NFT

22 Rising NFT Artists to Watch in 2022

Published

2 weeks ago

January 5, 2022

In 2021, we witnessed a new creator economy born on the blockchain. Throughout the year, artists have risen to NFT superstardom, billion-dollar brands have been forged in the span of a few months and NFTs have changed lives time and time again. Yet, the most inspiring aspect of the NFT space is the fact that artists of all creeds and mediums have found community, support, and financial security by embracing this technology.

In keeping with our mission to empower creators, we’re excited to introduce Next Up — our new franchise dedicated to showcasing rising artists. In our inaugural edition, we curated a list of 22 ascendant talents who are poised to make major waves in 2022. Every month going forward, we’ll also be curating a more intimate Next Up selection to provide a regular platform to up-and-comers across the space.

Without further ado, nft now’s 22 Next Up ones to watch in 2022.

Alpha Centauri Kid

After receiving a coveted XCOPY co-sign, Alpha Centauri Kid captivated the NFT space in October with his record-setting genesis auction on SuperRare for “ctrl + alt + generate.” The piece sold to 6529 for 165.29 ETH ($606,568) following a pitched bidding war involving leading collectors like Cozomo de’ Medici and Starry Night Capital. ACK recently made his major auction house debut in the nft now x Christie’s x OpenSea auction with a standout piece called “girl with balloon” that shockingly transformed into “pepe with balloon” upon its sale in Banksyesque fashion. – Matt Medved

Andre Oshea

Andrea Oshea is a 3D animator and prominent Black crypto artist based in Atlanta, Ga. He’s worked with Snapchat, Adult Swim, Vogue, Netflix, and more, and has described his art as being “inspired by aesthetic beauty, luxury, storytelling, the future and the feeling of limitless moments.”

Oshea has released numerous influential pieces throughout 2021, including a tribute to Chadwick Boseman titled A Young Boy’s Dream. To close out the year, his piece Ego Death was sold as part of Christie’s first-ever on-chain auction, presented as part of nft now x Christie’s “The Gateway”. – Langston Thomas

Black Dave

Here’s an overview of my latest music NFT and how it’s gonna work, which I think could be an interesting possibility for how music artists use NFT technology in the future.
Reply here if you have any questions & my DMs are open! pic.twitter.com/HO5d20lEdJ
— blackdave.eth (@BlackDave) December 19, 2021

Black Dave is a visual artist, producer, and recording artist based out of Charleston, S.C. Dave is a prolific creative working on multiple projects across various mediums all at once, citing anime, rap, hardcore rock and streetwear as his biggest creative influences. He’s continued to churn out a wide variety of both music and NFT releases throughout the year, establishing himself as one of the most prominent Black voices in the NFT space. – LT

Cath Simard

Landscape photography NFTs have enjoyed a renaissance over the past year, empowering a new class of intrepid explorers like Cath Simard. The Sony Alpha ambassador rose to prominence in the space following the 100 ETH ($303,481) sale of her viral #FreeHawaiiPhoto to notable collector GMoney, which became the world’s first image to have its rights released following purchase. Cath is also deep in the NFT space, and when she’s not spelunking through frozen caves and capturing aurora borealis, she can often be found advocating for her favorite project – the cult classic CryptoDickbutts. – MM

Compusophy

Compusophy is an anonymous artist that melds tech and visual art. Having burst onto the scene towards the beginning of 2021, he first started gaining a following through minimalistic, geometric pieces that many felt were an homage to blue-chip artist Pak.

After an abrupt disappearance in April that shocked many in his collector community, the enigmatic creator returned to the NFT space and hit the ground running with numerous giveaways, Twitter analytics events, and auctions. Having garnered support from numerous prominent crypto artists, it seems likely Compu will continue to outdo himself in 2022. – LT

Diana Sinclair

Diana Sinclair is a 17-year-old critically acclaimed visual artist, activist, and curator. In Nov 2020, she was selected as a 2021 YoungArts National Finalist in Photography and has since easily become a staple of the NFT space.

