displays of arts at exhibitions. They would be able to scan tagged QR codes at these events and then own the art to display at home or any other place.

There was also the launch of the PACE token with the marketplace. PACE, an alignment token between artists, collectors, and audiences, would be obtained when owners stake their NFTs on the 3Space Art's Art Pool. After staking, the artists would have delegated display rights of their digital collectables, which helps them gain traction. The NFTs' purchases will be completed with crypto, and Korea Won as the fiat.

Eminem adds a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT to his collection as BAYC total sales cross $1 billion

Various celebrities, including rappers, TV show hosts, professional sports players, and even rock stars, have had an immense impact on the growth of the BAYC Ape club.

On Thursday last week, Marshall Mathers, popularly known as Eminem, bought a $452K BAYC, an equivalent of just 133 ETH at the time. This doubles up as the most valuable of the 22 NFTs owned by his Shady Holdings company on OpenSea. Em's purchase adds to other recent acquisitions by Comedian Dave Chapelle and pop star Britney Spears.

An image of the NFT ape purchased by Eminem

At the time of writing, data from CryptoSlam shows that BAYC ranked fourth in all-time volumes traded, joining Art Block, CryptoPunks, and Axie Infinity as the only four to have crossed the billion mark. Mutant Ape Yacht Club ranks sixth with over $655 million sales, indicating that the love for apes has been tremendous and is only getting bigger.

Square Enix to expand investment in blockchain games

Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda delivered his New Year's message on Saturday in which he covered his company's ambitions in the NFT and blockchain sectors. Explaining that he expects the metaverse to generate a significant amount of hype this year, he cited Facebook's transformation to Meta as evidence that the metaverse isn't just a passing cloud.

Matsuda also discussed his expectation that “decentralized gaming” would become a major trend in the coming days. His view of decentralized gaming is based on a two-way relationship model existing between the game players and providers.

Noting the improved levels of crypto uptake and literacy within society, he said Square Enix would closely monitor the space and listen to the users within it. After that, he floated the prospect of his company potentially launching tokens in the future.

Much as he acknowledged that some users just want games for the fun, the CEO insisted that it remains vital to develop play-to-earn gaming modules. The reason is, he considers them the next frontier in gaming and will serve the gaming population eager to contribute to making the game much more entertaining. Notably, Square Enix was part of the $2 million funding of Animoca Brands' metaverse game The Sandbox in March 2020.