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Ukraine: $1 million raised by NFT collection documenting war

NFTs from the War Museum in Ukraine of photos documenting the conflict raise over $1 million

While UNESCO surveys the damage caused to Ukraine’s cultural heritage, the NFT Museum of War launches new collections to raise funds

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NFTs, as well as cryptocurrencies, have played a key role in raising funds to finance the resistance and reconstruction of the besieged country. The Ministry of Digital Transformation has opened a collection of NFT donations and supports several collections such as Soul of Ukraine, Ukrainian Spirit and the Meta History Museum of War. Proceeds from the sales of these collections are directly available to the Ministry. Since March 2022, the Meta History Museum’s collection has raised over $1 million and added more collectible NFTs on 21 July. All over the world, non-fungible tokens are proving to be a way to give not only financial aid but also a voice to the events and people involved in the conflict. This is the case of the NFT photographs of reporter Niccolò Celesti who exhibited his photojournalistic works last month in Florence.

The NFT Museum of Ukraine continues its mission

The Meta History Museum of War was founded on 25 March 2022 thanks to an NFT platform (relying on Ethereum and Polygon) and under the patronage of the Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov. The digital museum was created with the aim of preserving testimonies, recounting key moments of the war and countering misinformation about what is happening in Ukraine, all through NFT works. With the sales of these non-fungible tokens, the Meta History Museum of War has so far raised over $1 million ($1,223,272 at the time of writing) in ETH. The sum collected has been transferred to the Ministry, which in April explained in a statement that ‘the main purpose of this museum is to raise funds to restore Ukrainian museums and theatres that were bombed by the occupiers’.

According to UNESCO, 164 Ukrainian cultural sites were damaged from the start of the conflict until the latest update of 18th of July, including 72 religious buildings, 12 museums, 32 historical palaces and 17 monuments.

The third part of the NFT of the war in Ukraine

On the 21st of July, the digital museum published the third part of the NFT Warline collection in which the events of the conflict in Ukraine from 15th to 31st of March are recounted in chronological order. Comprising around one hundred works created by artists of different genres and backgrounds (one NFT was even created by artificial intelligence), the collection marks the most significant moments of the conflict and each NFT recounts an event on the precise day and time it occurred. For example, 16 March 2022 at 17:41: ‘Ukraine won a complete victory in its case against Russia at the International Court of Justice. The International Court of Justice has ordered an immediate halt to the invasion. The order is binding under international law. Russia…”. The new drop has works by artists such as Maria Oz, Anton Abo and Oleksii Dyvysenko.

NFT Photographs: Niccolò Celesti recounts the war in Ukraine

From the 24th to the 30th of June 2022, 90 photographs of the conflict taken by the war correspondent Niccolò Celesti were exhibited at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The exhibition, entitled “Springtime in Kiev: NFTs for Ukraine“, recounted in images the moments of the conflict between March and April. The harshness of the war, the difficulties, the faces of the people, in five ‘chapters’: Escape, War, Soldiers, Bunkers and Portraits. Three of the shots in the exhibition were turned into NFT photographs and sold to benefit the Red Cross’ ‘Florence for Kiev’ fundraiser. From the three photographs, 63 unique pieces were made at a price of 100 Euros each. We can consider Celesti’s work one of the first cases of photojournalism on blockchain.

The exhibition and the creation of the NFT photographs was curated by Innov Art di Trefoloni e Associati. It is a project that aims to bring new technologies, such as blockchain, to the world of culture and entertainment. They do this by providing services to companies, public bodies and professionals, for the creation of NFTs and tokenization projects. Celesti presented his collection like this: ‘a month of war and storytelling, spent mostly trying to get news from civilians and volunteers, looking for different angles than the headlines, images, and videos that the bastions of information offer globally. At the beginning, the intention was not to follow the main facts of the war, but to try to live it in the Ukrainians’ shoes.

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Otherside takes centre stage, Bored Ape’s metaverse is a hit

Bored Ape Yacht Club opens its metaverse: Otherside

The Bored Ape Yacht Club launches the Otherside metaverse. Here’s what happened at the 16th of July demo and the details of the Litepaper!

On the 16th of July 2022, 4,500 users participated in the first Otherside demo. LAND owners in Otherdeed explored the Bored Ape metaverse for the first time on the “first journey”. The feedback was positive and the Otherside roadmap promises great things, according to the participants the success is overwhelming. The Bored Ape Yacht Club inaugurated Otherside and the project’s Litepaper was also published on this occasion. The challenges of the near future will be mainly technical. How does Otherside intend to develop the technology of the metaverse?

