In this article, we discuss the 10 most popular NFTs in the world.
Investors are still coming around to the idea of cryptocurrencies and have not had the time to grasp the varied opportunities that the mainstreaming of blockchain technology in general offers the finance world. One example of this is the popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are digital collectibles, often in the form of art such as pictures or videos, whose ownership and other related data are tied to the blockchain. They are the digital versions of “rare” or “collectible” items in the real world, whose owner is guaranteed safety and security.
NFTs Becoming Mainstream As Established Businesses Invest
In the past year or so, NFTs have exploded onto the mainstream finance scene, fetching prices that have steadily jumped into the tens of millions. Recognized auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s have held NFT-related sales that have turned record profits. In 2021, NFT sales increased by around $24 billion year-on-year. NFT-related startups also received a lot of funding, evidenced by the $13 billion valuation of the NFT marketplace OpenSea in early 2022. In this context, NFT-related stocks are also witnessing high volumes.
Some of the top NFT stocks to buy according to hedge funds include Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE), and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), among others discussed in detail below. Endorsements by celebrities and athletes are also fueling the craze around the new technology. Since this corner of the market is still developing, investors need careful assessment of the risks and rewards associated with NFTs before they commit their money towards them. A cursory glance at the most popular NFTs can help in this regard.
Our Methodology
These were picked from a careful assessment of the NFT universe in the past few months. The details of each NFT are mentioned alongside a discussion around top companies working in the sector to provide readers with some context for their investment decisions.
Data from around 900 elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey as of Q4 2021 was used to identify the number of hedge funds that hold stakes in each firm.
https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/5-nft-startups-investors-are-flocking-to-972087/
Most Popular NFTs in the World
10. Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn video game based on the Pokemon series. In the game, players can trade, earn, battle, and perform various tasks with characters called Axies. These Axies can also be collected as pets, much like the Pokemon series. However, the Pokemon series had physical cards for collection whereas the Axies characters are collected as NFTs, in digital form only. Each character has unique powers and weaknesses.
NFTs are gaining widespread recognition in the digital realm through the efforts of companies like Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR), which owns and runs a social networking platform. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 83 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $3.1 billion in Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR), compared to 94 in the preceding quarter worth $6.3 billion.
Just like Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE), and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) is one of the stocks that NFT investors are flocking to.
RGA Investment Advisors, in its Q1 2021 investor letter, mentioned Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR). Here is what the fund has to say in its letter:
“‘The bird has wings’—Twitter’s quarter started off somewhat ominously, with Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) the worst performing stock in the S&P 500 following the January 6th insurrection and questions about the stickiness of the user base after permanently suspending the account of President Trump.8 By the end of the quarter, Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) was one of the best performers in the index after exceptionally strong fourth quarter earnings and guidance for the year and an upbeat analyst day that highlighted a rapidly evolving product roadmap placing the timeline at the center of ephemeral (fleets), long form (Revue) and voice (Spaces). The improvements to the experience makes the platform more accessible and provides more opportunity to continue growing the user base. Importantly, Twitter also embraced what we have been calling “creative empowerment” in previewing SuperFollows and a host of features designed to help content creators and contributors monetize their own audience on Twitter itself. These developments, alongside considerable progress on the advertising platform give us growing conviction that Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) will deliver on its largely untapped opportunity—in other words, the value creation opportunity on top of the low multiple we were able to build our position at. Elliot spoke at length about these developments on Yet Another Value Podcast with Andrew Walker and The Business Brew with Bill Brewster, which we invite you to check out.”
9. Sandbox
Sandbox is an NFT-based game inspired by classic hits like Minecraft and Roblox. It is also a play-to-earn game. Players can create their own worlds and rules within which the game is played. The worlds and the characters that these players create are obviously unique and thus can be collected as NFTs. Sandbox as a game has been around since 2011 but it was launched as an NFT offering in 2018. The game has over 30,000 monthly active users.
NFT creation is surging as Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET), which runs a cloud business, facilitates the creation and storage of content on digital platforms. Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm DE Shaw is a leading shareholder in Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET), with 2.1 million shares worth more than $281 million.
In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Alger Mid Cap Focus Fund, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) provides a broad range of network services to businesses of all sizes across the world. Cloudflare’s intelligent global network spans more than 200 cities in over 100 countries. It offers network security, performance and reliability to a growing portion of global web traffic. Today. over 15% of global internet requests go through Cloudflare. Cloudflare’s serverless network design allows this global network to be a key component layer as new developments for edge computing. 5G and Internet of Things increase the importance of secure. reliable edge networks. Cloudflare stock outperformed in the fourth quarter following the announcement of Cloudflare One, a cloud-bas. network-as-a-service platform designed to replace the traditional enterprise network infrastructure. The Cloudflare One solution merges existing Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) access and security solutions along with new enterprise-specific features into a unified Zero Trust network that can be managed through a single “pane of glass.” or display screen. With the rapid shift to remote work caused by the pandemic, this product increases Cloudflare’s potential for winning business from enterprise customers seeking to adapt to this new business environment.
While Cloudflare One adoption is still early. Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) has already started to demonstrate an improved ability to sell to large customers. When discussing its third quarter results. Cloudflare said that it is continuing to sign up larger enterprise customers. including its first client to generate more than $10 million in annual recurring revenue. Cloudflare has just started to better monetize its more than 100.000 paying customer base. which along with continued product innovation, gives the company strong growth potential.”
