NFT Real Estate Explained (Read Before Buying)

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been used to disrupt several industries, starting with the art market and diversifying into music, communities, and real estate. 

While these rapidly changing markets have been easier to disrupt, real estate could pose a much more significant challenge being a slower market, taking an average of 8 weeks per sale compared to art, which typically takes no longer than a wire transfer. 

This article will look at how NFT real estate works, reasons to use NFTs in the real estate market, the top two NFT real estate projects, challenges real estate NFTs could face, and their future in the market. 

How Do Real Estate NFTs Work?

Real estate NFTs are similar to traditional NFTs; they can be purchased on cryptocurrency marketplaces such as OpenSea and  SolSea using Ethereum, Solana, or the cryptocurrency chosen by the seller. Each NFT is then held in a cryptocurrency wallet

Real estate NFTs can be used to generate a passive income by representing equity in a real-estate project. They can cover everything from property ownership to a share, in which the NFT holder will be paid much like a traditional dividend. For example, if the NFT owner represents a 15% share in a real estate project, the holder will earn 15% of the net profit. 

Due to their tokenized nature, most real estate NFTs can be sold at any time, provided there is a marketplace with sufficient liquidity for the asset. However, some real estate investments will require the owner to hold for an agreed period, which will be made clear before a purchase is made. 

Why Use Real Estate NFTs?

With NFTs still being a new technology, how practical are they compared to a system that’s been in place for decades? 

Being immutable, NFTs show absolute proof of ownership, improve credibility, and are fully transparent, without many of the complexities of the traditional real estate system, such as surveying and complex contracts. Here are two benefits that NFTs bring to real estate. 

NFTs can dramatically decrease the volume of paperwork required to purchase a property. Current real estate investments require copious amounts of paperwork as part of the ownership transfer, which can be overwhelming for all parties involved. 

Real estate NFTs help streamline this process, as much of the back-office paperwork can be automated with the NFT’s underlying smart contract. This, in theory, allows buyers and sellers to transfer ownership in a matter of minutes (after legal counsel has been consulted). 

Top NFT Real Estate Projects

Origin Story 

Origin Story has partnered with the real estate investment group Roofstock to bring real-world real estate properties to the NFT marketplace. Roofstock believes that this deal will help cut sellers’ fees by 50%, dramatically improving the profitability of selling property. 

Roofstock also believes that on-chain real estate transfers could increase transaction speeds, streamlining the buying process. Since 2015, Roofstock has facilitated over $5 billion in investment transactions and plans to implement NFT real estate investments in 2023. 

The Sandbox

The Sandbox is one of the largest Ethereum-based Metaverses in the DeFi market. Showcasing an entire world to explore, The Sandbox offers unique play-to-earn virtual reality gameplay in which players can buy land plots, buy and sell in-game assets, and complete tasks for rewards. 

The Sandbox first rose to fame in 2021, when it was endorsed by Deadmau5, Snoop Dogg, and Atari, all of which own land plots within the digital world. Land plots are valued based on the area they’re in, with land close to celebrities having a higher value. For example, the three plots around the Snoop Dogg Mansion sold for $1.23m, with one selling for $453,000. 

LoanSnap

LoanSnap launched the first seven mortgage NFTs in November 2021 in the form of home equity loans. These NFTs work like traditional mortgages, replacing mortgage notes with NFTs. 

The location and size of the NFT mortgages were not disclosed and have not yet been available to the general public or crypto investors. However, LoanSnap also plans to issue a stablecoin called bHome. bHome will represent fractional ownership in the NFT mortgage notes, which would allow investors to own a percentage of the mortgage. 

Challenges for NFTs in Real Estate

Much like any other new technology, real estate NFTs don’t come without their drawbacks. Firstly, only 12% of Americans understand the concept of NFTs, creating an educational divide. Although NFTs offer a wide array of benefits, the underlying technology could be too complex for everyday real estate workers and home buyers to fully utilize without the risk of hacks and scams, which have been used to steal $100m since July 2021.  

Secondly, regulation could make real estate NFTs more complex than first thought. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ramped up its investigation into NFTs, stating that NFTs are being used to raise money, like traditional securities, rather than being sold as art. 

Real estate NFTs would undergo a Howey test before they’re accepted into the mainstream real estate market. Should they be considered a security, they will have to be registered with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, file regular reports, and comply with Rule 505 of Regulation D.

Final Thoughts: Do NFTs Have A Place In The Future Of Real Estate?

