One of Nigeria’s most successful digital artists at the time, Osinachi, remarked that he could charge up to five figures for his NFT creations. The possibility of posting his art somewhere other than Instagram, where more people would see it, excited him, he added.

“I went in and looked around the markets, and the markets didn’t pick up, and we didn’t see the boom until 2019,” he continued. “The pandemic was helpful since it prevented collectors from visiting physical galleries, so a lot of them discovered the NFT space. And then, from 2020 to 2021, the Christie’s auction happened, and everybody was screaming NFTs.

Using the new technology, celebrities, sports teams, artists, and major businesses promoted digital copies of their products.

Ethereum trading volume on OpenSea reached $2.29 billion in January. In August of last year, OpenSea set a new monthly record of just over $3.4 billion.

The NFT market not only maintained its momentum when cryptocurrency prices fell off a cliff in May and were far off-peak throughout the summer, but it also ascended to maybe greater heights in Nigeria and abroad.

But recent data suggests the buzz around NFTs is starting to fade.

The Current Narrative

According to NonFungible, a company that studies the NFT industry, global NFT sales decreased 47% in the first three months of 2022 compared to the prior quarter.

NFTs appear to be losing favor with the public. Sales fell to $1 billion in June 2022, which was a 12-month low and the market’s lowest performance since June 2021 (when sales were at $648 million).

According to data from Chainanalysis, the market’s value has decreased from $3 trillion in November 2021 to less than $1 trillion today.

Things worsened in the second quarter of 2022. According to NonFungible’s most recent Q2 market report, sales have decreased by 20.05% since Q1 2022, from 12,639,781 to 10,105967.

The number of buyers fell by 25.41%, while the number of sellers fell by 35.88%.

Sales in Nigeria plunged sharply to $15 million in April 2023 (a steep 98% fall), prompting concerns about the viability of the industry.

Causes of the Declining NFT Art Sales 

NFTs no longer have their initial appeal. This might be because there isn’t as much fresh stuff being released or because people are less excited about them now that they are more knowledgeable about how they operate. 

Due to the tremendous volatility and lack of regulation of NFTs, investors may be less inclined to invest in them, which could be one reason for the fall. Additionally, there may be a decline in interest from prospective purchasers and investors as more people become aware of the dangers of investing in NFTs.

According to blockchain specialist Merav Ozair, a professor of financial technology at Rutgers University, the recent bitcoin crisis is a big factor in the declining interest in NFTs.

This is due to the fact that consumers frequently purchase NFTs using bitcoin, ethereum, or other digital currencies, and declining crypto prices decrease their purchasing power. Nigerians dislike things they can’t trust, and the NFT’s Bitcoin history has bred distrust.

It’s also possible that a rash of thefts and frauds on important NFT marketplaces is dwindling interest in NFTs. Some Nigerians have been defrauded or had their work stolen. The NFT buzz has decreased as a result of all of these.

Co-founded by consumer goods company Reckitt and the Health Innovation and Investment Exchange (HIEx), the new Women in Innovation Fund (WiNFUND) was launched in partnership with the Kofi Annan Foundation and the EcoBank Foundation.

The fund aims to address two significant areas of inequality – 1 in 2 people, or half the world, lack access to essential healthcare, and less than 2% of venture capital funding globally goes to women despite evidence their ventures generate stronger returns. WiNFUND will unlock the potential of women entrepreneurs to address both of those gaps.

WiNFUND will invest directly in women entrepreneurs who are already implementing home-grown solutions to some of the continent’s most urgent health challenges.

WiNFUND will be partly financed through the sale of WiNFUND NFTs, unique works of digital art designed by Rwandan artist Christella Bijou. The collection has been supported and made available in close collaboration with technology partner, Tokenproof.

Additional funding will come from mission-aligned donors, partner organisations, and high-net-worth individuals, who together with WiNFUND NFT holders will create a global community of mentors and supporters committed to improving access to healthcare and women’s entrepreneurship.

WiNFUND NFT holders will gain access to invite-only events on Sustainable Development Goals and will be invited to join a mentorship scheme to directly support successful women entrepreneurs.

