Ornella Hernandez

Christie’s auction house is going beyond digital frames to display NFT art, and leveraging 3D holographic technology to showcase both traditional and blockchain-based art in their global galleries.&nbsp;



Its in-house investment firm, Christie’s Ventures, invested an undisclosed amount into Proto Inc., a hologram maker that became its fourth portfolio company.&nbsp;



Proto and Christie&#8217;s have collaborated on various occasions throughout the past year to present both traditional art from artists like Edgar Degas or Alberto Giacometti in 3D, and NFT art for the quirkily spelled fRiENDSiES collection in a March <a href="https://www.christies.com/features/https://www.christies.com/features/fRiENDSiES-by-FriendsWithYou-12092-7.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">auction</a>.



After its founding in 2019, the company raised $3 million during a seed round, and $5 million in the form of venture debt from Western Technology Investment firm, bringing total investment in the LA startup to $20 million. Other backers include venture capitalists <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tim-draper-loves-decentralized-world" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tim Draper</a> and Mike Walsh, and True Capital Management firm.



Christie’s venture arm has joined Proto&#8217;s $12 million Series A round.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“We have found the hologram to be a phenomenal new practice for exhibiting the finest in art of all mediums from all eras,” Devang Thakkar, head of Christie&#8217;s Ventures, told Blockworks.
</blockquote>



This latest investment formalizes the companies’ collaboration, he added.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="225" height="300" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/4bdb0715-c5e5-4a11-b6e8-43e448c986af-225x300.jpeg" alt="Edgar Degas' Little Dancer was beamed around the world via Proto hologram for Christie's" class="wp-image-42476" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/4bdb0715-c5e5-4a11-b6e8-43e448c986af-225x300.jpeg?w=225 225w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/4bdb0715-c5e5-4a11-b6e8-43e448c986af-225x300.jpeg?w=193 193w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/4bdb0715-c5e5-4a11-b6e8-43e448c986af-225x300.jpeg?w=196 196w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/4bdb0715-c5e5-4a11-b6e8-43e448c986af-225x300.jpeg?w=164 164w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/4bdb0715-c5e5-4a11-b6e8-43e448c986af-225x300.jpeg?w=60 60w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/4bdb0715-c5e5-4a11-b6e8-43e448c986af-225x300.jpeg?w=38 38w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/4bdb0715-c5e5-4a11-b6e8-43e448c986af-225x300.jpeg?w=768 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Edgar Degas&#8217; Little Dancer was beamed around the world via Proto hologram for Christie&#8217;s | Source: Proto</figcaption></figure></div>


Proto develops box-like devices in small to large sizes — big enough for life-sized adult — that can even display presentations by Christie’s curators and executives in hologram form.



Some of the main benefits of holographic art are that it minimizes risk, expense and any environmental or carbon impact associated with shipping physical art pieces, according to Christie’s.&nbsp;



Christie’s Ventures was <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/web3-watch-yuga-labs-takes-voyagers-to-the-otherside-while-minecraft-bans-nfts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">founded</a> in July to support early stage art-related Web3 and fintech startups. Initial investments include LayerZero Labs, a cross-chain interoperability protocol, and NFT minting platform Manifold.xyz. It mainly uses these companies’ tech tools to aid clients in buying and selling art. 



The auction house sold 87 NFT lots in 2022 for a total of $5.9 million in revenue, Christie’s <a href="https://www.christies.com/presscenter/pdf/10768/Christie%27s%202022%20Results%20Press%20Release%20-%20Dec%2019_10768_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>. Its top NFT lot this year was artist <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/qa-artist-refik-anadol-on-ai-based-nfts-for-instagram" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Refik Anadol</a>’s NFT sculpture ‘Living Architecture: Casa Batllo,’ which sold at live auction for $1.4 million in May 2022.