Primarily focusing on art that explores identity, self-exploration, and social justice, Sinclair had already built up a robust network of support within the NFT space before making history via their work on OneOf’s Whitney Houston auction. The landmark $999,999 sale not only helped illustrate how NFTs can help bring iconic artists into a new era of music culture, but also elevated Sinclair’s status as an ascendant star. – LT

Drift

Isaac Wright, better known by his moniker Drift, is a photographer who went viral over the past year after being arrested at gunpoint for climbing a skyscraper in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Originally a hobbyist urban explorer, Wright gained notoriety via his pictures atop buildings, bridges and other high-elevation places usually unreachable by a lone human.

While Wright’s Where My Vans Go photo series has become a highly coveted collection in the NFT space, his art has continued to earn him prosecution for trespassing. Yet, as a judge ruled in favor of treatment and no jail time, settling the six felony charges against him, the NFT space as a whole seems to be expecting more groundbreaking photography from him in 2022. – LT

Fiedler

One of the most notable artists to come out of the hic et nunc ecosystem on the Tezos blockchain, Fiedler pairs throwback GIF art with neon colors that memorably contrast with his work’s sci-fi/horror subject matter. The Brazilian artist has become instantly recognizable and now counts luminaries like XCOPY among his collectors. He’s also got a penchant for philanthropy, recently releasing an edition of 100 to help feed needy families in Curitiba. – MM

Greylsian

Gossamer Rozen (aka Grelysian) is a non-binary, transgender, Filipino/African American artist who has continued to push the boundaries of both their physical and digital art in 2021. While Rozen has worked on a wide array of solo and collaborative NFT endeavors (including the popular Woodies project) throughout the year, they continue to focus on expressing intimacy and self-actualization through tattooing, woodcarving, textile art, soft sculpture, digital media and more. – LT

Gremplin

Gremplin is a visual artist who started his deep dive into NFTs in January of 2021. After slowly releasing wide variety of pieces and projects, the anonymous artist developed his own signature style through trial and error, gaining popularity in the NFT space.

After being involved with numerous projects throughout the year — including the successful Nouns NFT project — the enigmatic creator came out with the now massively popular CrypToadz collection. While Gremplin has only just begun to truly define his own artistic identity in the NFT space, with the seemingly full support of the NFT community at his disposal, exciting new endeavors from the independent creative seem inevitable in 2022. – LT

Heno

(1/6) Over the weekend I silently released a 20ETH crowdfund for my forthcoming project, I’M TIRED OF BEING HYPERSURVEILLED, and we’re already at 3.75ETH ($16,241.44)!!
I felt the need to write an open letter & thread to talk more about it allhttps://t.co/Pkz6Wn5lOg
— HENO.eth 🇪🇹🇪🇷 (@mynameisheno) December 7, 2021

A first-generation Ethiopian/Eritrean-American artist and musician whose work focuses on the Black consciousness, Heno channeled his toxic experiences with law enforcement into a fourteen-track album titled “I’m Tired Of Being Hypersurveilled” with an ongoing 20 ETH crowdfund. In October, he performed at the opening of Umba Daima’s Crossroads Exhibition NFT gallery in Atlanta and has been a vocal advocate for Black creatives in the space. – MM

Jake Osmun

Jake Osmun, better known in the NFT space as JakeTheDegen or JAKΞ, is a music photographer turned crypto artist who has seen continuous success in 2021. Having started out the year with little experience in NFTs, he began his deep dive into the space after winning Punk #5514 from Punk4156 via a Twitter contest. Although he was grinding for a good few months to establish a solid foothold in the space, his multimedia pieces have continued to earn him accolades from top-tier artists and collectors. – LT

Julie Pacino

NFTs are poised to disrupt the film industry, particularly in helping independent filmmakers crowdfund projects and independently monetize intellectual property. Acclaimed photographer Julie Pacino is a living case study for this new model. She recently released her “Keepers of the Inn” project to finance her forthcoming feature film, I Live Here Now, which is based on her cinematic genesis NFT photography collection by the same name. – MM

