Nifty News: Trump drops more NFTs ahead of presidential run, Meta opens to teens and more

Trump drops series 2 NFT collection ahead of presidential run

Another round of digital nonfungible tokens (NFTs) trading cards have dropped bearing the likeness of former United States President Donald Trump, with 38,001 minted on Polygon (MATIC $1.1760).

The collection was launched on April 18 at a price of $99 each, it currently has a floor price of 0.0659 ETH ($145) according to data from NFT marketplace OpenSea and has racked up a volume of 592 Ether (ETH $2,090), or over $1.2 million.

Based on the collections creator fee of 10% the sales have generated over $100,000, while the initial subscription generated an additional $3.76 million of revenue based on a sale price of $99.

Posting to Instagram, Trump suggested that he kept the price the same as it was for the first series “because I want my fans & supporters to make money, & have fun doing it,” adding:

I could have raised the price MUCH HIGHER, I believe it still would have sold well, with a lot more money coming to me, but I didn’t choose to do so. I WILL BE GIVEN NO ‘NICE GUY’ CREDIT?

The initial series, which was unveiled on Dec. 15, has seen its floor price drop by 61% in the last 24 hours according to OpenSea, although the trading volume has increased by 1,011%.

Meta opens Horizon Worlds to teens in a bid for more users

Teens from the U.S. and Canada can now use the virtual reality (VR) app Horizon Worlds after Big Tech firm Meta opened it up on April 18, it was previously restricted to people aged 18 and over.

The decision comes after Horizon Worlds fell well short of its monthly active user goal for 2022 recording an average of just 280,000 over the year compared to the 500,000 it had targeted according to the data website Statista.

Various advocacy organizations and safety groups have urged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to halt plans to allow minors into its metaverse. An April 14 open letter argued that Meta should wait for more peer-reviewed research on the potential risks of allowing youths in the metaverse.

The letter claimed minors will face harassment and privacy violations on the VR app, which is still in its early stages.

Meta’s announcement appeared to target the concerns as it focused heavily on ways it plans to mitigate these risks through features such as parental supervision tools, and limiting interactions between teens and adults they don’t know.

Nike kicks off first .SWOOSH digital collection with NFT sneakers

Global sportswear brand Nike launched its first NFT collection through its Web3 community platform .SWOOSH, a digital version of its “iconic” Air Force 1 sneaker from 41 years ago.

The Polygon-based NFTs are priced at just under $20 and are available to all .SWOOSH members. According to Nike, the NFTs will have a range of perks such as “special access to physical products and experiences.”

Nike added that it will “introduce other new utilities and benefits” to its virtual creations in the near future.

After Nike announced the upcoming launch of the NFT marketplace in November 2022, its community voted that Nike’s first digital asset collection should be based on its Air Force 1 sneaker.

Smurfs step into Web3 with new NFT collection

The popular cinematic animated franchise The Smurfs are set to launch a new collection of NFTs in association with the Web3 platform, The Smurfs’ Society.

The first public sale for the 12,500-strong NFT collection began on April 18 with 3,000 NFTs depicting various Smurfs characters up for auction with an average bid price of 0.02 ETH ($42).

According to The Smurfs’ Society, the NFTs will allow owners to attend VIP events, get unique rewards, and participate in members-only games.

Some of the bidders appear to be either huge fans of the Smurfs or are speculating that the prices will increase following the mint given the top three bids are for 847 of the NFTs.

Current bids for the NFT collection. Source: The Smurfs’ Society

Among the 250 or more characters available are Papa Smurf, Brainy Smurf, and Smurfette. The collection will have over 350 unique traits according to The Smurfs’ Society.

More Nifty news

A newcomer to the blockchain game Illuvium sold an NFT for over $49,000 after finding a rare NFT inside a digital loot box. The loot box cost just $32 meaning the lucky player made a gain of approximately 140,525%.

Speaking with Cointelegraph, art market economist and academic Magnus Resch suggested “the most important pillar in any NFT project is the community” and believes that some NFT projects have failed because they treated their community like an audience that follows their project rather than contributing to it.