Pepsi has chosen to go with a series of unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to mark his birth year 1893. The company’s NFT series, titled “Pepsi Mic Drop,” will feature 1,893 microphone pieces inspired by Pepsi flavors such as the Classic Blue Pepsi, Silver Diet Pepsi, and Red Pepsi Wild Cherry, among others. Each of these Ethereum-based NFTs is randomly generated by an algorithm, adding to their uniqueness and quotient. NFTs are digital collectibles built on blockchain and inspired by real world elements.
Pepsi has caused a lot of buzz around the launch of its NFT series and has asked interested people to register on the now functional waiting list portal and have their login details verified. After clearing the verification process, people can mint one “Mic Drop” NFT.
While these NFTs can be coined for free, the gas fee to facilitate the Ethereum transaction must be paid by the coiner. Since every transaction on the Ethereum blockchain requires computing power to execute, they require transaction fees, also known as the “gas fee”. Gas prices are indicated in “gwei” and each gwei is equal to 0.000000001 Ether.
Interested parties will also need to set up crypto wallets for this NFT mining.
Pepsi tweeted a glimpse of these swanky NFT pieces and explained the details of the launch.
HOW DO I CLAIM: Drop is only for people who join our waiting list
WEN WAITING LIST: Open TOMORROW! Turn on notifications ????
HOW TO KNOW IF I MADE IT: Go to https://t.co/5s3znVsQzJ on 12/14 and plug in your wallet. If you made it there will be a “mint” button ️— Pepsi (@pepsi) December 9, 2021
In an effort to keep up with the rapidly evolving crypto generation, several brands have jumped on the NFT chariot, giving fans and followers opportunities to own limited edition digital collectibles on blockchain.
Previously, Pepsi’s great rival Coca-Cola launched a four-piece NFT collection on the occasion of International Friendship Day. The auction of those pieces raised more than $575,000 (about Rs. 4.5 crore), Coca-Cola had claimed.
Budweiser, Macy’s, Taco Bell, Burger King and McDonald’s have also launched exclusive NFT series.
In the third quarter of 2021, NFT sales volume rose to $10.7 billion (about Rs. 79,820 crore), more than eight times higher than in the previous quarter, according to data from market follower DappRadar.
Customer interest in owning digital collectibles is gaining momentum and several artists from around the world are accelerating their efforts to digitize their work and put it up for auction for collectors around the world.
In Malaysia, for example, the trend of creating and auctioning NFTs brings many artists together to try out the space. From 3D animations to memes, as well as illustrations inspired by multi-ethnic Southeast Asian culture, Malaysian artists are expanding their portfolio of digitized artworks.
“Earlier this year, you could probably count on one hand the number of Malaysian artists actively minting and selling NFTs. That number steadily increased to hundreds over several months, and now we are probably in the thousands,” quoted a report by Al Jazeera Munira Hamzah of the non-profit organization Malaysia NFT.
Recently, American digital artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, made a whopping $28.9 million (approximately Rs. 215 crore) by selling HUMAN ONE, a futuristic work of art, as NFT.
Earlier this month, Ross Ulbricht, the imprisoned founder of the now-defunct dark web marketplace called “Silk Road,” auctioned an NFT for $6.2 million (approximately Rs. 47 crore).
