Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have proven to be the next big thing. NFT has even been declared the “word of the year” by Collins Dictionary. From celebrities to top athletes, and global payments giants, investors are splashing millions of dollars on digital art.
According to Collins Dictionary, an NFT is “a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, that is used to record the ownership of an asset such as an artwork or a collectible.” It can be used to represent real-life assets such as art, music, or real estate. It is also worth adding that no two NFTs are the same either in properties or value.
Thanks to the success stories of early NFT projects like Beeple’s “First 5,000 Days” and CryptoPunks, the space has now been flooded with collections from different creators. Hundreds of new NFT collections hit the market every single day, making it rather difficult to navigate through the noise and keep track of the NFT calendar.
We surveyed 1,000 NFT traders, asking them to rate the attractiveness of 100 upcoming NFT drops. The projects were ranked on a scale of 1 to 10 based on several parameters, including their uniqueness, virality, media presence, the potential increase in value, and execution. The results were then compiled into a spreadsheet, summed up, and sorted by a total score.
In this article, we review the top 10 NFT collections based on the assessment of these traders. The primary aim of this article is to help you spot some fresh projects that are just gaining momentum and could perform well in the future.
Survey Results
| # | Name | Uniqueness | Potential increase in value | Virality | Media presence | Execution | Total Points |
| 1 | Journey of Stardust | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 48 |
| 2 | The Message | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 47 |
| 3 | Pixlr Genesis | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 45 |
| 4 | Zoodiac Rabbits | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 43 |
| 5 | Ark//Angels | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 42 |
| 6 | Legion of Witches | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 40 |
| 7 | CyberTrees | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 39 |
| 8 | M101 Shelter | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 38 |
| 9 | Freedom Woofpack | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 37 |
| 10 | Enter the Jungle | 6 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 36 |
According to the NFT traders, Journey of Stardust appears to be the most promising project. With a score of 48, this comics NFT got a perfect score in its uniqueness, potential for increase, and execution. Needless to say, it taps from an already successful NFT collection. Coming closely behind is “The Message” with a score of 47. This rather odd project has scored a ten over ten in its media presence and upside potential. Pixlr Genesis is just two points behind, having gained a total score of 45. Many respondents believe Pixlr Genesis has done well in its execution.
Overview of the top 10 upcoming NFT drops
Journey of Stardust
Although the pacesetting pixelated design art style of CryptoPunks is still being used by many artists, the industry has long moved past that trend. Journey of Stardust is one of the new projects that is doing something entirely different.
Journey of Stardust follows the story of a young wizard who is exploring his homeworld. This 100-page NFT comic is inspired by BitColors and uses the collection’s names and colors for its story. Interestingly, the artists will be giving away ten pages of the collection to generate some buzz for the project. The remaining ninety pages will be available on OpenSea.
The Message
The NFT space has had its fair share of weird sales, and “The Message” is nothing short of weird. According to the author, a lot of NFT collections today are from marketers masquerading as artists. Arguing that art doesn’t have to be pleasant, this artist is auctioning a photo of his poop from 2004. The photo was taken with a Nokia 3660 in a public toilet of a bus station in Rybinsk.
Pixlr Genesis
This NFT collection is the brainchild of one of the world’s most popular design and photo editing ecosystems, Pixlr. Pixlr Genesis hopes to build the world’s largest museum of 10,000 exclusive NFT artworks. Each NFT serves as a museum pass that allows one artwork to be displayed within the metaverse. As a testament to its exclusivity, about 2,000 NFT passes would be sold every year for the next five years.
Zoodiac Rabbits
No one anticipated that a piece of pixelated art that was virtually free a few years ago would now be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Similarly, there will be a free mint for Zoodiac Rabbits on December 4. Zoodiacs are a collection of 12 algorithmically generated NFTs based on the Chinese Zodiac. Its main goal is to support the conservation efforts for endangered species while combining a play-to-earn zoo-building game to educate people about animals.
Ark//Angels
Since Facebook announced that it was rebranding to Meta, several projects revolving around the metaverse have sprung up. Ark//Angels is one of such projects. With an initial collection size of 11,111 NFTs, this collection follows the lore of a so-called “Great Reversal.” There will be subsequent chapters as the project progresses.
Legion of Witches
Still in the metaverse realm, Legion of Witches is a collection of 10,000 unique hand-drawn generated witch characters. The style of the art is influenced by pop culture, anime, mystic witchcraft, and magic games.
CyberTrees
CyberTrees is on a mission to “stop and prevent all destruction of the rainforest to ensure its existence for generations to come” through the sale of 8,888 cyber-humanoid tree NFTs. The characters in this series have a striking resemblance with “Groot” from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie.
M101 Shelter
Collections can mint one of 6 sentient races from this collection of 10,101 NFTs. These generative side-profile characters will serve as a pass into an upcoming trans-galactic voyage game. There are also plans to expand the M101 Shelter story by creating a weekly M101 comic book.
Freedom Woofpack
While some NFT projects have the novel idea of supporting animal conservation efforts, Freedom Woofpack was founded to advocate for sustained liberty and human rights. According to the team, “we decided to take a bite out of the heated world of politics and create these [7,777] comically-custom freedom fighting “woofs” to help us break free from oppression! Our mission is to spread awareness and create a resistance against corruption and their hunger for power!”
Enter the Jungle
Enter The Jungle is an NFT collection of different animal species and extra-terrestrial life forms on the Solana blockchain. For its first edition, the project will be releasing 10,028 Gangster Gorillas, which will become a key element in a play-to-earn first-person mobile shooter game.
Final Thoughts
Several notable figures and global figures are beginning to explore the NFT industry. In the first half of 2021, the sector saw its sales volume soar to $2.5 billion. However, this is just the beginning. Much like the dot com era that gave birth to companies like Amazon and Facebook, more gemstone projects are going to emerge for the NFT space.