We are proud to announce that over the past weekend, digital artist [Pak’s *Merge* drop on Nifty Gateway](https://niftygateway.com/collections/pakmerge "Pak's Merge Drop on Nifty Gateway") set the world record for an NFT sale. In 48 hours, __28,983 collectors spent $91,806,519 to purchase 312,686 total units of *mass*__, which have now been merged to create unique NFTs for each collector of *mass*.

The record breaking doesn’t stop there. __*Merge* also generated the highest sales value by a living artist for a single artwork in a public sale__ — be it physical or digital art — a milestone that we are thrilled to be a part of. 

The *Merge* collection debuted a compelling mechanism novel to the world of digital art, where collectors who bought multiple units of *mass* during the sale period unlocked access to an exclusive NFT that expands in size as more *mass* is added to their collection.

From December 2 through December 4, users were able to collect as much *mass* as they wanted. At the end of the sale, owners of *mass* obtained a dynamic NFT that merged all the *mass* accumulated by each collector during the sale. Collectors who acquire more *mass* on the secondary market will “merge” purchased *mass* with their existing *mass* to grow their NFT.  

The mechanism allows for *mass* available on the secondary market to consolidate, lowering the total number of unique NFTs over time while the total units of *mass* remain constant. This pioneering approach highlights the social nature of art collecting and market scarcity, while utilizing NFT technology in an innovative way. 

An enigmatic creator operating at the vanguard of digital art for decades, Pak specifically chose Gemini-owned Nifty Gateway to create this boundary-pushing artwork. Previously, Pak was central to developing the idea of Open Editions on Nifty Gateway. Open Editions allow collectors to purchase as many NFTs as they wish during the sale period for a fixed price in parallel to a collection that reveals itself over the course of the sale. In *Merge*, Pak created a new way to reward collectors that is uniquely possible using blockchain technology and Nifty Gateway’s infrastructure, powered by Gemini.  

The *Merge* NFT sale comes on the heels of a number of notable developments for Nifty Gateway. We recently became the first NFT platform to offer collectors [significantly reduced gas fees](https://medium.com/nifty-gateway/coming-soon-buy-and-sell-directly-from-your-ethereum-wallet-in-eth-on-nifty-gateway-d47e4f314e7a "Nifty Gateway reduces gas fees") (up to 70% lower) thanks to our unique custodial infrastructure. We also began listing NFTs from other marketplaces and enabling users to list NFTs in ETH directly from their wallets and buy directly from other users’ wallets in ETH. 

The previous record for a single artwork sold publicly by a living artist was $91.1 million for Jeff Koons' 1986 sculpture, *Rabbit*, set in 2019. Earlier this year, digital artist Beeple sold an artwork, *Everydays: the First 5,000 days*, for around $69.3 million at a Christie’s auction, which held the previous record for an NFT sale.

We are thrilled to have worked with Pak on *Merge* to create an experience that united collectors from around the globe. As we continue on our mission to have 1 billion people collecting NFTs, we can’t wait to see where our community will take us next!

Onward and Upward!

Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster  
Nifty Gateway Co-founders

Pak's Merge NFT Sale on Nifty Gateway Generated the Highest-Ever Sales Value by a Living Artist for a Single Artwork in a Public Sale. 

Pak's Merge NFT on Nifty Gateway Breaks Record as Largest Public Art Sale by Living Artist

Pak’s ‘Merge’ Drop on Nifty Gateway Breaks Records in Largest-Ever Public Sale of an Artwork by a Living Artist

Today, we are thrilled to launch __the new__ [__Nifty Gateway__](https://niftygateway.com/) __design__, which will give creators and collectors an incredible new interface and experience. We believe this monumental overhaul will be a game changer for collectors — our aim is to give Nifty Gateway __the best UI and UX in the NFT space__.

Here’s what we’re excited about:

- A complete overhaul of our UI and UX designed by top Silicon Valley design firm Metalab
- A ‘Featured Collections’ section
- Improved layouts and designs for presenting NFTs (or nifties)
- New statistics for each creator, collection, and nifty
- More filters to easily browse our ‘Marketplace’ section

Our redesign will help to further unleash the power of the Nifty Gateway community by allowing you to seamlessly explore, experience, and ultimately buy, sell, and resell nifties. In addition, we have focused on building elements that foster liquidity and discovery in our __secondary market__ to help you find great projects and empower creators to reach a greater audience.

