NFT

Sotheby’s to Auction CryptoPunk and Beeple NFTs

Friday. August 16 at 12:00 AM

1 min. read

Sotheby’s, a prestigious fine arts auction house, is set to auction a CryptoPunk and Beeple non-fungible token (NFT) along with other artworks in a digital art auction starting on Aug. 15. The online event will commence at 2:00 pm Eastern Time on Aug. 15 and conclude on Aug. 22. Sotheby’s aims to showcase the fusion of artistic expression and technological innovation through this sale, catering to both new and experienced art collectors. The auction will feature generative art pieces that blend creativity with technology, paying tribute to women pioneers in the art world and promoting emerging artists exploring new technologies. Notable items in the auction include CryptoPunk #491 and a piece by Beeple, known for his record-breaking NFT sales. Despite a recent decline in NFT sales, Sotheby’s remains optimistic about the upcoming auction, which will also feature pieces from renowned digital art collections like “GRAILS: Property from An Iconic Collection” and “GRAILS: Starry Night.”

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The Evolution of Web3 and the Open Metaverse

Tuesday. January 14 at 11:00 AM

In 2023, Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, delivered a TED Talk on the potential of Web3 and the open metaverse. Despite setbacks in the Web3 and crypto space, the industry has rebounded in 2025. Siu highlighted the importance of digital ownership in the open metaverse, emphasizing the role of blockchain and Web3 technologies. The concept of play-and-earn in blockchain games gained popularity, offering new economic opportunities. The rise of NFTs has revolutionized digital ownership, providing creators with direct benefits. The total value of DAO treasuries has surged, reflecting the growth of the open metaverse economy. Siu predicts a promising future for Web3 and the open metaverse, with a focus on property rights and digital ownership. The evolution of digital ownership signifies a significant paradigm shift in the online world.

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The Rise of Illustrious: A Game-Changer in AI Anime Art Generation

Tuesday. January 14 at 8:00 AM

Illustrious, a text-to-image model based on Stable Diffusion XL, has quickly become a dominant force in the AI art community. Civitai, the largest hub for AI art models, had to create a separate category to manage its vast resources within just three months. The key to Illustrious' success lies in its unique approach of utilizing Danbooru tags instead of lengthy natural language descriptions. By training on Danbooru's extensive library of tagged anime images, the model gains a deep understanding of visual concepts, enabling precise image generation without the need for complex captioning systems. With a dual-encoder system combining CLIP ViT-L and OpenCLIP ViT-bigG, Illustrious can process images at resolutions up to 2048×2048 with minimal quality loss. The model's evolution through various training phases has led to exceptional performance, making it a top choice for AI art enthusiasts seeking high-quality outputs.

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Cryptocurrency Market Update: ETP Flows and OpenSea Email Leak

Monday. January 13 at 8:00 PM

In the latest crypto news, cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) saw a modest $47 million inflow last week following a Bitcoin sell-off. SlowMist reported a leak of seven million OpenSea user emails, exposing them to scammers. Meanwhile, Michael Saylor hinted at another Bitcoin purchase by MicroStrategy. Despite $1 billion inflows into crypto ETPs in the second week of 2025, $940 million outflows were recorded. The outflows were attributed to new macroeconomic data and a hawkish Fed stance. Bitcoin investment products received $213 million inflows, making it the best-performing asset in 2025. The total assets under management in Bitcoin ETPs dropped to $125.4 billion. Additionally, the OpenSea email leak from 2022 has now been fully publicized, posing a threat of phishing and scams. MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings stand at 447,470 BTC, valued at $42 billion, with a 51% gain.

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Legal Battle Over Wu-Tang Clan Album Ownership

Thursday. January 9 at 4:00 PM

Martin Shkreli, known as 'Pharma Bro,' is embroiled in a legal dispute with PleasrDAO regarding a unique Wu-Tang Clan album. Shkreli argued in court that Wu-Tang members RZA and Cilvaringz should be involved in the lawsuit due to their copyright interests in the album. PleasrDAO accused Shkreli of withholding digital copies of the album, causing harm to the group. Shkreli claimed a purchase agreement granted him 50% copyright ownership, despite selling the physical album. After PleasrDAO acquired the album, Shkreli was ordered to surrender all copies. However, PleasrDAO questioned the completeness of his compliance. The ongoing legal battle highlights the complexities of copyright ownership in the digital age, with both parties presenting conflicting claims and seeking resolution through the court system.

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