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NFT Displays Go 3D With Investment Boost From Christie’s Venture Arm

<div id="highlights-block_6335b458e3945" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Christie’s auction houses launches own NFT marketplace, Christie’s 3.0, to rival Sotheby’s</li>
 <li>Crypto “wallets are more like Blackberries than they are like iPhones,” says founder of Coral</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Apple recently let App Store <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/apple-allows-nft-sales-on-its-app-store-but-theres-a-catch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">developers buy and sell NFTs in-app</a>, such as via marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible. Magic Eden, however, will not support trading activities due to the 30% cut that Apple takes.



And if you own any CryptoPunks, Goblins, Bored Apes or Azuki NFTs and are a Mastercard debit cardholder who lives in Europe and is willing to stake the HI token, then you may be <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/mastercard-hi-launch-nft-customized-debit-cards-as-nft-interest-dips/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eligible to customize that card with an NFT avatar</a>.&nbsp;



Blockworks recaps other notable stories that caught the eyes of the Web3 Watch.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Disney’s Web3 Plans</h3>



The Walt Disney Company is on the hunt for a “corporate attorney” with experience in “emerging technologies” such as NFTs, the metaverse and DeFi.



It recently <a href="https://jobs.disneycareers.com/job/-/-/391/36774529536" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posted</a> the job listing for a “Principal Counsel — Corporate Transactions, Emerging Technologies &amp; NFTs.”



This may signal that Disney is working on a plan to make use of the “virtual-world simulator” patent it <a href="https://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&amp;Sect2=HITOFF&amp;u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&amp;r=1&amp;f=G&amp;l=50&amp;d=PTXT&amp;p=1&amp;S1=11210843&amp;OS=11210843&amp;RS=11210843" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed</a> with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2021. The application refers to augmented reality (AR) technology being used at Disney theme parks, or even a potential theme-park metaverse.



CEO Bob Chapek <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/disney-ceo-lays-out-early-plan-digital-future-2022-09-11/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed</a> at Disney&#8217;s D23 Expo earlier this month that the company’s vision for the metaverse involves &#8220;next-generation storytelling.&#8221; This means leveraging data from theme park visitors and Marvel and Lucasfilm studios’ content streams to deliver personalized entertainment experiences.



Disney currently has NFT collections on the VeVe Digital Collectibles app, including the Golden Moments collection, offering digital statues inspired by Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters and other intellectual property.



Additionally, its 2022 Disney Accelerator Program recently selected six “growth-stage” companies to advise, including three Web3 companies — layer-2 scaling platform Polygon, NFT AR social media app Flickplay and startup Lockerverse.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Walmart enters the metaverse with Roblox</h3>



The retail giant is testing out new ground in online gaming platform Roblox in an effort to reach more and new customers. Roblox is a non-blockchain gamified virtual world with over 52 million daily users, mostly children.



Walmart <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2022/09/26/walmart-jumps-into-roblox-with-launch-of-walmart-land-and-walmarts-universe-of-play" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> on Tuesday that it launched two virtual experiences within Roblox — Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play.



Walmart Land features a store of virtual merchandise, or “verch,” to dress up users’ avatars, a ferris wheel, and minigames that earn players tokens and badges. It also has plans to host a music festival in October.



On the other hand, the Universe of Play intends to be a virtual toy destination so that users can collect products and characters from franchises such as L.O.L. Surprise!, Jurassic World, Paw Patrol, Magic Mixies and Razor Scooters — all in time for the holidays.



