Nifty News: Trump NFTs pump after indictment, Q1 trading volume hits $4.7B and more

The total NFT market trading volume in Q1 hit $4.7 billion, doubling the previous quarter, while Square Enix dropped Final Fantasy trading cards that can’t be traded yet.

Following news of a New York Grand Jury voting to indict former president Donald Trump on March 30, the floor price for the officially licensed Trump Digital Trading Cards nonfungible token (NFT) project pumped.

According to data from OpenSea, NFT traders were seemingly spurred into action by the announcement, with the floor price moving from 0.46 Ether (ETH) or $835 at current prices, to as high as 0.6 ETH ($1090) on the same day.

When the project launched in December 2022, it offered exclusive one-on-one experiences to certain NFT hodlers, such as private golf sessions, dinners and conversations with Trump.

The indictment news could potentially impact the former president’s ability to deliver on the experiences. 

At the time of writing, the floor price has since dropped back to around the 0.51 ETH range. The price still sits well above the initial mint price of $99 from December.

NFT sales hit $4.7B in Q1

According to a March 30 report from blockchain analytics platform DappRadar, there was $4.7 billion worth of NFT trading volume in Q1 2023, more than double that of the previous quarter.

The firm pointed to bullish action from the Blur marketplace, which took the market by storm during its token airdrop farming period in February.

The $4.7 billion came from 19.4 million NFT sales in Q1, marking an increase of 8.56%, with total volume increasing by 147% compared with the $1.9 billion posted in Q4 2022.

The Ethereum network accounted for a whopping $4.1 billion worth of the volume, with second-placed Solana contributing $242 million, while Polygon ranked third with $85 million for the quarter.

Square Enix drops Final Fantasy NFT trading cards

Square Enix, the Japanese gaming giant behind the widely popular Final Fantasy franchise, has released NFT trading cards in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII.

The NFTs are part of the Final Fantasy VII Anniversary Art Museum Digital Card Plus collection, which features five physical cards and a sixth digital NFT card.

However, despite being called trading cards, Square Enix stated on its website that the NFTs couldn’t be traded or transferred at this stage unless the company decides to build a marketplace in the future.

“If we decide to support the marketplace in the future, we will notify you,” the website reads.

The packs were dropped on March 31 and cost around $3.30 a pop, with the card artwork depicting various characters and scenery from the iconic Final Fantasy VII game.

While it is unclear if the firm intends to build a marketplace to support its digital collectibles, Square Enix has been gradually ramping up its NFT and blockchain gaming-related initiatives over the past few years, suggesting something could be in the works.

NFT flight tickets

Low-cost Argentine airline Flybondi has launched domestic NFT flight tickets under an initiative called “Ticket 3.0.”

According to a rough translation of a March 29 announcement from the firm, users of the new service will be able to change names on the tickets directly, transfer them to other people or give them away, essentially streamlining the firm’s current ticketing models.

“With Ticket 3.0, our passengers will have greater flexibility and control over their trips because they will be able to transfer, rename or give away their tickets in a simple and autonomous way,” noted Flybondi CEO Mauricio Sana, adding that:

“With this launch, we seek to generate a positive impact in the aviation industry through innovation and an application of blockchain technology.”

The move comes from an expanded partnership with NFT ticketing company TravelX, which launched late last year and utilizes the Algorand blockchain for its tokenization.

Other Nifty News:

Wakweli, a Web3 infrastructure protocol that issues certificates of authenticity, has officially partnered with layer-2 scaling platform Polygon to make NFT authentication possible.

On March 27, United States-based ticketing company Ticketmaster announced a new feature — token-gated ticket sales — allowing artists to reward NFT holders with exclusive benefits, including “special presales, prime seats, custom travel packages and access to unique concert experiences.”