A Metaverse on trial

Otherside is a metaverse that is still under construction, and will be tested in stages by Voyagers, i.e. the owners of Otherdeed, before being opened to the public. The release will therefore be progressive and features will be unlocked one by one. More precisely, Yuga Labs, the laboratory from which Bored Ape and Otherside originated, envisages three phases, divided into several “journeys”. Each of these journeys will allow the user to explore certain areas of the metaverse, interact with the virtual environment and become familiar with the elements and mechanisms of this digital world. Although Otherside is primarily an open world in which it is possible to build and play without constraints, in these test phases the game experience will follow a pre-established narrative. The first phase is divided into 11 parts linked to the mysterious appearance of an Obelisk in the Otherside universe. The second and third phases have not yet been presented.

The Otherside demo and various tests are only available to selected developers and the 4,500 owners of the metaverse. For them, on the 16th of July, the adventure began by following an oversized boring monkey into the beating heart of the metaverse, the “Biogenic Swamp”. The first test was carried out on the avatars, in actions such as dancing, running, jumping. The Voyagers will be responsible for reporting bugs and giving critical feedback on key aspects of the metaverse’s development.

What does the Otherside metaverse look like now?

The Bored Ape Yacht Club has finally opened its doors in Otherside, the place where “normal rules don’t apply”. At the moment, the metaverse appears partly as a galaxy and partly as an archipelago, with islands ranging from the Biogenic Swamp to the Infinite Expanse. These islands are none other than the various LANDS of the Bored Ape metaverse. Otherside is populated by indigenous creatures, the Koda, and relies on four types of elements that shape its world: soul, ore, shard and root. Otherside is also full of hidden objects and materials to collect.

The Otherside Litepaper: community and interoperability first

The Litepaper, a beta and draft version of a classic Whitepaper, sets out the basic principles and roadmap for the Otherside metaverse. On Twitter, the team explained: “This document serves as an initial guide for Otherside. It covers the basic principles of the platform, the prerogatives of developers and the possibilities of creating collective communities.

The first fundamental guideline is precisely the centrality of the community: “In order to plant the seeds of a successful community, we begin the development of Otherside with the Voyagers, our first supporters and followers. Here, Otherdeed LANDs becomes the key to participating and co-creating the final version of the Metaverse. So Voyagers are actively involved: “this deep connection with our most passionate supporters and creatives will be key to understanding what features, moderation, tools and support our community needs as we develop this ecosystem together, from the bottom up.” Otherside’s roadmap also includes the integration of a governance system to manage peaceful coexistence between users. In an atmosphere of trust, communication and shared goals.

The technological challenges of Otherside? The same as the other metaverses

The Otherside Litepaper’s analysis is particularly interesting as it highlights the challenges of technological innovation that affect all metaverses in general, in order to make the sector more mainstream. The main challenge concerns the processing of data to allow large numbers of people to interact simultaneously in the metaverse: “the metaverse does not work without a crowd”. To enable thousands of people to participate and interact at the same time, Yuga Labs relied on Improbable, a company specialising in infrastructure for video games and interactive Web3 events. Otherside’s roadmap also includes offering an interoperable metaverse that can be accessed on all devices. Interoperability means the ability to create elements such as NFTs or games that can also be used in other metaverses outside Otherside. This is the function of the Otherside Development Kit (ODK), which is a set of programming tools for creating interoperable characters, objects and locations.

Improbable’s experience in virtual worlds

With Otherside, Bored Ape Yacht Club also inaugurates its collaboration with Improbable. Since 2012, this British company has been working on multiplayer video games and collaborating with the most important production companies in the game industry. Improbable decided to use its expertise to build architectures capable of supporting the information and data density of the metaverse. Thanks to Morpheus, the technology developed by the Improbable team, Otherside will be able to support the rendering of thousands of unique avatars and handle thousands of audio streams. In addition, Improbable has developed a machine learning-based system to access the Bored Ape metaverse with any device, even mobile phones with less than perfect connections.

Otherside’s “first journey” ended on a positive note, leaving the Voyagers satisfied! The Bored Ape metaverse also continues to grow economically, LAND in the form of NFTs, since its launch in May, has seen sales of over $1 billion, and the ApeCoin token after the 16th of July demo increased its volume by 52%.