The company even changed its Twitter profile picture and banner to depict Walmart Land.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">See Walmart like never before 😎 Walmart Land is our new world on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ROBLOX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ROBLOX</a> with fun &amp; games for all. From film to fashion — whatever you’re into, let’s have some fun with it. Come for the inspo, stay for the verch &amp; live performances. Let’s go! <a href="https://t.co/leZ4CITCjN">https://t.co/leZ4CITCjN</a> <a href="https://t.co/4r26MHHk5i">pic.twitter.com/4r26MHHk5i</a>&mdash; Walmart (@Walmart) <a href="https://twitter.com/Walmart/status/1574430010412351489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Mark Long, CEO of blockchain-enabled AAA shooter game Shrapnel, told Blockworks that “marketing to eleven-year-olds is a risky proposition.” “On the other hand,” he said, “we’ve all seen how legacy companies missed the internet boat and with McKinsey predicting the metaverse to be an even bigger opportunity, what choice do they have?”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Christie’s 3.0 NFT marketplace</h3>



Christie’s auction house has launched a new NFT marketplace, Christie&#8217;s 3.0. The platform enables NFT art sales on the Ethereum blockchain, starting with nine NFT artworks by 18-year-old artist Diana Sinclair.&nbsp;



In partnership with Manifold.xyz, Chainalysis and Spatial, Christie’s hopes “to bring young emerging artists to an international and digitally savvy market,” the company <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristiesInc/status/1574794648320704512?s=20&amp;t=3_YRamEZZ9Vh8YquaDieBw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>.&nbsp;



Each work in the “Diana Sinclair: Phases” collection was created and minted specifically for the auction, and starting prices will range from 4 ether (ETH) to 8 ETH. Her images will also be on physical display at Christie’s for a limited time.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="466" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png" alt="" class="wp-image-32858" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=2048 2048w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Diana-Sinclair-1024x466.png?w=50 50w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Christie&#8217;s NFT marketplace | Source: Christie&#8217;s</figcaption></figure>



“For me, it’s a more fun and rewarding process to get to work with artists selling their art for the first time to its first collector as opposed to [selling] a Picasso on the wall from a collector who got it six hands ago from Picasso himself,” Nicole Sales, Christie’s director of digital art sales and NFTs, told Blockworks.



She also said that Christie&#8217;s adds value when it comes to “the narrative around the actual art for art&#8217;s sake as opposed to just the NFTs as an investment or as some sort of tool that someone can just flip.”&nbsp;



In other traditional art world news, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, recently <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/70-million-in-art-at-moma-to-be-sold-to-extend-museums-digital-reach-11663117201" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> that it is selling $70 million worth of art from William S. Paley’s collection to fund an expansion of their own digital footprint — which could mean purchasing its first NFTs.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Q&amp;A with Coral: What is an xNFT? &nbsp;</h3>



FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto co-led a $20 million fundraise for Solana tech developer Coral — the creator of the Anchor framework that provides smart contract tools and templates for Solana developers. Multicoin Capital, Anagram and K5 Global also participated in the round.



The funding will be used to expand the Coral and Anchor teams, as well as launch an “xNFT” protocol and a new non-custodial wallet and mobile app called Backpack. 



An xNFT is an executable non-fungible token that gives access to applications, games or assets built on any blockchain — similar to mini-programs offered by the Chinese messaging app WeChat, said the company.&nbsp;



Blockworks conducted a Q&amp;A with Coral’s founder Armani Ferrantel to learn about xNFTs and the company’s long-term vision:



Blockworks: How do xNFTs fit into the larger NFT ecosystem?



Ferrante: XNFTs give NFT collections the ability to create more immersive and customized behaviors. Imagine clicking on your NFT and going to not a normal wallet metadata view, but an experience specific to the collection, like a game. Or something more mundane, but important, like allowing NFTs to control the wallet experience, for example, allowing creators to control where and how their collections get listed on marketplaces.



Blockworks: How is Backpack different from other crypto wallets?



Ferrante: Today, wallets are the gatekeepers of blockchain ecosystems. They’re permissioned, closed, and closer to Web2 than they are to Web3. If you want to build a new protocol, you need to lobby for integration, but there are so many protocols on so many blockchains that no one can expect to be included. It’s a product management nightmare, and it’s holding back innovation.&nbsp;



Wallets are more like Blackberries than they are like iPhones — token-specific asset management tools — but imagine a wallet that used all of your cryptoassets. Imagine if you could manage your Mango margin accounts, stake your DeGods, or view your Magic Eden listings not in a web view, but natively in a single interface.&nbsp;



We’re building an xNFT operating system we call Backpack — it manages your private keys and connects to apps. It’s asset- and protocol-agnostic. Most wallets only show your tokens. Backpack, however, is a home for everything.&nbsp;



Blockworks: Why did you choose to build on the Solana ecosystem?



