Ask someone who’s deeply into NFTs on the Cardano blockchain whether the Cardano NFT scene is about to take off, and they might give you a bemused look, meaning, where have you been?
Certainly, if you look at zoomed out price history on the top collections you’ll see, for the most part, a continuous upwards trend. However, compared with NFTs on Ethereum, the Cardano NFT space is more compact and close-knit, prices haven’t hit the astronomical levels seen on a few Ethereum collections, and overall, sales volumes are lower.
However, there has been a constant stream of development, and given the right catalyst for wider recognition, Cardano NFTs could be set to achieve greater highs.
The Snoop Connection
It’s sometimes difficult to identify what causes a particular NFT collection to suddenly leap in price while others fall by the wayside, and there are a multitude of factors at play. However, it’s certainly the case that hype drives the NFT scene, and attention is a highly coveted asset.
As such, influencers and celebrities can play decisive roles, and a key figure in the NFT world is west coast rap legend Snoop Dogg, who is now also a discerning NFT-based art collector.
A major story in the NFT world last year was Snoop outing himself as the real personality behind philosophical NFT aficionado Cozomo de’ Medici, although there are doubts as to whether that reveal was true or just another added layer of crypto intrigue.
What this has to do with Cardano, is that Cardano NFT project Clay Nation just announced a partnership with Snoop, which appears to be called Baked Nation, and includes collectibles, music and land plots in the Clay Nation metaverse. On top of that, Snoop and the Founder of Cardano, Charles Hoskinson are scheduled to hold Twitter Spaces together on April 5th.
Immediate Impact
This news had an immediate impact on the market, more than doubling Clay Nation NFT prices from an average sales price of around 1600 ADA to, at the time of writing, around 3300 ADA.
A realistic expectation is that this influence will spread to other Cardano NFT collections. Snoop’s participation puts a lot of eyes on Cardano’s NFT scene, and while buyers might arrive through Clay Nation, it is likely they’ll then explore what else is on offer, starting with blue chips and working down to smaller collections.
Had an influx happened a few months ago, then Cardano’s NFT space would not yet have been adequately equipped to handle it. However, here in the spring of 2022, there is a slick marketplace with a good UX, everything is operating quickly on smart contracts, and there are multiple well-executed, high-quality NFT projects to explore.
What’s more, to an NFT collector/trader used to ETH prices, Cardano’s NFTs will appear relatively cheap, particularly away from the blue chips, and the temptation will be there to ape in and sweep some floors.
The wider NFT world (which means, for the most part, everything happening on Ethereum and OpenSea) feels at the moment like a scene in transition, for both better and worse. On the positive side, adoption is growing and what might become huge web3 brands, take a look at what Yuga Labs are doing, are staking claims on the future.
At the same time, though, it’s a saturated market that has been tainted by rug pulls and rip-offs, and in which veterans of the experience have become a little jaded.
Stepping into what’s happening on Cardano feels like a revival, evoking that feeling of exhilaration and unlimited possibility that comes when developers and creatives hit their stride, and rewards are within reach.
Building steadily
The Cardano NFT movement got started on March 1st 2021 when 100 Berry NFTs were created and later sent to the first 100 delegators in the Berry stakepool.
Later that same month, Berry NFTs creator and operator of the Berry stakepool, Alessandro Konrad, launched SpaceBudz, a 10,000 piece PFP collection that has gone on to become Cardano’s most iconic NFT project.
Back in those days, there was no working marketplace, and trades took place directly between holders utilizing quickly assembled escrow services, with Discord serving as the main platform through which to chat, network and arrange transactions.
The first dedicated marketplace was CNFT.IO, which played a key role in the expansion of the ecosystem but which, while still active, has been superseded by JPG Store, which can at this point be seen as the OpenSea of Cardano (although its features are more limited, lacking, for example, a bidding system).
As for the NFTs themselves, the bluest chip collections are the above-mentioned SpaceBudz, Clay Nation, and there’s also DEADPXLZ, a colorful, blocky collection that is working on a play-to-earn game.
Pavia is a metaverse development that continues to build steadily and has launched its own $PAVIA token, and the Yummi Universe project generated excitement this week with a litepaper detailing extensive future plans.
Also of interest is Rats DAO, which has curated an extensive vault of Cardano NFTs, including assets from SpaceBudz and Clay Nation, and which airdropped its $RAT token to holders of its own NFTs.
To buy and sell Cardano NFTs, the primary marketplace is JPG Store, and the most popular wallet is Nami, which you’ll need to load up with some ADA. To trade Cardano native tokens, including $PAVIA and $RAT, you can visit the MuesliSwap decentralized exchange.
