12/07/2021 Washington Sports Teams Launch NFT Collections

 

Washington D.C. sports has two new non-fungible tokens (NFTs) collections to enjoy thanks to Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) 

Monumental Sports and Entertainment, along with the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, have announced a new NFT collection featuring the two teams. The Wizards from the NBA and the Capitals from the NHL become the latest subjects for digital artists to use as inspiration when creating NFT art.

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The artists involved with the new collection for these two Washington-based franchises are Lawrence Atoigue and Robert Generette III. Know professionally as Naturel and Rob Zilla III respectively, the pair are Washington locals and will be creating digital art to appeal to the D.C. fanbase. 

According to a statement by the NBA, “This announcement comes ahead of making the NFTs available to the public and to educate and generate excitement for the fans ahead of the expected mid-July drop dates. And in a first-ever move for a professional sports team, the Wizards are creating a special edition NFT within its collection which will be available free of charge for the first 500 fans through a creative marketing effort.”

The NFT collections

The collections are related to each other, but both feature different offerings to those interested buyers. The Capitals’ collection will feature one-of-a-kind or limited edition digital art with two different themes created by Rob Zilla III. The first theme explored is a celebration of the franchise’s 2018 Stanley Cup Championship.

The second is being called “The Screaming Eagle Collection” and is a more general theme based around the team logo introduced in 1995. Each collection contains a single one-of-one NFT along with a limited edition run of another piece ranging from 16 to 95.

The two winners of the one-of-one NFT will not only be awarded digital art, but some VIP perks as well. The winner of the Championship-themed NFT will get a physical championship ring, VIP access to the team’s open practices, autograph, memorabilia from the celebratory parade, and personalized gear.

The Screaming Eagle one-of-a-kind NFT comes with a pair of glass seat tickets to any home game with the option to watch warm-ups, a ride on the Zamboni in-between periods, and a meet and greet with team legends.

The Wizard’s collection, called the “Starting Five Collection”, is a five-part NFT series that highlights the diverse and powerful city that Washington D.C. is. Each of the five-part series represents one of the five starters on a basketball team and falls at different price points. The two most exclusive packages will be sold at auction on the OpenSea marketplace.

The two high-end packages include courtside tickets, a custom portrait by the artist Naturel, game-used gear, and other to-be-announced VIP perks.

Meanwhile, the Wizards will mint 200 NFTs priced at $49.99 each to be sold on a first come, first served basis. The team will also offer 500 free NFTs, labeled as “sixth man” editions, with details to follow on their social media channels.

Arts

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/washington-sports-teams-launch-nft-094037967.html

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David vs the Virus
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Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
"Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?" is dedicated to the mysterious creation of Bitcoin, and acts as the showcase artwork within Javier Arrés’ exploratory series "Bitcoin, The Origin". "Who is the creator of Bitcoin?" The artist, Arrés, explores this question, and the feelings of doubt and mystery that accompany it, through his unique artistic language. An unknown, an enigma. It should be remembered that the name Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym of Bitcoin's author or authors and gives us little insight into its true creator. For this Visual Toy, Arrés uses the signature claw machine, his famous half-operation, to symbolize our collective ignorance and unconfirmed belief: As soon as it has the stuffed animal within its grasp and appears to have solved the puzzle, the animal escapes again, and again. At present, there are three more public and studied possibilities who are either believed to be the creators of the currency or who directly claim the creation of it. It may be all or none of them, yet these three personalities leave us clues which are an important part of this interesting enigma. For this moment, it will remain unknown... In this artwork, Arrés elevates the claw machine from the apparatus, to an iconic pop art object serving as an important element to the Bitcoin creation narrative. Action is everywhere, with each movement serving an iconographical or metaphorical purpose related directly to cryptocurrency: Various ups and downs, roller coasters, mining points, robot, coins and more speak to a sense of hope, risk, mystery, randomness and possibility of pay out. Hundreds of manically thought out details make this creation one of the artist’s most complex Visual Toys to date. ------- "Bitcoin, The Origin" is a set of two Visual Toys, titled "Who is Satoshi Nakamoto" and "It’s Alive!" which reflect and explore the mystery and enigmas behind the creation of Bitcoin. Arrés presents these proposals to us in his signature style, full of iconography, fantasy, maniacal animations and a panoply of details (both subtle and overt) which simultaneously fascinate, hypnotize, and narrate this historical milestone through the singular vision of the artist. Through this series, Arrés freezes a crucial moment of cryptocurrency history, taking a still photo under his vision and turning it into two unique crypto artworks. ---- More info about Javier Arrés: https://javierarres.com/about.html
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