We received a report from the company which issued the first batch of the non-fungible tokens (NFT) for the chart-topping Japanese pop group, SKE48’s digital trading card has sold out “instantly,” within hours from its release.
SKE48 is one of the most prominent Japanese pop (or J-pop) with notable marketing successes. It has sold millions of recordings since it was founded in 2008 by music mogul Yasushi Akimoto.
Its all-female membership regularly replaces, with older group members “retiring” after tenures in the group – although its fame has remained constant.
The SKE48 NFTs are the first-ever J-pop tie-in, and an initial 100 trading card packs were issued over the weekend, selling out “immediately,” per Coin Post.
The cards were produced by the Japanese blockchain firm Coinbook and were built on the ERC-721 Ethereum (ETH) blockchain protocol for NFTs.
Last Monday, Coinbook tweeted that it would release an additional 200 packs on the same day, each of which contains five cards – with more releases slated to take place in the days and weeks ahead.
The packs were designed to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the group’s debut and feature previously unreleased concert photos.
NFTs have become a hot topic in Japan, with crypto exchange Coincheck set to start an NFT trading marketplace – and others expected to follow suit.
Meanwhile, across the sea to the west, a blockchain game that uses NFTs has been listed on Samsung’s Galaxy Store for mobile apps, reported Fn News.
The game, NBA Top Shot, was developed by Dapper Labs, the team behind CryptoKitties.
There has been no word yet on the South Korean gaming regulator’s focus, the Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC), which has already refused to grant a rating license to one blockchain game and has “indefinitely” delayed its decision on a second title over NFT-related concerns.
All eyes now will be on the GRAC’s response – and if the regulator will make any comment on the move from Samsung, the nation’s most influential and most prosperous business group. The creator is not a South Korean firm and the Galaxy Store is targeted at users both based in the country and abroad.
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