Ferrante: We chose the Solana ecosystem as a starting point because we had built Anchor, the dominant Solana development framework and spent a lot of time incubating many of the projects in the ecosystem. These inroads made Solana the perfect place to start. The plan is to bring the xNFT framework multichain. At this moment, it is already possible to build Ethereum xNFTs and use them with your Ethereum balances in Backpack.



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Web3 Watch: Disney and Walmart Target Young Audiences in the Metaverse

<div id="highlights-block_62db0b64946ac" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Paris, France hosted crypto community members for the Metaverse Summit and EthCC this past week</li>
 <li>In the last 24 hours, the price floor of ENS (Ethereum Name Service) domains went down 100% to 0 ETH and had 0 sales</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">The first trip into the Otherside&nbsp;</h3>



Web3-focused investment managers <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/yuga-labs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yuga Labs</a> — the now-owner of the blue-chip NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)  — says its metaverse is gathering steam.



The latest indicator, the company announced on Twitter: Around 4,500 BAYC followers who additionally owned at least one NFT (non-fungible token) from another fairly popular, albeit more-nascent, Yuga collection, Otherdeed, made their first foray into Yuga’s Web3 world.



The first-of-its kind demo for Yuga’s so-called “Otherside Metaverse” took place July 16, coinciding with Otherdeed digital collectibles swiftly topping $1 billion in sales.&nbsp;



ApeCoin, which has been highly volatile — even by crypto standards — in no small part because of bullish sentiment toward the new digital frontier of by and large unoccupied metaverse plots, surged from about $4.6 last week to trade at approximately $6.5 per token on Friday afternoon in New York. 



The virtual excursion followed two load tests earlier in July that served to <a href="https://twitter.com/OthersideMeta/status/1544023316264112129?s=20&amp;t=eS9HN4EkZt8TapluAckpmA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">inform</a> the Yuga Labs team and their technology partner Improbable of any “breaking points.” 



Some participants, or voyagers, described their experience as “wild,” “intense” and “incredible” on Twitter. Participation was recorded within the metadata of dynamic Otherdeed NFTs for each holder.&nbsp;



After following a giant Bored Ape through a portal into the Otherside Metaverse and arriving in The Swamp, the fabled, original home of Bored Apes, voyagers could embark on a mission to save the Kodas, creatures central to Otherside lore. 



Shortly after, Yuga Labs <a href="https://otherside.xyz/litepaper" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">released</a> a litepaper outlining Otherside’s main principles at present and its future plans. According to the litepaper, there will be several more trips and three phases to the platform&#8217;s development. While the first phase includes an 11-part storyline surrounding a mysterious “obelisk” that has appeared in the Otherside universe, details of the other two phases remain under wraps. 



One participant narrated his experience in The Swamp:



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Otherside Metaverse: First Trip experience" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NY9_23odRfw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Christie&#8217;s moves into the venture capital space </h3>



Auction house Christie’s <a href="https://www.christies.com/about-us/press-archive/details?PressReleaseID=10594&amp;lid=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">created</a> a new investment fund called Christie’s Ventures for an undisclosed multimillion-dollar amount. The venture arm intends to provide financial support to early Web3 and fintech startups with art-related products and solutions, as well as technology related to art and luxury goods.  



Christie’s Ventures’ first portfolio company is LayerZero Labs, a cross-chain interoperability protocol, whose recent valuation reached $1 billion. This partnership may allow Christie’s customers greater flexibility when transferring or selling NFT assets, particularly across different blockchains.