Klara Vollstaedt

Klara Vollstaedt is a transgender artist from Canada whose work analyzes the divide between the digital and the real world, as well as the personas and relationships that exist within it. She started out the year with a barrage of impressive 1/1 3D pieces before pivoting to conceive her adorable PFP project KBOTs. With a successful avatar series under her belt, Vollstaedt will continue to develop in all creative endeavors in 2022. – LT

Latashá

Music video NFTs are poised to have a moment and no one is doing them better than Latashá. The Brooklyn-born singer and rapper recently set a new music NFT record on Zora with her stunning video for “GOGO WYNE,” which sold for 13.4207 ETH ($50,398). In between divining fortunes and dancing in dazzling outfits, Latashá somehow also finds time to run community programming for Zora and help onboard and educate newcomers to the NFT space. – MM

LEViT∆TE

Connor Campbell, better known by his moniker LEViT∆TE, is an audiovisual artist based out of California. Recently, he joined a collaborative effort to mint and auction Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht’s genesis NFT.

Although Campbell began minting and selling his own NFTs in July of 2020, he has continued to work behind the scenes on visuals for numerous big-name music and NFT projects. Considering Ulbricht’s genesis NFT — which was unveiled at nft now x Christie’s “The Gateway” — sold for $6.27 million, LEViT∆TE enters 2022 as an integral part of the NFT ecosystem. – LT

REO

A 3D artist and music producer who has worked with some of the top artists and brands in the world, including Kanye West’s “Donda” show and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade NFT drop, REO is now coming into his own as an artist. In November, his “emersion” genesis piece on SuperRare sold to Mondoir for 12 ETH ($51,403) in an auction that featured bids from the likes of FVCKRENDER, BT, ThankYouX, and more. – MM

Sam J

Self-described as the “first and only drag artist on SuperRare,” Sam J unapologetically explores their queer identity in colorful animated pieces that count tastemaking artists like Fewocious, Claire Silver, Erin Beesley among their collectors. Based in Amsterdam, Sam J has displayed works at RAREWORLD: SuperRare x SuperWorld Miami and Amsterdam Fashion Week. – MM

sgt_slaughtermelon

A prolific generative artist who wears many hats and monikers, sgt_slaughtermelon first caught our attention with his whimsical modernist project Lazlo Lissitsky before rising to prominence with his Art Blocks Factory autoRAD drop in collaboration with Tartaria Archivist. He recently announced a Tezos collection called “The Lost Works of Sargei Slaughtermelovich,” proving that his algorithmic inspiration still cannot be confined to one name or blockchain. – MM

Shay the Surrealist

Shaylin Wallace certainly lives up to her name, attracting attention across the NFT space over the past year with her stunning surrealist works on platforms like Foundation, Makersplace, Async Art and KnownOrigin. The 22-year-old artist recently showcased at the nft now x Christie’s “The Gateway” gallery during Art Basel Miami and is clearly positioned to build upon her current momentum in the year to come. – MM

SHL0MS

SHL0MS is an anonymous artist who aims to push boundaries and challenge perceptions of what constitutes art. As a prominent member of the non-fungible community, SHL0MS has not only greatly contributed to NFT meme culture, but continues to turn heads with unique, complex drops akin to digital performance art. With a presence that lies somewhere between shitposter extraordinaire and NFT social commentator, SHL0MS is only getting started. – LT

VÉRITÉ

happy that my auction for by now is included in this list.
sold 2.3% of the master recording in perpetuity for 11ETH to a fan back in April and have been nonstop ever since. https://t.co/GYOXJTiSg5
— VÉRITÉ (@Verite) December 16, 2021

NFTs are changing the game for independent musicians. Brooklyn singer/songwriter VÉRITÉ was an early mover in the space, selling 2.3% of her “By Now” master recording in perpetuity for 11 ETH on Zora in April. In addition to inspiring other indie artists and making our list of the top music NFT moments of 2021, VÉRITÉ has been actively releasing music NFTs on medium-native platforms like Catalog and Sound.xyz. – MM

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Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion

Published

1 hour ago

January 18, 2022

michael jones

Microsoft is headed for the metaverse. On Tuesday the multinational tech company agreed to buy Activision Blizzard, the legendary video game studio behind Call of Duty, Overwatch, Candy Crush, and more for $68.7 billion in cash.