Since applications opened in September, WiNFUND has received more than 300 applications from women entrepreneurs in seven African countries – Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda. A shortlist of applicants will be announced on International Women’s Day on 8 March. All shortlisted applicants will receive business support to help them scale, while the top few selected will receive direct funding from WiNFUND.

Applicants include Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa from Uganda, who launched Community Healthcare Innovation Lab (CHIL) to screen women in remote locations for cervical and breast cancer using artificial intelligence (Al), after being treated for breast cancer herself.

Also in Uganda, Dr Mercy Ashaba is helping people manage the cost of healthcare through the fintech company she co-founded, Peleyta Health. Its micro-savings and lending platform helps Ugandans on low incomes afford quality healthcare.

And in Kenya, Umra Omar, founder and director of Safari Doctors, is leading her team of medics delivering primary healthcare to some of the country’s most remote regions.

By investing in companies like these, WiNFUND will directly support women entrepreneurs to scale their enterprises, extending their reach and helping more people than ever access high-quality healthcare. WiNFUND’s ambition is to replicate this model on other continents in the future.

WiNFUND builds on Reckitt’s Fight for Access (FFA) Accelerator, a programme to support and scale early-stage social enterprises across the world, which has improved access to healthcare for 1.5 million people in its first year alone.

Patricia O’Hayer, Global Head of External Affairs for Reckitt and co-founder of WiNFUND said: “Women-­led companies are already achieving amazing things: improving access to healthcare and saving lives. WiNFUND is an innovative model that will help entrepreneurs grow by building an engaged, global community that will provide business support and financing through the sale of unique NFTs. These entrepreneurs are addressing some of the world’s biggest challenges, and through them, we believe WiNFUND can transform access to healthcare for the people who need it most.”

Pradeep Kakkattil, Founder and CEO of Health Innovation and Investment Exchange and co-founder of WiNFUND, said: “Three out of four healthcare workers globally are women. Women at the frontlines of healthcare are innovating and finding solutions to challenges that plague the health system. WiNFUND is about enabling equitable access to investments and accelerating women-led health enterprises – it can be transformative. It is a win-win as it impacts healthcare access and builds economic resilience.”

While the year was not entirely successful for the majority of them, Bitget still managed to successfully manoeuvre its way through the wreckage of both the Terra and FTX collapses.

BGB token demonstrated positive yearly dynamics, raising the all-time high (ATH) price bar several times last year.

Bitget Token (BGB) — Biggest Winner From FTX Collapse

The BGB token turned out to be the only exchange token that stayed green all year round. The asset posted an unprecedented 136% year-over-year gain, with prices lifted in March and October and reaching its ATH of $0.4 on February 15, 2023.

Bitget massively benefited from the FTX collapse, increasing its share of the crypto derivatives trading market from 3% to 11%, according to the Token Insight report.

A Boston Consulting Group report shows that in 2022, Bitget ranked among the top three crypto exchanges in terms of cryptocurrency derivatives trading volume, with a total trading volume growth of more than 300%.

As the Bitcoin options market sees whales opting for bullish strategies and amidst the market volatility in general, the demand for crypto derivatives as an instrument for hedging risks and earning stable profits is higher than ever.

Since the second half of 2022, crypto derivatives volume has been growing faster than the spot market.

ALSO READ: Bitget Announces Winners of Hero Trader Awards 2022

According to data from CryptoCompare, in January 2023, derivatives trading volume showed a monthly gain of 76% reaching $2.04 trillion, the largest percentage increase since 2021, and currently representing 70% of the entire crypto market.

The exchange’s foray into the spot market has been another contributing factor to the growth in the price of BGB.

Bitget added AI (Artificial Intelligence), Arbitrum, and NFT zone listings to its Innovation Zone for early-stage exposure to related tokens. Within a week, 21 assets were listed in the Innovation Zone, while Future (AI) witnessed the biggest gain of 1263%.

Not only that. BGB token has reached its ATH several times over the past year driven by major partnerships, market expansion and the launch of pioneering products such as copy trading.

It is noteworthy that in 2022 the token never dipped below the price of 2021, unlike other cryptocurrency exchange coins.

In addition, BGB rallied impressively in October, breaking its price record after Bitget announced its partnership with prominent football player Lionel Messi.

The financial and technical stability of the exchange also played a big role in maintaining a stable price of its token throughout the year.

