Three months ago, we reported that top crypto exchange Kraken had teamed up with Formula 1’s Williams Racing to bring NFTs to the U.S. Grand Prix.
The NFT initiative let NFT holders on Kraken’s marketplace submit their favorite NFTs for the chance to have them displayed on the back of Formula 1 race cars. The contest opened to the Kraken community in August with a vote to narrow the list of NFTs down to 20. Afterwards, the community voted on the top four, and Williams Racing drivers Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon selected two more, making the total number of NFTs to be featured six.
Last thursday, the two top drivers posted a video showcasing their NFTs. Some of the top NFTs came from the collections DeGods, y00ts, Sappy Seals, and DogePound.
Kraken is known as one of the most trusted crypto exchanges in the world. It was founded by Jesse Powell in 2011, and was valued at over $10.8 billion in 2022 by Bloomberg. Also in 2022, it launched its custodial NFT marketplace, which is home to top collections like Pudgy Penguins, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and more.
The company is hopeful that the democrat process of voting on which NFTs are displayed on the cars will stir excitement in its NFT community. For the chosen collections, the move could us bring some much-needed attention.
The next two Grand Prix races will be held on October 22nd in Austin, Texas, and October 29th in Mexico City. The Austin Grand Prix typically attracts over 400,000 fans, and Mexico City expects a similar number. In other words, Kraken’s move to showcase NFTs on Williams Racing cars will put the NFTs in front of a huge numbers of eyeballs, even if the cars are moving so fast they could be tough to make out.
Top Crypto Exchanges Make Moves with NFTs
Kraken is one of the most respected crypto exchanges in the game, and its recent move to showcase NFTs on Williams Racing cars could help move the ball forward for NFTs during this long bear market. But Kraken isn’t the only platform that’s been expanding into non-fungible tokens. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several stories about top exchanges and investment platforms delving into the realm of NFTs. Here are the top three.
First, eight months ago, Binance released a beta version of an AI-powered NFT generator named “Bicasso.“ The generator transformed users’ text prompts and profile pictures into artwork in mere seconds. According to the report, 10,000 PFPs were turned into NFT artwork in only 2.5 hours on March 1st.
Next, about nine months ago, the investment platform Robinhood launched the beta version of its Web3 wallet. The wallet allows users to swap cryptocurrencies on Polygon with no fees. It also enables them to view their non-fungible token collections on the wallet.
Finally, about a year ago, Kucoin, a crypto exchange based in Seychelles, unveiled its first non-custodial browser-based crypto wallet. Besides cryptocurrencies, the wallet allows fans to showcase and secure their favorite NFTs.
Even as the NFT bear market trudges on, it’s becoming more apparent that digital assets are fundamental to the strategies of top crypto exchanges and modern investment platforms. If the move by Kraken to showcase users PFP NFTs on Williams Racing cars is successful, it could attract thousands or hundreds of thousands of new collectors to its NFT marketplace.