The deal comes as numerous tech and media companies — most notably Meta — race to become frontrunners of the metaverse, the fabled next iteration of the internet. When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue.

While web3 and the metaverse have both become hot topics in the last year, they still remain concepts yet to be fully actualized through contemporary technology. With this latest acquisition — the largest in Microsoft history — the tech giant seems to be betting on the future of gaming, and itself becoming a major role in the next evolution of the VR and AR gaming experience.

“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” said CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella in a statement. “We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”

In gaining Activision’s nearly 400 million monthly users, only time will tell how Microsoft plans to expand into the metaverse. Yet, with the convergence of Activision’s industry-leading game technology and Microsoft’s groundbreaking artificial intelligence, we may very well see the lines between science fiction and reality continue to be blurred as this new gaming monolith develops.

Photos courtesy of Microsoft.

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China’s State-Run Blockchain to Separate Crypto from NFTs

Published

4 hours ago

January 18, 2022

michael jones

Despite its hard-line stance when it comes to cryptocurrencies, global powerhouse, China, still has designs on the blockchain. In order to separate the underlying technology from its association with crypto it is building its own state-run blockchain for NFTs.

Under the banner of “Blockchain Services Network (BSN),” Beijing aims to capitalize on the popularity of NFTs, while at the same time disconnecting it from the currencies that surround it. The result is the BSN DDC, or Blockchain Services Network Distributed Digital Certificate. In addition, BSN will integrate services from 10 major blockchains including Ethereum and Corda, but will not operate on a decentralized framework, therefore allowing government access to the data, creating a distribution system that is closely monitored by Chinese authorities.

China’s solution will conduct all payments and transaction fees related to BSN using Renminbi, the standard Chinese currency. However, China already enjoys a vast digital payment infrastructure, optimized to facilitate it. Several major Chinese tech companies have backed the move, including Tencent, JD.com and Baidu, all of which have recently launched NFT collections under the name “digital collectible.”

The downside of this operation is that while utilizing different rules from the rest of the world, the Chinese NFT market is likely to become isolated. Therefore, reducing NFT engagement between it and other nations.

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*All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFT Plazas are from the personal research and experience of our site moderators and are intended as educational material only. Individuals are required to fully research any product prior to making any kind of investment.

Decentralised human, Explorer, Adventurer.

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Shoe Retailer ‘Crocs’ Initiate NFT Launch Through Trademark Application –

Published

5 hours ago

January 18, 2022

michael jones

Foam shoe retailer Crocs has recently filed a trademark application which can manage and store NFTs. Through acquiring the rights to the trademark, the Colorado-based company will be in possession of intellectual property that is both digital and physical in nature.

Specifically, Crocs’ trademark registration states its intention to cover the categories of downloadable digital media namely, digital assets, digital collectibles, digital tokens, and NFTs. When continuing to relate such digital assets to the brand itself, the application states that they will take form in the nature of footwear, clothing, bags, accessories, and decorative footwear charms.

The application also includes information on how the company will leverage blockchain technologies in order to showcase the digital products to its customers, as it states its intention to use downloadable computer software for creating, managing, storing, accessing, sending, receiving, exchanging, validating and selling digital assets, digital collectibles, digital tokens and NFTs.

The infamous moulded-footwear company, which has sold over 300 million pairs of its patented, opinion-splitting clogs, is certainly not the first shoe brand to enter the world of NFTs, as industry giants Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour already allow fans to flaunt their digital kicks across platforms such as The Sandbox and Decentraland, whilst luxury fashion brand Jimmy Choo also released an exclusive NFT shoe collection.

Follow Crocs >> Twitter

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