Who would have thought that former president Donald Trump will come up with his very own NFTs and also sell them out in under 24 hours? Not me certainly. However, truth is stranger than fiction and it looks like Trump has made a splash in the NFT market when nobody was seemingly interested in acquiring digital images. So is Donald Trump making NFTs great again? let’s find out
Donald Trump’s NFT collection
Trump’s NFT collection dropped at a time when the market volume of the tokens is down by 89% from its peak in January. Dune Analytics reports that the trading volume of NFTs on OpeanSea Marketplace is the lowest since June 2021. One of the most famous NFT projects, Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT can be acquired now just for $80,466 which is an 81% drop from its peak value. Thus, Donald Trump’s NFTs selling out in under 24 hours is a testament to his popularity among the red-hatters.
Despite the bad timing, Trump’s NFT collection easily shot up to the top of OpenSea’s marketplace ranking, raking over $1.4 million since its launch. The collection’s trading volume is 900 ETH whereas its floor price is about 0.19 ETH which is about $230. The price has currently surpassed the original ask of $99 which is rare in the current NFT market.
Trump digital trading cards are fantasy NFT cards based on the polygon blockchain. The trading cards portray an exaggerated version of Trump showing him as a super-human, an astronaut, and a boxer, among others. There is also a certain reward program attached to the trading cards as buying 45 Trump trading cards at one go gives users a ticket to a gala dinner with Trump himself. Many are suspecting that this proposition has led to Trump Trading Cards becoming a massive hit among his fanbase and crypto bros.
About a year ago, people were going crazy about NFTs, but where’s the buzz now? All the hype of NFT is gone with time, like the freshness of the new year dies after a few months. Take a look at the NFT market now, the same people who were crazy about it are making noise against it and crying out loud.
In January 2022, the NFT hype was at its peak, and people couldn’t stop investing their hard-earned money into it. Being on the same page was a need of an hour, and even we decided to dive into the pool of NFT by featuring one NFT-related special article in our magazine every month.
However, we had to wind up the plan because, in only 2-3 months, we realised the hype was not worth it, and we took a step back. In the meantime, over the last 6-7 months, we kept a close eye on the NFT updates, and here we are, back again with NFTs to keep you away from having grudges in the new year.
Humans are a fan of art, especially artefacts and paintings, and we always like to have at least one of the famous paintings in our houses. Back then, wealthy people preferred to buy such artefacts, and when modern artists launched their NFT paintings, the current set of rich people started investing in them.
Wealthy people invested their crypto into NFTs, and like always, others followed the path. However, they have yet to really talk about the real reason – the rich first invested a lot of money in the crypto market and were waiting to utilise it for a long time. Then NFT happened, and it was the only promising option they had at the time.
When things were going well, and artists were finally getting their due attention from the crowd through their NFTs, a few sets of money-hungry people started creating unwanted NFTs by downloading images or music from the internet to earn some quick money, which became a prime reason for the failure of NFTs.
Earlier, Jack Dorsey’s NFT of his first tweet was sold at the price of $2.9M, and today it is struggling to get a bid of $100. Logan Paul bought an NFT named Bumblebee last year for $623k; today, it is worth $10. Unbelievable, right? In the last few months, things didn’t exactly work out as we had hoped, and now NFT has become a passing trend.
Let’s see how it collapsed on the ground within a year.
NFTs formed in the realm of blockchain, the same platform that powers Bitcoin. When it was launched, it quickly attracted a lot of attention from the world. The early NFTs were artistic, no doubt about it, but later on, people began to use the platform to trade all kinds of artworks, from pictures to game assets.
When we were trying our hands at the NFT, we created several accounts on several NFT platforms, but soon we lost interest as the journey from creating an account to adding your NFT for sale took a bit of time and effort. Mostly due to the lack of support from the NFT marketplaces, which promised to help but didn’t even revert for weeks.
The worldwide media painted NFT as a future of both blockchain and the art world; even a guy like Elon Musk joined the NFT party announcing a plan to sell one of his tweets as an NFT. Along with Musk, there were a number of celebrities who created their own NFTs as well as invested a huge amount of money into NFTs.
