FIFA Releases Genesis NFTs on Eve of World Cup

Sports NFTs and ApeCoin Staking Hit the News This Week

More than half the world’s population watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and with the 2022 edition in Qatar just two months away, football’s governing body is throwing NFTs into the mix.

The FIFA+ Collect platform went live on Sept. 22 with its Genesis Drop, a collection of 532,980 packs containing historical highlights from past FIFA events. 

The NFT platform leverages the Algorand blockchain, a proof-of-stake network that became FIFA’s official blockchain partner in May.

The packs are priced at $4.99 apiece and each contains three randomly selected highlights, or what the platform calls ‘moments.’

Aficionados can purchase packs using credit cards or USDC-A on the Algorand network.

ApeCoin Staking Launch Date Revealed

Staking for APE, the Ethereum-based utility token issued by the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT ecosystem, will launch on Oct. 31, according to Horizen Labs.

APE holders chose Horizen to build the staking platform after it was approved by the DAO earlier this year. 175M APE tokens amounting to 17.5% of the supply will be distributed as staking rewards over three years.

Renga Tops Volume Charts

Two collections from the Renga project generated a combined 4,300 ETH ($5.8M) in secondary volume on OpenSea this week.

Japan-based illustrator DirtyRobot is behind the collection of 10,000 characters that will play a role in “the wider stories of RENGA,” according to the project’s OpenSea page.

Renga Black Boxes, which were minted in June, serve as mint passes for the characters and are burned when utilized.

The floor price of the collection stands at 1.1 ETH ($1,500), and the highest recorded sale so far is RENGA #8017, pictured above, which changed hands for 14 ETH ($19,000) on Sept. 13.

State Of The Market

Secondary sales volumes continue their abysmal streak, with just $123M traded in the week ending September 19. Volume in dollar terms has now dropped for six straight weeks.

Floor Prices

• Bored Ape Yacht Club – Up 5% to 76 ETH
• CryptoPunks – Flat at 63 ETH
• Otherdeeds – Up 6% to 1.77 ETH
• Azuki – Up 48% to 11 ETH on the back of fundraising rumours.
• Cool Cats – Up 45% to 3 ETH after the appointment of a new CEO.
• Moonbirds – Up 11% to 10.8 ETH
• Doodles – Flat at 7.5 ETH. 
• Clone X – Up 12% to 6.3 ETH
• Pudgy Penguins – Down 7% to 3.2 ETH