In the future, real estate NFTs could be used to streamline both residential and commercial real estate transaction processes, and open the asset class to an international decentralized community of buyers and sellers.  

As the real estate market is already heavily regulated, current laws covering privacy and data protection will likely make it difficult to buy and sell real estate properties as NFTs. Property laws in the real estate’s location could also add additional complexity to the deal, with different states and countries having different rules regarding real estate ownership.  

That being said, real estate NFTs may begin to slowly influence the real world market, allowing individuals to hold mortgage debt, support new building projects and take part in group investments instead of outright buying and selling a whole property.

Why Are NFTs Valuable? Attempting to Explain Why Some Cost So Much

If you’ve seen headlines of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) selling for millions of dollars then you may be asking yourself: why are NFTs so valuable?

The following dialogue might ensue: Is this just a really rich people thing? Are they laundering money? Is this just fake news biting on click-worthy headlines?

The answer most people will give you is that they’re pieces of art, making them intrinsically valuable. 

But, this doesn’t really give you the full picture of why someone would pay millions for essentially a .JPEG of a monkey. 

While some NFT art pieces like Pak’s ‘The Merge’ have sold for a shockingly high $91.8m, this doesn’t accurately explicate the value of collections like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), both of which have sold for upwards of six figures since their initial release. 

With that in mind, here’s why NFTs cost so much. 

What Are NFTs?

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a digital image, video, or sound recorded on the blockchain and used to certify authenticity. These assets are 100% unique from one another and cannot be physically changed once minted. Ownership, however, can be seamlessly transferred when the token is sold. 

There are many types of NFTs, including profile picture NFTs, such as those used by Cryptopunks, music NFTs that show proof of ownership of a music piece, and NFTs used for play-to-earn (P2E) gaming, which can be used for trading, gameplay, and passive income.  

In 2022 over 101 million NFTs were sold on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible, with collections covering a range of niches such as art, gaming, fashion, sports, music, domain names, and text-based NFT collections. 

Why Do NFTs Curate Value? 

NFTs can be both extremely valuable or completely worthless, with one in three collections “retiring”, with little to no trading activity. 

What makes an NFT valuable is its ability to introduce scarcity to the digital marketplace. When buying an NFT you’re not just overpaying for a digital image, you’re buying a digital token recorded on a public ledger, known as a blockchain. 

Ownership of the NFT is completely irrefutable, which limits the total supply and “inflates” its price, thus justifying its value. While this sounds like a great way to profit from what could essentially be digital junk, that’s not exactly how NFTs work. They need to have some kind of appeal to increase their value, which we’ll cover below. 

Artistic Value

NFTs started as digital art, with the first NFT art piece “Quantum” being created by digital artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy in 2014. The value of NFT art is similar to that of traditional art, in which artists sell their pieces for millions at art auction houses like Christie’s. The concept of such art is often difficult for everyday people to get their head around, particularly when it comes to art pieces like the “Banana art” which sold for $120,000 only to be eaten by a “hungry artist.” 

Other pieces like the Untitled [Bolsena] collection by Cy Twombly, which sold for $38,685,000 in 2020, can also be a little difficult to process, considering it looks like a few scribbles on the page. 

Cy Twombly, Untitled [Bolsena], 1969. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2020.

What makes these particular pieces valuable is the fact that there is only one kind in existence and usually, the art piece has been created by one of the most artistic minds within a generation. 

This can explain why the majority of expensive NFT sales have been one-of-works. Similar to Untitled [Bolsena], they are the only kinds to exist. For example, Clock, which sold for $52.7 million in February 2022 is a truly unique piece. This is because it functions as a digital counter for the days Assange (the activist who founded WikiLeaks) has been in London’s Belmarsh Prison for espionage.

NFT Utility 

Another crucial factor that impacts the value of an NFT is its utility — essentially how beneficial or profitable it is. As NFTs develop, they’re being used to create new business models and revenue streams. 

For example, a musician can sell NFTs that represent a stake in their new record. This would allow a musician to increase their initial revenue, while the NFT holder receives royalty every time the record sells. The value of the NFT will therefore rise based on the number of sales a record makes or the fame level of the musician. This potentially allows the NFT holder to make passive profits on their initial purchase or sell it for one lump sum. 

The concept of utility is also important in the gaming space, in which play-to-earn gamers are using NFTs to generate passive income. 

