Marco Casali has harbored an interest in ships from a young age. Since then, he has become a name in the field of yacht design, drawing up schematics for superyachts. Now, one of his creations, which initially started as a non-fungible token, is going from the virtual to IRL. This is the story of the superyacht ‘Next Fisherman.’
‘Next Fisherman’ was part of a 500-superyacht NFT collection launched in early 2022 through Cloud Yachts, which bills itself as “the world’s first AI-powered yacht brokerage.” All the yachts in that collection had metaverse capabilities: the ability to tour them virtually and enjoy exclusive experiences.
Now, Casali is turning ‘Next Fisherman,’ also known as ‘Freedom 43,’ into an IRL yacht — a 43-meter (143-foot) superyacht that comes complete with six cabins, a sundeck with plunge pool and bar, and helipad. The yacht will be purchasable through its corresponding NFT, though the price has not been revealed yet.
Pictures of the yacht show that Casali went with a cream-beige color for the interior, with the dining room (complete with a 10-person dining table) draped in that hue. The dining room also comes with a complementary flat-screen TV and medium-toned hardwood floors. Presumably, the NFT of the yacht will be sold through Cloud Yachts like the original collection.
This is not the first NFT-to-IRL yacht story that has hit our radar. Two years ago, Cloud Yachts sold its first NFT for $12 million. That yacht was a 110-footer built by Tactical Custom Boats, a company based in Canada. Rarity Sniper has reached out to Cloud Yachts for comment on this story and will update this article if it responds.
The ‘Phygital Experience’ Takes Web3 by Storm
Although not popular with homegrown NFT collections, the ‘phygital experience’ has been growing in popularity with companies entering the Web3 space. It involves the attachment of a physical good with the purchase of an NFT, or an NFT with the purchase of a physical good. Here are three such stories involving this new utility for non-fungible tokens.
First, three weeks ago, fashion brand Diesel partnered with Fossil Group for a new line of physical watches, an immersive VR gaming experience, and NFT avatars. The two groups dubbed the experiment ‘Vert,’ where people who buy the watch receive an NFT that can interact in the Metamorph world.
Next, five months ago, French fashion house Louis Vuitton announced the release of a phygital experience called ‘VIA Treasure Trunk.’ The soulbound NFTs, which cost around $42,000 apiece, unlocked certain physical and digital products, while also giving holders access to unique experiences.
Lastly, also five months ago, auto-manufacturing giant Renault released a phygital NFT collection called “Racing Shoe5.” The 960 non-fungible tokens came with a pair of IRL shoes based on the R5 Turbo, one of the company’s most popular cars in the 1980s. The release of the collection came as Renault is issuing a new line of that same car, but as an electric model.
As these stories show, companies are getting creative in the Web3 space by attaching digital objects to physical ones. Although multimillion-dollar superyachts may be a step above a pair of shoes, the concept (and technology) is generally the same. We’ll pay attention to any developments in the story and update this article if needed.