NFL and NFTs with DraftKings Reignmakers
Football is back today, and millions of fans are rejoicing. And this season, over $30M is up for grabs with the NFL meets NFTs DraftKings Reignmakers product.
TylerD's Market Summary
GM!
Today's top news includes:
DraftKings Reignmakers sees new ATH sale ahead of NFL kickoff
Google to ease up on NFT ads
Deafbeef announces new project
Vitalik publishes blockchain privacy-focused whitepaper
ARK applies for ETH ETF
🏈 NFL Kicks Off Today with DraftKings Reignmakers
NFL is back today, in what is one of the most important days of the year for many football fans, fantasy football managers, and sports gamblers out there.
And thanks to DraftKings, NFTs are heavily in the mix for this upcoming season.
How? Through the 2nd year of their DraftKings Reignmakers product.
What Is DraftKings Reignmakers?
DraftKings Reignmakers is an NFT-based fantasy sports game built by the daily fantasy sports platform, DraftKings.
Similar to traditional daily fantasy football contests, DraftKings Reignmakers allows users to compete against other users by building lineups full of NFL players and accumulating points for their in-game performance.
The key difference though - lineups are not built using a draft or salary cap; instead, users create lineups based on which DraftKings Reignmakers player card NFTs they own.
Player card NFTs are the building blocks to creating lineups and entering contests on the DraftKings Reignmakers platform.
Each card represents an NFL player and allows the user to accrue fantasy points for the player’s actual on-field performance.
Player card NFTs also come in five rarities: CORE, RARE, ELITE, LEGENDARY, and REIGNMAKER. The rarity of a player card NFT impacts which contests and which lineups a particular player card may be used in.
Reignmaker player card NFTs can be purchased via pack drops, auctions, or on the secondary marketplace.
Why Play DraftKings Reignmakers?
Well for one, the prizes.
Last season DraftKings provided over $1M in cash prizes for Reignmakers contests every week of the NFL season, including a live final with a $250k prize up top.
Similar prize pools are expected for this season, with over $30M up for grabs.
Many ask - why not just play normal fantasy? Why play Reignmakers?
Well the other key difference here is that users can speculate on the value of players, beyond just weekly tournaments.
If you aren't great at competing in weekly fantasy games, you can still participate by buying players which you think will outperform on the season.
Market Action
The DraftKings Reignmakers market has been hot this month.
All of the pack drops have been selling out in a matter of minutes (or seconds), with most packs surging by 50-100%+ on secondary trading.
A new all-time-high sale was just set overnight, with whale "cmagoon2323" paying $39,999 for a Lamar Jackson REIGNMAKERS tier card.
There have been 11 sales over $10k this past month, and about 70 sales over the $1,000 level in the past 24 hours.
This volume has propelled DraftKings Reignmakers to the 3rd spot on the Cryptoslam monthly NFT Leaderboard with over $20M in sales, and has helped put Polygon in 2nd place behind just Ethereum with $38M (of which DK RM makes up over 50%).
How To Get Started
If this has caught your interest and you want to learn more, we at Lucky Trader can help.
Here are some resources to get started:
DraftKings Reignmakers Marketplace
And beyond content, we also have tools for those who want to take their game to the next level.
The Lineup Optimizer tool is a carry-over from traditional fantasy, where users can generate 100s of lineups with a click of a button.
The tool allows for those who want to build several teams using their cards to do so quickly and easily, and also allows those who want just one team to run different models and analysis to build their optimal team. Check this video out to learn more.
If you're looking for ongoing weekly analysis, make sure to give our Director of DK Reignmakers tools and content Jason Rouslin a follow.
Good luck this season!
💻 Google Embraces NFT Ads (Sort Of)
Is Google lightening its stance on NFTs?
It seems that way.
Yesterday Google updated its crypto ad policy to permit blockchain-based NFT gaming ads, though with some restrictions.
Here's the TLDR:
Advertisers can now promote NFT in-game items that promote gameplay (examples like cosmetics and weapons)
Advertising is prohibited for games that enable wagering or staking NFTs for real-world value
Policy effective from Sept. 15
Despite these changes, there's a line Google won't cross.
The policy will firmly keep out advertisements for games that let players wager or stake NFTs against other players or in return for rewards like other NFTs or crypto.
This extends to NFT casino games and any form of social betting that uses real-world prizes.
