The first week of October brought about several important events related to the crypto finance industry. Among others, new partnerships were formed to drive non-fungible token (NFT) adoption in the Web3 space, and miners’ revenue reached new lows. Aside from that, NFT reports revealed a declining market due to the bearish trends which saw OpenSea plunge to new lows in volume.
HUGO Boss Partnered with Imaginary Ones to Launch Exclusive NFT Collection
HUGO Boss, a global fashion brand announced on Monday, October 4 that it will be collaborating with Imaginary Ones, a Web3 company on a holistic 360-degree Metaverse experience, according to a company statement.
This alliance is the first step HUGO is taking into the NFT space with its first-ever digital collection as part of a brand refresh in 2022. Dubbed Embrace Your Emotions (EYE), the partnership comprises 1,001 3D animations which aim to encourage people to connect with their emotions and share their feelings. No matter the depth of emotional pain or pleasure we go through, this NFT collection wants people to come out with their deep-rooted internalized problems so that their mental health and overall well-being would be improved.
Out of the 1,001 NFTs, six (6) characters will contain special attributes. Out of the six, five (5) characters will represent our everyday emotions such as love, anger, fear, sadness, and joy. To shed light on mental health as part of World Mental Health Day on Monday, October 10, one character will comprise all five emotions which will be auctioned off with proceeds donated to Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM).
“Imaginary Ones is humbled and honored to partner with HUGO and to be the first Asia-born NFT project to collaborate with an international fashion brand. With this partnership, we aspire to strengthen Imaginary Ones’ presence beyond the Web3 space and further our cause in embracing inclusivity and diversity everywhere,” Clement Chia, co-founder of Imaginary Ones said.
Miah Sullivan, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Brand Communications at HUGO Boss made it known that “The Metaverse is an exciting new space for fashion brands, one that is rich with potential for HUGO and they are excited to partner with Imaginary Ones to deliver an NFT collection of beautiful 3D assets.
As of Sunday, October 9, Imaginary Ones NFT had total sales of approximately $51 million, according to non-fungible token data aggregator CryptoSlam. While Imaginary Ones NFT sales are far below Axie Infinity, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), CryptoPunks, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Otherdeed from the Otherside Metaverse, NBA Top Shots, CloneX, and Azuki, it’s generated more sales than The Shiboshis, Boss Beauties, CryptoKitties, Akutars, PUNKS Comic, and ApeKidsClub.
PhotoVogue’s First NFT Collection Launches on Eco-Friendly Marketplace Voice
Voice, one of the leading NFT marketplaces announced that PhotoVogue by Conde Nast has entered into Web3 and it’s primarily focused on emerging photographers from across the globe. PhotoVogue’s Residency Program was a one-month virtual experience that helped photographers learn how to successfully enter the world of Web3 through digital workshops, mentorship, and additional resources. The NFT collections are available for purchase with credit cards on Voice.com. More digital art will be dropping throughout October and November 2022.
“Every day we hear someone saying that photography is dying. Well, I’m convinced that instead, photography is very much alive, and although it is acquiring new functions and meaning, its power and magic will never cease to exist. NFTs and blockchain potentially present a whole new world for all this magic to unfold and for the photographers to express themselves,” Alessia Glaviano, Head of Global PhotoVogue said.
“The NFT space is built on the foundation of transparency, authenticity, inclusivity, and equality which are at the core of what we do at Voice. We are thrilled to help the photography arm of Vogue Magazine expand its horizons into the NFT space, “Salah Zalatimo added.
OpenSea volume reached a 14-Month low and X2Y2 surpassed it again
OpenSea has been the largest NFT marketplace for a long time. Unfortunately, the market crash of May has not helped the fortunes of the platform. Volume for September was approximately $360 million and this was a 29% decline in August’s $509 million. Aside from that, last month’s statistic was $2 billion and $4 billion below September 2021 and January 2022’s volumes respectively.
Much of the sales plunge has been attributed to the waning volumes of top NFTs such as BAYC, MAYC, CryptoPunks, and others. Most of these digital collectibles are listed on OpenSea for trading.
In the past four months, OpenSea has seen strong competition from X2Y2, a relatively newer marketplace launched in February which thrives on low trading fees to remain competitive.
X2Y2 surpassed OpenSea by more than $80 million and $130 million in volume in September and August respectively, according to data from the blockchain analytical platform the Block. If the bulls do not return in the short term, there is a huge chance OpenSea could lose its place as the number one NFT marketplace to X2Y2.
Bitcoin Miners’ Revenue PlungedBitcoin Miners’ Revenue Plunged More than $600 Million Year-to-Date (YTD)
Bitcoin (BTC) miners’ revenue continues to go down due to relatively lower prices buoyed by negative market sentiment. BTC miners’ revenue for September was approximately $550 million and this was a 16% decrease from August’s $657 million.
Aside from this, the metric was also a 55% decline from January’s $1.21 billion, and $1.2 billion below its all-time high (ATH) of $1.75 billion in March 2021, according to data from the Block.
BTC traded below $25,000 throughout September, data from the cryptocurrency price tracker CoinMarketCap showed.
BTC was supposed to remain the golden coin for crypto miners but decreasing mining revenue has not been good for companies within the industry. This has led to several bankruptcies including Compute North which filed for bankruptcy in September.
Within the week, CryptoPunks, RENGA, Sorare, Gods Unchained, and BAYC were the top five highest-***selling NFTs. Maker (MKR), Casper (CSPR), Ethereum Name Service (ENS), Convex Finance (CVX), and Elrond (EGLD) were also the top five coins by gains.