While NFT markets have been quiet, there have been a lot of interesting activity on the lending front. If you’re looking for signal in the NFT markets, that’s often one place to look. Cirrus watches the lending markets closely.
This one really caught my eye:
An anon took out a $1,100,000 on-chain loan for a set of Supreme box logo T-shirts.
WAIT… $1.1 million for a set of T-shirts? Time for some context:
Over the years, Supreme has grown from a cult brand into something worn by celebrities including Kanye West and Travis Scott. And the Supreme box logo design is one of the most recognisable cultural icons in the world of street fashion today.
The resale market for Supreme T-shirts is pretty hot. For example, a Supreme Swarovski Box Logo Tee is reselling for of $400. Some rare editions, like those released in 2014, can trade for over $1,000 USD on platforms like StockX
This complete collection of Supreme box logo t-shirts comprises 291 shirts, spanning from the brand’s inception in 1994 up to the year 2022. It was last auctioned off by Christie’s (the initial 253 t-shirts in the collection) and estimated to be worth $2 milllion. We don’t know who the buyer was, since it was a private sale, but likely a serious collector or investor in the streetwear or fashion industry.
Going back to the loan: the lender is getting 40% APR and will make a cool $72,000 in 60 days, assuming the borrower repays.
This highlights a big market where crypto / NFTs can play a huge role — real-world assets (RWAs).
While there are several projects that are tokenising US treasuries and other similar assets, I believe that the type of RWAs that will really take off are those with very inefficient markets and low levels of liquidity in our world today. It is in these markets is where the blockchain really shines — the collectibles market for example, which is estimated to be $458 billion (sports memorabilia, toys, antiques, trading cards)
Lending protocols like Arcade enable these asset owners to unlock liquidity in a shorter period of time and with lower fees.
Expecting to see many more of these type of loans in the coming months. Also, they represent a lucrative yield opportunity for savvy lenders.