British telco giant Vodafone has reportedly plans to auction the world’s first Short Message Service (SMS) in the form of a nonfungible token (NFT) on Dec. 21. The SMS, that reads “Merry Christmas”, was sent 29 years ago over the Vodafone network on Dec 3, 1992, and was received by Richard Jarvis, an employee at the time.
The historic 15 character-long SMS will be auctioned off as an NFT in a one-off sale conducted by the Aguttes Auction House in France, according to Romanian news outlet Ziarul Financiar.
By auctioning off the world’s first SMS in the form of NFT, Vodafone intends to redirect the earnings to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UN Refugee Agency) for helping the forcibly displaced people.
Source: Ziarul Financiar
The advertisement banner above translates to “Merry Christmas. The world’s first SMS auctioned for charity as NFT”. Vodafone’s SMS NFT sale will take place this Tuesday on Dec. 21 via an online auction wherein the participants can place bids using Ethereum (ETH). The highest bidder will own exclusive ownership of the communication protocol that was used to transmit the world’s first SMS.
Adding to the SMS’ glory, it took nine years for other networks to have Vodafone’s ability to transmit and receive SMS. This move of minting the world’s first SMS is another example of NFT’s ability to tokenize and digitally preserve history.
Related:Adidas Originals to launch debut NFT collection
The NFT ecosystem has catalysed crypto’s mainstream adoption as corporations find its use cases within their existing business models. Just last week, sportswear manufacturer Adidas announced the launch of an “Into the Metaverse” NFT collection.
As Cointelegraph reported, the Adidas Originals NFT sale will be hosted on the company’s official website on Dec. 17 at a price of 0.2 ETH, approximately worth $810 at the time of writing.
Just days before Adidas’ entry, Nike too acquired a virtual sneakers and collectibles brand RTFKT, signaling a strong interest in the metaverse.
The VeVe virtual marketplace will soon have official nonfungible tokens and digital comic books from Marvel.
In a Thursday announcement, Marvel Entertainment said it had partnered with Orbis Blockchain Technologies to release nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and digital collectibles on the VeVe marketplace app starting later this year. According to the entertainment company, the NFTs will include digital collectibles and comic books which Marvel fans can trade as well as display in virtual showrooms.
“We hope to expand the limits of what Marvel fandom can be, starting with personal and interactive digital collectibles that, through NFTs, fans can truly collect, share, and enjoy in a way that they have not been able to do before,” said Marvel’s vice president of business development and strategy Daniel Fink.
All the Marvel digital collectibles will be minted on the blockchain and be available for users to buy and sell to others on VeVe’s secondary marketplace with the in-app token Gems (GEM). The VeVe app accepts credit card payments for the tokens, and already offers digital collectibles with characters from DC Comics, Star Trek, and other franchises. Some of the more well known characters from Marvel include Wolverine, Spiderman, Iron Man, and Captain America.
Though Marvel has largely not been directly involved with the crypto space, individual artists can still offer their work featuring known characters. In February, an NFT featuring a Spiderman drawing by Adam Kubert sold for more than $25,000 on Portion.io, a platform that allows users to create and auction rare art.
Related:Former DC comic book artist fetches $1.85M auctioning Wonder Woman NFTs
In addition, digital assets and aspects of the crypto space have found their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The third episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series available on Disney+ had a reference to a $59 million Bitcoin (BTC) bounty.
The VeVe marketplace has reported it sold more than 580,000 NFTs since December 2020. Cointelegraph reported in May that NFT trading volume across the space could reach $175 million by October, with an industry market capitalization of $470 million.
Major venture capital firms responsible for crypto investments have led the latest $14.2 million fundraising round for Rarible, the online marketplace behind many nonfungible token listings.
In a Wednesday announcement, Rarible said crypto investment group Coinfund and Venrock — the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family — had led a $14.2 million Series A fundraising round for the nonfungible token, or NFT, platform. Rarible said it will use the funds to hire new team members. Other participants in the fundraising round include 01 Advisors.
