⚓️ world cup NFTs
gm.
the World Cup begins this weekend. and for that reason, I’m devoting today’s newsletter to the *world* of World Cup NFTs.
(yes, there are enough of them to write about)
that’s because international events like this tend to warrant a lot of attention from fans…and that means a lot of collectible memorbilia.
but we live in a new age…where there is not only World Cup merch but also World Cup *digital collectibles*.
the World Cup will for the first time substantially bring together people from around the globe through the blockchain as well as through competition.
ALPHA ⚓️
Reddit digital collectibles
first up is Reddit…
it already seems like ages ago when everyone was paying top-dollar for Reddit digital avatars. and while the market for them has been cooling, Reddit quietly made *new* ones in celebration of the World Cup.
claiming them is easy too. you simply ‘style’ your avatar on Reddit and pick the nation you want to represent in r/worldcup. you’re only allowed to chose a single skin…but that hasn’t stopped people from using their multiple accounts to try and snag them all.
there are *quite* a bit of them left…so it’s not particularly urgent you claim them fast. that being said, it’s a fun way to represent your fandom, and finally set up that Reddit NFT wallet.
who knows, maybe it’ll payoff too if anyone starts caring about the Reddit collectible avatars again.
BETA ⚓️
Ronaldo NFTs
Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s most famous athlete (which puts him in the conversation to be one of the world’s most famous people full stop).
so when someone of his caliber (and follower count) launches an NFT project, we have to take notice.
and timed perfectly to when the most eyeballs will be on him, CR7 will be launching an NFT collection with the help of Binance and their NFT marketplace *right* before the World Cup is set to kickoff.
while soccer fans are excited about Ronaldo’s first NFT collection, those of us that have been in the space for a while know what this is. with the mint price of some of the rarer NFTs in the collection going up to $10K, I can’t help but be skeptical here.
because if it looks like a cash grab and smells like a cash grab…it’s probably a cash grab.
that being said, there is no doubt something like this *will* sell out. there are too many soccer…ermm…football fans in the world. Cristiano himself has over 100 million followers on Twitter. if even 1% of them are interested in NFTs than it’ll probably work out well for the minters of a collection of 6K.
GAMMA ⚓️
Cool Cats FC
next up is Cool Cats, who are using their newly announced partnership with Animoca Brands to launch an NFT raffle of sorts…called Cool Cats FC.
with your token from the project, you’ll be eligible to win IRL and digital rewards through the World Cup. tauted as a “dynamic NFT” your NFT will represent a team in the tournament and depending on how they do, your odds of winning prizes increases.
at a .1 mint price it’s a bit steep, but given how slow the NFT space seems to be these days, perhaps Cool Cats FC can help curb your boredom.
DELTA ⚓️
World Cup rooting interests
who will I be rooting for in the World Cup, you ask?
shortly after college, I moved to Argentina to teach English. as an American, my interest in football at that time was nonexistent.
however, while I was there, I got to meet their fans and watch their run to the finals of the 2014 World Cup. since then, I’ve been a big fan of them and Messi.
oddly enough, Argentina was the first place I heard about bitcoin. many of the locals I knew were using it as a store of value due to the rapid inflation of their own currency.
I wonder what they think of NFTs these days…if anyone wants to send some Argentina-based artists my way, please do! I’m always looking to support cool, new artists especially if it ties into my personal journey too.