How Gauff and Murakami NFTs are faring as Bill Gates bashes cryptoassets

Highlights

• Coco Gauff’s NFTs are launched as a part of a wider collection by Autograph, an NFT platform
• Takashi Murakami, a Japanese artist, has apologised to his NFT holders for “stagnant” prices
• Bill Gates’ criticism of cryptoassets might serve as a reminder of risks in the NFT space

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) may not be creating as many news headlines as cryptocurrencies, but even these assets seem to be under pressure. Recently, singer-songwriter Madonna auctioned her NFTs to raise funds for charitable causes. However, bids were significantly lower as compared to some previous sales of Beeple and Pak artworks.

Now, tech billionaire Bill Gates has added fuel to cryptoassets’ criticism. He has remarked that cryptos and NFT are based on the greater fool theory, which argues that the price of an asset balloons when a seller is able to find a new customer -- a relatively greater fool – who can purchase a particular thing at an exaggerated price.

But controversies aside, NFTs are making their fair share of news stories. Below are the two NFTs that have trended recently for separate reasons.

1. Coco Gauff NFT

Tennis star Coco Gauff shot into limelight when she beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon 2019. Ironically, what inspired her to become a tennis player was the success of Williams sisters.

Outside the court, Coco Gauff recently drew attention when she launched a collection of digital assets. Her collection debuted with the help of NFT platform Autograph. According to reports, Gauff wanted to bring the younger generation closer to the decentralised world of Web3 through her NFTs. According to Autograph, which has also launched NFTs of other players like Naomi Osaka in the past, Gauff NFTs are part of the wider “The Future is…” collection.

How Coco Gauff NFTs fare in the longer term is yet to be seen. NFTs, once purchased after the initial launch, can trade on platforms like OpenSea.

Also read: What’s on the cards for cryptocurrencies? End of the road or new start?

2. Takashi Murakami NFT

“Dear holders… I am very sorry” are the words in a tweet by artist Takashi Murakami. Murakami seems to have been disappointed by the prices of his digital assets trading on OpenSea.

OpenSea has listed thousands of NFTs under the Murakami.Flowers collection. The floor price is listed as 2.5 ETH tokens, as of writing. The collection is inspired by Japanese TV games of 1970s. The assets are being traded since early last month, with the average price dropping constantly. Only recently has the average price seen an uptick.

Takashi Murakami’s tweet can serve as a reminder of the risks that prevail in blockchain-based assets.

Million-dollar NFTs

Even though the NFTs of Madonna, Gauff, and Murakami have failed to create a thunderous impact, it is not the same with some other assets.

Beeple, Pak, CryptoPunks, and BAYC are the names that shine bright. Multiple assets of all four have sold for millions of dollars each. A BAYC NFT, #8398, is said to have recovered after the owner recently paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom.

Viewpoint

Bill Gates has remarked that NFTs and cryptos are based on a theory where a greater fool buys the asset from a previous buyer at an inflated price. But there also are admirers who compare artworks sold as NFTs with the works of great artists like Leonardo da Vinci. Coco Gauff and Takashi Murakami are a couple of recent additions to the NFT space and how they fare might shape the sentiments of enthusiasts.

Also read: NikeCraft and PsychoKitties: Why these two NFTs are trending

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