The world has been taken by storm by the newest cryptocurrency of non-fungible tokens or NFTs. NFTs have changed the world of finances, and the platforms they can be displayed on are called the metaverse. Users can display their collections to show their wealth through art and other properties in the metaverse.
Many celebrities from all walks have joined the NFT craze, including business tycoons, musicians, actors, and professional athletes. Celebrity involvement has changed the way many people see NFTs as the influence of celebrities has helped the industry grow tenfold over the last two years.
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What Are NFTS?
NFTs are any forms of digital content, images, videos, or audio files, that live on a blockchain, like MoonPay, and are traded through the cryptocurrency of Ethereum.
Ethereum is much like Bitcoin, where the trader uses real life funds to buy so many Ethereum. Then, Ethereum is used to buy your NFTs and can then be sold or traded again for real money. However, many traders of NFTs keep their art in collections to display them in their respective metaverses.
Stephen Curry
Professional athlete, Stephen Curry, will go down in history with record-breaking achievements in the world of basketball. He will also be known as one of the biggest contributors to the NFT craze. Curry has become a tycoon of the industry.
Stephen Curry was born in Akron, Ohio. However, he was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, because his father played basketball for the Charlotte Hornets. Growing up, Curry played basketball in school and recreationally. As he grew older, it was clear to everyone he would follow in his father’s footsteps and play professional basketball.
Originally, Curry wanted to play college basketball at his father’s alma mater of Virginia Tech. However, life doesn’t always work out that way, and Stephen Curry eventually played college basketball for Davidson College.
In 2009 he was drafted to the Golden State Warriors, where he plays point guard. The 33-year-old professional basketball player proudly wears the number 30 jersey on the team. He also has a happy home life with a wife, Ayesha, and their three children. Together, Stephen and Ayesha actively work to make a change in the community with their foundation, “Eat.Learn.Play.”
It can be asked why he wanted to venture into the world of NFTs. The simple answer is to invest in his future. However, with his reach, Stephen Curry has done much more!
Stephen Curry and The Bored Ape Yacht Club
The Bored Ape Yacht Club was established in 2020, started by a group of 30-somethings with a dream to make NFTs work! Their company is a collection of 10,000 unique NFTs depicting a bored ape in various dressings. These NFTs are extremely popular, and each NFT ranges from silly to outrageous. The highest price for one is currently $1.3 million.
You may have seen any one of these apes on social media. The Bored Ape Yacht Club is known as the rock stars of the NFT world popping up in various places and becoming a meme in their own right. They all sport a similar look, making them perfect for any collector to seek avidly.
In August of 2021, The Bored Ape Yacht Club dropped a batch of 10,000 Mutant Ape NFTs. These sold out within the hour and raised over $96 million, showing the immense popularity that The Bored Ape Yacht Club has gained over the year they’ve been in business.
Many people from different walks of life picked up these mutant variants of the typical Bored Ape NFTs, including professional NBA basketball player Stephen Curry. Curry picked up his Bored Ape NFT for $180,000! The NFT Curry purchased depicts an ape with blue fur, green zombie eyes, and a tan jacket with a black polka dot ascot. He quickly changed his profile picture on social media to this new artwork as the internet raved over his large purchase of the mutant ape.
However, shortly after purchasing his NFT, Curry put up his new piece of art for auction for roughly $125,700, a significantly lower amount than the NFTs original purchase price. Curry is constantly looking to give back.
Steph Curry Uses His NFT Drop to Make Change
In December of 2021, Stephen Curry set a world record. Curry set the record for most three-pointers scored during the Golden State Warriors vs. the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Ray Allen held the previous record at 2,977 three-pointers made across 1,300 games. Curry set his record at nearly 3,000, coming in at 2,977 over 789 games.
Following his amazing feat, Curry, alongside his team of designers, partnered with Under Armor to create sneaker NFTs of the shoes he wore when making his historical three-pointer. With his name cemented forever in sports legacy, he changed another world.
Curry capitalized on the sacred nature of sneakers in the shoe community. Many believe that sneakers can be good luck and a sign of personality. A pair of Michael Jordan’s game-worn sneakers sold for $1.4 million to a collector. Stephen understands the value many people see in them and has capitalized on that by merging the sneaker craze with the NFT trend.
Quickly the NFTs of his legendary sneakers came and went. Curry put up 3,000 NFTs selling for $333 apiece. In the first hour, the sneaker NFTs raised $2.1 million. The collection is called the Genesis Curry Flow, prompting buyers to wear their new sneaker into the metaverse. Anyone who purchased the ‘wearable’ NFT can show off the newest addition to their collection on Gala Games, The Sandbox, or Decentraland.
However, Curry has not taken the profits for himself.
Alongside his wife Ayesha Curry, the pair have donated the money to organizations that help sports become more accessible to those less fortunate. This includes donating to the couple’s organization “Eat.Learn.Play”. Some of the Curry Brand programs help promote are providing safe places to play and grow, building up resources for schools and local organizations, and investing in coaches and leadership teachings. In addition, the Curry Brand seeks to make an impact on the community.
Stephen Curry took 200 NFTs to give as gifts to those who shaped his future. In addition, he gave NFTs to coaches, mentors, and teachers.
While many people use NFTs to boost themselves, grow their brand, or invest in their futures, Stephen Curry uses the revolutionary industry to make a difference in local communities.
Conclusion
NFTs and celebrities are not a new pairing. Many famous people have much influence buying and selling NFTs for profit. The likes of NFTs have been endorsed by people such as Elon Musk, Snoop Dogg, and Gary Vee, but also by change-makers like Stephen Curry.
However, Stephen Curry has taken the time and effort to use NFTs to help give a shot in the arm to those less fortunate. It is clear that Curry sees the value in NFTs and wants to use them as a platform for true change and honest good in the world. As the world changes and moves into the metaverse, Curry continues to make a change in the physical world using his reach in the metaverse. He can seemingly merge them, so they both work off each other to create good.