In August, I got Beta access to NBA Top Shot. This is where you can acquire official NBA licensed NFT collectibles. I was inspired by my fellow author, @PVMihalache, who wrote about NFTs recently, so here's my update.
An introduction to NBA Top Shot
Remember cardboard player cards that have a static photo on one side, and some printed text on the back? The NBA is taking the next step in the evolution of the sports collectibles market by using blockchain technology. Their latest venture combines video footage of this season's most electric plays with statistical data that fans will enjoy. The result are NBA licensed digital NFTs called Moments. Superstars and reserve players alike will have unique Moments that can be purchased, sold, or traded. The appeal of using blockchain is that authenticity, quantities, and ownership of each Moment are preserved. Collectors will eventually be able to use Moments which they own in a yet to be released mobile game. As a beta tester, I'm not allowed to disclose details about the game that I previewed.
Dapper Labs is the company behind this project. Their Cryptokitties NFT almost "broke" the Ethereum network at the height of its popularity! Dapper is not using Ethereum's ERC721 protocol, and have migrated to a blockchain called "Flow" for these tokens.
What's happened over the last few weeks?
Unsold Early Adoptor packs have been burned
All the Early Adoptor packs that were not sold after September 30 were burned.
Packs can now remain sealed
When you purchase a pack of Moments, you can now keep them sealed. Sealed packs can be gifted, sold, or opened by yourself at a later date.
Flow tokens available for purchase
The Flow blockchain token (FLOW) is now available to be bought. Until October 2, 2020, CoinList is the only place to purchase them prior to their mainnet release.
Premium Pack Drop 2 & Western Conference Finals moments dropped on Oct 1, 2020
The Western Conference Finals packs dropped on October 1, along with Premium Pack Drop 2. At time of writing, there are 5,645 of 8,991 packs remaining, but all 1,492 Premium Pack Drop 2 packs sold out very quickly.
Nba Top Shot is now open to the public
This is the most notable development. The devs have opened access to the general public starting on Oct 1. It's not too late to buy the Moments that you love.
Buying guide - Which Moments are worth more?
Each Moment has a unique circulation number. There can be many copies of the moment, but each one has a unique number that it was minted with. The lower the number, the more valuable it is. For example, #1 out of 299 will hold more value than #100 out of 299.
Some Moments have been "burned", or taken out of circulation. So instead of a current circulation of 299 copies, there may only be 280 copies. Gaps will appear in the serial numbering when looking at the blockchain.
The higher the popularity of the player, the higher the value of their Moment compared to less popular players.
Moments are differentiated by three different editions:
Common
Rare
Legendary
Themed Moments in general have more value, as well as "retired" Moments which have been taken out of circulation.
Is there a market for these NFTs?
The market is still very new for these NFTs, but I'll let you judge for yourself by looking at Cryptoslam for a recent transaction for a Zion Williamson Moment:
Thanks for reading, and stay safe!
If you would like to support my work, please hit like 👍 and subscribe! 😊
Follow me on Twitter: @kragle_t
Cover photo by NBA Top Shot
It's the perfect time to start earning free crypto while you learn about it!
If you want to earn free BCH, read.cash is always looking for new members and for aspiring authors. Previous writing experience is not required! I invite you to create an account using my referral link by clicking here.
Good one