Within the world of gaming, players can make in-game purchases for skins, emotes and other unique features, however they don’t actually own them. With NFTs, these in-game purchases can be owned, which gives them greater value and the option to be resold. Considering the in-game purchase market is set to surpass $74.4 billion by 2025, NFTs could disrupt the entire market, allowing players to generate from in-game items instead of them being a liability. 

Community 

Some NFTs grant users access to exclusive clubs, similar to real-world clubs like Soho House. Within these clubs NFT holders can network with like-minded investors, as well as celebrities and business owners. A great example of this is BAYC. BAYC hosts thousands of investors and celebrities such as Mark Cuban, Eminem, Shaquille O’Neal, Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Madonna, and Jimmy Fallon, making it the most socially valuable NFT collection worldwide. 

What Is the Future of NFTs?

There’s no way of denying it, blockchain technology is changing the future of digital assets. What were once just pictures on the internet have become unique tangible assets with the potential to generate revenue and create entirely new business models. 

Early adopters of NFTs have slowly started to dabble in the technology, with Taco Bell selling an NFT collection in 2021, and Nike selling an NFT collection known as Cryptokicks in 2022. The NBA has also started to capitalize on NFTs to create a deeper fan connection with NBA Top Shot, which sold over $800 million in NFTs in 2021. 

As blockchain technology continues to grow and evolve, NFT assets will only become more valuable, with early stage assets being more valuable due to being created early on in a new trend. In the future, it’s more than possible that you could own an NFT for your favorite movie, record or clothing, all being just as (or more) valuable than the real-world assets you currently own. 

NFTs & Climate Change: How Do NFTs Impact the Environment?

In 2022 the market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs)- tokenized images, music, and items, generated $24.7 billion. Just two years before, total sales were just $82.5 million.

This exponential market growth has led to discussions about whether NFTs harm the environment. Activists have expressed concerns about Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchains like Ethereum, which have been linked to high carbon emissions

However, PoW NFTs don’t cover the entire market. Several NFT projects, such as Oceans and Us, are using blockchain technology to attempt to solve climate change. 

With this in mind, it’s important to consider a balance between environmental sustainability and technological advancements.

How do NFTs affect the environment?

The perception of cryptocurrency’s negative impact on the environment is primarily viewed through Proof-of-Work blockchains like Bitcoin, and specifically for NFTs, Ethereum, which covers 76% of all trading volume. Such networks rely on a process called “coin mining”, which is extremely resource intensive. 

During the coin mining process, computers on a network (also known as miners) race against one another to solve complex problems, with the “winner” receiving the right to confirm a block. Once a block has been confirmed, the miner that has claimed it can collect all gas fees and a reward. 

When the price of a cryptocurrency such as Ether increases, gas fees also rise, and the value of solving a problem is higher. This incentivizes miners to invest more computer power into solving a problem, consequently increasing the amount of power used (and wasted.) It’s estimated that Ethereum miners were using 44.49 TWh per year, or around the equivalent energy of running a house for 2.8 days per transaction. 

These numbers aren’t black and white. NFTs only represent a small portion of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Therefore it’s difficult to determine whether they’ve significantly impacted the amount of computer power needed to solve problems. While this doesn’t mean NFTs are carbon neutral, their environmental impact may not be as significant as some numbers make it about to be. 

Additionally, Ethereum has recently moved from a Proof-of-Work model to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model, which we’ll cover in greater detail below. 

How Do NFTs’ Impact The Environment Compared to Physical Art

Although NFTs have been in the spotlight for their environmental damage, they may offer an eco-friendly alternative to traditional art. 

Traditional art requires resource-intensive processes, with a return flight from New York to London generating almost 1,000kg of CO2. With every tonne of CO2 released, around three square meters of Arctic ice will melt. 

Physical art also involves extensive production processes, often involving chemicals that can pollute over 10,000 liters of water. These chemicals usually aren’t picked up by treatment plants and can impact the drinking water in cities where a particular piece of art is exhibited. 

The exact numbers for the environmental impact of traditional art are too difficult to calculate, and therefore there are no specific data. That being said, if you look at the creation and distribution of traditional art alone, the carbon footprint is significantly higher than NFTs. 

Let’s consider transport, for example. When an NFT is minted, it can be sent to another individual for a small fee and an even smaller carbon footprint. Compared to this, a physical piece of art would use a cargo truck or aircraft. This doesn’t even include the delivery of materials, which adds even more to the environmental footprint of physical art. 

Proof-of-Stake Is Helping To Reduce NFT-Related Emissions

As mentioned earlier, Ethereum has moved from a Proof-of-Work model to a Proof-of-stake (PoS) model, but what does this mean for NFTs and climate change? 