Those wishing to run ads promoting gambling-related content with NFT integration must tread carefully, adhering to Google's Gambling and games policy and obtaining the necessary Google Ads certification.
Why It Matters
This shift in Google's ad policy showcases the growing recognition and legitimacy of NFT gaming in the broader tech and advertising sectors.
While noting their concern for consumer protection, Google's decision could pave the way for increased adoption and visibility of NFT games.
In many ways, it shows Google's cautious approach in embracing the NFT wave while ensuring user safety.
At this point, we'll take caution with open arms vs outright banning.
🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
Trading volume notched up to 5,500 ETH on Thursday; NFTs saw slight red on the day with top movers led by Threads and Hedz
Deadfellaz made the eye-opening announcement that they are joining web3 gaming, looking to develop RIP TCG as a digital trading card game; Alpha version is set for a 2024 release with Beta live in 2025
Art Blocks Curated "Torrent" minted out at the 1.2 ETH level before falling to 0.8 ETH in early secondary trading (now at 0.99 ETH)
Artist Deafbeef announced his next project "HASHMARKS" as 100 cryptographically linked NFTs paired with hand-forged iron sculptures; tickets for the NFTs go on sale Sept 16-18 ahead of a live Patagonia mint in Nov
Arcade V3 is now live on mainnet ETH, fixing pain points from V2; new features include collection offers not requiring Smart Vaults, immutable contracts that can't be modified and more
nftperp V2 paper-trading launched with its new FusionAMM model, allowing users to try out the system with Mock wETH and offering rewards for user feedback and contributions
Cozomo de'Medici and the Medici Collection are teaming up with Randi Zuckerberg's "thehugxyz" to find 6 emerging artists to exhibit in Tokyo alongside top artists XCOPY, Beeple, Claire Silver, Grant Yun, & Sam Spratt
🌎 Around Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
The crypto market chopped again on the day; BTC even at $25,730; ETH even at $1,630
Vitalik & Ameen published a whitepaper on blockchain-based privacy tech, arguing that "privacy pools" are a solution to enhance privacy while avoiding illicit criminal activity possible via protocols like Tornado Cash
Cathie Wood's ARK Invest filed an application for the first spot ETH ETF on Wednesday, briefly causing ETH to spike before retracing within 30 minutes
Arkham Intel claims Grayscale holds $16B+ in BTC, making them the world's 2nd largest holder
Story Protocol secured $54 million in funding, led by A16Z, to revolutionize intellectual property and creativity; they plan to use the funds to attract third-party developers for crowdfunding, IP discovery, and community growth
TRLab, a female-ran art & tech innovator hub, announced a $5M seed round led by Hivemind Capital and OKX Ventures; the capital will be used to expand their market presence and to launch new projects featuring their roster of global artists
🚀 NFT Total Volume
MAYC (1,105 ETH, 5.2 ETH Floor)
BAYC (473 ETH, 27.2 ETH)
DeGods (469 ETH, 4.25 ETH)
Milady (417 ETH, 3.29 ETH)
Azuki (194 ETH, 4.12 ETH)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase
Threads by Professor Jun (156%, 0.12 ETH Floor)
Hedz (24%, 1.8 ETH)
Defi Apes (22%, 0.19 ETH)
Metakeys DAO (21%, 0.15 ETH)
Travel Tiger Club (13%, 3.69 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals
Today is a lighter day of drops and events, but with some notable ones.
There's a music NFT drop featuring a Justin Bieber song where buyers get a (small) claim to royalties. The math doesn't look great for those expecting big income, but for the Beliebers out there it may not matter.
The highlight today is likely Vinnie Hager's "Diary" drop happening on OpenSea. It's a generative open edition, open for 24 hours, priced at 0.049 ETH, and all come with physicals down the line.
Then tonight, Brian Evans and crew make their TV debut with The Next Crypto Gem over on Amazon Prime.
If you want more, see the full list of today's drops from Swizzy's daily mint monitor.
anotherblock x Justin Bieber (6:00 a.m. ET)
Vinnie Hager - "Diary" (1:00 p.m. ET)
TV debut - The Next Crypto Gem (8:00 p.m. ET)
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.
For all volume and floor price data, see Lucky Trader's Project Rankings page.
For all upcoming mints, see Lucky Trader's NFT Calendar page.