Nifty News: Vitalik Buterin becomes NFT, Neopets transitions into non-crypto game and more

NFT marketplace OpenSea has delisted a collection of NFTs that represented staked Ether without any warnings.

Vitalik Buterin portrait from 2014 auctioned as NFT

An image of the Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin taken back in 2014, is being auctioned off as a nonfungible token (NFT). The portrait, by Canadian photographer Andrew Miller, was taken before the popular developer became famous.

The NFT sale also celebrates the 10th year since Ethereum was created by sharing a portrait of the Ethereum founder that has not been sold before.

Encadrium studio here in #Montreal is hosting my resplendent print of @VitalikButerin while my reserve 333 ETH auction is underway at https://t.co/AcnXi0XTY9
Ongoing until end of July. #nft #ethereum #art #history #portrait pic.twitter.com/6EEh86Lr15

— Andrew Miller (@awesomephoto2) July 6, 2023

Within the image, Buterin is wearing formal wear — a look that the Ethereum founder does not wear regularly. The NFT listing shared the story behind the portrait and how it came to be. 

According to the listing, Miller met Buterin in Toronto before he became famous. Because the photographer believed in the young founder’s vision, he wanted to do something to contribute to giving the young inventor “a stronger public image and marketability.”

However, during the photo shoot for the portrait, Buterin came with his usual get-up, which the listing described as “distressed casual clothing,” noting that the Ethereum co-founder had “no instinct for any formal photos.” Because Miller was unsatisfied with the look, he took off his own striped shirt for Buterin to wear.

Related: Vitalik Buterin shares account abstraction challenges in Ethereum: EthCC

Neopets transitions into a non-crypto game

The creators of the NFT-powered game Neopets Metaverse have recently announced some changes to the project following a shift in leadership. According to the announcement, the team will now focus on a fresh concept dubbed World of Neopets. 

However, the team clarified that the game is not a crypto-based game like Neopets Metaverse. In a blog post, the team wrote:

“The decision has been made to transition away from the Neopets Metaverse game and redistribute those resources to the development of a game that we feel can better reflect our values and vision.”

According to the team, the Neopets Genesis Collection, Neopets Pizzaroo Collection and Neopets Masterpiece will all still be available on the open market. The team highlighted that it will continue to support the community that embraced the collections. In addition, the team noted that the Neopets Metaverse Discord channel will remain functional. 

Despite the assurances, many community members were unhappy with the changes, with some raising questions about Neopets potentially performing a “legal form of rug pull.”

Meanwhile, other members of the community were asking for refunds of the minting fee, while some brought up the investments raised by the team that came from crypto projects. 

OpenSea delists NFT collection backed by staked ETH

NFT marketplace OpenSea has delisted a collection from its marketplace that consisted of NFTs that represented staked Ether. According to an open letter written by Mike Silagadze, the CEO of Ethereum staking protocol Ether.fi, OpenSea has hit its project with a “gut punch” as NFT listings of its recently-launched ether.fan NFTs disappeared from the marketplace. 

I published an open letter to @opensea regarding our staked ETH NFT collection @ether_fi @ether_fans https://t.co/Q2RkSYmxHz

— Mike Silagadze (@MikeSilagadze) July 18, 2023

Silagadze wrote in the letter that all listings were deleted without any notice or warnings from the marketplace. New listings were also disabled and showed vague error messages. The CEO said that this went on for days before OpenSea responded that they do not allow collections that “carry out any financial activities subject to registration or licensing.”

The NFTs minted at Ether.fan represent the ETH staked within the platform. According to the project, the NFTs can be used as a profile picture, and it also showcases support for Ethereum decentralization because they are backed by staked ETH.

Silagadze also highlighted in the letter that the company talked with OpenSea to ensure the project was compatible with its market before launching it. The CEO noted that the NFT platform did not indicate any potential issues with its NFT collection.

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