The First NFT SUV | 2.8.22

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The First NFT SUV

Italian luxury car brand Alfa Romeo is debuting the first-ever NFT car come 2023.

The Tonale SUV purchases are said to be verified on the blockchain and the vehicles themselves will “record and store data during the car’s life cycle.”

Head of Alfa’s marketing and communication Francesco Calcara said in a statement to CNBC, “Digitalization is a key enabler of our metamorphosis. Tonale is the first car ever to keep a blockchain, non-fungible token. NFTs are based on the same distributed information logic that protects your Bitcoin… It records all data on the blockchain.”

Vehicle history will be stored on the blockchain to ensure quality of maintenance, however the cars can only be serviced by an official Alfa Romeo dealership to record the data.

Orders for the new ride open in the last quarter of 2022 with them becoming available early 2023. Pricing for this vehicle has not yet been disclosed. 

Take-Two Interactive Considers Their NFT Place

As NFTs continue to take over the world, the gaming community is not an area where digital items are welcome.

TTWO CEO Strauss Zelnick recognizes the rift between the two worlds. The gaming company says they aren’t in the market for NFTs or play-to-earn games quite yet, but that won’t always be the case. Simply, the timing isn't quite right. 

“We’re a leader in the [digital goods] space… So naturally, we’re interested in where NFTs might fit in one or more of our titles moving forward. That said, there’s this overlay right now of speculation in the NFT market—and that causes concern,” said Zelnick. 

The gaming CEO is aware that play-to-earn games is not what players want, having to pay extra aside. Gamers look for an immersive experience, and play-to-earn just isn’t offering that right now. P-T-E is more gambling without the regulation if anything else. 

WWF Makes Environment Mistake

The World Wildlife Foundation has struck a nerve with both environmentalists and their community. 

WWF announced that they would be launching an NFT collection titled “Tokens for Nature,” but quickly backpedaled their enthusiasm. 

The foundation said they had partnered with Polygon, the blockchain server known for being the most environmentally conscious. Except, one expert says that’s not actually true. 

Digital currency economist Alex de Vries, who is also an advocate for how crypto affects the economy, said, “My initial response [to World Wildlife Fund’s NFTs] was they must be joking … They’re supposed to be all for sustainable innovations, and they’re getting involved with one of the least sustainable things on the planet.”

de Vries informed The Verge that Polygon is actually tied to Ethereum, one of the most energy inefficient blockchains. And according to DV, Polygon is adding to Ethereum's energy inefficiency, but isn’t counting it, therefore making their stats seem less than what they actually are. 

DV estimates the Polygon transactions are 2,100 times higher than what WWF thought them to be. 

WWF’s UK and Germany divisions were ecstatic when they said they would be partnering with the “eco-friendly” blockchain to mint new NFTs. But now, they’ve taken back what they said and taken down the website where they said it.

WWF UK didn’t comment to The Verge about the situation, but WWF Germany said this in a statement to the outlet: 

“We recognize that NFTs are a much debated issue and we all have lots to learn about this new market… For us it was never about the funds. It was about raising awareness regarding the species extinction.”