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10 musicians and bands who launched music NFTs

NFT Music: 10 musicians who have already launched NFTs

From Snoop Dogg to Linkin Park: discover the 10 musicians who have already launched musical NFTs. 

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are one of the most versatile innovations brought by the blockchain. Although they are best known for artistic projects such as Bored Ape Yacht Club, NFTs also hold enormous potential for the music world. There are many artists trying out this new model of music NFTs, and soon there will be purpose-built platforms such as Napster 3.0. Find out which 10 musicians and bands have already launched musical NFTs. Watch out, the last one will surprise you!

1. Snoop Dogg and Eminem

Two of the crypto community’s idols, Snoop Dogg and Eminem have been avid NFT fans for years. Both proud owners of several Bored Ape Yacht Clubs and Mutant Ape Yacht Clubs, the two rappers have seen NFT music as a way to improve the recording industry and reshape the relationship between fan and artist.

On 24th June, the two rap legends released a new music video in collaboration with Yuga Labs, where they impersonate their Ape. Snoop Dogg also has a various other NFT music projects under his belt, and has put 25,000 albums on sale in the form of non-fungible tokens for $5,000. These NFTs, called Stash Boxes, contain his new album B.O.D.R. with 3 bonus tracks for fans. 

2. Shawn Mendes

Shawn Mendes – the pop singer who became famous with his hit Stitches – has entered the crypto world with Genies, an NFT platform that creates 3D characters that can be used in various metaverses. He has published a collection of NFTs inspired by his best-selling album, Wonder, on OpenSea, as well as some digital wearables to display on virtual avatars. 

3. Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park

Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda has also joined the musical NFT trend. The legendary band’s singer has held an NFT auction of a music clip from his single Zora. He has also sold NFTs with exclusive artwork from another of his singles, Happy Endings.

In addition to these experimentations, Mike Shinoda has also tried to educate his audience on the functionality of NFTs, with some tweets clearly explaining what non-fungible tokens are and what their value is. Thanks to his willingness to innovate and educate his audience about new technologies, the Linkin Park singer has become one of the most prominent musicians to have already launched musical NFTs.

4. Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston’s stepsister has sold an unreleased demo the legendary soul singer had recorded when she was 17. The NFT was sold at a whopping $1 million. The song is accompanied by a video by digital artist Diane Sinclair. Unfortunately for Whitney Houston lovers, the NFT-related song cannot be made public, and will forever remain in the hands of the lucky person who won it at the auction. The proceeds were donated to the Whitney Houston Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering young women in the US.

5. Avenged Sevenfold

American alt-metal band Avenged Sevenfold launched a collection of 10,000 NFTs called ‘Deathbat Clubs‘ in 2021. Although not directly linked to songs, these NFTs represent the possible future uses of non-fungible tokens. Depending on the rarity of the token, in fact, fans who own a Deathbat are entitled to certain exclusive benefits, such as free tickets for life to see Avenged Sevenfold or the privilege of spending a day with the band. 

M. Shadow, the alt-metal band’s singer, said that NFTs are much more than a way to make easy money. They should be considered ‘virtual handshakes’ because they have the potential to create strong communities and reward hardcore fans. “Everyone is obsessed with making money, when that hides the real innovations of NFTs,” said the NFT music pioneer. “…NFTs should be tickets to exclusive clubs for real fans.” 

6. deadmau5

One of the 10 musicians who have already launched NFTs is the techno artist deadmau5, already well known in the crypto world thanks to his collaboration with The Sandbox metaverse. In addition to 3D artwork and tickets to exclusive music events, deadmau5 sells his songs directly to his fans via the NFT platform Nifty Gateway. According to his manager, the artist has earned more than $ 4 million from his NFT!

7. Achille Lauro

Achille Lauro, known for his ‘eccentric’ performances is a well-known Italian trap artist, also thanks to his appearances at the Sanremo Festival. But during his 5 July concert in Milan, he unveiled his latest ‘sound-reactive’ generative art project.

‘Generative art’ refers to randomly created art by algorithms from a set of characteristics set by the developers of the NFT collection. In this case, Achille Lauro collaborated with students from the BigRock school on the ”NFT live Superart” project, which will generate artwork based on the notes of his most famous songs. The artworks will be created live during his concerts. They will then be put up for sale in the autumn, with all proceeds going to charity.

8. Justin Blau, 3LAU

Justin Blau, aka 3LAU, is an American DJ among the first to experiment with NFTs. Blau sold his first non-fungible token in 2020, long before tokens came into vogue. But that was just the beginning: in fact, in February 2021, the DJ sold 33 NFTs commemorating his album Ultraviolet, released three years earlier. The sale was a success, and he earned almost $12 million!