Bitget is the only exchange among today’s top five that has never faced hacking attacks. The platform management did not reduce its staff, but indeed increased the number of employees by five times to 1,100 people in January 2023.

This allowed the company to minimize the consequences of the market fall and show record financial and quantitative indicators in the new year.

The technology behind NFTs allows for people to own unique pieces of art that they can add value to every day like they would a piece of furniture or car. This means that anyone who owns an NFT can create unique artwork to display at will without being limited by what is offered currently on the market.

NFTs are a new type of digital asset that is designed for the real world

They can be used for many different purposes, as they are flexible enough to be used in any industry or application. This allows them to be used in any industry, or even for purely decorative purposes.

NFTs can also help businesses reach new customers because they have no limits on who can own them and how many they can buy.

They can be used as a replacement for cash and other physical assets, allowing you to use them anywhere there are purchases made with cryptocurrency or fiat currencies (i.e., USD). The fact that it’s easier to transfer NFTs than traditional paper money means more people will start using them as payment methods on their phones and tablets–and this trend will continue as more companies begin offering their own native tokens through ICOs and private sales later this year!

Customization is very important and easy to do through blockchain technology

With the use of blockchain technology, customization is very easy to do. First, it’s important to understand that customization means that each NFT has its own unique features and characteristics that make them special. This can be done by inputting information about the NFT into the blockchain. For example: if you want your NFT to represent an object like a car or a yacht in virtual reality games, then you would have to input information about those objects into the blockchain so that others know what they are buying from you when they buy from someone else who wants those same items as well!

But there are other ways we could customize our own custom-made collectibles using this process too! Let’s say I want my very own cat named Kittycat–I would first create an account on some website where people sell their pets (like eBay) where I could then buy one directly from whoever owns him/herself.

This can be done  customizing an NFT’s shape, color, texture, and more by having users input information about them into the blockchain

NFTs are unique digital assets that can be used as a form of currency. They can also be customized by users and have their own unique properties such as shape, color, texture and more. This customization can be done through blockchain technology which allows users to input information into the blockchain so that their NFTs can have customizations like any other cryptocurrency or token on our platform.

They can also be customized with one or more functions that users want to use with it

For example, you can create a NFT for your company’s website which will display information about your products and services in a very clear way. The NFT has different options for displaying content on its surface, such as:

• Text
• Images
• Videos

You may also want to add additional functionalities like buttons or links that allow users to interact with the object they’re holding in their hand (e.g., “buy now”).

It also allows for users to customize their NFTs by adding functions like an alarm or remote controls (for example).

This means that anyone who owns an NFT can create unique artwork to display at will without being limited by what is offered currently on the market

They can be used for many different purposes, as they are flexible enough to be used in any industry or application.

The most popular use cases for NFTs are art and collectibles, but there are endless possibilities. For example:

• You could sell custom-made T-shirts at your store or online shop that represent your brand’s values and message (and maybe even have some fun with it).
• You could create an NFT version of your company logo which you can give away as free samples at events where people will see how awesome your brand has been over time!

The 50 years of Atari collection will include 2600 unique NFTs based on 15 original works by artist Butcher Billy.

In concert with the collection, Atari is introducing a free metaverse experience and 1-888 interactive hotline.

The 50 Years of Atari collection was created by the Brazilian artist Butcher Billy, whose work draws from pop culture, blending reality and fiction to create surprising and irreverent work. Known for his work with brands including Netflix, Stranger Things, Marvel, Black Mirror, Universal Music, UFC and more, Butcher has developed a large and loyal following.

Anyone visiting 888atari50.com can learn more about the project, and enter Room 133, a metaverse experience that replicates a classified engineering room from Atari’s original headquarters.

Inside Room 133 users can find clues and easter eggs about the upcoming NFT drop, learn about other Atari X projects and collaborations, and even uncover perks and access to special experiences.

The website is integrated with a free interactive hotline – 1-888-ATARI50 – that also gives you hints on how to navigate Room 133 and more. Best of all, you don’t need to own an NFT or have a crypto wallet in order to participate.

“The collaboration with Butcher Billy is incredibly exciting for Atari, and is a great kick-off to what will be a busy few months for Atari X,” said Tyler Drewitz, Director of Atari X. “Butcher Billy has a passion for Atari that matches our own, and his work will connect with our community of fans and enthusiasts.”