PoS models use significantly less energy than their PoW counterparts as they don’t require miners to maintain their own mining equipment. With a PoS model, a limited number of powerful nodes run the network validating transactions once they’ve received a certain number of stakes from coin holders.

This prevents the need for large mining operations and lets nodes generate a passive income with staked tokens. Blockchains like Ethereum have now transitioned to a PoS model to reduce carbon emissions, which has made Ethereum 30,00 times more energy efficient

NFT Projects Supporting Environmental Change

Most mainstream headlines focus on the environmental damage of NFTs, overlooking projects that are designed to impact the environment positively. While many projects attempt to support the environment, two that have already achieved some success are Greenverse and Moss.Earth

Greenverse

Greenverse is a metaverse NFT project designed to help preserve underground resources. The project uses a preserve-to-earn model which tokenizes natural resources. With this model, real-world land is turned into blocks, and each block has an NFT priced on its natural minerals, biodiversity, and carbon emission potential. 

Owners will receive rewards for preserving these resources instead of developing the land. Benefits include biodiversity credits and non-production carbon credits. Greenverse was first pioneered in Jameson Land in Greenland, though it has since expanded to Suriname in South America. 

Moss.Earth 

Moss.Earth is a tech startup looking to help individuals and businesses offset their carbon footprint with tokenized carbon credits. First founded in 2020, Moss.Earth has sent over $30 million to Amazon preservation projects and has announced the release of Moss Amazon NFTs. 

Each NFT grants the owner a piece of land in the Amazon forest, which can be monitored using remote sensing tools created by Descartes Labs. 20% of each sale will be used to maintain the area’s security and provide satellite images. According to Moss.Earth, its NFT collection sold out in less than an hour. 

Final Thoughts: NFTs Need Time To Become Environmentally Friendly

While blockchain-based transactions used for NFTs do some environmental damage, projects are continuously looking for ways to mitigate their environmental impact. For projects like Ethereum, this means moving to a PoS model, while for projects like Greenverse and Moss.Earth, this means using NFT technology to preserve our natural environment. 

Regenerative Finance, or “ReFi,” is the niche cryptocurrency movement that uses the blockchain to solve a variety of climate and Earth-oriented issues. EcoSapiens, for example, is a metaverse enabling its community to combat climate change by tokenizing and creating a market for things such as carbon credits.

NFT’s potential to solve real-world problems is huge, however, as with all novel technology, NFTs must be given time to innovate. Technology we use daily, including smartphones, laptops, and TVs, all started with great environmental demands, but recent technological advancements have allowed us to limit their environmental impact. 

This could be a similar story for NFTs, which have already taken huge strides to limit their environmental impact in just two years since going mainstream. In just a few years, it’s possible that NFTs could not only become carbon neutral but could even help support our fight against climate change. 

The 25 Best NFT Memes Will Make You Cry Laughing

With the NFT market experiencing one of its first bear runs, it’s a great time to look at the funny memes NFTs have given us.

You know, a “laugh through the pain” sort of thing.
Memes play an important part in NFT culture, influencing collections like BoredApeYachtClub and Crypto Punks, as well as creating hype around new projects.

And best of all, they make you realize just how crazy NFTs may appear to ordinary people, especially the older generation who think resetting the WiFi box makes you an internet genius.

Whether you’ve lost an NFT gas far, minted a recent rug pull, or your portfolio is getting rekt, here are 25 of the best memes to hopefully put a smile on your face.

  1. When your dad ruins career day

Picture NFTs gurus in 10 years. They turn up at their kids’ career day. Every other parent is talking about their office job, being a firefighter, working in a hospital. But not NFT dad… No. He turns up with his Trezor wallet ready to show off his NFT collection. 

  1. Mental health isn’t real… right?

We’ve all fallen down the NFT rabbit hole. 

“I’ll just buy one,” you told yourself. 

Six months later you’re on your 672nd NFT, your LinkedIn profile picture is an a monkey and you spend 20 hours a day on OpenSea. 

Ready for the next bull market? 

  1. Pixelmon Kevin 

Pixelmon is an NFT project that promised a Pokemon-style Metaverse where you could train and collect Pixelmon. In its initial release video, users saw a stunning world full of beautiful terrains and unique creatures. But on release, they got Kevin… Kevin was so laughably bad that he became a meme. 

