NFT Fraudster Creates a Cancer Charity and Receives $117k
On May 30, well-known NFT influencer Andrew Wang tweeted to his almost 200,000-strong followers the following: “I woke up today to see one of my friends trending on Twitter, @hopeexist1,” Wang tweeted. “She started a collection to help herself fight cancer, and some awesome Web3 people featured her today, so I’d like to contribute.” This looked like a good thing at the time following months of inactivity in the space and a consistent decline in NFT art sales volume in recent months, followed by the sudden, frenzied rise of highly speculative crypto memecoins and Web3 figureheads asking their followers to send them money for no reason, many artists and collectors alike were in a bad way.
Wang was referring to Sarah, a Chinese pixel artist. Her work, known as hopeexist on Web3 Twitter, has been collected by some of the space’s biggest names, like Drift. Sarah had been diagnosed with lacrimal gland carcinoma, an eye disease. She produced a 10K PFP NFT collection named Pixel Penguins in February 2023 to assist raise funds to meet her medical expenditures. Pixel Penguins immediately sold out as Wang and others drew attention to the collection. Within a few hours, $117,000 had vanished, along with Sarah’s Twitter page, with the cash having moved out of the project’s contract and into new blockchain addresses. It was a rug-pull con, and it was one of the longest in Web3 history.
Formula 1 Embraces Blockchain Technology with NFT Tickets on Polygon
Platinium Group, a key ticket distributor for Formula 1, is preparing to usher in a new era of ticketing in a huge push toward the integration of blockchain technology into the realm of global sports events. The Monaco Grand Prix, which takes place May 26-28, will act as the starting point for giving NFT race tickets.
Platinium Group has collaborated with Elemint, a well-known blockchain infrastructure business, and Bary, a major Web3 organization, to achieve this goal. Polygon will print the tickets. This trailblazing approach not only grants entrance to the renowned event, but also provides NFT ticket holders with long-term value. Post-event perks, such as hospitality privileges and future racing discounts, are included in the package to encourage collectors to stick with the brand.
In a news statement, Elemint CEO Jacques-Henri Eyraud noted that blockchain’s application in event ticketing extends beyond Formula 1, indicating a broader impact on the sports and entertainment business.
Bitcoin Overtakes Solana as the Second Largest Blockchain for NFTs as Ordinals Volume Increases
According to the prominent NFT industry data aggregator CryptoSlam, Bitcoin has easily won the tenth spot in the ranking of the top all-time NFT blockchains by sales volume. However, something changed within the last month, propelling the chain to the number two rank among breadwinners for the 30-day period. On the 30-day chart, Bitcoin has practically blown its competition out of the water. While Ethereum stays at the top with roughly $393 million in volume, Bitcoin is close behind with upwards of $169 million, which is more than quadruple Solana’s third-place standing of $55 million.
How did Ben.eth get $7 Million in 72 Hours?
Despite the fact that Ben.eth was already a well-known collector in the area prior to memecoin season, his participation appears to have increased when he began tweeting in support of the developing $PEPE community. Ben.eth decided to conduct a similar offering after a period of commenting on price movement and the stratospheric growth of the popular token.
Enter $BEN, a memecoin with its creator’s own branding. Ben.eth released 420.69 trillion tokens into the wild with $BEN, thanks to a presale that began on May 4. While some of the tweets referring to the presale have since been removed, according to certain accounts, the presale raised roughly 60 ETH from a few hundred wallets and closed barely a day later.
BitBoy, a crypto content creator known for his contentious past and heavy-handed interpretations on crypto and NFTs, became involved with the project. BitBoy, whose real name is Ben Armstrong, discovered an affinity with $BEN. After first discussing the coin on Twitter on May 8, Armstrong publicly confirmed his interest in the project a day later. The $BEN community was thrown a surprise after only a few days of Ben.eth and Armstrong being on the same team. Armstrong declared on May 11 that he would be “taking it over 100%” and Ben.eth would become an advisor.
Ben.eth unveiled his next memecoin a day later. Ben.eth announced on May 12 that his new coin, $PSYOP, would be available for presale. The currency was named after a famous meme style that recalls, and at times mocks, the United States’ history of psychological warfare. Ben.eth announced in a since-deleted tweet that in order to get presale $PSYOP tokens, customers must pay ETH straight to him at his ENS address. Shortly after his statement, ETH began flowing into the Ben.eth wallet, and the influencer eventually secured roughly 3,800 ETH, or just shy of $7 million, in just a few days. The enormity of the transaction led many significant names in the NFT industry to remark, with opinions divided between those praising the move and those suggesting it was a mistake.
In May, the overall market capitalization experienced a growth of 6.6%. The market cap of NFTs in May reached $3,118,624,312.58, an increase from the previous value of $2,923,395,480.74. However, there was a decline of -24.2% in sales volume, which decreased from $1,263,510,995.85 in April to $956,626,969.06 in May. Additionally, there was a decrease in the total number of sales, going down from 1,849,804 in April to 1,524,912 in May.
TOP NFT BLUECHIPS
TRENDING NFT COLLECTIONS (SALES)
Top BRC20 NFTS
- Bitcoin Frogs
- DogePunks
- Misprints Ty
- BTC DeGods
- NPC Ordinals
Potential Upcoming Mints
(Ordinals/BRC-20)
- OnChain Monkeys- @OnChainMonkey
- Ordinnals Maxis- @OrdinalMaxiBiz
- Asprey Studio- @AspreyStudio
- Bitcoin Whales- @Bitcoin_Whales_
- The Ordinal- @TheOrdinal
- Ordillas- @Ordillasbtc
- Titan Meka- @Titan_Meka
(Ethereum)
- Today- @todaythegame
- Dimensionals- @DimensionalsRPG
- Overworld- @OverworldPlay
- Akogare- @AkogareOfficial
(Solana)
- @BoDoggosNFT
- @NekkroNFT
Summary
May was a relatively quiet month in the NFT space, with the only noteworthy event being the emergence and growth of BRC-20s. The monthly statistics show that there was a slight dip in sales volumes and total sales as compared to the previous month, but there was a slight increase in market cap as well. All in all, it was a stable month, and NFT faithfuls still patiently awaiting NFT summer, of which the rise of ordinals might be an advent of.
