eBay and Web3 Company OneOf Drop First NFT Collection for Non-crypto Buyers

Global e-commerce giant, eBay, launched a series of exclusive NFTs through a strategic partnership with green NFT platform for sports, music and lifestyle, OneOf.

OneOf is called “green” because it’s an environmentally focused NFT platform, supporting multiple “energy-efficient blockchains” to provide sustainable NFT collections.

The drop consists of a series of tokenized collectibles featuring National Hockey League legend Wayne Gretzky. Titled “Genesis”, it features 3D and animated interpretations of the iconic athletes on Sports Illustrated covers over the years.

The collection includes 13 limited-edition digital collectibles as green, gold, platinum, and diamond tier NFTs, with up to 299 editions each in the green tier, to 15 editions only in the diamond tier. The green tier NFT is priced for the everyday fan, starting at $10. In just over a week the collection is sold out.

EBay enabled NFT listings around mid-2021 but hasn’t integrated blockchain tech to support the sales on its marketplace. In terms of this official drop, users are sent a redemption link via in-platform messaging or email to receive their NFT outside of the platform. The NFTs were minted on Ethereum scaling platform Polygon and can be put up for secondary trade on OneOf.

Commenting on the drop, eBay’s vice president of collectibles, electronics and home Dawn Block said:

“Through our partnership with OneOf, eBay is now making coveted NFTs more accessible to a new generation of collectors everywhere. This builds upon our commitment to deliver high passion, high-value items to the eBay community of buyers and sellers.”

OneOf CEO Lin Dai is interested in the opportunity to make NFTs accessible to mainstream non-crypto buyers:

“You don’t have to be a crypto expert to buy, sell, and collect NFTs. OneOf and eBay are bringing transformative Web3 technology to the next 100M non-crypto-native mass consumers.”

Alibaba and Amazon, eBay’s main competitors, have both made some moves into the NFT space. Alibaba launched an NFT platform at the end of 2021, but no-one has heard much about it ever since. Amazon has only slightly hinted that they might step into NFT sales in the near future.

It’s great to observe how e-commerce giants are stepping on the unknown terrain. Let’s see whether they manage to successfully develop their platforms and popularise NFTs or not.