Porsche NFT trading volume nears $5M despite launch woes, minting halt

Developers of the nonfungible tokens had halted minting on Jan. 25 in response to user complaints.

German luxury car manufacturer Porsche's nonfungible token (NFT) collection reached 2,839 Ether (ETH) ($4.5 million) in total sales volume, according to data from NFTScan at the time of writing on Jan. 26. The collection had a floor price of 2.74 ETH and a high price of 9.18 ETH, with over 1,705 total sales. 

Originally meant to have a total supply of 7,500 NFTs, Porsche abruptly halted the minting process on Jan. 25 after some users complained of high minting prices and lack of utility for NFT holders. The supply has since been reduced to 2,363. The NFTs originally had a minting price of 0.911 ETH — referencing the namesake “911” NFT collection — but many users complained that they wanted the price reduced to 0.0911 ETH instead.

After community feedback, Porsche announced that it would expand holder benefits to behind-the-scenes access to the world of Porsche, co-creation of ”Porsche's future of Web3,” an exclusive physical capsule collection beginning Q2 2023, the opportunity to attend “money-can't-buy Porsche experiences,” and a "private airdrop" in March 2023. First unveiled during Art Basel Miami in November 2022, the Porsche NFTs were created by Hamburg-based designer and 3D artist Patrick Vogel and his studio Alt/Shift. Lutz Meschke, Porsche’s deputy chairman and member of the executive board for finance and IT, wrote at the time: 

“This project is an additional element of our digitalization strategy. We’ve made our commitment for the long haul and our Web3 team has the autonomy to develop innovations in this dimension as well. Innovation management at Porsche also sees potential in the purchasing experience, the metaverse and the supply chain. Vehicle and sustainability issues are also being considered.”