8. NBA Top Shot
NBA Top Shot is a platform where NBA fans can collect legendary moments from the basketball league as NFTs. It is one of the most-searched NFTs on Google. The project was launched as a collaboration between the US National Basketball Association and Dapper Labs. The latter is an NFT firm also famous for CryptoKitties. Unlike other top NFT-based projects that are picture-specific, Top Shot NFTs are only collected in video form.
NFT offerings by companies like Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT), a toys and consumer products firm, have helped make their adoption easier. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 29 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $1.3 billion in Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT), compared to 34 in the preceding quarter worth $1 billion.
Longleaf Partners Fund, in its Q1 2021 investor letter, mentioned Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT). Here is what the fund has to say in its letter:
“Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) (14%, 0.87%), the global toy company, also contributed to the Fund’s positive returns. Fourth quarter sales grew 10%, with Barbie once again leading with an impressive 18% growth, American Girl up 9% due to direct-to-consumer strength, Hot Wheels up 12% and Infant/Toddler growing 7%. Margins also improved to increase EBITDA 53% year-over-year (YoY) during the company’s all-important seasonal peak. CEO Ynon Kreiz’s outlook for 2021-23 includes achievable targets of mid-single-digit revenue growth and continuously improving margins. Mattel’s strategically important IP monetization has also developed well with no fewer than 25 media projects in the works. We expect significant contributions from these high-margin IP revenues over the next several years and do not think the market yet gives the company credit for the scale of this opportunity.”
7. Sorare
Sorare is the football-based version of NBA Top Shots. Players can create football leagues on the blockchain platform, play against each other on these leagues, and collect digital cards of their favorite players that also act as NFTs. These NFTs have value because each player only has a specific number of cards. The game runs on the Ethereum blockchain and some of the top European football clubs, around 200 in number, have already licensed it officially.
NFTs are becoming ever more expensive as digital artists use the tools offered by Takung Art Co., Ltd. (NYSE:TKAT), an online art platform, to create sophisticated art pieces. Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm Sabby Capital is a leading shareholder in Takung Art Co., Ltd. (NYSE:TKAT), with 576,729 shares worth more than $2.3 million.
6. Decentraland
Decentraland is a virtual platform that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. Users on the platform can collect digital offerings of plots of land, goods, and services. These offerings are collected using the MANA cryptocurrency. The platform allows users to personalize and manage their assets which also act as NFTs. A prominent partner of this project is Samsung, one of the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world.
Companies like Funko, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNKO), which markets pop culture products, have been instrumental in the rip-roaring success of NFTs at the marketplace. Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm Woodson Capital Management is a leading shareholder in Funko, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNKO), with 4.2 million shares worth more than $80 million.
Along with Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE), and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), Funko, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNKO) is one of the stocks that institutional investors are eyeing as NFT plays.
5. Doodles
Doodles are the digital recreations of artwork by famous illustrator Burnt Toast. Burnt Toast is the professional alias of Scott Martin, an artist based in Ontario. Martin is famous for “playful” pieces that have “dark undertones”. All Doodles, as the digital creations of his work are known, have been copied from hand-made drawings of the artist. The scope of the work varies from drawings of animals to even aliens and simple color palettes.
There are over 10,000 Doodles presently in existence. The project, which is community-driven, allows the owner of Doodle NFTs to participate in other community-related practices on the blockchain.
4. Bored Ape Yacht Club
The Bored Ape Yacht Club is a unique collection of around 10,000 digital artworks that have become very famous among celebrities. The project was created by Yuga Labs. It was launched in April 2021. Some of the famous celebrities that have purchased Bored Ape NFTs include talk show host Jimmy Fallon, record executive DJ Khaled, and social media ace Logan Paul, among others. Owners of Bored Ape NFTs also have access to private digital concerts.
The most famous Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT was sold for around $2.3 million. Yuga Labs has also purchased other prominent NFT series in recent weeks, including CryptoPunks and Meebits, making Yuga Labs one of the most expensive NFT firms in the world.
3. Cool Cats
Cool Cats is a set of 9,999 NFTs. All the NFTs depict variations of a blue cat. These variations come in the form of expressions, attire, and other cat-related traits. One of the most famous Cool Cat NFTs was sold for around $3.5 million and depicted a zombie version of the cat. Many celebrities have also made investments in Cool Cats NFTs, including boxing superstar Mike Tyson.
Cool Cats NFTs also offer owners the chance to breed new cats. This has increased interest in this niche sector of the market. The Cool Cats NFTs run on the Ethereum blockchain. They are randomly generated but stylistically curated.
2. Meebits
Meebits are a series of NFTs created by Larva Labs. They were launched in May 2021. They are a set of pixelated, 3D avatars that act as NFTs. There are around 20,000 Meebits, each one different from the other. One Meebit is valued at, on average, over $14,000 but famous ones can sell for hundreds of thousands. One of the unique aspects of Meebits NFTs are that they are available for trade on zero-fee trading platforms.
Meebits owners also get access to exclusive features like high resolution originals and other original digital files related to the NFTs. Meebits, like other famous NFTs, are also registered on the Ethereum blockchain.
1. CryptoPunks
CryptoPunks are perhaps the most famous NFTs across the world. At least three of the most expensive NFTs globally are from the CryptoPunks series. The NFTs are pixelated versions of “punks” of different kinds, including aliens, apes, and zombies, among others. These NFTs are also popular with celebrities. Some of the famous stars that own a CryptoPunk include Serena Williams, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg, among others.
One of the most expensive NFTs ever sold, from the CryptoPunks series, depicted a blue alien wearing a hat and puffing on a pipe. It was sold for $7.6 million. CryptoPunks are also one of the oldest NFTs, launching way back in 2017.
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Disclosure: None. 10 Most Popular NFTs in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.
