NFT News Digest: OpenSea releases NFT aggregator OpenSea Pro

In addition to the news that OpenSea has released the NFT aggregator OpenSea Pro, in today’s NFT News Digest for the past week April 1-7, you’ll find:

• Yuga Labs releases the first Otherside: Relics by Gucci,
• Donald Trump’s indictment boosted sales of NFT Trump Cards.

OpenSea releases NFT aggregator OpenSea Pro

From the moment Blur began to gain popularity as one of the most popular NFT marketplaces, the entire crypto community has been waiting. All as one were sure that such a giant as OpenSea would not be slow to respond to such an event properly. There have already been rumors that the platform will issue its own token to overtake Blur in the competitive race. But the OpenSea team took a very different decision.

What is OpenSea Pro?

From an official tweet posted on April 4, it was clear that OpenSea is launching OpenSea Pro.

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves 📣

Starting today, Gem V2, the best-in-class NFT aggregator, is now OpenSea Pro!

💎➡️⛵️

OpenSea Pro will still be run by the same Gem team you know & love, but with unified brands we are able to offer users MUCH more

Let's dive in 👇🏽🧵 pic.twitter.com/pyt6QnjW7b

— OpenSea Pro (@openseapro) April 4, 2023

The new marketplace is expected to provide NFT enthusiasts with a range of benefits, including:

• Aggregation of all data from more than 170 trading platforms,
• More trading trading tools;
• Zero commissions;
• Rewards traders in the form of tokens (thus the organizers of OpenSea seem to be trying to fight wash trading).

But we will talk about the features in detail below.

The OpenSea team did not skimp on big words regarding the new brainchild. In a blog post published on Tuesday, OpenSea calls its new platform “the Most Powerful NFT Marketplace Aggregator.” According to the developers, the marketplace will allow advanced collectors to find top offers and insights on 170 trading platforms.

Twitter users reacted favorably to this news and even expressed their delight about the launch of the Pro-marketplace. One community member praised the OpenSea initiative and expressed his hope that it will improve the NFT user experience.

However, do not think that OpenSea Pro is a completely innovative platform. This is actually a rebrand of Gem V2, a marketplace acquired by OpenSea in April 2022. It was supposed that with its help it would be possible to provide a wider range of tools to advanced traders. Now, the announced Pro-marketplace includes chips and additional features, thanks to which it can be considered a significant upgrade in relation to the parent platform.

OpenSea Pro Features

So, let’s take a closer look at the benefits that the new OpenSea Pro marketplace offers users:

• Users will be able to make purchases on different marketplaces within a single transaction.
• Data aggregation from more than 170 marketplaces, thanks to which the user sees the deep liquidity of marketplaces, the activity of other users and collections in real time.
• Consolidation of all mints, listings, collection offers, rates, NFT pools in real time.
• As we have already mentioned, OpenSea Pro will not burden traders with commissions yet. However, over time, the situation may change.
• For royalties, the OpenSea Pro marketplace will remain true to the existing parent platform model (0.5%). Those who want can pay more.
• Optimized smart contracts to reduce gas fees during transactions.
• Traders will be given NFTs as a reward. The OpenSea team has not yet disclosed more detailed information.
• Availability of Watchlists, Live Mints Overview, Batch Transfers.
• Mobile version that supports all major features.
• All users of the Gem platform (who used it before March 31, 2023) are given NFT “Gemesis” as a thank you for their support and loyalty. It can be minted directly in OpenSea.

Different users have different needs; and moving forward, OpenSea’s platforms will reflect the needs of these distinct user segments in our user interfaces, features, and fee structures. CEO David Finzer is not hiding his enthusiasm

Thus, OpenSea achieved several goals at once:

• Made it clear to Blur that she was not going to lose ground,
• Demonstrated its loyalty to traders.
• Qualitatively stepped forward on the proposed NFT trading instruments.

Yuga Labs Releases First Otherside: Relics by Gucci

On April 4th, Yuga Labs and fashion house Gucci announced their first joint project “Otherside: Relics by Gucci”.

Introducing the first discovery of #OthersideRelicsByGucci, a #GucciKodaPendant paying homage to the origins of @Othersidemeta. #GucciJewelry Discover more https://t.co/Fh6pSfmLHg pic.twitter.com/tNUDqLNe3h

— gucci (@gucci) April 3, 2023

The limited edition KodaPendants artifacts are a tribute to the Otherside tradition. In addition, KodaPendants will go down in Otherside history as the first relic to emerge from the integration of Web3 and the world of haute couture.

What is Otherside: Relics by Gucci?

KodaPendants is a collection of 3,333 NFT pendants attached to physical silver chains. The chain is 50 centimeters long and the pendant is in the shape of a Koda with “GG” engraved.

The sale of the unique physical-digital relic Otherside, announced at 6PM ET on April 6, ended at 7PM ET on April 7. The price of each chain is 450 $ApeCoin (approximately $1,903).

