In this week’s newsletter, read about how Bitcoin-based nonfungible tokens (NFTs) had a sales dip in January and how Roblox will allow real-time translations in the metaverse. Check out how GoDaddy and the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) collaborated to enable the linking of Web3 and Web2 domains and how Japan Airlines’ NFTs can let you live the virtual life of a samurai.
Bitcoin Ordinals sales dipped 61% in January, halving sparks hope
Bitcoin (BTC)-based NFTs fell from $868 million in December 2023 to $335 million in January, dipping by 61% in 30-day sales volume. In a Cointelegraph interview, NFT book author Anndy Lian said that new projects entering the game give buyers a plethora of options, suggesting that the market is becoming more saturated.
Despite the slowdown, Lian expects the upcoming Bitcoin halving to bring renewed interest in Bitcoin-based NFTs. “The reduced supply of Bitcoin could make each satoshi more valuable and scarce, thus increasing the appeal of Ordinals as unique and collectible assets.”
Roblox builds in-house LLM, adds real-time AI translation to metaverse
Gaming platform Roblox developed a new unified translation model powered by artificial intelligence. This lets players communicate through text in real time despite speaking different languages.
Roblox chief technology officer Dan Sturman said the firm built its own large language model (LLM) in-house to allow instantaneous translations. Currently, the LLM supports the translation of 16 languages.
GoDaddy to charge $0 for ENS .eth name pairing
ENS and domain registrar GoDaddy collaborated to allow Web3 users to link their .eth domains to Web2 domains without extra costs. The partnership eliminates the high gas fees that used to deter users from bringing domain names to ENS.
ENS domains, which are popular among NFT holders, simplify complex wallet addresses into human-readable names. With the partnership, new smart contracts are deployed for the resolution process, allowing a cost-free transition.
Nifty News: Samurai NFTs take flight with Japan Airlines, Solana slows down
Japan Airlines collaborated with marketing firm Hakuhodo on Kokyo NFT, a project that aims to tokenize local experiences and real-world assets. According to its site, the project aims to help its holders develop connections with the local communities. The NFT project promised various experiences, including immersion in a samurai mansion and being part of a samurai family.
Meanwhile, data shows that NFTs performed better than Ether (ETH) in January. NFT indexes showed almost 10% gains in the month, while ETH only moved by 2.3%.
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Thanks for reading this digest of the week’s most notable developments in the NFT space. Come again next Wednesday for more reports and insights into this actively evolving space.