$24,000…From Something That Was Literally Free

With apologies to Adele for purposefully mangling her lyrics: I coulda had it all…rolling in the green. 

And in this case, that’s $24,000 worth of green…backs 

For free.  

Literally. Not a single dollar invested. 

Alas, I missed that train. 

Which, while frustrating, means I feel safe in asserting that all the jibber-jabber you hear about the death of the NFT market is just so much bunk. 

Let me explain … 

This missive, so you know, comes by way of a few NFT mints that have happened in the last several days. (A mint is the launch of a new NFT, like an initial public offering for stock…and just to remind you again, NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are one-off, one-of-a-kind cryptos that are used to represent ownership of all sorts of digital assets, from art to a share of a business.) 

People who got involved in these recent mints literally turned zero dollars into hundreds or thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.  

I didn’t, which, well, really kinda makes me wanna cry. And we will return to the tears momentarily. 

First, however, I want to rehash a message I have been iterating and reiterating for many months now: That crypto and the NFT markets, while certainly in the doldrums, are not dead and buried.  

I see way too many stories pop up on my newsfeed exclaiming the end of NFTs as a concept…that it was all just a fever dream propagated by a bunch of anti-establishment Gen Ys and Gen Zs rebelling against the financial status quo. 

If you believe the mainstream journalists who have no skin in the game and who, I can tell by the words they use, do not understand NFTs beyond a surface level, the financial status quo has prevailed, NFTs as with the Beanie Babies of the ’90s are done, and all is back to normal. 

I mean, that is one take. 

Though it’s a decidedly wrong take. 

I’ve noted this many times—and I will keep noting it because of its relevance—Walmart and Ralph Lauren have trademarked various NFTs that apply to their businesses…Nike recently sold $185 million worth of NFTs in the form of digital sneakers, and those NFTs racked up $1.3 billion in secondary sales (which generated nearly $91 million in royalties for the sportswear giant). 

Competitor Adidas sold out of 30,000 NFTs within a couple hours of releasing them, generating sales of nearly $11 million…jewelry giant Tiffany has collected nearly $13 million in NFT sales, while Gucci has recorded sales of almost $12 million…beer behemoth Budweiser introduced NFTs last year, digital renderings of old Bud beer cans, that have accumulated nearly $6 million in sales.  

Starbucks is releasing NFTs…Taco Bell sold NFTs as part of a charity effort…McDonald’s released an NFT tied to its iconic if rarely available McRib sandwich…Campbell’s Soup commissioned 100 NFTs from celebrated street artist Sophia Chang, which are now selling for about $1,100 each, assuming you can find one. 

Houses have been sold as NFTs. Real-world art has been turned into NFTs. Television and music entertainment is being turned into NFTs.  

And that’s just a small sampling of what’s happening globally. 

My point being that the corporate world has eagerly adopted the NFT model because the NFT model is so efficient, so inexpensive, and so flexible that it allows companies to pursue all manner of sales, marketing campaigns, and services. It also offers a new way of reaching younger consumers who are quickly becoming the most important consumers in the economy (Gen Y and Gen Z outnumber boomers and Xers). 

Now, back to those tears. 

A new blockchain recently emerged called Aptos and it has garnered a great deal of attention. It has also seen a large number of NFT mints occurring, many of them free to those who manage to snag a spot on the whitelist, meaning your crypto wallet is one of the chosen ones eligible to mint the NFT. 

Well, along came Aptomingos, a flamingo-based NFT released in the last week or so. It was a free mint. You made the whitelist, you could grab an Aptomingo for free. They look like this: 

Right out of the gate, they were selling for 100 Aptos, or nearly $1,000. Within a couple of days, that was approaching 200 Aptos. So, from free to nearly $2,000 in the blink of an eye. 

Similar story with Ghosties, which look like this: 

They minted for about $125 and immediately shot to more than $800. 

And then there was Art Gobblers, an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain that launched on Monday. I’d show you a picture of them, but they’ve not yet been revealed. 

The collection was built by a crypto investment firm working with Justin Roiland, co-creator of the cult, adult cartoon Rick and Morty.  

As with Aptomingos, this was a free mint.  

Within minutes, they were selling for as much as $24,000. 

That is not a misplaced comma. 

Twenty-four thousand dollars…from something that was literally free…in literally minutes. As I write this, they’re still selling for more than $20,000. 

As an NFT investor and owner, it pains me to see that—only because I wasn’t on the whitelist (I didn’t know it was happening!). 

But it also makes me quite happy because it is proof that the NFT market, despite the media’s bah-humbuggery, remains active. Companies remain eager to be a part of this market, as do investors, collectors, and traders. 

So, you will forgive me for rolling my eyes at mainstream journalists who insist NFTs had their day in the sun and that the sun has now set.  

As an insider, I know the reality. 

And that reality tells me that the savvy investor would be wise to pack away a few blue-chip NFTs now, while prices are so cheap for so many of them. When the turn comes, the rebound is going to be violent and fast. 

Much wealth is incoming. 

Do with that information what you will.