In addition, Rarible said it would be launching an NFT marketplace on the Flow blockchain, with users able to mint NFTs while listing them on Rarible. The platform announced it had partnered with artists and creators including Maxim, Ghostface, Johnny Nunez, and Xeo Chu to release NFTs.
“Flow has a fantastic track record of bringing NFTs mainstream by creating native experiences for non-crypto audiences,” said Rarible co-founder Alexander Salnikov. “As a blockchain, Flow enables easier access and lowers the entry barrier for consumers and brands via gasless minting, low-cost transactions, and scalability.”
Related:DeFi and NFT crossover project Aavegotchi releases ‘Gotchiverse’ litepaper
CoinFund originally partnered with Venrock to support innovation in crypto and blockchain firms in 2018 during the initial coin offering boom. The New York-based crypto investment firm also made an undisclosed investment into Rarible in September.
Rarible said at that time that the NFT sector would likely see a 50% growth in capitalization. The NFT market was worth $338 million in 2020. However, Cointelegraph reported last month that NFT trading volume could reach $175 million by October 2021, with an industry market capitalization of $470 million.
A project will be distributing nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, in the gift bags of 25 actors, actresses, and directors nominated for their roles in feature films.
According to Nomine(eth), a project formed in partnership with online marketplace Rarible, Metaversal, and AdVenture Media, 25 people from the 115 nominated in this year’s Academy Awards ceremony will receive three nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, in unofficial gift bags. The project will gift the NFTs to Hollywood insiders nominated in the best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, and best director categories.
All the digital pieces designed by artists Jon Noorlander, Shaylin Wallace, Rocco DiSpirito, and others will be minted with the names of those nominated in their respective categories. The winner of each category will receive an additional NFT auctioned off on Rarible. Some or all of the proceeds will reportedly go to a charity of their choice. Because NFTs do not exist in the physical world, the project will add a ticket to each bag allowing nominees to claim their gift through a Portis wallet.
NFT from artist Shaylin Wallace
“The motivation to distribute NFTs in the gift bags was to show what can be done with NFTs, raise awareness for the charitable causes that we’re supporting and pay tribute to the tremendous achievement that these nominees have achieved,” said Yossi Hasson, co-curator of the project. “[We’re] inviting them to co-own that moment with some of the most inspirational digital artists and the public that purchase their works.”
Among the NFTs is a piece created by 3D animator Andre O’Shea as a tribute to famous actor Chadwick Boseman, best known for his role as King T’Challa in the 2018 film Black Panther. Boseman passed in August from colon cancer but is still nominated this year for his part in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The proceeds from this NFT auction will benefit the Colon Cancer Foundation.
Some experts believe the Hollywood film industry should move to the blockchain, allowing new creators to bypass the traditional “exclusive” route for projects by decentralizing power within the space. A number of film and TV projects related to the crypto industry have popped up as the space becomes more mainstream, including a 10-part crypto-comedy series expected to start filming later this year.
Please note that the gift bags mentioned above are not directly affiliated in any way with the Oscars or the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.
Nonfungible tokens (NFT) have risen in popularity over the past couple of months as stories of record-setting multi-million dollar auction sales begin to emerge on a daily basis.
While projects like Cryptokitties, Axie Infinity (AXS) and Aavegotchi (GHST) are some of the well-known NFT tokens in the space, several new platforms have burst onto the scene in recent weeks and established new all-time highs.
CHR/USDT vs. RARI/USDT vs. LYXE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:TradingView
Chromia (CHR), Rarible (RARI) and LUKSO (LYXe) are three projects that have all broken out to new highs in recent days as NFTs take center stage and look to head higher as blockchain increasingly becomes mainstream.
CHR/USDT
Chromia is a public blockchain platform that currently operates on top of the Ethereum (ETH) network and is powered by a new blockchain language called Rell.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that the price of CHR has rocketed more than 900% over the past 4 days, going from a low of $0.66 on March 7 to a new all-time high of $0.668 on March 11 with a record $1.76 billion in 24-hour trading volume.
CHR/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:TradingView
Movement for the token was kickstarted after it was announced on March 9 that the ALICE token, the native token for the multiplayer game My Neighbor Alice would be listed on Binance beginning March 15. The game is actually built on Chromia and this could be one of the bullish catalysts behind the most recent surge.
