Rather improbably, Bicycle, a playing cards manufacturing company established in 1885, is entering the blockchain domain. The firm is launching its maiden NFT collection that it has labeled as the “Genesis Collection’. This collection was launched on Dec 9 on Kolectiv – the NFT marketplace.
Bicycle’s CEO said that this foray into NFTs was an initiative by the firm to merge tradition with innovation. This was a special moment for the firm in its over 135-year history of manufacturing playing cards.
The Genesis Collection
The NFT collection’s launch is being spearheaded by the artist Adrian Valenzuela. The first set of Bicycle cards will comprise cards from 10 up to Aces. The collection will be divided into different groups on different days. Jokers will drop at random and there will be a total of 24 NFT cards. The first card drop is being called the ‘Unique Collection’ of the Genesis Collection.
The collection has been available since Dec 10 on the Kolectiv marketplace. This collection will provide exclusive access to future NFT drops. The firm also said that the chief benefits would be from primary sales. Benefits from secondary sales on secondary markets will be lower.
The second part of the Genesis collection will execute on Dec 16. The firm will drop for sale 8008 items. This part of the collection is labeled the ‘Main Collection’ with each item costing 0.08ETH. Users, through the Shopify plugin, can also pay in USD for the items.
This NFT initiative by Bicycle is aimed at making their cards digital and more accessible. The launch by Bicycle, of NFTs, places it in the company of firms such as Adidas and Ubisoft, who also recently entered the NFT space.
It is expected that this entry into the NFT space by Bicycle will spur other 19th century companies to enter the NFT space.
