# The NFT Boom Picks Up Steam

*Author: William M. Peaster*
*Published: May 7, 2021*
*Source: https://www.bankless.com/the-nft-boom-picks-up-steam*

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Dear Bankless Nation,

What an incredibly busy week for the NFT ecosystem it’s been!

With all the hustle and bustle lately it can be seriously hard to keep up with everything that’s been going on.

Don’t feel overwhelmed: keep focusing on the things that interest you, chip away at the work and learning you have in front of you, and you’ll do just fine.

Reading the *Metaversal *weekly recap every Friday helps too, of course 😄 Have a great weekend everyone.

-WMP

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## 🏆 Digital Collectibles
- CryptoPunk creators **Larva Labs** launched [Meebits](https://meebits.larvalabs.com/meebits/publicsale), a 3D voxel project centered around avatars for the metaverse. The ensuing buzz pushed Meebits to the top of the NFT ecosystem’s 7-day trade volume chart on the week. 

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/public/images/0899a746-d746-4252-9ad0-07638c3b83ca_1127x280.png)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f0899a746-d746-4252-9ad0-07638c3b83ca_1127x280.png)*Image via OpenSea*

- Speaking of other chart toppers, the new **Bored Ape Yacht Club** project has seen over [3.5k ETH in volume](https://opensea.io/activity/boredapeyachtclub) since launching last week 🦍 

- Meet **CryptoPunk DAO**, a new [coordination community](https://twitter.com/cryptopunkdao/status/1390499991190392836) for Punk holders. 

- Minting for **Avastars Gen1 Series 5** is [live](https://twitter.com/AvaStarsNFT/status/1388230463580512259)!

- **Gary Vaynerchuk** launched [VeeFriends](https://bankless.ghost.io/-release-veefriends-with-garyvee), a series of 10,255 unique characters that grant holders unique perks and admission to [VeeCon](https://veecon.co/). 

## 🎨 Cryptoart
- Art auction house **Sotheby’s** is holding its second NFT auction, “[Natively Digital: A Curated NFT Sale](https://www.sothebys.com/en/digital-catalogues/natively-digital-a-curated-nft-sale?cmp=social____twitter_natively_digital_nft_announcement_6-may-2021).”

> [](https://twitter.com/Sothebys/status/1390363829842890756)

- Cryptoart marketplace **SuperRare **is hiring for [a handful of positions](https://twitter.com/SuperRare/status/1390701728694218753)!
- **Nifty Gateway** has now facilitated over [$300M worth](https://www.gemini.com/blog/nifty-gateway-sales-surpass-usd300m-in-gross-merchandise-value) of sales to date.
- Generative cryptoart platform **Art Blocks** is launching a [newsletter](https://twitter.com/artblocks_io/status/1390285373545275398) to help users keep up to date with all the things happening around the project.

## 🕹️ Blockchain Games
- Axie Infinity’s new **Ronin sidechain** has experienced a major surge in activity since launching.

> [](https://twitter.com/AxieInfinity/status/1390669642826276869)

- Fantasy global ⚽ game **Sorare **added Brazilian club [Atlético Mineiro](https://twitter.com/SorareHQ/status/1390623326880550915) to its ranks.
- Round 1 of **Aavegotchi Rarity Farming** ended this week, giving way to Round 2.

> [](https://twitter.com/gldnXross/status/1390665710406291459)

## 🌐 Virtual Worlds
- **Cryptovoxels **has several notable releases in the pipeline for next week!

> [](https://twitter.com/cryptovoxels/status/1390619656977752066)

- Ethereum software company **ConsenSys **commissioned the **VoxelArchitects **crew to build an HQ in Decentraland. Beautifully done, I think.

> [](https://twitter.com/Consensys/status/1388511658750971909)

- Virtual gaming world project **The Sandbox** is [hiring animators](https://twitter.com/thibaultsimar/status/1389848365710589957).
- **Etheria**, Ethereum’s first NFT project, is getting modernized.

> [](https://twitter.com/etheria_feed/status/1390717878920482820)

## 🛒 NFT Platforms
- **OpenSea** has a new feature, [collection collaborations](https://twitter.com/natechastain/status/1390689504642600963) 🙏
- eCommerce giant **eBay **is exploring adding [support for NFTs](https://www.reuters.com/technology/ebay-ceo-says-looking-cryptocurrency-payment-option-cnbc-2021-05-03/)!

## 💎 DeFi x NFTs
- **Uniwap V3** launched, and with it a new paradigm: Uniwap liquidity provider (LP) positions are now represented as [totally on-chain NFTs](https://twitter.com/j1mmyeth/status/1390662369362292737).

> [](https://twitter.com/Uniswap/status/1390034790653599746)

- **Visor Finance**, an NFT Smart Vault project centered around Uniswap V3 LP NFTs, released its [V2 Vaults system](https://twitter.com/VisorFinance/status/1390048560691875842).
- **NFTX **updated its bulk-mode UI.

> [](https://twitter.com/NFTX_/status/1390355682071769091)

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### **Action steps**
- 📰 Read “**[You Are NFTs’ Fifth Estate](https://bankless.ghost.io/you-are-nfts-fifth-estate)**” by Metaversal
- 📰 Read “**[The Biggest Week Yet for NFTs?](https://bankless.ghost.io/the-biggest-week-yet-for-nfts)**” by Metaversal