Telegram's NFT Gifts, $56M CryptoPunk Sale & Lamborghini News

In this week's newsletter, we explore Telegram's new Gifts feature that will allow conversion into non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and discuss the recent $56 million CryptoPunk sale, which some believe is a publicity stunt for a new memecoin. Additionally, Lamborghini is entering the Web3 gaming space, and NFT sales have reached their highest weekly volume since August.

Telegram to Enable NFT Conversion for New Gifts Feature

Telegram has announced the introduction of a new feature called Gifts, which will allow users to convert limited-edition gifts into NFTs. CEO Pavel Durov stated that this feature would enable trading of these digital assets outside of the Telegram platform. While no specific date was provided for the implementation of NFTs, Durov indicated that it would occur later this year.

Record $56 Million CryptoPunk Likely a Publicity Stunt, Observers Say

A CryptoPunk was sold for an astonishing $56.2 million, but many analysts suggest that this sale may have been a publicity stunt aimed at promoting a new memecoin. The transaction involved Punk 1563, purchased for 24,000 Ether (ETH). The buyer utilized a flash loan from the automated market maker Balancer to complete the purchase, and subsequently returned the ETH almost immediately, leading to speculation that this was a wash sale.

Lamborghini Brings Cars to Web3 Games with Animoca, Motorverse Partnership

Automobili Lamborghini has partnered with Animoca Brands to create a platform that will tokenize its luxury vehicles. This initiative, called Fast ForWorld, will integrate with Motorverse, a digital ecosystem for automotive experiences. This collaboration allows Web3 gamers to trade and drive Lamborghini cars in various Motorverse games, including Torque Drift 2 and REVV Racing.

NFTs Weekly Sales Volumes Hit Highest Level Since August

Despite a decline in monthly sales volumes, the NFT market experienced a significant surge in weekly sales between September 30 and October 6, totaling $84.9 million. This marks the highest weekly sales volume for NFTs since August 25, when sales surpassed $93 million. However, it is important to note that NFT sales have significantly decreased from their peak, with weekly sales exceeding $2.2 billion during the week of August 23 to August 29, 2021.

Thank you for reading this week's summary of notable developments in the NFT space. Be sure to check back next Wednesday for more updates and insights into this rapidly evolving field.