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I promise not to make any doo doo doo doo jokes
Pinkfong, the company behind “Baby Shark” — aka the song with the most-viewed video on all of YouTube — has announced an NFT project titled “Baby Shark: Collection No. 2.” The NFTs in the collection, all 10,000 of them, will feature generative art of the titular baby shark and the rest of his shark family. Generative NFTs are like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, where there are a variety of randomized traits across a collection.
When I first heard this news, I had two thoughts simultaneously (using up my entire daily allotment):
and
So, yes, this is apparently going to be the second set of NFTs featuring Brooklyn (TIL, that’s the baby shark’s name) and his family. The first was announced late last year and, according to Pinkfong, sold out immediately. I regret to inform you that people have spent hundreds and even thousands of dollars on these NFTs, though the initial sale happened in December 2021. That was, according to NonFungible’s market tracker, riiiight before the NFT market started to slump. Sadly, that probably means there are some Baby Shark bag holders out there.
NFTs allow you to buy and sell ownership of unique digital items and keep track of who owns them using the blockchain. NFT stands for “non-fungible token,” and it can technically contain anything digital, including drawings, animated GIFs, songs, or items in video games. An NFT can either be one-of-a-kind, like a real-life painting, or one copy of many, like trading cards, but the blockchain keeps track of who has ownership of the file.
NFTs have been making headlines lately, some selling for millions of dollars, with high-profile memes like Nyan Cat and the “deal with it” sunglasses being put up for auction. There’s also a lot of discussion about the massive electricity use and environmental impacts of NFTs. If you (understandably) still have questions, you can read through our NFT FAQ.
As for whether Pinkfong is trying to get kids interested in this… I’m really not sure where I land on that. Its roadmap (which, yes, does include developing “Baby Shark’s footprint and the universe in the metaverse”) very much seems written for investors and adults. Still, it also banks on you knowing and caring about the “Baby Shark” characters and wanting to be part of the community. That’s just not something I see being true for most adults, though I guess I could always be wrong about that.
What’s definitely not for kids is the “Baby Shark” party at NFT.NYC that Pinkfong will be using to celebrate its second round of NFTs. The company describes the event as a “night of fantastic entertainment, music, and networking,” and let me tell you; I am absolutely dying to know what kind of networking goes on at a party for “Baby Shark” NFTs. Am I curious enough to endure NFT.NYC to find out? Well, unfortunately, I’m too busy doing absolutely anything else that day (plus, you know, I wasn’t invited for some reason). But if you end up going, please email me to tell me what it was like.
If you missed our Baby Shark party in Austin, don’t worry, we’re going bigger next week in NYC!
Our party, Baby Shark Nite @ The Nolcha Shows: NFT Edition, is going down next Monday 6/20 during https://t.co/tEgGxaSihf.
This event is invite-only, so DM us for more info! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/xXRXHL99A9
I definitely wouldn’t say this invite looks geared towards children.
When it comes down to it, you won’t hear any judgment from me about the adults that personally decide to buy into the “Baby Shark” NFT bandwagon when this collection comes out later this year. (Not because I don’t judge people for buying NFTs, but because I usually do it quietly.) But Pinkfong’s website says that the company is about “defining the first moments of childhood.” Parents out there, please — do not define your kids’ first moments with speculative assets.
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