Ape NFTs
When bitcoin dumps, the whole of crypto goes with it, but it seems like JPEGs are opting out of this general rule, as NFTs have been on a roll in January. While everything else tanked and crypto holders wondered where the bottom was, NFTs have been sitting back, vibing, and watching prices climb.
The whole NFT market is up and mainstream interest continues to grow, with Google searches for ‘NFT’ outstripping searches for ‘crypto’ for the first time ever, and increased interest from Asia.
According to The Block’s data, NFT marketplace monthly volume reached $6.67 billion by the end of January, more than double the previous all time high of $3.16 billion last August, and massively up from $2.67 billion in December.
There’s no slow down in new projects dropping and lots of activity across the board, but it’s the bluer chip projects that have been the safest bet, almost acting as a kind of hedge during this choppy period, with prices going up in crypto terms, while crypto itself dropped in fiat terms.
Top performing projects have included Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, The Sandbox, Doodles, Cool Cats and Art Blocks. Basically, it appears that the big names will see you through tougher times.
Simian Safe Havens
Something you can’t miss in NFTs is that there’s no shortage of monkey projects. You might rue the lack of originality, or maybe you’re inclined to scoop them all up, but whatever your feelings about the wildlife, the reality is that across the main chains, ape projects have held up particularly well during the dip.
Ape NFTs on Ethereum
Bored Ape Yacht Club is now the top NFT project, having flipped CryptoPunks, established (at the time of writing) a 116 ETH floor, and become king of the jungle. Neymar swiped one, Justin Bieber paid $1.3 million for his, and everyone (whether they’re into crypto or not) now associates NFTs with monkey pictures. If bitcoin is digital gold, then BAYC are diamonds.
If you wanted, while ETH is on discount, to swipe a monkey project that isn’t in BAYC’s Hollywood price bracket, but is desirable and has utility, then now would be the time to dive into CyberKongz. Within the collections available, CyberKongz VX are metaverse-ready playable avatars.
Apes on Solana
On the Solana network, the two big-name monkey projects are Solana Monkey Business and Degen Ape Academy. Both have been gaining in price over the past seven days, and have very active communities.
Again, this is a chance to get in on well-established projects that are showing themselves to be very resilient, while the price of SOL is low.
Apes on Cardano
Over on Cardano, you might want to take a look at Chilled Kongs. No, it won’t score marks for originality, but it’s holding up very well, looks likely to stick around, and is still affordable by comparison with projects on Ethereum.
It looks like The ADApes Society might be taking an ambitious direction. Freshly minted on Cardano, the developers have plans to develop a DAO structure with proceeds from secondary sales, along with producing physical merchandise.
There are no clear details about how the DAO will be oriented, but still, it’s good to see projects going beyond just dropping some PFPs and hoping for the best, and there’s potential for some interesting developments.
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