While rival auctioneer Sotheby’s has also <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabelcontreras/2021/10/21/sothebys-makes-first-crypto-investment-backing-nft-startup-using-ethereum-blockchain/?sh=79148f7b3d82" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">invested</a> in early stage Web3 companies, such as Ethereum-based NFT studio Mojito, Christie’s is the first to establish a formal in-house investment firm.



The move comes at a time when overall venture capital activity in the crypto market has decreased, but startups with a focus on Web3 and the metaverse continue to attract significant capital.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Minecraft bans NFTs</h3>



Minecraft developer Mojang <a href="https://t.co/3S4uYmiSvf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> on Wednesday they will not support or allow its nearly 140 million active users to integrate NFTs inside Minecraft client and server applications, nor create NFTs associated with any in-game skins, items or mods.



According to the company, NFTs “can create models of scarcity and exclusion that conflict with our Guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft.” It added that the speculative mentality around NFTs “takes the focus away from playing the game and encourages profiteering.”



The post also explained how blockchain technology could be used by some server owners to reward players with unauthorized exclusive content. Unofficial Minecraft NFTs are currently being sold on OpenSea without Mojang or parent company Microsoft’s involvement. 



NFT metaverse projects built on top of Minecraft, such as NFT Worlds and TheUplift World, must now find other alternative platforms. The day of the announcement, the price of the NFT Worlds token collapsed from $.03 to $0.009 and traded down to $0.01 at the time of publication.



Minecraft may be considered a type of metaverse, and with this move, Microsoft has taken a strong stance against Web3. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Here&#39;s an early look at our upcoming guidelines regarding Minecraft and NFTs. If you&#39;re a player or creator actively involved in the buying, selling, or trading of NFTs that make use of Minecraft, please read the information in the article below.<a href="https://t.co/3S4uYmiSvf">https://t.co/3S4uYmiSvf</a> <a href="https://t.co/Gl0EkoKQqs">pic.twitter.com/Gl0EkoKQqs</a>&mdash; Minecraft (@Minecraft) <a href="https://twitter.com/Minecraft/status/1549842815185813504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Q&amp;A with DappRadar at the Metaverse Summit</h3>



As the crypto community flocked to Paris for the two-day <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-comes-to-the-city-of-light-ethcc-recap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metaverse Summit</a>, Blockworks learned some insights from Pedro Herrera, data analyst at DappRadar, who commented on the bullish atmosphere.  



Blockworks: What are your biggest takeaways from the event?



Herrera: The bullish outlook of the metaverse is undeniable. Despite the bear market, teams continue to build. It was impressive to see the amount of venture capital firms attending the event. Since 2021, more than $10 billion has been raised by metaverse or Web3 gaming projects. It looks like the trend will continue.



The presence of Web3 games is massive, interesting gaming projects and a lot of talks surrounding this topic. One I particularly enjoyed was Square Enix talking about the challenges for distributing Web3 games. Also, there is a big focus on the design part, how to improve the immersive experiences and detailed presentations about the role of virtual designers.&nbsp;



Blockworks: What real world problems is the metaverse solving?



Herrera: One could argue that the metaverse will make us less human in the sense that it will decrease the amount of real life interactions. However, Web3 technologies create positive impacts at different levels.



It enables a whole new economic system where routinary activities can be monetized through sustainable crypto economies. Then, blockchain allows the democratization of these revenue streams, as we saw with play-to-earn or move-to-earn. Platforms like the Learnoverse from BitDegree will play an important role in educating people.



Apart from that, the metaverse will create a new wave of jobs, from artists, to virtual designers, digital real-estate agents, developers and many more. But perhaps the most important part is the ownership that people will have on their digital assets inside the metaverse. This is powerful when compared to the real world.&nbsp;



Blockworks: What’s the best way to onboard people into Web3?



By educating first, and then encouraging others to get involved. Currently, the friction level to enter the Web3 space is high. Simply speaking about NFTs and understanding blockchain might be challenging for some people, especially older generations. Being part of an active community is also recommended. The camaraderie in Web3 is unmatched.



