The NFT spring has started with a full swing!

Move aside, monkeys: the NFT jungle has a new ruler. Moonbirds, a cluster of 10,000 owl avatars, has surpassed all other “blue-chip” NFTs clusters in the same time frame, inclusive of Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, with sales totaling about $450 million in the last month. In addition, moonbirds accounted for over half of OpenSea’s entire transaction volume the previous week, which is significant given the NFT marketplace’s projected sales of over $3 billion in April. However, the owls may not be the most critical NFT story this week. We’re analyzing everything from Coinbase NFT’s beta debut to big-money virtual footwear.

• • Nike released its first line of virtual sneakers on Tuesday, and they started selling for roughly $7,500 a pair, with one unusual pair fetching over $450,000. The shoe giant bought RTFKT, the parent firm of the famous Takashi Murakami-helmed metaverse collective of CloneX — one of the top five most-traded NFT projects this month, with over $100 million in sales — in December. The RTFKT x Nike Dunk Genesis CryptoKicks were airdropped to CloneX holders.
  • From the realms of professional sports, fashion, and Hollywood, a new generation of NFT ventures has arisen. Following the popularity of NBA Top Shot, the league has released The Association, a new “dynamic” NFT series featuring 18,000 NFTs that alter based on what occurs on the court during actual games. One of Hollywood’s most powerful agencies is likewise investing heavily in NFTs. UTA has added the Deadfellaz zombie-NFT project to its repertoire after signing a contract with CryptoPunks last year (holders include Lionel Richie and Reese Witherspoon). Harvey Nichols, a high-end British department retailer, has opened a virtual-goods gallery in Hong Kong that shows and sells a variety of “blue-chip” NFTs.
  • In other cybersecurity news, a hacker got control of BAYC developer Yuga Labs’ Instagram account on Monday and exploited it to conduct a phishing operation, stealing about $3 million in NFTs, including four Bored Apes. “Yuga Labs and Instagram are presently investigating how the hacker could get access to the account,” the developer stated in a statement. Two-factor authentication was implemented, and the IG account’s strict security standards.” (Read up on the best ways to be safe online.)

What difference does it make? Moonbirds was founded by the Proof Collective, an NFT startup composed of 1,000 famous NFT artists and acquirers, including Beeple and Gary Vaynerchuk. The collective’s membership is represented by an NFT, which has skyrocketed in value (to a floor price of 100 ETH, or roughly $290,000). But, as proficient as the NFT community has gotten at producing desirable artifacts, it hasn’t been as successful at pitching to the general public.