Nifty News: Porsche enters NFT sector, Mark Cuban keeps investing, and Chainlink-powered NFTs

Published at: June 15, 2021

Porsche unveils NFT subsidiary

German sports car giant Porsche has drifted into the nonfungible token (NFT) market, with a June 14 announcement revealing the launch of an NFT collectible startup dubbed Fanzone.

However, the car manufacturer will not be looking to tokenize its luxury vehicles at this stage, instead opting to focus on soccer-themed NFT collectibles.

Fanzone, which was built from Porsche’s digital subsidiary Forward 31, has already inked partnerships with the German national men’s, women’s, and under 21 football teams. Fanzone also has a deal with the third tier of Germany's local professional league and intends to expand support to additional soccer leagues and other sporting codes in the future.

The NFTs will be ERC-20 tokens issued via the Lukso blockchain — which was founded by former Ethereum developer and creator of the ERC-20 and ERC-725 token standards, Fabian Vogelsteller.

“NFTs guarantee the rarity and identity of collectibles. Thanks to verifiable ownership, fans can benefit from value increases, for example, for limited editions,” the announcement stated.

The firm also emphasized its concerns regarding the ecological footprint of the NFT sector, stating it will donate part of Fanzone’s transaction costs to “sustainable sports and environmental projects.” Fanzone added that all of its employees currently travel to work using “emission-free” methods.

Genshiro launches Chainlink-powered nonfungibles

Genshiro, the Kusama-based parachain of major Polkadot project, Equilibrium, is launching a limited-edition collection of Chainlink-integrated NFTs celebrating five popular crypto assets.

The Ethereum-based NFTs depict cartoon kitties inspired by Bitcoin, Ether, Polkadot, Kusama, and Genshiro, with the Chainlink price oracle integration serving to unlock special functionality when significant price milestones are reached.

For example, golden versions of the BTC-themed kitties will be unlocked for NFT holders should the price of Bitcoin cross above $100,000.

.@GenshiroDeFi integrates #Chainlink Price Feeds into its collection of cat #NFTs, with purchases helping fund their Kusama parachain auction bid. Each dynamic NFT will mint a golden cat version if the underlying asset it represents hits a certain price.https://t.co/SZ3E2y2feR

— Chainlink - Official Channel (@chainlink) June 14, 2021

Mark Cuban and Ashton Kutcher back genius NFTs

Nonfungible-focused startup, NFT, Genius has closed a seed funding round backed by a star-studded line-up of investors, including billionaire Mark Cuban, Dapper Labs CEO, Roham Gharegozlou, Bitcoin proponent and Morgan Creek Digital co-founder, Anthony Pompliano, and actor Ashton Kutcher.

Details are sparse on what the funding will go towards, however, the firm currently has three NFT projects in the works, including “Gaia” — a music-focused marketplace slated for launch on Dapper’s Flow blockchain, cannabis-themed collectibles dubbed “Cryptobuds,” and “Sidekick” — comic-inspired NFTs designed by award-winning comic book writer, Paul Jenkins.

The company also plans to expand the Gaia marketplace to host NFTs from the sports, gaming, and comedy niches in the future.

Despite officially still under development, NFT Genius launched the collectible series “Bitcoin Origins” in October 2020 — featuring tokenized collectibles celebrating major moments in Bitcoin’s history.

According to data from Crypto Slam, Bitcoin Origins’ tokens have generated more than $440,000 in sales on secondary markets over the past 30 days.

This is your life, tokenized

The composer behind Mad Max: Fury Road and Zach Snyder’s Justice League, Tom Holkenborg, is auctioning off an NFT offering the highest bidder a custom 20-minute musical score inspired by their life story.

The auction, titled “Soundtrack of Your Life,” is set to go live on Tezos backed NFT marketplace AmplifyX on June 17 and will have a starting price of $1,000.

The listing states that the original score will be informed by “a series of interviews that encapsulates the unique victories, heartbreaks, memories and emotions that make up their lives.”

AmplifyX will also host Holkenborg’s NFT drop “Despite All That Was,” which offers three open-edition digital artworks depicting UFO-like spacecraft designed by pseudonymous visual artist, “Space Renders,” accompanied by original music from Holkenborg.

The artworks are priced between $100 and $300 each. Collectors who obtain all three NFTs will unlock additional music composed by Holkenborg.