AS HIS upcoming bout with Yordenis Ugas draws ever closer, Manny Pacquiao also made his first move in the fast-rising world of NFT art and collectibles.
Released last weekend, this non-fungible token is a one-of-one moving portrait of the champion boxer, which you can view below.
The portrait was created by Kenson Lee (a.k.a. Rikognition), a Los Angeles-based visual effects artist and motion graphics designer.
“The moving portrait will be a 1 of 1 #NFT piece (link in bio) starting at 0.0782 ERN ($1.00),” said Lee in an Instagram post. ERN refers to Ethernity Chain, an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency used by the NFT ecosystem that hosts the Pacquiao token and many other digital collectibles.
Lee added in a statement: “The piece is inspired by Pacquiao's career, in which a moment in time can feel both fleeting yet lasting an eternity. The juxtaposition of animated movement with hyperrealism invokes surreal but grounded action, which is larger than life.”
How to buy Manny Pacquiao NFTs
The auction kicked off on August 14, and will continue for 72 hours. As of posting, the current bidding price stands at 888.0000 ERN, or around $12,618.48. In peso terms, that’s around P638,500.
The auction winner will also get tickets to the Ugas-Pacquiao bout, as well as a meet-and-greet opportunity with the champion boxer.
Ethernity Chain also showed off the other pieces in its Pacquiao line of NFTs.
Unlike Lee’s one-of-one portrait, these will be available in “Legendary”, “Epic” , and “Common” editions.
NFTs are unique digital items that are stored on the blockchain, which authenticates each piece's uniqueness, and also certifies the ownership of whoever purchases the token. It is the same process that powers NBA Top Shot. NFTs of digital art have made headlines with their eye-watering prices, with ancient memes commanding dollar prices of up to six figures. A piece of digital art created by Beeple was auctioned off last March for $69 million.
Ethernity Chain also recently minted NFTs of the Selecao, the Olympic gold medal-winning Brazilian football team, as well as announced an upcoming NFT of Leo Messi, who made waves in the football world after his departure from Barcelona.
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