To that end, we are also excited for the __Secondary Summer Slam, a two-day event__ taking place starting __today at 1pm ET through August 26 at 1pm ET__, that will reward the top 150 spenders on Nifty Gateway’s secondary market. Winners may receive exclusive nifties by major artists, physicals, and Nifty Gateway merchandise, available for the first time ever. In fact, all Nifty Gateway collectors will be winners during the Summer Slam event, as we will rebate Nifty Gateway’s fees on nifties sold during that window. 

With our new design, we can’t wait to empower both new and experienced collectors with statistics and more ways to discover nifties, with the goal of ultimately helping every collector find the nifty that’s right for them. 

Onward and Upward!

Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster  
Nifty Gateway Co-Founders

Introducing the New Nifty Gateway Design

Following a remarkable year for Nifty Gateway, and the NFT space as a whole, we are delighted to announce that we’ve __surpassed $300 million in gross merchandise value__. 

In March 2020, we launched [Nifty Gateway](https://niftygateway.com/) with a motto: __we believe NFTs are the future, and we will not rest until 1 billion people are collecting NFTs__. Looking back, we are more confident than ever that non-fungible tokens or NFTs (“nifties”) have ushered in a new paradigm in art, gaming, collectibles, and music and we are thrilled to play a central role in bringing these unique digital assets to the world.

Nifties have officially arrived. In just the past few months, they have gone from a hobby for crypto enthusiasts and a small group of art collectors to a global phenomenon. Even Christie’s and Sotheby’s, among the oldest, most esteemed auction houses in the world have embraced nifties. In April, we worked exclusively with Sotheby’s to host their first nifty drop in collaboration with digital creator Pak, which realized $17 million in sales. 

We are committed to ensuring only the highest quality nifties are delivered to our customers on Nifty Gateway. We take great care in partnering with digital artists, helping them to curate, develop, and drop collections that add greater dimension and impact to the broader nifty space. We believe these artists are producing work that belongs in the canon of art history.

We are humbled and grateful to the artists who chose our platform to sell their works, the collectors who have supported this new and exciting medium, and all nifty enthusiasts out there who have made these past year possible.

We are steadily marching forward and will not rest until 1 billion people are collecting nifties. [Join us](https://niftygateway.com/) on this magical journey.

Onward and Upward!

Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster  
Nifty Gateway Co-Founders

Nifty Gateway Sales Surpass $300M in Gross Merchandise Value

Cryptocurrencies have ushered in a new wave of innovation that is helping to redesign the Internet, money, and even the art world through Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Digital artists, who could otherwise never participate in selling their art like artists in the traditional art world, can now do so. This is not just a watershed moment, it is an entirely new paradigm. It allows digital creators to not only make a living like offline creators, but it has brought in a whole new generation of collectors who’s interest and passion for the space will help propel it forward. It gives us great pride at Nifty Gateway to see so many digital creators thrive in this new medium, especially in the backdrop of the pandemic. Our overarching mission is to empower creators through crypto and we won’t rest until 1 billion people are collecting NFTs.

## Environmental Concerns

That being said, we acknowledge the growing concern from some regarding the carbon footprint of the NFT movement. Ironically, because blockchains give the world such a transparent and accurate accounting of the energy consumption of our industry, they provide a tangible number to focus and dwell on, which has led to a double standard being applied to our industry. Because there is no blockchain to account for the carbon footprint of the traditional art world, which includes, *inter alia*, all of the private and commercial air travel to the Basels, Biennales, and countless other festivals around the world, not to mention the automobile traffic to gallery exhibitions, museums, and so forth, such criticism has not been leveled against the offline art world, despite the fact that its carbon footprint is orders of magnitude greater. Apparently, this is the price of transparency and accountability. Nonetheless, the good news is that the carbon footprint of the NFT industry is small when you take [an honest look at all the contributing factors to climate change](https://sterlingcrispin.blogspot.com/2021/02/crypto-art-sky-is-not-falling.html). The better news is that *__Nifty Gateway is committing to become a carbon negative platform__*. 