Atari has previously announced that it is working on the creation of a new token, which will be an integral part of the company’s blockchain ecosystem.

The token is expected to launch in the second half of 2022. In addition, the company is in active development on projects with web3 development Nifty Labs, the metaverse and NFT innovation and investment platform Everyrealm, the emerging technology company Virtual Human Studios, the open-world metaverse The Sandbox, and more.

By using a randomised digital generator, a collection of only 1000 NFTs will be created starting on 25 August 2022.

“Art is something that brings joy to my eyes and mind and that makes life special for me. This project called “Cycling by the Riverside” is very exciting because I’m not a digital artist, but I am able to achieve something like this”, says Portchie.

An NFT is a digital asset that exists completely in the digital universe — you can’t touch it, but you can own it. And with Facebook and Instagram working on enabling users to use their NFTs within their platforms, owning art in the digital world is set to become mainstream in the future. 

Portchie partnered with a team of creative technologists to create a system by which each NFT will be digitally created. This means each of the multiple hand-painted elements and their variations is given a chance to get randomly selected and then combined to create a unique piece of digitally created art.

Portchie’s art quickly became popular after selling out at his first big solo exhibition in 1991 and in 1995 he went to open an art studio called The Red Teapot Gallery where neighbouring art galleries in Stellenbosch started buying his art.

Portchie’s artworks are a trademark of vibrant colours, distorted shapes and blue trees and can be described as a ‘burst of joyful colour’.

Since starting out, Portchie has sold more than 18,000 original paintings and more than 1 million prints worldwide. Unlike limited editions or prints, this NFT collection will only consist of unique collectibles, which means you will not be able to find two that are a copy of each other.

NFT art hit global mainstream news over the last year, with several high-profile sales garnering millions of dollars. For example, in 2021, Everydays: The First 5000 Days was sold for $69.3 million.

In addition to owning the digital asset, each NFT will enable its owner to redeem a high-definition print of their collectible, signed by Portchie himself.

He will also accept a limited amount of commission requests from those who would also like a painted copy of their unique collectible.

Through a process called minting – taking digital data and turning it into crypto collections or digital assets – fans from across the world now have the ability to instantly own the unique collectible. Fans can mint their NFT as opposed to buying it.

A whitelist in the NFT world is a list of people who get in early and are guaranteed access to mint and often have the opportunity to buy the NFT at a lower price before being made available to the general public.

Those who want to be on the whitelist can do two things:

1. Go to Discord and sign up to join the “Cycling by the Riverside” community of fans and art lovers.
2. Subscribe to the newsletter on the website. You will then be emailed and your wallet addresses will be collected and will be notified on the day it all goes live.

Watch a step-by-step guide video on how to buy your NFT here

With the rate at which technology has become the order of the day, companies are developing ways to empower the society and Gamic isn’t left out of this.

From the comfort of your home and with an internet connection, one can play NFT games and earn from it. This is what is called the play-to-earn system.

Gamic is the second product of Artist3, a Blockchain-enabled end-to-end digital ecosystem that deconstructs traditional revenue models by allowing users of the platforms to earn by participating in the ecosystem.

According to Ukeme Okuku co-founder and CEO of Artist3;

“Africa has an untapped market for Blockchain and NFT gaming for everyone. Most aspiring players face the challenge of the high cost of buying a starter NFT when they start their Play-to-earn journey. Gamic provides players with Scholarships programs to enable players to start playing these games without breaking the bank, or if you simply don’t have the resources yet to start playing to earn. Gamic Guild plans to make it easier for you to access alternative income streams via play-to-earn games. Our goal is to be the gateway to play2earn for the African continent and also get  150,000 people earning with us in 3 months.”

This opportunity provided by Gamic would also help educate individuals about NFTs, their use and their importance.

Speaking with the Artist3 CTO Michael Anyi, he said; “We have built a gaming guild focused on giving a diverse catalogue of NFT games to our users to play while also providing them with an alternative source of income.” 

To start playing and earning money playing, register HERE.

For more information, visit the website or Follow @gamicguild on IG, Twitter and Facebook.