  1. NFTs are art, right? 

NFTs have been described as modern art. But art seems to have taken a new form. Instead of stunning mosaics and beautiful paintings, we prefer pixelated figures on a screen. Even as an NFT lover, you have to admit it’s a little odd. 

  1. Who needs the world when you have monkeys?

Post 2020 the world has been a little hectic. Global lockdowns. Economic collapse. The threat of war. But if you just spend a few hours on OpenSea everything looks good. A few monkey pictures here. A few pixelated profile pictures there. Take a deep breath and relax. 

  1. Is your job really worth it?

You work hard for 20 years, get a promotion and eventually, you can buy a house and settle down. Or you can just sell a JPEG for half a million dollars. The choice is yours. 

  1. But why don’t you just right click and save?

When NFTs first made the mainstream media, everyone was asking the same thing: why can’t you just save them? Although more people now understand the blockchain technology behind an NFT, it’s still amusing to see how frustrated owners get when someone saves the image they paid $10k for. 

  1. If only they knew…

BoredApeYachtClub is arguably the most famous NFT collection in the world, being collected by celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem. Collectors are known for continuously talking about their apes in a cult-like manner. But outside of the NFT world, nobody knows who they are. You definitely wouldn’t call it party talk. 

  1. I’m building the collection for its utility…

According to Into The Block, the number of NFT collections created on Ethereum increased by 104.5% in 2022. While some of these collections had great utility, many were just looking for a quick profit. 

  1. Mum, I swear I’ll be a millionaire in 5 years

Some people took NFT investing a little too far. You see horror stories of people who lost their life savings in rug pulls, sold assets to pay debt and spent 90% of their time looking for new collections. They’ll be rich soon though, don’t worry. 

  1. Parents in their 30’s vs me in my 30’s

It’s crazy to think that an NFT could be worth more than a house. But many collectors spent more than a house payment on their collection. Collectors such as Starrynight have collections worth over $15 million. That’s several houses and a mansion. 

  1. If only it were that easy

During the peak of the bull market just about everyone was getting involved in NFTs. Unfortunately, very few actually knew how hard it was. With gas fees at an all time high and scams around every corner, a lot of newbie investors got learnt the hard way. 

  1. But mine has different eyebrows, it’s definitely unique

Imagine painting the Mona Lisa, changing her hair color and selling it as a whole new piece. This is kind of how NFT collections work. A little bit of paint, a change of color, and a new accessory- that’s an extra $300 in the bank. 

  1. Why would they ever screenshot?

This meme plays on the screenshot joke and showcases one of the world’s most expensive NFTs. Known as the COVID Alien, it sold for $11.75 million and as you might have guessed, thousands of users simply took a screenshot and used it on their own profiles. 

  1. Christmas is coming

Explaining anything online to family is a little complicated- especially as you go up a generation. Explaining NFTs? Almost impossible. Try explaining to your dad that the monkey you own is worth $50k and he’ll look at you like you’re crazy. 

  1. Where’s my Lambo?

New investors worldwide thought they’d make millions with NFTs. They saw a 10 year old do it, so why couldn’t they do it too? Turns out there’s actually more to making money than just minting.

  1. Mum, I’m an artist

According to the Social Media Examiner, around 98% of all NFT projects will ultimately fail. For every Bored Ape Yacht Club, 98 other projects won’t take off. There’s a multitude of reasons why, but this meme certainly puts a funny spin on it. 

  1. How do you make money on every project?

Here’s a little secret. If you want to win big on NFTs then you need to get in on the whitelist. Whitelists let you get in on a project before it increases in value, which helps you save and profit simultaneously. 

  1. Hi boss, yeah, I quit

Everyone’s seen this classic Wolf of Wall Street moment. At the peak of the NFT market, many investors may have had the same idea. Let’s hope we see an NFT remake of this in 20 years. 

  1. Here’s the bill

It’s great having an NFT worth $150,000. But it’s a bit like having a $150,000 sports car. You can’t use it to pay the bill. 

Hope These NFT Memes Made You Laugh!

The great thing about NFTs is that the market’s just getting started– the ups and downs will fuel a creative cohort of meme creators. As the use cases for NFTs grow, we’ll see more memes to laugh at in the future.

Let’s just hope some of the memes aren’t too relatable. 

SmartMint Banff Release

Our latest release includes refined functionality, a number of additional features, support for minting on Solana, and much more!

