In this week’s newsletter, read about non-fungible token (NFT) company Yuga Labs facing a backlash as rumors of a CryptoPunks IP sale circulated on social media, check out how “ongoing market challenges” led to the closure of the digital art platform MakersPlace and find out how the NFT collection Mad Lads surged as the price of Solana reached a new all-time high. In other news, NFT and gaming blockchain Ronin has offered developers and game studios a $10 million grant.
Yuga Labs faces backlash over CryptoPunks IP sale rumors
As rumors of a CryptoPunks IP sale circulated on social media, NFT company Yuga Labs faced backlash from the community. Azuki researcher Wale.moca suggested on Jan. 14 that the company may be selling the CryptoPunks IP they acquired from Larva Labs in 2022.
NFT collector and trader Dheeraj Shah told Cointelegraph that a sale could allow CryptoPunks to return to being a piece of history, not another utility project.
Yuga Labs addressed the rumors. Yuga Labs co-founder and CEO Greg Solano said that while many people have approached them, it doesn’t mean they are doing anything. Solano said he would not take any deal if it “hurts the legacy” of the CryptoPunks.
Digital art venue MakersPlace shuts down amid NFT market decline
Digital art platform MakersPlace announced that it’s shutting down its operations due to “ongoing market challenges.” After six years of operations, the company said that minting new accounts on the platform is disabled, while its users will have until June 2025 to offload their assets.
In 2018, MakersPlace launched its platform, securing $30 million in funding from industry players like Coinbase Ventures, Sony Music Entertainment, Pantera Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and more.
Mad Lads Solana NFTs jump to sixth place amid TRUMP memecoin buzz
The overall value of the NFT collection Mad Lads shot up as the Solana token reached a new all-time high of $293.31 on Jan. 19, according to CoinGecko. The surge was attributed to the attention attracted by US President Donald Trump’s official memecoin based on the Solana network.
According to the NFT price floor, Mad Lads had a floor price of $18,905. The price, multiplied by the number of NFTs in the collection, shows that it had a minimum market capitalization of $188 million. However, since each NFT would have a different price, it is difficult to calculate the actual valuation of the NFT collection.
Ronin offers $10 million grant program for Web3 developer growth
NFT and gaming blockchain Ronin Network announced a $10 million grants program for developers. Ronin said it will support teams and game studios with ideas to expand the Ronin Ecosystem.
The grants are part of a broader strategy to expand Ronin into a foundation for decentralized applications, decentralized finance protocols and gaming. Participating projects are expected to solve pain points, onboard new users and increase onchain activities.
Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.
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