Banksy NFTs + NES Numbers 🎈🎮
WataGames' first pop report is out; 10,000 Banksy NFTs
Cultured is a newsletter by Otis that gets readers up to speed on the most interesting things going on at the intersection of finance, art, collectibles, NFTs, and more.
🗞 STORIES OF THE DAY
WataGames releases inaugural NES population report
WataGames, the market leader in video game grading, released its first-ever population report earlier this week. While focused on NES games only, it’s the first time collectors have firm data on how many of the rarest games are on the market.
Pop reports are already common in other collectible markets — Professional Sports Authenticator updates its trading card report on a daily basis, and Professional Coin Grading Services offers a comprehensive report of coins it has graded.
Wata’s CEO previously said he was hesitant to release a pop report because the comparatively small sample size could “cause undue turmoil in the marketplace.”
Our Take: While it’s limited, Wata’s pop report is the data collectors need to make smart decisions in the increasingly high-priced collectible video game market.
Wata’s grading is incredibly influential in setting market prices, and the pop report tells investors, for the first time, just how rare the games actually are. For instance, the Super Mario Bros. copy that sold for $2 million earlier this year was confirmed the highest-graded copy in existence.
Derivative NFTs are coming to the art world
Former Christie’s co-chair Loïc Gouzer thinks he can turn a $13 million Banksy painting into NFTs, effectively monetizing works without actually giving up ownership.
Gouzer’s company, Particle, has donated the work to a non-profit founded with the sole purpose of holding the work and never selling it. Particle will then create 10,000 NFTs of the work and auction those off.
The fine print is that unlike, say, fractional investing platforms, buyers don’t actually own the painting. Instead, the value comes from a communal consensus that the NFT buyers own the Banksy.
Our Take: Particle’s approach assumes that NFT owners don’t care about legally owning the work, but instead being part of a community associated with the painting.
Two years ago, few would have predicted how much the NFT market would expand. Still, it will be interesting to see how collectors react to this latest model.
✨ AROUND THE INTERNET
Art Basel Miami kicked off this week and NFTs are stealing the show. It’s only a matter of time before someone starts selling Florida Man NFTs.
A group of Super Mario World fans are recreating the 1994 game entirely from memory. Pretty impressive considering I can’t remember what I had for breakfast.
Square, Jack Dorsey’s digital payments company, is changing its name to Block. The move comes days after Dorsey stepped down as CEO of Twitter, and reflects his growing focus on crypto and the blockchain.
The metaverse: not just for the boys. SoftBank just invested $150 million in Zepeto, a South Korean metaverse platform popular with teenage girls and young women.
Spider-Man’s producer says a new trilogy is in the works. Zendaya and Tom Holland are likely both on board, so let’s hope they stay together…
The producers coming up with names for the new movies