## Becoming Carbon Negative

Our plan is to calculate our emissions using the following [site](https://github.com/kylemcdonald/cryptoart-footprint), which will allow us to estimate our total carbon footprint over time. At the end of every month, we will purchase offsets for 2x the amount of carbon footprint Nifty Gateway created from blockchain transactions that month, and thereby in theory Nifty Gateway will become a net remover of carbon.

In addition to buying offsets, we are already building a new NFT minting system that will be significantly greener. To be clear, trading NFTs and storing NFTs on Nifty Gateway __*does not*__ affect Nifty Gateway’s carbon footprint. This is because these actions happen on our internal ledger, which means they are *off-blockchain* transactions. However, when we mint a creator’s NFT and put it on the blockchain, this is an *on-blockchain* transaction and does increase Nifty Gateway's carbon footprint. To that end, we have been developing a new minting system that will utilize [EIP 2309](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-2309) and make our minting process approximately 99% more efficient. We are already hard at work and look forward to deploying our new minting system in the weeks ahead. Once launched, Nifty Gateway will have a materially smaller carbon footprint and need to purchase even less offsets to remain carbon negative.

But that’s not all. Recently, we helped raise $6.5 million dollars for [Open Earth Foundation](https://www.openfoundation.earth/) via [The Carbon Drop](https://niftygateway.com/collections/carbondrop). All of the proceeds of this drop will go towards the development of blockchain technology for climate accountability. We’re going to continue to look for ways like this in which Nifty Gateway can have an even greater impact on our community and the world around us.

## Ethereum 2.0

Nifty Gateway is built on top of the Ethereum network where much of the NFT phenomenon is unfolding. But to put things in perspective, only 1% of all transactions on the Ethereum network are related to interactions with NFT contracts. And the entire Ethereum network itself only accounts for .02% of the world’s total carbon footprint. That being said, the Ethereum community has never been one to settle. In fact, it has already been working towards becoming more sustainable since well before the recent mainstream interest in NFTs. For years it has been planning Ethereum 2.0, which uses a zero carbon consensus mechanism known as Proof of Stake, and this past December it already started migrating to Ethereum 2.0. 

The Nifty Gateway team appreciates the passionate and diverse voices of our community and we look forward to continuing to build this magical new frontier of art and collectibles together. Here’s to the exciting days ahead.

Onward and Upward,

Duncan & Griffin Cock Foster  
Nifty Gateway, Co-Founders


Nifty Gateway to Become Carbon Negative

This week we saw an increase in the number and frequency of account takeover attacks (commonly referred to as ATOs) against Nifty Gateway’s users. To be clear, the Nifty Gateway platform remains secure. We would, however, like to use this moment as an opportunity to raise awareness about ATOs within the NFT community. 

The following guidance highlights the steps members of our community can take to protect their accounts and shares some of the security features we’ve deployed on Nifty Gateway. 

__How exactly do ATOs of online accounts occur?__ 

An ATO occurs when an attacker obtains a user's valid email and password, often by breaching other unrelated services and then trying the same email and password combination across a variety of sites, including Nifty Gateway. Therefore, it is important to practice good security hygiene by *__never__* reusing the same password for more than one service. This means that the password you use for Nifty Gateway should be unique and not used for any other service.

__How can you prevent ATOs?__

In addition to never reusing a password, you should *__always__* enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on Nifty Gateway and any other service you use. Our customers can reference our website for instructions on how to [enable two-factor authentication](https://help.niftygateway.com/2020/08/05/guide-to-two-factor-authentication-on-nifty-gateway/). 

We have also deployed improvements to our platform to further mitigate similar attacks. The most impactful change we made is prompting users to perform email verification before performing sensitive account actions.

In the coming weeks and months, the team plans to roll out further enhancements to help mitigate the impact of ATOs. This includes mandatory 2FA for high risk accounts, additional controls to mitigate potential misuse, and continued focus on raising awareness around account security in the NFT community.

We also recommend users avoid negotiating trades outside of the official Nifty Gateway marketplace. Transactions occurring off-platform present significant counterparty risk and lack the security controls offered by the Nifty Gateway marketplace.

