In this week’s newsletter, the nonfungible token (NFT) platform Magic Eden surpassed Blur in trading volume for the month of March. Additionally, Yuga Labs, the creators of popular NFT collections Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), sold the intellectual property (IP) rights for two of its games. Manchester City football fans can now get limited edition jerseys through NFTs, and a former Disney executive has launched a Web3 game publishing company. Lastly, PayPal has removed buyer and seller protections for NFTs.
According to a report by CoinGecko, Magic Eden, a Solana-based NFT marketplace, experienced a significant increase in monthly trading volume, surpassing the leading platform Blur in March. Magic Eden recorded $756.5 million in trading volume, while Blur recorded $530.4 million. The rise of Magic Eden can be attributed to its newly implemented Diamond reward program and its ongoing partnership with NFT company Yuga Labs. This marks the sixth consecutive month of increased trading volume for Magic Eden.
In an effort to “unshackle” the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) team, Yuga Labs has sold the intellectual property rights for two of its games, HV-MTL and Legends of Mara. The Web3 gaming studio Faraway has acquired the IP. This move aligns with previous statements from Yuga Labs’ CEO, Greg Solano, and allows the team more freedom to execute their vision.
Football club Manchester City has partnered with crypto exchange OKX to launch a new NFT collection that offers fans the opportunity to win limited-edition jerseys and matchday experiences. Users can mint NFTs on OKX, and the rarity of the NFT determines their chances of winning the jerseys. The jerseys feature unique hand-painted designs by artist Christian Jeffrey, incorporating the Lancashire rose and the Manchester worker bee.
A former Disney executive has joined forces with a team of Hollywood and gaming professionals to establish Galactic Entertainment Publishing, a Web3 game publisher based in the United Arab Emirates. This is the first arm of the Galactic Group. Their first project, PlanetQuest, has been in development since 2022 and already has 200,000 NFT holders prior to its launch.
Payment services company PayPal has announced that it will remove protections for NFT-related purchases starting May 20. Amendments to its Purchase Protection Program will exclude eligibility for NFT transactions. In other news, Adidas has partnered with Stepn to release limited edition NFT sneakers on the Solana network.
Thank you for reading this summary of the week’s most significant developments in the NFT space. Join us again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this rapidly evolving industry.