What are the hottest collections, and why are they so popular?

NFT Collections - What They Are

NFT collections are groups of NFTs released together, often falling under a similar aesthetic, theme or function. To make your search easier, we’ve accumulated a list of notable collections with summaries of what makes them so special.

What to Pay Attention To

First, look at the art itself and the community surrounding it. Choosing one collection over another can come down to personal preference, but remember that the key to a valuable collection is a large market-size. A bigger community means more people willing to trade specific NFTs. Look at a project’s online presence: are many people interested and talking about the collection or is it radio silent? Simply searching the title of an NFT collection on Twitter can be very informative. If a collection is loved by many celebrities, you can expect it to be relatively popular and desirable as a status symbol.

Another great indicator is the artists and team behind the collection itself. Are the artists and team themselves invested in their project? Do they regularly interact with their consumers? The teams behind collections often have a specific mission. Does this align with your own goals and do you think other people would see value in it as well?

Finally, does the NFT itself give additional benefits? The Bored Ape Yacht Club, for example, offers its owners specific meet-ups, yacht parties, and other events that regularly engage its community. Other collections such as CyberKongz generate passive income. The factors listed above can give certain NFT collections an edge over others - this is what you want to pay attention to when you’re investing in one.

Without further ado, let’s get into our list of notable NFT collections.

An Emblem - Bored Ape Yacht Club

When you mention NFTs, images of brightly dressed apes in a pop-culture-esque style instantly come to mind. The Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, or BAYC, has garnered mainstream attention. With a floor price of 85.5 ETH (or $92,000+ USD) and featuring over 10,000 apes with 170 different traits, the BAYC is one of the most popular collections out there. Celebrities such as Jimmy Fallon, Justin Bieber and Tom Brady have all pitched into BAYC’s striking popularity. Being such an iconic symbol of the NFT community, we’ve made it a core collection featured on our list.

A Twist - Mutant Ape Yacht Club

Remember the Bored Ape Yacht Club? Introducing Mutant Ape Yacht Club - the original collection with a twist. On August 28th, 2021, Yuga Labs airdropped mysterious mutant serums coined M1, M2 and M3 to all those who owned BAYC. Members then had an option to keep the serums or use them on their ape NFTs. If used, their Bored Apes would transform into mutated alterations. This addition was relatively new to the NFT space, introducing the idea of expanding existing collections and customizing them to give ownership opportunities to new players. MAYC has a floor price of 16.5 ETH (around 15,000 USD), exemplifying how scarce and rare designs can make demand skyrocket.

The Beginning - CryptoPunks

This set of nostalgic 8-bit characters belongs to Cryptopunks, popularly referred to as the first NFT collection. The current floor price is 48.89 ETH (around 52,693.66 USD). Released in 2017, Cryptopunks includes many of the first NFTs to ever exist. It’s no wonder why people are eager to own one of these characters. The collection was also the first to include 10,000 NFTs, setting the standard size for NFT collections which followed. Cryptopunks is notable not just because of its popularity, but more importantly for its historical significance. Many view it as symbolic of their own beginnings in the NFT space.

A Creator’s Product - VeeFriends

If there’s a Youtuber to know who’s active in the NFT space, it’s Gary Vaynerchuk, or Gary Vee. Gary Vee has a reputation for his entrepreneurial skills and he frequently shares his advice, financial strategies and stories with millions on his Youtube channel. VeeFriends is Gary’s mark on the NFT space. Although the floor price of this collection is significantly lower than the other collections we’ve mentioned above (8.1 ETH, or around $7500 USD), we see VeeFriends as a perfect example of how demand can be created by a notable person. Owning a VeeFriends NFT gives you access to Veecon - a web conference Gary holds annually - and the opportunity to receive personal gifts from him. With Gary’s existing reputation, many of his supporters immediately jumped on this new collection.

Inspiring Art - Clone X

On a similar note, Clone X is an NFT collection created by the iconic Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami. Murakami’s art is adored and desired by many. Clone X features 19.3K anime-styled characters with brightly coloured hair, clothing and facial features. Clone X is an example of how artists such as Murakami have been able to integrate their works in the NFT space, marking a new revolution in how digital works can be sold.

A Confusing Beginning - goblintown.wtf

Their website says it all - wtf? The beginnings of Goblintown are bizarre. When it was released on May 19th, Goblintown became an overnight success with its NFTs selling for up to $130,000 USD. Goblintown’s community structure is strange. There is no utility to owning its NFTs, nor a Discord for its members. The NFTs themselves are designed as playful jabs at bear markets. Although Goblintown feels like an extended joke, it has a strong community, demonstrating how fun projects can also turn out to be good projects.

It’s All Going to Be Okay - Okay Bears

Okay Bears is a collection with a simple goal - create a good community. With the promise that everything will be okay, Okay Bears consists of 10,000 algorithmically created tokens. Members receive benefits such as exclusive merch, the Studio - a specific asset allowing creatives to create and post Lo-fi music to streaming platforms - and the Park, which the creators envision as a space for Okay Bear NFT holders to connect with each other on a deeper level. With Solana as its home, Okay Bears develops with the promise of super-quick blockchain exchange.

Not Just Images - Silks

Finally, to close our list, we’ve included Silks. This collection is particularly interesting because of its innovative integration with the metaverse. Instead of having stand-alone digital art projects, people can purchase digital horse NFTs which have real-life counterparts. Within the metaverse, owners of Silks’ NFTs have the opportunity to generate income if their digital horse - attached with a real-life horse - wins races. Replicating some features that you would see in a mobile game, people participating in Silks can purchase plots of land, customize their stables and the appearance of their digital horses. The Silks metaverse doesn’t open until 2023, but is definitely one of the most innovative collections we’ve seen so far.

Summary

NFTs have evolved quickly. The range of digital works being marketed and put on NFT platforms such as OpenSea are extremely diverse, accumulating all sorts of attention. It’s extremely difficult to predict whether the collections we’ve mentioned above will continue succeeding in the future, or which new collections might rise next. However, as you look for the next NFT collection to invest in, pay attention to the new features they are providing and stay excited about the new forms that NFTs are taking.

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This is not financial advice.