We are very excited to announce that we have just released our SmartMint Banff update, our largest upgrade to the novel no-code minting platform to date! In this release, we have refined functionality of SmartMint’s core workflows, added a number of features to enhance user experience and minting capabilities, and extended SmartMint compatibility to support minting NFTs directly on Solana.

First, a refresher on SmartMint.

SmartMint is an NFT minting platform where users can easily create, manage, and mint NFTs on their own custom smart contracts. The tool also provides creators with additional peace of mind as it leverages Pastel’s infrastructure for near-duplicate NFT detection (Sense) and permanent NFT data storage (Cascade).

SmartMint enables creators to mint NFTs directly on Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Pastel, and more with a simple click of a button. Creators can launch drops on SmartMint as their backend management platform and list NFTs for sale on their own site or marketplaces like OpenSea.

SmartMint makes minting NFT drops and collections easy and more powerful than ever.

SmartMint Banff Release Features

The SmartMint Banff release was a labor of love for the Pastel team. We spent countless hours ensuring SmartMint is the easiest and most powerful NFT creation platform in the ecosystem.

Please see below for details on what’s included in the latest upgrade:

Bulk Upload

  • Users can now easily utilize CSV or JSON files to automatically upload metadata and generate mass quantities of NFTs with the click of a button. No need to manually enter properties and traits for individual NFTs one at time.

Additional File Format Support

  • SmartMint now supports minting of various file types such as SVG, GIF, MP3, MP4, and more.

Solana Support

  • Users can now create NFT collections and drops directly on the Solana network via SmartMint, as we support the industry’s most up-to-date standards like Metaplex’s Candy Machine Protocol.

List-For-Sale (“Sell”) NFT Button

  • NFTs that you have created, minted, or own now have a Sell NFT Button to make listing for sale easier than ever. Simply click the button and select the marketplace of your choosing.

Submit a Request

  • User can submit tickets directly to the Pastel support team regarding issues they face on the platform. Submissions can include any issues such as those related to logging in, creating collections, and more.

Deleting Drops/Collections/NFTs

  • Creators can now delete draft collections, drops, and NFTs that have yet to be deployed.

Social Share Profile/NFT Button

  • Users can now share their own profile and NFT creations through the Social Share Button. Creators will have a link that they can send to their followers to view their profile or NFTs.

Additional Filters to View Drops and Collections

  • As your NFT profile continues to grow, we have implemented additional filters to help creators better view their various drops and collections. Filters include networks minted on, release date, mint price, and more.

Directly Download CSV Files for NFTs

  • Users can download a CSV file containing all the different metadata, properties, rankings, and stats of their NFTs.

Click on User Profile to View Collections in One Place

  • Under the Creator Info Tab, users can now view all the NFT creations as well as their Collections/Drops in one area.

CertiK Audit — Awarded the Gold CertiK KYC Badge!

Recently, we engaged CertiK to run a Smart Contract Audit of SmartMint Factory and Drop Contracts deployed on Ethereum and Polygon. We have successfully resolved all identified issues and updated the core contracts.

We are also pleased to confirm that we have successfully passed every stage of the CertiK KYC process and were awarded the official — and highest level — Gold CertiK KYC Badge!

This Comprehensive KYC Badge brings an additional security layer to our project and proves to our community and to the world our willingness to demonstrate the highest level of transparency and trustworthiness.

Our CertiK KYC Badge Award has been published on the CertiK Security Leaderboard, and can be verified here: https://www.certik.com/projects/pastel-network

SmartMint is a game-changer for the NFT ecosystem because of its simplicity and versatility. Start creating on SmartMint today!

Link to sign up: https://smartmint.pastel.network/signup

About Pastel Network

Pastel Network is a fully decentralized, developer-friendly layer-1 blockchain serving as the preeminent protocol standard for non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) and Web3 technology.

Pastel allows for the development of third-party decentralized-applications (“DApps”) to sit on top of its Network, enabling developers to enjoy the scalable registration features, storage processes, and security of the broader ecosystem. Lightweight protocols such as Sense — which was built to assess the relative rareness of a given NFT against near-duplicate metadata — and Cascade — which conducts permanent, distributed storage of underlying NFT data — can be integrated cross-chain across various layer-1 blockchains, layer-2 protocols, or other third-party apps.

Pastel is managed by world-class developers, cryptographers, and technologists, supported alongside an experienced and extensive network of marketers, influencers, and third-party agencies. Pastel is backed by key stakeholders including Innovating Capital, a prominent venture fund.

For more information on Pastel Network, visit https://pastel.network/.

Originally Published on Pastel Network’s Medium