Strange Year for NFTs
Even amid a market rebound of sorts, it’s been a weird, messy year for NFTs. With falling demand and sinking prices, we saw big brands release terrible-looking collectibles, well-funded startups collapse out of nowhere, and notable projects crumble under the weight of regulatory enforcement. And a certain former U.S. president just kept on releasing more NFTs.
If you’re looking for a last-minute digital gift that’s fun, goofy, and downright memorable, we’ve picked a handful of standouts from this very strange year for NFTs. Please keep in mind that most of these have no real utility at this point—but that’s never stopped people from buying NFTs before, let alone watching them inexplicably rise in value.
(This is not financial advice. Seriously.)
Stoner Cats
Launched at the peak of the 2021 bull run, “Stoner Cats”—an animated web series with an on-the-nose title and backing from Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher—sold over $8 million worth of Ethereum NFT access passes to watch episodes. But this September, the creators reached a settlement with the SEC over selling unregistered securities, paying a $1 million civil penalty and establishing a reimbursement fund for buyers.
Stoner Cats is effectively dead as a project and most major marketplaces have banned trading of the NFTs following the settlement, but you can still buy them at places like LooksRare. And amazingly, they’ve only gone up in price on the secondary market, rising from about $30 worth of Ethereum before the SEC news to a current price of $115. It’s NFT history!
Trump NFTs
Former U.S. President Donald Trump made a huge splash with NFTs last December. Then he made another, lesser impact with a second batch in April, torpedoing the value of the first batch in the process. And with his recently launched third collection—which is still far from sold out as of this writing—the reaction was more like a tiny drop in the ocean.
It’s hard to see these latest $99 “MugShot Edition” NFTs gaining value once secondary market trading opens on December 31, but the artwork is goofier than ever (Cyborg Trump?!) and you can get a piece of a Trump-worn business suit if you buy enough of ‘em. For a slightly cheaper joke gift, his Series 2 NFTs sell for even less than $99 via secondary marketplaces.
Game of Thrones: Build Your Realm
Dubbed “the worst thing I’ve ever seen” amid other comical quips by Crypto Twitter users, the Game of Thrones: Build Your Realm NFT was a big brand play that went very, very wrong. Nifty’s, a now-shuttered NFT platform that worked closely with Warner Bros, launched Game of Thrones-inspired 3D avatars for what was planned to be an upcoming game.
But the fantasy characters were generic and interchangeable at best… and weirdly mangled at worst. Some had extremely long digits that were aptly called “salad fingers” as social media commenters took potshots. These NFTs are more or less abandoned now, but for under $50 via Coinbase NFT, they’re a curious relic of a high-profile launch that absolutely cratered.
Nickelodeon NFTs
Nostalgia is a powerful force—but even nostalgia couldn’t beat the harsh reality of Crypto Winter. In August, NFT startup Recur announced that it would shutter despite raising $50 million and launching hundreds of thousands of individual NFTs from big brands like Nickelodeon and Hello Kitty.
Classic kids cartoon “Rugrats” was one of the prominent IPs that Recur licensed, using it to launch not only NFTs but also the unfortunate pre-collapse marketing line, “Rugrats, not rugpulls.” You can celebrate both Rugrats and rugpulls by snatching up one of the Nickelodeon NFTs on secondary markets, starting at less than $10 as of this writing. Premier characters like Tommy and Angelica Pickles command higher prices, naturally.
Frank
Solana’s low fees and buzzing community amid a recent upswing means that people can quickly spin up and launch completely ridiculous, tossed-off NFT projects—and people will be there to buy them, flip them, forget about them, and move on to the next wacky thing.
Lately, the Dogwifhat NFT collection—which, like the Dogwifhat (WIF) token, is inspired by a classic meme image—has been one of those oddball standouts. But it’s a bit pricey. For more of a bargain, check out Frank. Launched last week, Frank looks like a Twitter shitpost come to life as NFT creatures, and they resemble… polar bears, maybe? Hard to say.
But they start at about $6 as of this writing and they crack us up. As the project’s official website explains, “frankfrankFRANKfrank frankFRANKfrankfrank frank FRANKFRANKfrank FRANKfrankfrank.”
‘Nuff said!
Hot Take: The Weird and Memorable NFTs of 2023
Despite the ups and downs of the NFT market, there have been some truly strange and memorable NFT projects in 2023. From the ill-fated Stoner Cats series to the Trump NFTs that have lost their value, these digital collectibles have had their fair share of quirks and controversies. The Game of Thrones: Build Your Realm NFTs, once hailed as a big brand play, turned out to be a major disappointment. And even Nickelodeon couldn’t escape the impact of Crypto Winter.
But amidst all the chaos, there are still hidden gems like Frank, a Twitter-inspired NFT project that offers a quirky and affordable option for collectors. While these NFTs may not have much utility or long-term value, they certainly make for interesting and unconventional gifts. So if you’re looking to surprise someone with a truly unique digital present, consider exploring these peculiar NFT offerings from 2023.
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