NFT Digest 44, February 2025
Metaplex opens new age of NFTs
Metaplex has introduced a new Execute feature that provides the ability to sign each asset, enabling autonomous ownership and actions that are no longer tied to the owner. Instead, these capabilities move with the NFT, allowing it to autonomously accumulate value and potentially function as an income-generating asset.
Metaplex is a collection of NFT standards and tools for Solana blockchain.
The Assets Signers represented in the Execute function as signers on behalf of the asset itself, opening up powerful new capabilities including:
- Solana and SPL token transfers.
- Becoming an authorized signer of other accounts.
- Executing actions and validations that require signing transactions, instructions, or CPIs (Cross Program Invocation).
Essentially, the Execute function links an asset to the wallet associated with the underlying asset, allowing the Asset Signer account to effectively own and execute instructions on behalf of the current owner of the asset.
The possibilities for this new feature are endless, but we will only cover a few here.
NFT-AI
Asset Signers makes AI-based digital assets possible by allowing NFTs to function as agents on the blockchain that autonomously sign transactions and interact with smart contracts.
Autonomous AI-Driven Assets: NFTs can automatically execute DeFi strategies, manage treasury or provide various services without constant user intervention.
Programmable DAOs: Digital assets become active participants in decentralized governance by voting, executing proposals, and interacting with governance contracts through built-in signer capabilities.
Connecting AI and blockchain: By integrating AI with NFT, assets become decision-making entities that can respond, adapt, and evolve within Web3 applications.
Imagine a 24/7 game world filled with autonomous NPCs who interact with each other, manage their own inventory, and even generate income.
Financial NFT (NFT-FI)
Explaining liquidity pools, Solana accounts, and Program Derived Addresses (PDAs) to an audience that doesn't understand cryptocurrencies can be difficult. Now imagine if all that complexity was wrapped in something they already understand: NFTs.
This transition would greatly improve the user experience by allowing people to track all DeFi positions directly from their wallets without having to juggle multiple websites or dig through data.
News
OpenSea has rolled out its private beta OpenSea 2.0 (OS2) platform, featuring a redesigned user interface and a new experience points (XP) system.
Mint Blockchain will market to NFT holders across its ecosystem to launch NFT Agents and NFT Agent Coins on The Major Protocol. The projects will collaborate on NFT Swarm technologies and methods that add value to NFT Holders and NFT collections in new ways.
Union Square Ventures leads $14 million round in Reservoir, an NFT company pivoting to bridge technology.
Mint Blockchain Integrates Secret Network’s Confidential Computing Layer to Unlock Private and Secure NFT.
NFT AI agent released in beta.
Ethereum NFT Project Doodles Announces Solana-Based DOOD Token Launch. 68% will be allocated to the community.
GONDI users can now list and sell NFTs that are collateral in active loans without the need to repay their loans first. Private sales are also supported making it easy for borrowers to close their loan positions and sell their assets OTC all within 1 transaction.
Uniswap launched Unichain with 1-second block times and gas costs that are ~95% cheaper than Ethereum L1. Unichain will support Superchain interoperability.
Opensea launched beta OS2 and announced a SEA token drop.
Yuga Labs sells Meebits intellectual property, focuses on Bored Ape Yacht Club and Otherside.
OpenSea is putting a pause on XP given directly for listing and bidding.
Lens is deploying GHO as the gas token for Lens Chain.
Lens is migrating its V2 data from Polygon to V3 smart contracts in the Lens Chain tesnet. As part of the transition, Lens has successfully migrated over 125 GB of data, including existing profiles, 28 million subscriber connections, 16 million posts and 360 Lens apps. Accordingly, users will not need to take any manual steps to prepare for the main Lens Chain launch - their social graphs will be fully preserved and popular Lens apps such as Hey and Orb will be available from day one.
Build
How to Build Private NFTs on Solana.
Regulation
SEC is closing its investigation into Opensea.
Analytics
Zora shifts from NFTs to ERC-20 tokens
Every post on Zora is now an instantly tradeable coin (ERC-20 token).
The old posts remain collectible as NFTs.
In the new Zora system, posts are not launched as previously as ERC-1155 NFTs, but as fungible ERC-20 tokens that are automatically traded on Uniswap.
Now, when you post on Zora, you create a coin on the Base blockchain with a total supply of 1 billion, of which you instantly receive 1%, i.e. 10 million coins.
You earn 1% on every transaction through the Uniswap liquidity pool associated with your coin, half of which comes in the form of trading fees and half of which comes in the form of market fees.
With the switch to coins, GIF, JPG, PNG and MP4 files up to 2GB in size can be uploaded for posts, and support for 3D, MP3 and PDF files has been canceled.
Community reaction to the coin update has not been unequivocal.
The desire for change on the part of the project is commendable, but overdue.
Not only did it fail to attract new users, but it turned away existing users.
Market
Disclaimer. To date, analytical tools are still evolving and provide only approximate data that do not cover all chains, DAG systems and other types of distributed ledgers, as well as NFTs or less common types, such as utility or financial.
NFT Marketcap is over $16 billions.
NFT Sales Volume is over $473 millions.
Total Sales is 1,754,881.
More all users are on Solana, and Polygon almost double.
Trading revenue has almost halved in a month.
Chain volume has decreased.
OpenSea flipped Magic Eden after the starting OS2 points.
The chart below clearly shows the moment when Opensea has suspended its XP reward program for bidding and listing NFTs
Opensea flipped Magic Eden again. Blur jumped into 3d place.
The chart below clearly shows the moment when Opensea has suspended its XP reward program for bidding and listing NFTs
Opensea is a leader by volume.
Cryptopunks was top trading collection last month.
The entire top is made up of DeFi NFTs. The first appearance of Uniswap v4 positions in the top and immediately in 3rd place
Poap (The Proof of Attendance Protocol) turns precious moments into collectibles.
Blockchains by NFT Sales Volume. Ethereum is a volume driver for NFT market but it's falling with all other networks.
Many collections are growing against the market. Note one of the first times DeFi NFT hit the top.
f(x) Protocol is a decentralized perpetual trading platform offering Liquidation Protected Leverage on blue-chip crypto assets and high USD-based real yields to fxUSD stakers.
NFT lending stats
NFT Lending TVL for all chains in February.
Top-10 NFT lending protocols.