One can’t stay away from online fraud when dealing with something that totally relies on it. The popularity of NFTs has resulted in significant cybersecurity and fraud issues. For example, people started mimicking well-known NFT artists and selling counterfeit NFTs in their names.
Due to anonymity and instability, NFTs are excellent avenues for money laundering as they can be exchanged anonymously, and their selling implies price volatility. Countries like Italy, UAE, Germany, and China restricted the use of NFTs and cryptocurrencies, while countries like India have clear guidelines on the trading of NFTs.
Along with all the reasons mentioned above, there are various other reasons behind the downfall of NFTs, like new-age scams, theft, and new tax regulations. Whatever the reason is, we experienced the rise and downfall of NFT in the same year. We hope the NFT market will rise again with the new year, and we’ll see something new.
Instagram never stops surprising its users with the updates and features it introduces time and again. New filters, background music for a single image or a carousel, reels, close friends for stories, live video, and much more. What started as an image-sharing social networking site has evolved with time and has become a part of our lifestyle. Who would have thought that users could sell their Non Fungible Tokens (NFT) on Instagram.
The NFT integration for Instagram focuses on the term “Digital Collectible” in preference to NFT, given the confusion across the term fungible for plenty of people. The digital collectible Instagram posts will have a “shimmer effect” to allow them to stand out from regular posts in the feed. NFTs will possibly be included in Instagram as standard posts on your Instagram feed. A digital wallet will be connected to let users share digital collectibles and automatically tag the creator and the collector.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram Head Adam Mosseri took to their Instagram handle to explain how and why NFTs will be introduced to Instagram. The reason stated by the company is to let their fans support their favourite creators by purchasing digital collectibles.
“The creator economy is incredibly important to Instagram. But one of the challenging things that we need to solve as an industry is how to help creators make a living doing what they love. Right now there are a number of different ways for creators to make money but a lot of them are unpredictable and changing rapidly. Now we think one really interesting opportunity for a subset of creators is NFTs,” Adam Mosseri, Instagram Head, says.
The pilot release won’t fee customers for posting and sharing an NFT. It isn’t immediately clear whether or not Instagram could support NFT from all four chains at launch. As per the report, Instagram will permit a small organization of NFT lovers based in the US to test the feature.
“We’re starting to test digital collectibles on Instagram so that creators and collectors can display their NFTs,” Zuckerberg told blockchain entrepreneur Tom Bilyeu. The company would be rolling out augmented reality NFTs, which he described as “3D NFTs” and appear as stickers in Instagram Stories, said Zuckerberg.f
Everyone wants to join the NFT parade, including you. However, the struggle to understand the process kicks most of us out of the race right away. NFTs are already over the moon and have the capability to make you a millionaire in a quick time. I hope you’ve heard the story of an Indonesian student who sold his years of selfies as NFTs as a joke and accidentally became a millionaire.
Currently, the NFT market stacks about $17 billion as the transactions worldwide jumped 21,350% from $82.5 million in 2020. A number of investors are looking at NFT as a side-hustle and a source of a second income but are not aware of where to start and how to indulge in an NFT drama? No worries, we have your back and it’s high time to take a look at the 5 ways to make money with NFTs.
Digital Artforms
Are you an artist who’s interested in auctioning or monetising your fully digital artwork? Well, if you’re an artist, then the NFT ride would be pleasurable for you as we have witnessed people who sold their digital artforms on NFTs and earned millions. You can create anything and mint money with it through NFT platforms but make sure you’re creating something practical and no more farts, please.
Trade NFTs
Everyone can’t be an artist, but you can always play your business card and trade NFTs. Some NFTs are worth millions, while some are damn worthless, and if you’re one of those people who understand the value of the art and are good at predicting the fate of the art, then start trading NFTs. Start buying less valued but potentially worth NFTs and make profits during resale.
Licensed Collectibles
We all were, and some of us still are, huge fans of trading cards. Owning a rare type of trading card, exchanging a trading card and buying a newly launched limited edition trading card was just another stupid habit we had during our younger days. Well, you can turn this tradition into a money-making machine now as the price of a digital trading card is unbelievable, particularly when you have a rare one.