Blau has since continued to focus on the world of NFT music, and has launched a decentralised music platform called Royal. Music NFTs sold on Royal are associated with both a song and a percentage of royalties decided by the artist. This means that whoever owns the NFT associated with a song, earns money every time it is purchased or used in advertisements and films. An innovative idea that allows fans to “own” a part of their favourite songs on the blockchain!

9. Kings of Leon

US rock band Kings of Leon took their NFT adventure very seriously – they decided to release their latest album, While You See Yourself, directly on the NFT YellowHeart platform! They offered three types of non-fungible tokens, the first one included the album with some bonus tracks, the second granted a pass to attend all their concerts for free, and the third was a package of artwork on blockchain linked to the album. Each NFT is associated with a different piece of art. Released on 5 March 2021, prices ranged from $50 for the basic token to $2,500 for the rarest ones with the most elaborate designs!

10. Ringo Starr

The Beatles’ drummer launches his own NFTs? Absolutely! Ringo Starr has teamed up with auction house Julien’s Auction for a collection of 20 non-fungible tokens called ‘The Creative Mind of a Beatle’. The collection consists of 5 animated paintings accompanied by the audio of a drum solo by Ringo Starr himself. Each painting is available in 4 unique copies guaranteed by the blockchain. In addition to the digital animated painting, the NFT buyers are also entitled to a physical painting signed by the Beatles’ drummer, and can also ask Ringo Starr for a virtual meeting on the Spatial.io platform. A treat for Beatles fans!

These 10 musicians and bands already using NFTs are just the first to join the upcoming music revolution! Web3 and blockchain have the potential to make the music industry fairer and more equitable towards artists, who frown upon streaming platforms like Spotify. They also permit a special relationship with hardcore fans. NFT music is only just beginning: sooner or later your favourite artist will also arrive on the blockchain!

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Facebook crypto breakthrough – NFTs arrive on the social network platform

Facebook becomes an NFT platform - first photos released!

Zuckerberg does not quit the blockchain – Facebook will become a platform for NFTs  

Mark Zuckerberg’s company that controls the social networking sites Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp – Meta – has once again surprised the crypto world. After cancelling the Novi wallet project and the Diem crypto, it has announced that Facebook will soon integrate NFTs based on Ethereum and Polygon. The social network will therefore support both creators and users who want to buy NFTs. Continue reading to find out what NFTs on Facebook will look like!

Ethereum and Polygon’s NFTs on Facebook – first photos released

Meta (formerly Facebook), the company that controls some of the world’s most widely used social networks, showed interest in the crypto world when it changed its name and started to take an interest in the concept of the metaverse. In March 2022, Zuckerberg announced that NFTs would arrive on Instagram. At the moment the feature is being tested for influencers in a number of countries. The next step? Turning Facebook into a platform where you can show off your NFTs!

The breaking news was first shared by Navdeep Singh, a developer for Meta. “I’m excited to show the world what I’m working on,” he tweeted, posting a small spoiler for the curious. The picture shows some of the features that will be available when NFTs will be released on Facebook. For instance, it will be possible to add entire collections (such as Bored Ape Yacht Club or Pudgy Penguins) to your profile, as long as you have them on your wallet. Non-fungible tokens will also be shared like normal posts, with the possibility of adding reactions and comments.

 Initially, according to a Meta spokesperson, it will only be possible only to support Ethereum and Polygon-based NFTs, but there are plans to add tokens built on Solana and Flow later on. Cross-posting with Instagram will also be enabled, to create a unique ecosystem within Meta products. In the future, it will be possible to buy NFTs directly on Facebook. Facebook’s crypto turn could be instrumental in bringing NFT technology to a wider audience of users.

So long wallets – Facebook becomes an NFT platform

Zuckerberg’s interest in crypto began in 2019, when his company released the Novi wallet. Novi was a beta project that was supposed to allow Facebook users to pay more easily and quickly. Facebook’s crypto, however, never saw the light of day. Neither Libra (the original project) nor Diem (its evolution) will have any future, because Meta has decided to abandon the project and shut down Novi. In fact, Facebook’s crypto encountered many technical and legislative obstacles, which led Zuckerberg to completely shut down the project. Novi will be closed forever on 1 September 2022.

