VYSYN Ventures Weekly Insights #22
We recently detailed how interest has been resurfacing in non-fungible token (NFT) projects. NFTs are token types which are distinct from other tokens and derive their value from being specific and unique.
This token type has found large markets in fields like online gaming and art collectables with monstrous values being transacted for unique in-game items and digital art. Search volume for the term “NFT” recently hit record highs highlighting the recent surge in interest.
(Source: trends.google.com)
We dedicate our latest opus to analysing specific NFT projects and highlighting interesting NFT data. We specifically detail the infrastructure being designed and developed by the DigiCol and Terra Virtua teams.
These emerging projects hold the potential to change the way that the retail market interacts with NFTs. We also highlight interesting data from three other projects – SuperRare, Rarible, and Axie Infinity – which corroborates the bullish case that can be made for NFTs.
DigiCol – One-Click NFT Creation and Marketplace
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have always faced stiff technical barriers to using and trading NFTs. This has hindered NFT adoption and also stopped retail investment into NFTs from reaching its full potential.
Emerging project DigiCol is providing a platform that empowers users to create NFTs with one-click and launch them into an NFT marketplace. NFT creators will be rewarded every time that their NFT is traded.
The project is still in the development stage but has extremely high potential. DigiCol’s team is composed of industry veterans with strong ties to some of the largest tech companies in the world.
The CEO, Eric Shim, spent the last three years working with Hanwha Group pioneering enterprise blockchains. The other leading professionals behind DigiCol have a huge presence in the Asian market and were key leaders in ensuring that products like the OKEx exchange and Pokemon Go were a success in these markets.
If there was a team set up for success in NFT’s, this is it. The Pokemon pedigree should raise eyebrows. Any collectable game using NFTs will likely be adopted quickly, especially if there is a profit to be made in doing so.
The DGCL utility token will be used to incentivize users of the platform. Participants will be able to earn them by displaying their creations, trading NFTs, and putting up NFTs as collateral for crypto loans.
Details will be made shortly by the team in regards to the public token sale and distribution. Progress on DigiCol is ongoing. Having only launched this year, the team aims to have an MVP in Q1 2021.
Terra Virtua – NFTs in Virtual Reality
One company that is on the frontier of innovation in NFTs is Terra Virtua. Terra Virtua is an operational NFT trading and display platform focusing on digital collectables.
Positioning itself as a digital equivalent to Funko Pop figures, Terra Virtua is moving collectables into the virtual realm. Its Fan Cave already allows users to display their 3D collectables, adorn the walls with posters, and set up furniture as they please.
(Source: terravirtua.io)
Setting up and moving around action figures and collectables is a common practice for those in the space, as is showing them off to friends. With the Fan Cave, friends can congregate in a virtual place to interact with their figures and each other.
Virtual art galleries can also be set up, allowing friends to view original artwork or licensed NFTs. The platform is VR compatible, a smart decision in the time of COVID-19. In a full VR environment, friends might gather to play tabletop games, trade NFTs, or simply interact with one another.
(Source: terravirtua.io)
The Fan Cave is just the beginning of a new VR playground for NFTs. Terra Virtua has in-house artists who are working on interactable avatars, set pieces, and props. They have also secured partnerships with Hollywood intellectual properties including the Godfather, Netflix’s Lost in Space, and Paramount pictures. These “first-generation” collectables can be bought on Terra Virtua’s marketplace with either a credit card or Ethereum.
The development team is also catering to artists and entrepreneurs. They will be making their tools available to the public, allowing creatives to mint their own 2D and 3D NFTs, avatars, and posters. This will open the market to a massive cross-border talent pool. It is not outside the realm of possibility that respected or well-known artists will contribute as well.
Similar to DigiCol, Terra Virtua’s Kolect token (TVK) will be used to encourage activity on the platform and can also be used to issue loans based on NFTs. TVK will be farmable and used to unlock unique NFTs that can be shown in the Fan Cave.
These loans are the connection to cryptocurrency and DeFi. There is the potential to build an entire DeFi ecosystem on rare collectibles. Collectors will put in the work to complete a set of figures, especially when they are verified to be rare. While a $1,500 spaceship from Lost in Space may seem outlandish to most people, there is likely someone who will buy the entire set to corner the market.
(Source: terravirtua.io)
Things change in an instant in crypto. With Square and MicroStrategy’s public announcement that they hold millions of dollars in Bitcoin, and Fidelity Digital recommending companies hold 5% of their reserves in Bitcoin, the industry is receiving more attention than ever before.
We will likely see sentiment shift more towards the positive as Fortune 500 companies begin to embrace cryptos. Ethereum and NFTs will likely benefit from the increased attention. While NFTs are still considered a curiosity and novelty in the blockchain world, providing an onramp through licensed and original artwork might be just what the space needs to kick off another bull season.
Bullish Data from Other NFT Marketplaces
The largest NFT digital art gallery and auction house SuperRare has been recording exponential increases in volume traded. Cumulative volume traded in the platform is currently over $3.7 million.
Cumulative Volume Traded on SuperRare (Source: Dune Analytics)
Another NFT platform – Rarible – is observing record numbers of NFTs being minted. Such a spike is a natural companion to the higher trading volumes being observed in NFTs. Higher trading volumes will naturally spike greater NFT creation as creators attempt to design non-fungible tokens that will be actively traded.
NFTs minted on Rarible (Source: Our Network)
A third NFT marketplace – Axie Infinity – also observed a significant spike in trading volume. Volume increased by 850% from September 13th to October 13th which was spurred by interest in specific NFTs. The number of unique addresses interacting with the marketplace also increased by 185% over this timeframe highlighting that new users are being onboarded.
Bullish Optimism Brimming for NFTs with New Infrastructure Underway
Activity in the world of NFTs is brimming. New infrastructure is being developed by teams that have operated at the highest echelon of the enterprise world. The data highlights that the outlook for NFTs is increasingly bullish. Record volumes are being traded while record numbers of NFTs are being minted.
Projects like DigiCol and Terra Virtua hold high potential as they are creating the infrastructure for a new wave of NFT adoption. In the past, NFTs were traded for amounts over$100,000, but there were stiff technical barriers to creating and trading NFTs. DigiCol and Terra Virtua will not only remove these barriers but will also open up new possibilities for how users can interact with NFTs.