NFT Gaming
We live in a time where people even earn through playing games, reviewing games and whatnot. Also, we at least have one friend in our group who can spend enormously on virtual items. In future, gaming companies (which are already worth billions) might offer in-game items as NFTs, and it might push the development of Non-Fungible Technology forward. Be quick, and get your kitty while it is free.
NFT Royalties
Back in the 20th century, wise men used to invest in real estate and rent it out to people, which provided them with a constant flow of income every month or on an annual basis. Now, in a tech-advanced world, you can create or purchase someone else’s NFT and set a 10% or 20% royalty on your NFTs, which will help you earn money every time someone buys your NFT.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. today announced its entry into the NFT (non-fungible token) universe, with the release of its first tranche of tokens, becoming the first Indian automotive OEM to enter this space. NFTs are at the forefront of blockchain technology and have captured the interest of the digitally savvy and constantly connected generation. The entry of Mahindra into the NFT universe is yet another testimony of their continued focus on digital initiatives in the country.
The first NFT offerings from Mahindra will be based on the iconic Thar and will be released in collaboration with Tech Mahindra. Thar exemplifies the Mahindra promise of ‘Explore the Impossible’. Additionally, its larger-than-life imagery is suited to the futuristic, socially wired landscape of NFTs. This first-ever series comprises four NFTs that will be put up for sale via an auction starting the 29th of March 2022, on Tech Mahindra’s NFT marketplace christened ‘Mahindra Gallery’.
All proceeds from the auction will go towards Project Nanhi Kali, to support the education of underprivileged girls in India. Access to education helps the girl child in fulfilling her dreams and lays the foundation for an equal society. The Thar experience doesn’t end with buying an NFT. The winners of the auction will be invited to the Mahindra Adventure Off-road Driver Training Academy (Igatpuri, Maharashtra) or to the new state-of-the-art Mahindra SUV Proving Track (MSPT, Chennai), to experience the thrill of 4×4 motoring.
Commenting on the launch, Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd said, “Mahindra & Mahindra has always been a pioneer in adopting new-age digital innovations to enhance customer experience. The launch of NFTs is another exciting step for us to leverage the next frontier of digital marketing.We will be able to offer a whole new set of experiences to our customers, build communities for our brands, and also increase brand awareness and loyalty. With our entry into the NFT space, we are all set to harness the countless possibilities of interacting and adding to the Mahindra brand and all our nameplates, and there is no better brand for this debut than the Thar.”
CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra, said, “At Tech Mahindra, we believe in innovating for the future. As an industry front runner, we have significantly contributed to digital transformational strategies and solutions. In line with our aim to reimagine the customer experience, engagement, and brand equity through digital transformation, we are launching an NFT marketplace in collaboration with Mahindra Group. This market place titled ‘Mahindra Gallery’, is a one-stop-digital assets and collectibles marketplace for all patrons of the Mahindra Group, and this platform-of-the-future will emerge as a key lever to showcase the rich archives and history of the Group that everyone can own in the form of NFTs, ushering in the next wave of digital ownership.”
NFT is over the moon, but ironically no one really knows what it is and why it is creating hype all over the globe! The artwork that brought NFT term in most households of the world was Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, sold in an auction for $69,346,250 (38,525 ETH).
The viral news created a curiosity between people, but it didn’t create much hype on Indian soil until Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s NFT collections, which includes his father’s famous poem ‘Madhushala’, autographed vintage posters of himself, and his other works sold for a whopping $9,66,000.
Later on, Yuvraj Singh came in and hit the NFT ball out of the world by sending his NFT bat into space, which became the first-ever minted NFT ever to be sent in orbit. And this is when some intellectual people started searching for what is NFT and diving deep into the ocean of serendipity.
Until now, most people know NFT stands for Non-Fungible Tokens, and they can be traded or exchanged but only with an equivalent item. I’ll put it in an example to make it more clear to you, suppose you have digitally owned Nike Shoes, valued at ₹23k, then you can exchange them with another digital item priced at ₹23k.
Whereas fungible tokens such as Bitcoins are more like physical money, and they can be traded or exchanged. You can exchange the Bitcoin with one for another, but you can’t do the same with NFTs as they’re cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish them from each other.