Our goal is to help educate all our users and engage our community wherever you may be on your security journey. We will continue to increase awareness of security best practices, including the risks of password reuse, and the importance of 2FA to the Nifty Gateway community. Coupled with the new controls that are planned, we’re excited to continue to make the platform even stronger for all our users. 

Onward and Upward,

Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster  
Nifty Gateway Co-Founders

Protecting Yourself Against Account Takeovers on Nifty Gateway

2020 was a blockbuster year for [Nifty Gateway](https://niftygateway.com). We helped artists and creators sell more than $12 million of their digital art and collectibles since we launched 9 months ago in March 2020. While blockchain, crypto, and DeFi continue to have a dramatic impact on the financial services industry, non-fungible tokens or NFTs ("nifties") have begun to energize and reimagine what is possible in the world of art. __We believe nifties are the future, and we will not rest until 1 billion people are collecting nifties.__

Bolstered by high-profile drops from artists like Beeple and Trevor Jones, who each made millions of dollars in total sales last year, Nifty Gateway has sustained 50% month-over-month growth since March, and we are thrilled and encouraged by the booming interest and engagement from the community.

Nifty Gateway works with artists and brands to create limited nifty collections that are exclusively available on our platform, which leverages Gemini’s industry-leading security. Each collection is dropped at a specific date and time, and is available for purchase during a limited period. You can display nifties you purchase on your profile, withdraw them to an external wallet, or deposit nifties from an external wallet into your Nifty Gateway account. 

As Nifty Gateway enters its first full year, here are some of our highlights from 2020:

- __$4.2 million+__ (largest single drop, by artist Beeple)
- __$11 million+__ (total value of nifties sold between March and December 2020)
- __$1.4 million+__ (value of a collaboration drop between artists Pak and Trevor Jones)
- __$777,777__ (largest single nifty sale, by artist Beeple, which is a world record)
- __$370,000__ (made by 18-year old artist FEWOCiOUS on a single drop on his 18th birthday)

We founded Nifty Gateway in 2018 with the belief that crypto networks and the blockchain have the power to fundamentally change the art world by creating *__greater choice, independence, and opportunity for artists, creators, and collectors__*. Prior to the development of nifties, digital art was not scarce. It had no beginning and end. It was effortlessly reproducible and therefore, in many ways valueless. Through the creation of unique, identifiable, and secure digital art on the Ethereum blockchain, nifties have given provenance to digital art — and in doing so, given it value. 

Nifty Gateway’s growth, and the notable success of artists and creators using the platform to sell digital art and collectibles, is another testament to blockchain’s power to change the world and empower individuals through crypto. Join us as we continue to bring new and exciting artists and collections to the platform in 2021!

Onward and Upward!

Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster  
Nifty Gateway Co-Founders

The Explosive Rise of Nifty Gateway and Digital Art

Nifty Marketplace Introduces 2 New Collections

On July 23, 2020 [Nifty Gateway](https://niftygateway.com/) closed an online auction for a 1/1 edition of *Picasso’s Bull* by Trevor Jones at $55,555, shattering all previous records for the sale of a piece of digital art in the form of a non-fungible token (nifty).
 
The sale of Picasso’s Bull is an important milestone in validating to the art world and to the general public what we already know to be true: __a new medium in art has been established and is evolving before our very eyes.__
 
We started Nifty Gateway in 2018 because we recognized the potential for ERC-721 non-fungible tokens. First with Cryptokitties, and soon thereafter with a growing variety of digital art, we saw a passionate community of crypto enthusiasts and devout collectors develop and grow in parallel. And, we understood why. We realized very quickly that blockchain had the power to fundamentally change digital art, a medium that before was effortlessly reproducible and therefore in many ways, valueless.
 
But, by creating unique, identifiable, and secure digital art on the Ethereum blockchain, Nifites solved that problem by giving provenance to digital art – and with provenance, comes value. An exact replica of the *Mona Lisa*, brush stroke for brush stroke, is beautiful to look at on your wall, but ultimately worthless. The actual *Mona Lisa*, the painting in the Louvre, that we know without any doubt was created by the hand of Leonardo Da Vinci, is priceless. With the provenance that comes from being uniquely identifiable on-blockchain, you can now know without a shadow of a doubt that your specific piece of digital art was created by the hand of the artist – and that provenance cannot be copied or forged. Maybe it too will one day be priceless!
 
