Since last month, the NFT era has officially arrived. Starting this month, it could be up and running. Average prices have fallen by up to 70% since the peak in February, in accordance with Bloomberg. This, however, has not stopped big-name sports figures from announcing their own NFT collections.
This week, two video game life institutions, the sports organization 100 Thieves and streaming superstar Turner “Tfue” Tenney, have announced the NFT collections. NFT, if you need an update, is the abbreviation for “non-fungible token.” Thanks to blockchain technology, these cryptographic tokens are technically unique, and come with a “working proof” that says so much. Some do sold for millions of dollars. However, many people sell NFT pre-existing images and videos, which you can simply download for free in JPG or GIF format, by lending dubious value for the whole company.
The NFTs of 100 thieves take the form of “Unique pieces of art” that focus on the organization’s logo, which also stands out in its line of clothing. Several NFTs of 100 thieves have already been auctioned off, all worth $ 4,500 to $ 6,200 from Ether, a popular cryptocurrency in the Ethereum blockchain. The rest are gifted to members of the organization’s community over the next 24 hours.
Tenney’s NFT set, the “NFTfue King of Gaming Collection” went on sale last night. Animated art takes a little more effort than the offer of 100 Thieves, which depicts a digital Tenney as a character in scenarios based on Fortnite, Call of Duty, i Minecraft. The clips are beautiful and smart, making fun of their loop format. People have already offered up to $ 2,100 on Ether, although currently most copies are around $ 400. I just downloaded them all in MP4 format, so I can say yes.
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There’s also a fourth “special edition” NFT that depicts the three digital Tenneys facing each other. The winner of this particular auction will also meet with Tenney in Tampa, Florida, for “an epic day full of streaming, gaming, vlogging, jet skis and more.” It sounds like a dream come true for one of Tenney’s younger fans, but it’s unlikely any of them will be able to afford it, as someone has already offered more than $ 3,000 in the NFT special edition.
This follows the NFTs of other sports figures such as Conor “Diamondcon” Johst, a Call of Duty professional currently playing the Activision official Call of Duty League for New York Underlings. Johst announced its NFT set last month and has since released a video of a mock-up, but it looks like it hasn’t been put up for sale yet. Popular streamer Ben “Professor Broman” Bowman as well posted an NFT of a GIF of himself in February. Of 50 copies, only one has been sold, for an ether value of $ 20.
The environmental impacts of NFTs (and the blockchain in general) are well documented at this time, with finding artist and creative technologist Memo Akten that a single NFT, the sale of which often involves multiple transactions, can have a carbon footprint roughly equivalent to more than a month of electricity consumption for someone living in the EU. This has led to an endless debate in the art and blockchain communities as well movements towards more sustainable NFT transactions.
Talking to Kotaku, Tenney acknowledged the environmental concerns surrounding the NFTs and said trying to reduce the toll they were passing was a high priority in creating their set..
“Unfortunately, we live in a world where millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions occur every year, ”said Tenney, who also spent a year working on cryptography. he said in an email. “Unfortunately, this has been the case long before the NFT boom as well. That’s not to say we don’t think about it when we develop NFTfue and insist as a team that we work with a carbon program.neutral i –negative designer who prides himself on using renewable energies and technology in his creative process. I look at people like Beeple who take the same steps and congratulate them on that. “
Kotaku too came to Johst and Bowman for more information on why they decided to manufacture NFT despite the environment concerns, but did not respond. 100 thieves declined to comment.
Some fans are not happy that streamers and organizations that have followed for years are involved in NFTs.
“He’s not a fan” said a viewer on Twitter in response to Tenney’s NFT ad. “I hope you reconsider.”
“I just found out that one of my favorite streamers supports NFT. I’m going to lose it bravely, ”a fan, who is also an artist, he tweeted in reference to Bowman’s stance on NFTs. In a DM a Kotaku, he added that his concerns came from “the environmental impact and also from the fact that, for me, at least, it is so clearly a scheme, because now people lose a lot of money on it”.