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Web3 Watch: Yuga Labs Takes Voyagers to the Otherside While Minecraft Bans NFTs

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_61bbbe2fe4678" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Santos additionally bought the Strawberry iMAC Wikipedia co-founder used while developing the website</li>
 <li>PleasrDAO’s NFT collection consists of the popular Doge meme, Edward Snowden court documents and more</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



An NFT of Jimmy Wales saying “Hello world” on Wikipedia sold for $750,000 at <a href="https://www.christies.com/features/First-Wikipedia-edit-to-be-sold-as-NFT-11983-1.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Christie’s</a> auction house on Wednesday. Prominent Web3 investor Santiago Santos purchased the NFT for PleasrDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization most commonly known for buying the one-of-kind <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/arts/music/wu-tang-clan-once-upon-a-time-in-shaolin.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WuTang album</a>, Blockworks has exclusively learned. 



“I bought it because I think it&#8217;s priceless,” Santos said.



The bidder, who was initially anonymous, told Blockworks that he spent almost $1 million on the collectible because it was “emblematic of Web3.”



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Wikipedia also open-sourced knowledge,” Santos said, adding that the website has also gone through similar stages as cryptocurrency. “There&#8217;s a lot of parallels. We&#8217;ve [also] gone through this phase of [people seeing] crypto as a scam.”</blockquote>



The non-fungible token (NFT), which displays co-founder Wales’ first-ever edit in 2002, was auctioned off alongside the Strawberry iMAC Wales used while developing the website. Santos purchased this at auction as well on Wednesday.&nbsp;



“What you see displayed is what Wikipedia looked like at the moment that I set up the software,” Wales previously told “<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/3/22808679/jimmy-wales-nft-first-wikipedia-edit-imac-christies-auction" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Verge</a>,” adding that proceeds from the auction will go toward charities like WT.Social, a donation-backed social network that he founded three years ago.



The ultimate buyer of the NFT will now be able to edit the post — and change it back to its original appearance — whenever they want, according to a statement from Christie&#8217;s.&nbsp;



Santos said that he was “shocked” at paying just $750,000 for the NFT and “thought it was going to go for way more.” He said that he was prepared to bid a maximum of “$2.5 million or more.”



“I think a lot of times when you&#8217;re collecting, you have to ask yourself, ‘Does this endure the test of time?’” Santos said. “There&#8217;s already so much emotional and historical attachment attached to Wikipedia.”



The NFT will be placed in PleasrDAO’s collection, which consists of tokenized <a href="https://foundation.app/@Snowden/~/24437" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Edward Snowden</a> court documents, the popular <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/original-4m-doge-nft-meme-auctioned-off-in-17-billion-pieces" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Doge meme</a> and more, according to Santos, who was a founding member of the organization.



This is not the first time a prominent auction house has associated itself with a DAO.



The winning bid for the Wikipedia NFT follows the explosive efforts around <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/constitutiondao-shutting-down-after-raising-49m/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ConstitutionDAO</a>, a group of more than 17,000 crypto investors who raised roughly $48.9 million to buy a copy of the US Constitution at Sotheby&#8217;s in November.&nbsp;



“It’s really exciting to see these auction houses get so embedded in NFTs,” Santos said. “It speaks to where the space is going and how mainstream NFTs have become.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your inbox every evening.&nbsp;<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/newsletter/?source=end" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter</a>&nbsp;now.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>

Exclusive: Why One Investor Bought an NFT of Wikipedia’s First Edit for $750K

Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_6154908b7f04c" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>“With this $250M Creator Fund, alongside partners MintNFT, Mintable and VSA, we’re giving creators the tools and confidence to do what they do best–create,” Monica Long, GM at Ripple X of Ripple said in an email to Blockworks</li>
 <li>The highest selling NFT from Christie’s sale was a green-skinned and red-eyed CryptoPunk 9997 which was purchased for about $4.3 million, or HKD $33,850,000</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Ripple is launching a $250 million creator fund to support artists and creators building NFT projects on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), the company announced Wednesday.&nbsp;