The game combines the play experience of popular games like Animal Crossing with the functionality of the emerging decentralized finance and NFT sector, including offering a staking yield, collateralized NFTs and NFT rentals.
RARI/USDT
Rarible is a creator-focused marketplace and issuance platform for NFTs that utilizes the RARI token to reward engagementwith the protocol. The platform bills itself as the “first community-owned NFT marketplace” that allows users to “create, sell or collect digital items secured with blockchain.”
Data from and TradingView shows that the price of RARI has risen 200% since reaching a low of $12.92 on Feb. 28, establishing a new all-time high of $40.52 on March 10 as interactions on the Rarible platform increase by the day.
RARI/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:TradingView
Scrolling through the project’s Twitter feed shows that while the Rarible community has been quite active for some time, it was the March 1 announcement that Rarible had listed on Product Hunt that kicked off the latest rally to a new high.
A renewed wave of optimism for the token came on March 7 when Taco Bell, a popular American fast food restaurant, introduced its own custom NFT that was only available on the Rarible marketplace. The announcement led to a surge in trading volume that helped lift RARI to new highs on March 10.
LYXE/USDT
Lukso is a blockchain infrastructure that claims to offer “a series of standards and solutions for physical and digital consumer goods” that foster transparency and create “new forms of responsible production and consumption.”
The Lukso multiverse is a blockchain network that connects fashion, gaming, design and social media into one centralized venue where the general public can interact with blockchain via decentralized applications.
Data from and TradingView shows that the price of LYXE has increased from $6.94 on March 1 to a new high at $23.82. This 240% rally was accompanied by a $15 million bump in trading volume.
LYXE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:TradingView
Trading activity for LYXe actually began to increase on Feb. 26 as the project’s participation in the Crypto Fashion Week came to a close.
The event included big-name partners like Vogue Germany, which is now dipping its toes into the world of NFTs and looking to combine the world of blockchain and digital fashion.
Since the conclusion of Crypto fashion week, LUKSO’s Twitter feed has received increased engagement from those interested in learning more about the future of digital economies and the various use cases for NFTs.
The explosion of interest in NFTs has brought new life and enthusiasm to the cryptocurrency space just as the DeFi sector entered a cooling-off period which has seen many of the top tokens consolidate as traders shift their attention toward Bitcoin price and NFTs.
With new projects and mainstream companies starting to get involved with the creation of digital memorabilia, NFT related projects like Chromia, Rarible and Lukso are well-positioned to see further growth as mainstream adoption increases.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has partnered with major global fan token makers, Chiliz and Socios, Cointelegraph Japan reports.
As part of the new partnership, Coincheck will list Chiliz and Socios’ fan tokens on Coincheck’s non-fungible token, or NFT, marketplace, the company announced Monday.
Coincheck originally announced that it was considering launching an NFT platform in August 2020. According to the latest announcement, Coincheck’s platform has already listed several NFTs for five popular games and gained exposure to over 2.2 million users.
Coincheck’s executive director Kensuke Amo said that the new partnership with Chiliz intends to bring more opportunities for local sports fans. “Japanese users will have the opportunity to get to know Chiliz and get closer to some of the biggest sporting organizations in the world by purchasing Socios.com NFTs on Coincheck’s NFT marketplace,” Amo said.
Chiliz and Socios CEO Alexandre Dreyfus noted that the partnership will allow Japanese users to own assets linked to some of world’s biggest clubs like FC Barcelona and Juventus. The new collaboration comes in line with Chiliz and Socios’ global expansion and NFT plans in 2021 he said, adding:
“We’re really focused on NFTs in 2021 and have the potential to launch them with every single one of our partners. We’ll also be looking to give them a certain utility — for instance the chance to redeem rewards linked to the particular club,”
Chiliz and Socios are major industry platforms known for launching fan tokens with popular global soccer clubs like FC Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. The firms listed their fan tokens on major global exchanges including the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance. Chiliz and Socios generated $30 million for clubs and partners globally over the past 12 months.
