What’s happened in this week’s fast and frantic world of NFTs? There’s only one way to find out – our weekly NFT roundup.
GameStop Launches NFT Marketplace Beta
GameStop, the famed video game retailer, is taking another step to further its pivot away from selling physical goods. On Wednesday the company launched a limited-functionality beta version of its NFT marketplace, built on Ethereum layer-2 scaling provider Loopring.
You can connect an Ethereum wallet to the platform, add funds via Loopring, and fill in your profile details, but that is the extent of the functionality of the marketplace right now. There are currently no NFTs available for sale.
The announcement of the collaboration with Loopring initially caused confusion in some quarters because in February GameStop announced that Immutable X’s layer-2 solution would power the NFT Marketplace. GameStop and Immutable X even established a $100 million token incentive fund for game developers.
However, it appears that GameStop has decided to partner with both solution providers, with Immutable X being the “preferred” of the two, something Immutable X confirmed on Twitter.
1/ Immutable X is powering GameStop’s NFT marketplace as their preferred partner – together we are sourcing, building and investing in a world-class pipeline of gaming content to deploy on to the GameStop marketplace using the Immutable X protocol. This is in their 8K (image)🖐️🎤 pic.twitter.com/KJdvpfMtNE
— Immutable | $IMX (@Immutable) March 23, 2022
Sylvester Stallone Announces “PlanetSly” NFT Collection
Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone this week introduced his first NFT outing, the PlanetSly collection, which will launch next month. Speaking in an Instagram video, the silver screen tough guy informed his fans about the collection, which is composed of 9,997 digital “SLYGuys” which he allegedly curated himself (that poor, poor, intern).
As is the case with many celebrity NFTs, SLYGuys are more than just images; certain perks will be made exclusive to PlanetSly holders, such as merchandise and entry to events with Stallone himself.
Furthermore, 25 NFTs will be classified as “Golden Signature SLYGuys”. These will be individually autographed and numbered by Stallone himself, and will possess unique utilities.
To find out more, visit the PlanetSly website.
GM! SLYGuys is the official @TheSlyStallone NFT project 🥊
Wanna be an OG? Join us on https://t.co/lxyJbNCgXi#WAGMI pic.twitter.com/9uCtSZkVV0
— PlanetSlyNFT (@PlanetSlyNFT) March 24, 2022
Line Corporation to Launch LINE NFT Market
Japanese software giant Line Corporation has announced it will launch an NFT market called “LINE NFT” on April 13. However, it will only be available for use in Japan.
LINE NFT will be launched as an app and it will support over 100 types of NFTs. Users can access the Marketplace through the app and store their NFTs using Line’s LINE BITMAX wallet. Users will also enjoy exclusive and limited edition NFTs such as an NFT video called the “Yoshimoto NFT Theater” from Yoshimoto Kogyo Holdings.
Line’s launch of an NFT Marketplace is no surprise given the corporation’s “LINE Blockchain Lab” which it launched in 2018, and this move is in line with the transition into the NFT industry by famous Japanese brands and companies recently.
LINE NFT – a total NFT marketplace in Japan coming on April 13, 2022
✔To collaborate with 17 content, such as Yoshimoto Kogyo, to provide over 100 types NFT sales
✔To join hands with SoftBank and Z Holdings to promote user-friendly NFT experiences https://t.co/gcR3ecZ0Ju— LINE Blockchain (@LINEBC_Global) March 23, 2022
Yuga Labs Valued at $4 Billion
Yuga Labs has broken new ground, with a $450 million raise in a recent funding round bringing the valuation of the company to $4 billion. It is one of the largest funding rounds yet for a Web3 company.
The companies that participated in the funding round are big names that operate within and outside the Web3 industry, they include Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, FTX, Animoca Brands, Genies, Google, Samsung, Adidas, TIME, and Vayner Media.
Yuga Labs recently bought the rights to the CryptoPunks NFT series from its creator Larva Labs in a move that consolidated it as the premiere NFT creator.
