The most expensive NFT (Non-Fungible Token) to date is a digital collage of images by the artist Beeple which sold for $69.3 million at Christie’s in March 2021. The buyer was a Singapore-based cryptocurrency investor who paid for the artwork in Ether. 

The market for NFTs shot up in value over 2021. 

Tarantino gets into NFTs

Film lovers have the chance to get their hands on a piece of digital history. Plans by Quentin Tarantino to launch seven NFTs based on his 1994 award-winning film Pulp Fiction are to go ahead. This, despite the original distributor of the film Miramax, filing a lawsuit which claimed that the director does not have the legal right to sell them. 

In Tarantino’s original agreement with the film studio, he retained the right to commercialise reproductions of the script. Since the NFTs are based on the original script, Tarantino’s legal team believes that he is in the right.  

The NFT collectibles will be auctioned on different dates starting on January 17 and ending on January 31. Each NFT features imagery from Tarantino’s original handwritten script, together with new audio commentary from the director. The NFTs will contain hidden content that can only be seen by the owner. 

Tarantino’s partner on this project is SCRT Labs, the primary developer behind blockchain platform Secret Network. 

More celebrities jump on the Non-Fungible Token bandwagon

Several celebrities have jumped on the NFT bandwagon in the past few months.  

In October 2021, actress Lyndsay Lohan released an NFT which depicts the singer/actress as a wolf ‘fursona‘ (a furry and person hybrid).  

South Korean boy band BTS have also divulged plans to release an NFT, despite backlash about environmental concerns from some of their fans. The NFT will feature BTS digital photo cards and will launch during the first half of 2022, 

Meanwhile, Ozzy Osbourne will drop an NFT collection called Cryptobatz later this month, which will contain 9,666 unique NFT bats – a nod to the infamous moment almost 40 years ago to the day when the former Black Sabbath lead singer bit the head off a bat during a performance in Des Moines, Iowa on January 20, 1982.  

Other personalities from the music industry who have taken the NFT plunge include Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Kings of Leon, and White Stripes.

‘Melania’s Vision’ continues

After selling an NFT of her eyes called ‘Melania’s Vision’ in December 2021, former US first lady Melania Trump recently announced an NFT auction called ‘The Head of State Collection.

This will feature items commemorating the Trump administration’s first official state visit. They include the hat she wore to receive President Macron of France who, together with his wife, was the first official visitor to the White House during the Trump Administration in April 2018. The winner of the auction will receive a personalised letter, as well as the hat and the watercolour on paper painting.  

Sports NFTs

Sports personalities who have got into the NFT game include American professional basketball player Steph Curry, Argentine footballer Lionel Messi and retired Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho. The US National Football League, in collaboration with Ticketmaster, will also be offering limited-edition Playoff NFTs to provide fans with a digital keepsake. 

NFT was Collins Dictionary’s word of the year for 2021.on