In the last few months, NFT has dominated the investment sector and occupied massive space in the digital market space. The artforms that sold for millions of dollars played a remarkable role in the growth of NFTs, and it aided the marketplace to become a multi-billion-dollar industry in a short span.
In 2020, the NFT marketplace was in the initial stage, and the total investment was about $100 million, but it boomed like a missile in 2021 and reached the mark of $20 billion. Thanks to the brands like Nike, Adidas and Gucci, who invested heavily in the NFTs (in the name of limited editions) to open up new revenue streams.
NFT platforms are a kind of jackpot for artists who are associated with graphics, music, and programmable art forms. When you create an NFT, you get an option to tag it with a specific value, and it can be anything at the initial stage. A number of artists are earning millions due to NFT platforms, all thanks to the hype.
Suppose an artist tags an NFT at 0.1 Ether, but later on, when people start taking an interest in it, or it gets viral, the value of NFT can reach any number, and this is how the owner of NFT will earn. It’s simple like an IPL auction – if the player performs well in a couple of seasons, every franchise will try to get him in their team in the next auction. In simple words, yes, NFTs are definitely worth an investment.
Let’s Talk Business: How to Create NFTs in India?
NFTs are focused on specific sectors like digital artworks, images, audios, videos, and even tweets. So far, they can be bought only with cryptocurrencies, and that’s the reason people who have already invested tons of money in cryptocurrencies are the people who are incredibly excited to buy them. NFTs are worth an investment, but they have a slight risk involved. Get in at your peril, but never test the depth of a river with both feet.
Here are a few provisions and steps you’re going to need before creating NFTs.
We can create and sell NFTs on many platforms, but we recommend OpenSea and Rarible, especially when you’re a newbie to the world of NFTs, as these two are the most popular platforms for NFT trading. When we tried our hands at NFT, we went with Rarible as we got to know that they’re offering to sell/list NFTs without any gas fee, which no one else is willing to offer. Let’s get to the steps quickly before someone else uploads and sells their selfies as NFT.
Step 1:
Search “Install MetaMask” on Google and click on the first link, which will lead you to the MetaMask homepage. Then, click on the download option, install MetaMask on your browser and add it as an extension.
Step 2:
Then, visit Rarible.com and sign in with MetaMask. The page will lead you to the new window. Now, click on the Get Started option, and if you already have a wallet, then click on import wallet; otherwise, go for, create a wallet.
Step 3:
Next up, read the policy text, click on the I agree option, set a password, and click on create. Hit the next button, watch the video and click on the blurry text. Yes, it is your secret recovery phrase.
Note: Write down the secret phrase on paper and keep it safe somewhere. Never share this secret phrase with anyone.
Step 4:
Later, click on the next option. You’ll see something like this. Now, select the secret phrase words in order and click on it till you finish the task and then hit confirm, followed by all done.
Step 5:
Hit next, and then connect. Now go back to the rarible site and sign in with MetaMask. Click on create, and the page will lead you to choose the blockchain option, where you’ll see three options – Ethereum, Flow and Tezos.
Step 6:
Click on Ethereum and then choose to create a wallet. Then, choose single or multiple as per your choice. If you’ve created something very unique, then go for a single otherwise, go for multiple to sell one collectible multiple times.
Step 7:
The page will lead you to create a collectible on Ethereum. Upload your preferred file by choosing the file. Next up, set a price or select open for bids. Then, turn on the option of unlock once purchased and enter your secret phrase.
Step 8:
Turn on the free minting option to avoid gas fees and a name along with a description of your NFT. Also, enter the percentage of royalties, number of copies and click on create item option.
Step 9:
A number of small windows will appear on the right side of the screen; scroll them down and click on the SIGN option every time it appears there. Congrats, you’ve successfully created your first NFT.
Step 10:
Lastly, check your NFT by clicking on the “my profile” option. You’ll find it on the same line where the create option can be seen. Refresh the page and click on the owned option to see your first NFT.
That’s it! Now, you can share the on sale NFT with anyone by clicking on the share option.
