Mission-driven NFT collections are best positioned to survive in a market that is seeing NFT trading falling, Vi Powils, the newly appointed chief executive of World of Women (WoW), a prominent NFT collection representing female empowerment, said.
In an interaction with Invezz soon after being appointed the new chief, Powils also acknowledged that now was the time more than ever to prove that WoW is not just a profile picture (PFP) NFT collection, but is focussed on “building real products, launching tools that empower its holders and expanding its presence beyond Web3.”
World of Women (WoW), which claims to be Web3’s largest mission-driven brand, was launched in 2021 as a vision from celebrated digital artist Yam Karkai to ensure greater representation of women in the next era of the web.
It is part of the Tezos ecosystem, an open-source and low-energy consumption blockchain, designed to facilitate the development of scalable decentralized applications.
WoW’s PFP generative art collections, World of Women and World of Women Galaxy, have recorded over $400m in total trading volume and a record-setting sale at Christie’s Evening Sale by a woman artist.
WoW’s value tied to impact, not hype: Powils on falling NFT trading
However, the NFT boom of 2021 has cooled significantly.
From $17 billion by the end of 2021, the market has almost halved to $8.8 billion in 2024.
This year alone, daily trading volumes of the top 20 NFT marketplaces declined over 90%, from $62.13 million at the end of January to $5.35 million as of March 31, according to Token Terminal data.
An NFT from the World of Women collection, Source: OpenSea
In such an environment, questions arise whether it will be harder for mission-driven collections to demonstrate long-term value to capture speculative interest.
“In fact, I think mission-driven projects are the ones best positioned to survive and thrive in this kind of environment,” Powils told Invezz.
“Because when speculation fades, what’s left are really the projects with purpose, consistency, and a real reason to exist. So, I think that’s where we are going to shine, because our value isn’t tied up to hype, it’s tied up to impact,” she said.
On taking WoW from a PFP NFT collection to beyond
Powils brings with her her most recent experience at Pudgy Penguins, where she helped scale the project to a more than $1 billion valuation.
Among her long-term visions for WoW is “transcending” the brand’s identity as a PFP NFT collection without losing sight of its origins and story.
This also comes as investors turn increasingly wary of NFT projects that don’t offer tangible utility.
“We are focused on building real products, launching tools that empower our holders, and expanding our presence beyond Web3.”
“From strategic partnerships to education and real-world impact, and everything we do is about showing that World of Women is a platform with purpose, not just a picture,” she said.
Under Powil, WoW aims to soon debut a slate of new products, partnerships, and community-centered initiatives to accelerate WoW’s influence, the company said in an earlier press release.
It has earlier partnered with Billboard Magazine, Hasbro, Mastercard, Sephora, Michelin, FC Barcelona, LVMH’s Cloudy Bay, Samsung, and others.
Progress on inclusion, but a long road ahead
While WoW was started with an initial aim to boost the representation of women in Web3 and the NFT space, Powils said there is still a long way to go for the ideal balance.
“I think WoW has helped move the needle in a significant way. You can tell it has because even now, talking to people, even people outside of the community, if you mention the name WOW, people know it. And it’s not the case for all collections…,” she says.
“…but there is still obviously a long way to go. Especially in making women feel like they belong, like they have the right to be in this industry. And more importantly, they are needed here to help it grow and push the boundaries,” she says.
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