However, the interest in the blockchain did not die with the Novi wallet, quite the contrary. According to some experts, NFTs on Facebook will serve to make the social platform a new hub for crypto enthusiasts. Support for non-fungible tokens will be crucial to expose them to a more mainstream audience, and to give users the chance to show off their collections. For now, the most used social platform for crypto enthusiasts is Twitter, but that may change soon!

Facebook’s goal is to make NFTs and cryptos ‘social’ and let word of mouth do the rest. That’s why the new features will first be tested by influencers and creators of some prominence in the community. If the tests are successful, the NFT feature will then be made available to all Facebook users. 

If all goes according to plan, NFTs on Facebook will be released in the coming months to some users, and then reach everyone else. Meta, the company that owns Facebook, believes strongly in crypto and blockchain projects. Its 2.93 billion users could find themselves interacting with NFTs on Facebook without realising it – a huge boost for the global adoption of cryptocurrencies. Will Facebook soon become a platform for NFTs in its own right? Will the social network’s idea bring non-fungible tokens into the mainstream?

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Yuga Labs hires NFT expert to breathe new life into Cryptopunks

NFT: Yuga Labs Hires Expert for Cryptopunks

A breath of fresh air for CryptoPunks? Yuga Labs has hired an expert to breathe new life into the world’s most famous NFT collection!

Christie’s is the most active auction house when it comes to the NFT trade. Suffice it to say that it sold one of the non-fungible works by the artist Beeple for an impressive $69 million! Not only that: it was also the first auction house to accept payments in cryptocurrency. All thanks to Noah Davis, an NFT Specialist for Christie’s, who has always believed in the potential of blockchain and crypto. But here’s the news: Davis has officially been hired by Yuga Labs, the studio that created the Bored Ape Yacht Club, to breathe new life into one of the crypto world’s most famous NFT collections. Yuga Labs hires an NFT expert to expand the Cryptopunks universe!

Christie’s Noah Davis and Yuga Labs want to improve CryptoPunks

On 19 June, Noah Davis, NFT expert for Christie’s auction house, wrote on Twitter that he would be working with Yuga Labs to give Cryptopunks a new direction. The famous NFT collection, bought in March by the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club, has 10,000 pixellated images that are all different. Created in 2017 by Larva Labs, those who originally owned an NFT from the collection did not have the intellectual rights to the image.

This line of thinking changed after the acquisition by Yuga Labs: the first change was precisely the announcement to give NFT owners full commercial and intellectual rights to the purchased works! But the creators of BAYC did not stop there: to make Cryptopunks even more ‘Web3-proof‘, they chose to hire an NFT expert. “I am honoured to announce that I will be running CryptoPunks as Brand Leader,” wrote Noah Davis on Twitter.

Why did Yuga Labs choose Davis to manage such a famous and important NFT project? The now ex-Christie’s employee is not only passionate about blockchain with a connoisseur’s eye for non-fungible works of art, but also has many successful projects under his belt! He is currently engaged in the development of an NFT collection called Howlerz. And he is also a proud owner of CryptoPunk No. 2099. Not bad at all!

What will happen to the CryptoPunks now?

Now that Davis has become Brand Leader of CryptoPunks, what will happen to the NFT collection? After acquiring the collection, Yuga Labs specified that it would not turn it into a new ‘Yacht Club’ and it would retain all of the Punkers’ favourite features. Noah Davis confirmed this course of action. “I WILL NOT F**K WITH THE PUNKS,” he stated on Twitter. “No Punks on mugs or stupid TV shows,” he continued. In short, those who bought a CryptoPunk back in 2017 will not find themselves betrayed by overly commercial operations.

Instead, among Davis’s first proposals is a series of face-to-face chats with real CryptoPunks fans. “Wherever the community goes, that’s where Punks will go,” he specified on the Twitter thread. This way the spirit of the early Punkers and CryptoPunks will not be lost behind publicity stunts!

One of the founders of the Bored Ape, Garga, wrote on the 19th of June that more news about the future of CryptoPunks will come in the coming weeks. “We have chosen a slow and considered approach for Punks, taking into consideration the expectations of the community. We are honoured to be the custodians of this historic collection, and we have the utmost respect for Noah and the Punkers community.” So buckle up and get ready for the news: this is just the beginning!

Just during this historic phase for CryptoPunks there was a lot of movement in the NFT market. The price floor for a piece of the collection rose from 48 ETH to an impressive 65 ETH. A jump of 35%! The new recruit at Yuga Labs seems to have already struck a chord with the community. Is it time for the revival of one of the most popular collections ever?