Since our launch we have attracted many of the most respected artists of our generation to the Nifty Marketplace: Cey Adams, Kenny Scharf, Jon Burgerman, and of course, Trevor Jones – just to name a few. We have held 13 successful drops, almost all of which have sold out in minutes, and those nifties have almost all increased in value and seen active trading on the secondary market. We are just getting started.
 
In the coming months we plan to continue to frequently drop new collections of digital art with some of the most prominent and exciting artists in the world, bringing more and more unique and beautiful art into your life. We are working on a display app and hardware technology, so you can proudly display your digital art in your home or office. And, we will continue to build out the Nifty Marketplace itself, adding more intuitive features and functionality so that you can continue to have a simple, elegant, and secure experience when buying, selling, viewing, and storing your digital art on our platform.
 
The Nifty ecosystem is flourishing. We invite you to explore this exciting new medium with us.
 
Onward and Upward,

Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster
 
*The [Nifty Marketplace](https://niftygateway.com/) is an all-in-one platform where you can buy, sell, and store your digital art and collectibles. Learn more about nifties [here](https://gemini.com/blog/gemini-expands-into-non-fungible-tokens-nfts-with-nifty-gateway-tm). Sign up [here](https://niftygateway.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=da618d618ebaf5401db144aff&id=7805867390) to get notified when new drops go live, and follow us on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/nifty_gateway/?hl=en) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/niftygateway) to stay current on all things nifty.*


Nifty Gateway™ has set a new NFT record with the sale of Trevor Jones' Picasso's Bull. 

Nifty Gateway™ Sets New Record for Digital Art Sale

Nifty Gateway Sets New Record for Digital Art Sale

The [Nifty Marketplace](https://niftygateway.com/) is now live! An all-in-one platform to buy, sell, and store your digital art and collectibles or “nifties” (learn more about nifties [here](https://gemini.com/blog/gemini-expands-into-non-fungible-tokens-nfts-with-nifty-gateway-tm)). The world of art and collectibles is evolving and leaping onto the blockchain. We are proud to be making history with two well-respected fine artists and a world champion athlete.

- [Michael Kagan](http://michaelkagan.com/bio.html). A New York based artist, Michael’s work primarily focuses on space travel and futuristic technology. He recently had his first solo museum exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art and [exceeded](https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/michael-kagan-b-1980-conrad-6254056-details.aspx) the high estimate for his lot at a Christie’s Thursday evening auction. Previously, Michael did three solo shows at the Joshua Liner Gallery in New York and a collaboration with Pharrell’s Billionaire Boys Club. Check out Michael’s nifties [here](https://niftygateway.com/collections/select-works-michael-kagan).

- [Lyle Owerko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyle_Owerko). A Los Angeles based artist, Lyle’s work has always been about free speech, experimenting with new technologies, and circumnavigating the status quo to create new ways of looking at things with deeper meaning. His trademark fine art is his Boombox project, which was recently featured in a solo exhibition in Los Angeles. Beyoncé and Jay Z are collectors of his art. Check out Lyle’s nifties [here](https://niftygateway.com/collections/the-boombox-project).

- [Cris Cyborg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cris_Cyborg). A Bellator MMA women’s featherweight world champion, Cris invested early in bitcoin and is an active member of the crypto community. A champion inside and outside of the octagon, Cris is taking her brand and fan engagement to the next level with a unique collection of nifties that she personally created and authorized. Check out Cris’ nifties [here](https://niftygateway.com/collections/cyborg).

The Nifty Marketplace allows artists and brands to connect directly with their audiences on a global and unprecedented scale. The blockchain enforces the scarcity and uniqueness of these collections and allows collectors to authenticate and know with certainty that they are buying what they think they are buying. Nifty Gateway leverages these qualities of the blockchain under the hood, while providing a simple, elegant, and secure user experience.

Let’s get nifty! 

Duncan + Griffin


Duncan et Griffin Cock Foster