Probing into blue chip NFTs in detail with examples

Blue chip NFTs refer to projects that are believed to be stable as well as profitable in the long run. They have brand power, real-world utility, high floor price, celebrity support and team commitment. ENS, BAYC, MAYC and CryptoPunks are examples of blue chip NFTs. 

Blue-chip stocks are secure investments and have a proven success record along with growth thanks to their proven history of incredible performance which shows how they do not collapse or fall anytime soon. However, they do not generate as high returns like the valuable riskier forms of investments. 

Blue chips are of two types-

  1. PFP collections- These are designed to be utilized on social media as avatars.
  2. Generative art- These are traditional works of art though they are built using a computer algorithm. 

The story behind the name

The name ‘blue chip’ has been taken from the game poker since it has green chips, red chips and blue chips. Among all the three, blue chips have the maximum value. During the 1920s, the term was used to talk about stocks that have higher trading prices than others. The origin and increased adoption of digital assets has led to the term being used in NFT and crypto markets too. 

Leading blue chip NFTs

A number of NFT projects belong to the blue chip but we will discuss the most popular ones.

CryptoPunks

Larva Labs created CryptoPunks in 2017, which consists of 10,000 images that are tokenized like NFTs on Ethereum. Owners of these NFTs are the only holders of a unique pixel avatar. They were launched as an experiment at a time when the ERC-721 NFT standard of Ethereum was nothing. While owners of the Ethereum wallet took the 9,000 CryptoPunks that were launched for the public, remaining ones were kept by Larva Labs.

It was in late 2020 and beginning of 2021 when these NFTs were in demand. Value of CryptoPunks in the secondary market turned into multi-million-dollar NFT sales, usage of CryptoPunks as profile pictures and auctions at Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

Bored Ape Yacht Club

BAYC is the creation of Yuga Labs and consists of 10,000 profile pictures that are minted like NFTs on Ethereum. Owners have an illustration of Apes that look disinterested and possess random characteristics and accessories. No two Apes are alike.  

While membership offers advantages, there’s access to the titular “club” of sorts. According to CryptoSlam, the collection earned a trading volume of more than $750 million until January 2022. These Apes emerged as the Twitter NFT avatar of choice for musicians, athletes, etc. 

Doodles

These NFTs have art by Burn Toast and were introduced in 2021. These 10,000 NFTs are available in varying sizes, colors and characteristics. Owners can vote for experiences as well as activations by the Doodles Community Treasury.

Pharrell Williams, musician & producer, joined Doodles in September as its Chief Brand Officer to serve as the executive producer for a music album influenced by the project. That time, the sales of Doodles spiked to 1,200% and were valued at $704M.

Azuki

Azuki was released this year in January and was among the leading projects in terms of reaching a new milestone besides trading volume. By March 2022, the first secondary sale happened and went beyond $1 million. 

At the time, Azuki #9605 was sold for 420.69 ETH which equals to $1.42 million and was almost double than the previous sale of Azuki #4666 that took place in February for 204 ETH which was $586,000 at the time.

Twin Flames

Launched as a tribute to the late twin brother of artist Justin Aversano, Twin Flames entered the NFT space in February last year on Ethereum. The collection has 100 photos that depict different sets of twins. These photos display an extensive range of subjects in the apparel and location of their choosing and joined by shared traits of being twins.

Owners of these NFTs are popular names like Gary Vaynerchuk and Snoop Dogg. Until October 2021, trading volume worth $13 million was raised by the portrait collection. An NFT was sold for 506 ETH that very year.   

CryptoKitties

Built on Ethereum and created by Dapper Labs, CryptoKitties has NFTs that are unique and have their digital genome preserved in a smart contract. The genome regulates the visual appearance or phenotype of the NFTs. It is possible to breed any two CryptoKitties by deploying a  genetic algorithm, which leads to the origin of an offspring that has its own rare traits.  

Breeding CryptoKitties was famous to such an extent that other businesses were forbidden from working on the platform to confirm their transactions rapidly. In May 2020, CryptoKitties moved to Flow.

Some more blue chip NFT projects

 Some very prominent other blue chip projects include-

VeeFriends: Designed by Gary Vaynerchuk, the VeeFriends NFTs enable users to be a part of an artistic group and share their dedication for NFTs and business with exports. 

Art Blocks: The project has an extensive range of digital art including abstract to traditional pieces. Art Blocks sales rose in August last year and were sold for millions of dollars.

World of Women: The WoW collection is created by Yam Karkai and focuses on women empowerment with its 10,000 digital avatars. 

CloneX: Designed by Takashi Murakami, a Japanese artist, the CloneX NFT collection gave high hopes and generated great promises even before they were released in 2021. 

Moonbirds: Launched in April 2022, the Moonbirds collection has 10,000 NFTs and generated 100.000 plus ETH in only a few days. 

Blue chip NFT act like stocks

Yes they do which means they come and go like usual stocks. For instance, at a time, BAYC was leading; however, it fell in the bear market. Also, Justin Bieber’s Ape which he bought for $1.3 million in January fell to $69,000 in November. Even then they remain in demand and will continue to. 

How do projects qualify as blue chip?

Certain factors are a must to meet to fall into the category of blue chip NFTs. These factors are-

  • Institutional support
  • Low volatility
  • Legacy in the market
  • Extent of decentralization
  • Founder(s) credibility
  • High liquidity/interchangeability as well as market capitalization

Conclusion

Blue chip NFTs are different from the usual NFTs and act as a status symbol. They encourage people to invest in them and have higher possibilities of turning into a fruitful ROI for long term investors.