eBay Releases First NFT Collection to Non-Crypto Mainstream Buyers

E-commerce giant eBay has officially launched its first NFT collection, a series of tokenized collectibles featuring National Hockey League (NHL) legend Wayne Gretsky that went live on May 23.

Inspired by the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, this NFT series depicts an animated version of Gretsky. They come in four rarity grades, 299 in green, 199 in gold, 99 in platinum and 15 in diamond.

The collection is available now on eBay's marketplace, however, limited-edition diamond, platinum, and gold tier NFTs worth $1,500, $100, and $25 are already sold out.

According to eBay’s statement, the collection was developed in partnership with OneOf, an eco-friendly NFT platform that supports multiple “energy-efficient blockchains” to provide sustainable NFT collections.

eBay initially allowed listings of NFTs in mid-2021, but has yet to integrate blockchain technology to support sales on its marketplace. For this official release, users will receive redemption links via in-platform messages or emails to receive their NFTs off-platform.

These NFTs were minted on the Ethereum scaling platform Polygon and can be traded secondary on OneOf.

However, so far, there have been very few secondary NFT transactions on OneOf, with only three users listing platinum-level tokens at a floor price of $199, while another user listed a gold-level NFT for $69.

Commenting on the release, Dawn Block, eBay's vice president of collections, electronics and home furnishings, said that NFT technology is "revolutionizing the collectibles space," emphasizing that the company is seeking to bring NFTs to mainstream collectors around the world.

“Through our partnership with OneOf, eBay is now making coveted NFTs more accessible to a new generation of collectors around the world. This builds on our commitment to providing highly enthusiastic, high-value items to eBay’s community of buyers and sellers. "

A similar sentiment was echoed by OneOf CEO Lin Dai, who noted that the two companies want to make NFTs accessible to those unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies:

"You don't have to be a cryptocurrency expert to buy, sell and collect NFTs. OneOf and eBay are bringing revolutionary Web3 technology to the next 100 million non-crypto-native mass consumers"

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