The Super Bowl isn't full of cryptocurrency ads this time around, but there was one ad for a tech-based NFT Game featuring a QR code to scan to snag one of 10,000 free collectibles. For many viewers, the process didn't quite work out as expected, but some of those who took the free NFT are flipping it for hundreds of dollars.
Web3 Gaming startup Limit Break said it paid $6.5 million for a commercial promoting a free Ethereum NFT Mint for its anime-inspired gaming project, DigiDaigaku. The animated commercial was built around a persistent QR code, which the ad claimed would allow viewers to coin (or create and receive) free NFT to play after scanning it.
Unfortunately, many Crypto Twitter viewers said that scanning the QR code simply redirected them to the Twitter profile of Gabriel Leydon, co-founder and CEO of Limit Break. The website address, encoded in the code, redirects people to Leydon's Twitter page after a few seconds, so some users may not have seen the site initially load before being redirected.
"I gave up everything to watch the Super Bowl for a 30-second ad that was supposed to make generations of wealth from a free mint," tweeted Crypto Twitter personality ThreadGuy, "and all I got was the ability to follow mfer on Twitter."
Others criticized the move as a means of "agricultural involvement" on Leydon's part. Some said Leydon had tweeted a link to the mint before the commercial had actually launched, while others complained that the minting process wasn't simple enough — users need an Ethereum wallet to receive NFTs, potentially excluding crypto-newbies and regulars alike. viewers
"Dude really paid millions for a Super Bowl ad to be the first to tweet the link and hide the mass public from their first NFT experience," tweeted YouTuber Popeye. "It could be massive if it was an extremely simple sign-up process without creating a wallet and such."
There are many similar complaints on Crypto Twitter, but Limit Break has apparently given away at least some of the promised 10,000 total Ethereum NFTs for this DigiDaigaku collection, and these free NFTs are trading quickly on secondary markets while the Super Bowl continues.
According to NFT marketplace OpenSea, DigiDaigaku Dragon Eggs NFTs were trading for over 0.5 ETH (over $750 USD) right after the mint, although the price went up and down throughout the game.
The floor price — or the price of the cheapest NFT on the market — fell to about 0.32 ETH (about $485) on OpenSea during the break, but is currently back up to about 0.39 ETH ($585). About 912 ETH (over $1.3 million) transactions have already changed hands since the ad aired.
The price fluctuations may be due in part to the uncertainty surrounding the second announced wave of Dragon Eggs NFTs. Leydon tweeted about a second chance mint for another 5,000 NFTs that users can qualify for by signing up on the DigiDaigaku website and retweeting one of his tweets. It is unclear if these NFTs are part of the initial total of 10,000 or if they will be added to that number.