Introduction
As we bid adieu to the winter season for now and usher in the spring season, the crypto world also seems to be bidding adieu to its very own crypto winter, with the crypto and the NFT markets rebounding after a prolonged slump. The slump in the markets also prompted the UK government to scrap its plans to launch a government-backed NFT.
However, the recent positive change in market trends is also being welcomed by the industry players with the launch of various products and services related to crypto and NFT. One of the world’s largest crypto currency exchanges, Binance, has announced it would globally expand its artificial intelligence (AI) – powered NFT creator Bicasso. The expansion is set to roll out as early as this week, following the successful testing of its functionality in Europe.
Luxury fashion brand Gucci has announced a partnership with NFT giant Yuga Labs to bring luxury digital fashion into the metaverse. The two giants have signed a multi-year partnership to collaborate within its Otherside metaverse and its 10KTF collection. The goal of this partnership is to explore the parallels between Web 3.0 fashion and entertainment and bring luxury goods into the digital world. Read on to find out more.
Binance announces global launch of its AI-powered NFT creator
Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, has announced the global expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) – powered NFT creator Bicasso and expected to roll it out this week. In a press release, Binance confirmed that its AI-powered NFT creator will be launched in other parts of the world after successfully testing its functionality in Europe.
Bicasso is an AI-based NFT program that lets users create and mint a tailored image. The new feature allows users to upload a profile picture or text to the AI system and provide a series of creative prompts, thus creating a new piece of digital art.
Binance has also announced plans to introduce an exclusive Bicasso NFT collection to celebrate the global launch. The new NFT collection will feature a fixed edition of 500 unique AI-generated cats and dogs. The Bicasso NFT collection is set to launch on March 29 and run until March 30, 2023 on a first-come-first-served basis.
During the global launch, Bicasso NFT collection will give holders access to free minting and a chance to become members of the Binance Beta Testers, which entitles members to early access to new AI products and upcoming features. Binance also allows members to test an AI-driven chatbot embedded in Binance Academy.
UK Treasury abandons plans for NFT for Britain
The UK Treasury has scrapped plans for the Royal Mint to create its own NFT. The development comes less than a year after Britain’s coin-maker was tasked with selling the Government-backed token.
Economic Secretary, Andrew Griffith shared the announcement with Parliament in response to a written question from Conservative Party MP Harriett Baldwin, who had asked if creating NFT remained a Treasury policy.
The decision to abandon the project comes as the value of the NFT market has diminished over the past year, as part of the global rout of digital assets, which is also being dubbed as the ‘crypto winter’.
Gucci partners with Yuga Labs to bring luxury digital fashion in the metaverse
Luxury fashion brand Gucci has announced a partnership with NFT giant Yuga Labs to bring luxury digital fashion into the metaverse. The two giants have signed a multi-year partnership to collaborate within its Otherside metaverse and its 10KTF collection.
The goal of this partnership is to explore the parallels between Web 3.0 fashion and entertainment and bring luxury goods into the digital world. Gucci and Yuga Labs, incidentally, have worked together earlier on the Gucci Grail collection, using the 10KTF creator Wagmi-San’s designs. With this new partnership, the companies plan to create a new narrative that blurs the boundaries between the physical and digital.
This collaboration marks a significant milestone for both companies, as it provides them with the opportunity to explore new possibilities in the metaverse. Incidentally, Gucci has been taking steps to mark its entry into the metaverse.
In February 2022, it bought an undisclosed amount of land in the metaverse game The Sandbox to experiment with plans to host virtual experiences. Then in June, the company bought US $25,000 worth of NFT marketplace SuperRare’s native tokens to participate in the DAO and open a digital art vault.
Now, with the latest partnership with Yuga Labs, Gucci aims to extend the engagement between their communities and explore the intersection of fashion and entertainment in the metaverse. Both Gucci and Yuga Labs intend to stay at the forefront of the emerging world of NFT and the metaverse, which are expanding rapidly.
Sotheby’s paused its latest NFT collection following an artist’s withdrawal of work
Sotheby’s has paused its latest NFT auction after an artist withdrew his work in protest of the all-male lineup. Incidentally, not a single one of the 21 glitch artists curated by Sotheby’s was female-identifying.
The sale was supposed to be the latest lucrative edition of Sotheby’s NFT outgrowth, Natively Digital. Instead, it is drawing renewed attention to the lack of inclusivity in the crypto art space. The “Native Digital: Glitch-ism” sale has brought together work from leading glitch artists, whose work revels in the aesthetics of distortion and pixelation, and was two days into a bidding period scheduled to run from March 24 to March 31, 2023.
However, artist Patrick Amadon withdrew his work citing the sale’s lack of female-identifying artists. The auction house reacted within hours and had paused “Glitch-ism” and promised to rethink and relaunch.
Although Amadon appreciated Sotheby’s prompt reaction and believed the oversight was a ‘genuine mistake’, he noted that none of the other show’s artists had followed his lead and stressed the importance of equitable representation at the nascent stage of the sector’s development.
For Amadon, the thought came after being tagged in a tweet by artist Oona who questioned how a landmark glitch show could have been curated by a major auction house without including a single female artist.
Emirati artist aims to raise funds for medical research through his NFT collection
Al Jalila Foundation, and a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum Global Initiatives, has launched the first-ever collection of NFT by a charity in the UAE.
The collection, titled ‘A Fingerprint on Humanity’, is the brainchild of visionary Emirati artist Maisoon Al Saleh. It aims to raise awareness and generate funds for patients impacted by life-threatening diseases in the UAE.
The NFT collection comprises five one-of-a-kind NFT, with each NFT illustrated as a letter that contains the most precious content – hope. Each letter represents a particular cause, such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental health and obesity.
Every NFT in the collection is color-coded to signify a specific cause, and the entire proceeds from the sale of each NFT will go towards supporting Al Jalila Foundation. The NFT collection is currently on sale on popular NFT marketplace OpenSea in Ethereum and the ftNFT marketplace in the UAE Dirham.
Conclusion
The evolving world of NFT is witnessing new use cases almost every day, which is paving its way to become part of the mainstream sooner rather than later. An Emirati artist in the UAE plans to sell his NFT to raise funds for medical research.
The NFT collection comprises five unique NFT, with each of them illustrated as a letter that contains the most precious content – ‘hope’. Each letter represents a particular cause, such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental health and obesity. Every NFT in the collection is color-coded to signify a specific cause, and the entire proceeds from the sale of each NFT will go towards supporting the charity. Hope you enjoyed reading it. Thank you.