Kodas have a thing for relics.

The 3,333 KodaPendants, an Otherside Relic by @gucci, will be available for purchase for 450 @apecoin on April 6th. pic.twitter.com/ADB7a4c9Ym

— Othersidemeta (@OthersideMeta) April 4, 2023

Relic owners are also eligible for a physical KodaPendant chain. Gucci plans to release a physical product later this year. True, it will not be available to everyone. Applicants for the possession of the physical chain KodaPendant will be residents of most European countries, as well as the United States, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Who could buy KodaPendants?

Yuga Labs has restricted access to KodaPendants to NFT Vessel or Koda owners. The Koda character was included in some of the Otherdeeds featured by Yuga Labs last year. Recently, token holders have been able to separate this character from the original NFT. In addition, Otherdeed owners are now eligible to claim at least one Vessel, which will be a key success factor in Legends of the Mara, Yuga Labs’ new game.

In general, all owners of Otherdeed had the opportunity to purchase one of the KodaPendants. After the purchase of KodaPendants, the Vessel and Koda tokens associated with them undergo an update, as a result of which their virtual versions appear on the blockchain.

Collaboration with global brands: more details

Yuga Labs, the Web3 company and NFT market leader behind major projects such as BAYC, MAYC, CryptoPunks, 10KTF and Meebits, announced a long-term partnership with leading fashion house Gucci on March 27.

NEWS: Gucci is partnering with Yuga Labs for the Bored Ape Yacht Club metaverse.

1/3 🧵 pic.twitter.com/1pUJfm8aQS

— nft now (@nftnow) March 27, 2023

This isn’t Gucci’s first foray into the NFT space. Gucci and 10KTF partnered last year through the Gucci Grill initiative.

It’s worth adding that Gucci isn’t the only major retailer to take advantage of Web3 integration. Last year, world-famous jewelry brand Tiffany’s launched a $50,000 series of necklaces for CryptoPunks holders. Unique limited-edition jewelry sold out in no time.

We’re taking NFTs to the next level. Exclusive to CryptoPunks holders, NFTiff transforms your NFT into a bespoke pendant handcrafted by Tiffany & Co. artisans. You’ll also receive an additional NFT version of the pendant. Learn more: https://t.co/FJwCAxw8TN #NFTiff #TiffanyAndCo pic.twitter.com/pyKlWejHv4

— Tiffany & Co. (@TiffanyAndCo) July 31, 2022

Donald Trump indictment boosts sales of NFT Trump Cards

Demand for Donald Trump’s December 2022 NFT collection  suddenly increased. In just a few hours, the minimum price of Trump Cards digital tokens jumped from 0.41 ETH to 0.59 ETH, an increase of 43% compared to last year. As a result, the sales volume of the collection increased by more than 400%. What caused such a sharp and significant increase in sales of collection tokens of the former US president?

Why did NFT Trump Cards suddenly go up in price?

The reason for the excitement was the 34-count indictment against Donald Trump by the Attorney General of New York on Tuesday, April 4. In this regard, there were even jokes in the press that the Attorney General had cleaned the pockets of some NFT collectors.

Joking aside, it turns out that only on OpenSea, the largest NFT trading platform, 47 collectible Trump Cards tokens were sold in just 6 hours.

It seems that Trump was and remains the best proof that “there is no such thing as bad publicity.” Negative news automatically sparked public interest in the former US president and created an increased demand for his collection.

What are NFT Trump Cards?

Trump Cards is a collection of 45,000 NFTs, each featuring the 45th U.S. President, Donald Trump. These images are very reminiscent of shots from Hollywood blockbusters. Trump on them looks not just like Superman, but like the greatest American president of all time.

This idea is also expressed in the advertising description of the Trump Cards project:

Are you ready to make history? For the first time ever, collect your own Official Trump Digital Trading Cards by President Trump. Incredible, hand-drawn art, inspired by President Trump’s extraordinary life & career. The official site invites everyone to join the story

The original tokens not only showcased the strength and beauty of the 45th President, but included bonus features such as video chat with him. While there was skepticism in the crypto community about the Trump NFTs project, many were buying presidential tokens. Some did it with a smile, others with admiration. The collection steadily gained momentum and even topped the sales charts for some time.

It must be admitted that Donald Trump is a truly remarkable figure. He is not only the first (and only so far) president to release his own collection of NFTs, but also the first president to face criminal charges. Such a person, no matter how they are treated, cannot but be in the mainstream.

Interestingly, the minting price at the time of the launch of the scandalous collection was 0.05 ETH ($0.99). Since then, Trump NFT sales have totaled nearly $10 million in December, $2.6 million in January, $4 million in February, and $2 million in the first week of March. The total trading volume of this collection, according to CryptoSlam, exceeded $18.6 million.