“The fund will provide targeted support for creators, brands and marketplaces to explore new use cases for NFTs on the XRPL leveraging its innate advantages of speed, cost and sustainability,” the company said in a blog <a href="https://ripple.com/insights/calling-all-creators-ripple-launches-250m-creator-fund/">post</a>.&nbsp;



The company also announced it is partnering with NFT marketplaces MintNFT, Mintable and VSA Partners to help accelerate the initiative.&nbsp;



“Over recent months we’ve stood witness to the incredible impact that NFTs have had on the mainstream and especially on the creator community. However, it became incredibly clear to us that there is a barrier to entry for creators,” Monica Long, GM at Ripple X of Ripple said in an email to Blockworks. “With this $250M Creator Fund, alongside partners MintNFT, Mintable and VSA, we’re giving creators the tools and confidence to do what they do best — create,” Long said. 



Ripple is known for its creation of XRP Ledger, the $XRP token and RippleNet, its global network for financial institutions to transfer money. Year over year, it has increased customer growth three times and has over 300 financial institutions on RippleNet, according to its website.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“When it comes to creating state-of-the-art NFTs, many creators face barriers to entry — including the fear their NFTs won’t sell and a lack of understanding when it comes to navigating NFT concepts,” Ripple said in a statement. “Developers, meanwhile, are often burdened with high transaction fees and clunky user experiences on marketplaces or platforms,” the company added. </blockquote>



As NFTs and collectibles alike have gained popularity, the utility behind the art is greater than the current use cases, Ripple said. “Digital art and collectibles are only the tip of the NFT iceberg,” the company wrote.



“We see this as just the beginning, kicking off with marketplaces and creators, and potentially uncovering opportunities for new tokenization use cases on the XRP Ledger down the line,” Long said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Christie’s latest NFT auction totals $12M in sales</h3>



In other news, the fine arts and luxury auction house Christie’s has sold a total of $12 million worth of NFTs from a handful of popular collections including: Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks and Meebits and Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club.&nbsp;



The “<a href="https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/no-time-present/lots/2097?filters=&amp;page=2&amp;searchphrase=&amp;sortby=LotNumber&amp;themes=" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">No Time Like Present</a>” sale was open from September 17 to September 28 and included various CryptoPunks with hoodies, top hats and red hair alongside apes with halos, party hats and beanies and Meebits with afros and mohawks, to name a few.&nbsp;



The sales were done through Christie’s Hong Kong and the NFTs were available in Hong Kong dollars, but buyers also had the option to buy the digital artwork in ether, according to the website.&nbsp;



The highest selling NFT from the sale was a green-skinned and red-eyed <a href="https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/no-time-present/larva-labs-est-2005-2/129415?ldp_breadcrumb=back" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CryptoPunk 9997</a> (above) which was purchased for about $4.3 million, or HKD $33,850,000. The CryptoPunk sold for almost five times over its estimated price range.&nbsp;



In general, the NFT space has flooded the crypto world as certain NFTs have sold for millions and creators fill the market with new digital artwork.&nbsp;



Although NFT art and collectibles continue to show popularity, gaming could become the “next frontier” for NFTs, OpenSea Co-Founder Devin Finzer said earlier this month during Messari’s Mainnet conference, Blockworks previously <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/opensea-co-founder-gaming-to-be-the-next-frontier-for-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Separately, at Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit 2021 in NYC, Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Asset Management, said NFTs are <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/das-2021-owning-an-nft-is-like-owning-a-piece-of-innovation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">far more than just “digital rocks”</a>. They can revolutionize digital property rights. “As goofy as [paying] $3 million for a digital rock may seem, these are just the first instantiation of digital property rights,” he said.