So if you haven’t been living under a rock, then you’re well aware of the second coming of the crypto craze. But have you heard of NFTs (non-fungible tokens)? I’m no expert so I’ll explain it in layman’s terms. It’s basically a unique serialized digital piece of artwork or collectible.
NBA Top Shot offers fans and traders collectible moments around the NBA. You can buy, sell, and give NFTs through trading platforms. NBA Top Shot is that platform specifically for the NBA. You can buy packs that contain “Moments,” which are video highlights of plays by NBA stars. Essentially, it’s a digital trading card and there are no physical products. The trading card generation is all grown up now.
NBA Top Shot and other NFTs are blowing up right now. NBA players are getting in on the action and are buying their own moments from fans and the market is red hot for early adopters.
My buddy sent me a referral link a few weeks ago and I’ve been trying to buy packs since. Pack releases are limited and are sold at specifically scheduled times. Buyers join a waiting room and get selected as part of a randomized lottery system.
Since joining, I’ve been diligently trying to log in on time to buy packs. The system is still in beta form so there are still a lot of bugs that the development side is still working on. There have been plenty of times when I plan my day around drops only to be disappointed due to cancellation by the developers. Sometimes it’s patches, other times it’s bugs or serious bots flooding. I’ve yet to have a problem-free experience.
Regardless of the growing pains, it’s still worth it to jump in while there’s huge hype behind it. Today was the first day where I was able to purchase a pack and open it.
From the pack, I got two common moments and one limited edition moment. If you watch my vlog, you can see the disappointment in my face. I did not think I would make my money back. Kyle Anderson, Tyrese Haliburton, and Bradley Beal round out my three moments. None of which are any players that I care for or watch.
Luckily, my buddy had been flipping NBA Top Shot for a while now so he suggested that I price myself lower than the other idiots that were reaching for the moon. I did as suggested and was able to immediately sell off my Haliburton and Beal moments netting myself $200 total. No such luck for Kyle Anderson.
The strategy is pretty simple. Buyers are limited to one pack and there can be multiple drops a day. Each drop can range up to 60,000 packs. Each moment within the pack can range from a limited edition of 5000 to 65,000+. The higher the serial, the lower the price and vice versa. The longer you wait to sell, the more packs are dropped which could mean that you’ll less likely be able to command a higher selling price.
So either sell fast or hold and wait for the market to rise. From what I’m told, the market price will typically rise when there are “challenges” within NBA Top Shot. e.g. collect the entire NBA All-Star player moments to unlock a super rare moment. But if you hold too long and people complete the challenge, they’ll flood the market with the moments that they no longer need.
I’m not totally sold on NFTs as something that will be around forever, however, I do believe in hype. And the hype for NBA Top Shot is definitely real.
A few days ago, a crypto group bought a $95,000 piece of artwork by Banksy. The group digitized the piece and set it on fire live on Twitter. It is now listed as an NFT for auction. We’ll find out in the upcoming days if this gamble pays off. Update 3/8/21 – The NFT sold for 228.69 Ethereum or roughly 338K.
I’m told that this is only the beginning. The UFC and NFL will eventually have their own NFTs. Rumors of NFTs been sign-able by players and returned to NFT owners in the near future will also increase hype and price.
If you’re able to get in on the market, do it as fast as possible.