Another problem with NFTs is that technically anyone can create an NFT with the job, rights, or rights of anyone. Right now, if you search for various names of popular streamers in the NFT OpenSea market, you will find numerous tabs that use their images. There are, for example, a whole set of cards “Streamer not fungible” based on Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Timothy “TimTheTatman” Betar and the couple behind Girlfriend Reviews, Matt and Shelby. There are additional card games which also focus on different streamers. An NFT of the original Pogchamp emot it is currently on sale for five Ether, or more than $ 10,000. A simple pixelated piece based on Imane “Pokimane,” Years recently sold for about $ 100. There is also an NFT of Years “clap after saying an N word.” And, of course, there are an NFT of his feet. No one has offered for these yet.
Some streamers, viewers and even Twitch employees speculate that this is just the beginning.
“NFTs have the potential to disrupt ads and ads for revenue across all developer platforms,” said Jason Hitchcock, senior manager of strategic partnerships in sports Kotaku has been in the cryptographic space since 2014, he said on Twitter. “NFTs will not just be art or clips. Viewers will purchase subscription tokens that allow them to benefit from being a member of the community and also directly support the creator. The possibilities are endless. “
In a DM a Kotaku, Hitchcock offered additional ideas: “Imagine: a creator sends a special testimonial to everyone who owns 5 or more of their artistic NFTs, and that testimonial gives the viewer access to a special Discord, a calendar of private events of super-fan and discounts in their store. “
Others have suggested that emotes and other visual elements of the transmission ecosystem make sense as streamers-specific collectibles. These, in turn, could help streamers stay on without Twitch taking a cut at the top. While some streamers have adopted this idea, many are not happy.
“Shit right away” said Twitch’s partner, RadderssGaming in response to a question about the future viability of NFTs in transmission. “I try to have one minor impact on the environment of what I already do ”.
Contraction couple Bread Witchcraft, who answered the same question just saying“No, bad,” he clarified his stance Kotaku. “It’s one more example of how we are willing to destroy our planet if it means money, money, money,” he said in an email. “From my perspective, so many people enter NFTs to feel that they are entering the bottom floor of a new cryptographic trend, regardless of the damage it can do. The greenhouse gas emissions generated by NFTs are ridiculous. “They are inexcusable. I see the technological innovation behind it, really, but superimposed on that is only the greed of capitalism in the final phase.”
Hitchcock agrees that environmental issues should be a major concern, but still believes there is potential in NFTs for sports organizations, streamers and other industries.
“I understand the feeling behind environmental concerns,” he said. “Bitcoin mining uses a lot of energy. I think all industries should also prioritize the environment while operating … In the end, Ethereum is here to stay, it is growing rapidly with a powerful network effect and we are seeing services that people adopt like NFT and Defi. The elf is no longer available, so if you’re really interested in curbing the environmental impact of Ethereum and Bitcoin, you should be active in the community with your voice and energy to help these technologies become more efficient in the long run. . ”
Of course, if the NFT market continues to grow, little of that will matter in the long run. But if it stabilizes …as experts suggest it could be—And big names like Tenney and 100 Thieves continue to buy, ethical issues will be much more pressing, as well as the basic questions about whether they are really interested in buying NFT from broadcast and sports broadcasts. In the world of art and sports, celebrities have managed to earn millions of NFT, but minor names have not behaved so well. Will the same pattern be repeated in streaming and sports? In addition, sports it has some bubble-like characteristics own. If NFTs also end up being a bubble, you have a bubble inside a bubble, not exactly a solid foundation to build on.
Breadwitchery sees the appeal of an additional source of revenue due to the general inconsistency of pay-per-view broadcasts, but even then, it is wary of streamers making it all-in to NFT.
“As a Twitch transmitter, could NFTs help you make more money without a big business having part of your revenue? Sure,” he said. “But you are harming the environment for profit, just like that big company. You’re buying the same corporate mindset as them; you just feel more individualistic about it, because you have yours. “
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