web3 / 509 posts found
The Story of NFTs: Artists, Technology, and Democracy (Review)
The significant drop in the price of Bitcoin from $47,000 to $16,000 in 2022, along with a related fall in the average price of NFT art from $3,200 in 2021 to $1,200 in late 2022, led many commentators to declare a “crypto winter.” But, the authors of The Story of NFTs: Artists, Technology, and Democracy, a new book released on March 7 with Rizzoli — offer a different metaphor. Co-author Amy Whitaker told nftnow that the structure of NFTs and crypto is similar to hiking in Yosemite, where there had been a forest fire several years earlier. “The giant trees […]
Web3 vs Traditional Record Deals: How Do They Really Compare?
There’s little more to say about the state of the legacy music industry that hasn’t already been said. These days it’s common knowledge that labels and execs rake in the dough while artists make pennies. And to top it all off, touring — which has anecdotally been a major breadwinner for artists — has increasingly become unsustainable thanks to monopolized ticket marketplaces. This is precisely why, to take a better crack at independence, artists and musicians have been flocking to Web3. Due in no small part to the fact that the blockchain is revolutionizing the artist-fan dynamic, those looking to […]
The Now Pass Mint Is Officially Live
The Alpha: The Now Pass, a collection of 2,750 NFTs set to help build the future of tokenized media, has arrived. The Now Pass grants holders access to the Now Network, an ecosystem containing nft now’s industry-defining tokenized media initiatives based on community, rewarding participation, and progressive decentralization. The Now Pass mint is officially live — head to nowpass.xyz to grab yours. Phase One begins on March 23 at 10 am ET, Phase Two on March 23 at 2 pm, and Phase Three — the public sale of the NFTs — starts on March 24 at 9 am. Mint details […]
OpenSea: The Ultimate Guide to Its Tools, Features, and Controversies
If you know Web3, you know OpenSea. Since its launch at the end of 2017, the NFT marketplace has largely been the poster child for the world of Ethereum and crypto art, and it’s got the numbers to prove it. OpenSea’s total historical trading volume sits comfortably at just shy of $41 billion, according to Dune analytics. To put that in perspective, KnownOrigin, one of OpenSea’s competitors that launched around the same time, has a total trading volume of just over $30 million. Having dominated the market for almost six years, OpenSea has been as influential to the NFT ecosystem […]
MapleStory is Integrating NFTs: What Should Players Expect?
The Alpha: In an article published last week (March 12, 2023), global video game publisher Nexon announced that it was releasing a blockchain-based iteration of MapleStory, one of its flagship games. MapleStory was first released in 2003 in South Korea and currently has more than 180 million registered players worldwide. Thanks to this massive user base, Nexon’s move could increase the speed of blockchain gaming development and the widespread adoption of NFTs. The new release will be titled MapleStory Universe, and Nexon has chosen Polygon, an Ethereum-scaling network, to support its Web3 expansion and provide technical and business support for […]
11 Black Founders Driving Innovation in Web3
Similar to Black artists, Black founders are making significant strides in the Web3 space, forging a path for themselves and their communities. However, they are still underrepresented. According to data from Crunchbase, Black founders in the U.S. received approximately $2.254 billion in venture capital funding out of the total $215.9 billion allocated. That’s only about one percent of capital raised. These trailblazers deserve recognition for their innovation, resilience, and the impact they’re making in the decentralized landscape — not just during events like Black History Month, but every day. With this in mind, nftnow has teamed up with Umba Daima, […]
The Arbitrum Airdrop Is Coming Tomorrow: Here’s What to Know
The Alpha Now that the excitement around Blur has died down, Web3’s attention has shifted to another airdrop. All eyes are on Arbitrum, the Ethereum layer-two scaling solution launching its token airdrop (ARB) on March 23. Just over one billion tokens will be airdropped to more than 600,000 wallet addresses. The minimum airdrop entitlement is 625 tokens, and the maximum airdrop entitlement is 10,250 tokens. Arbitrum calls the airdrop an “official move” into a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). ARB holders will be able to participate in voting on essential decisions that affect the Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks. Dive Deeper If […]
Quantum: The Story Behind the World’s First NFT
Despite what many may believe, NFT art didn’t start with the Bored Ape Yacht Club. It also didn’t start with CryptoPunks. So what was the first NFT, and who created it? Ultimately, this singular honor goes to Quantum, a generative piece of art that was created by digital artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy. After its creation, Quantum was subsequently turned into an NFT by Kevin in 2014. And the reason he minted this particular piece of art? It’s really rather simple. He did it for ownership. The birth of NFTs After he and his wife created Quantum, McCoy wanted to […]
MoonPay and Julie Pacino Partner on First Film Inspired by NFT-Native Photography
The Alpha Crypto payment platform MoonPay announced that it will partner with filmmaker, producer, and photographer Julie Pacino on her upcoming movie, I Live Here Now, according to a press release shared with nft now. The company will serve as Co-Executive Producer. The film marks Pacino’s feature-length directorial debut and is based on her 2021 NFT photography collection of the same name. Its production makes it the first NFT-native photography IP to inspire a film. Funded in part by Pacino’s follow-up collection to I Live Here Now, Keepers of the Inn, the film has yet to receive a release date […]
If Web3 Is the Future, How Can We Onboard the Masses via Email?
In Web3, innovation can often seem like an all-or-nothing endeavor. Considering the NFT space is fueled by decentralization and thrives on transformative ideologies surrounding the advent of crypto, AI, and non-fungibility, the tolerance level for technologies perceived as antiquated feels significantly low. Yet, the future currently being created on the blockchain is not necessarily a zero-sum game against Web2. The truth remains that iteration is sometimes the only path forward when incepting revolutionary tech. To create the world of tomorrow, we must learn from the world of the past. While many links have already been established between the NFT space […]