Luxury diamond brand Tiffany & Co. is set to enter the NFT space with their new collection NFTiff. The company is entering the NFT space in true luxury brand style by pricing their NFTs shockingly higher than the average.
Only 250 NFTiffs will be made available on Friday, August 5, and each one will cost $50,000 (30 ether).
This may well be the most expensive NFT mint in history. On secondary markets, such as OpenSea, NFTs can sell for well above 30 ether, but that is not the case for public launches. Most artists that release collections charge less than $160 for their NFTs (0.1 ether). The most well-known collection, Bored Ape Yacht Club, debuted at 0.08 ether, or around $200 at the time.
Tiffany’s collection, however, is not aimed at the ordinary crypto gambler. It is only available to owners of CryptoPunks, the first NFT collection ever made.
Considering Cryptopunks rarely sell for less than six figures, Tiffany & Co. is targeting the wealthy as they always have.
The luxury brand’s NFTs are more of an addition to the primary item than anything else: For $50,000, buyers of an NFTiff receive a Tiffany pendant version of the CryptoPunk they purchased. Additionally, they will receive the NFT, a digital counterpart of that pendant. These NFTs and pendants will be sold to consumers who are more wealthy in Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency.
Tiffany’s announcement sparked some debate among NFT traders because of the price of 30 ether. Launching such an expensive NFT collection at a time when Ether, the cryptocurrency on which the majority of the NFT market is based, is down 54% year to date is a risky move. Due to the steep decline in cryptocurrency, NFT producers are already decreasing their asking prices. Free mints, where authors distribute NFTs without charge in the hopes of making money from royalties on the secondary market, have grown to be especially well-liked.
Tiffany is the most recent fashion company to dip their toes into Web 3, the idea that blockchain technology will support the coming internet era. Last year, Gucci collaborated with multiple collections to dress well-known NFT characters, while Adidas teamed up with the Bored Ape Yacht Club to launch its own NFT. Lacoste most recently introduced a line that gives owners access to limited-edition clothing releases.