It looks like the NFT market craze is still running at an all-time high.
Cryptograph, a non-fungible tokens platform, recently auctioned off eight never before seen photos of Kobe Bryant. The auction took place on August 24, a day in Los Angeles commemorated as Kobe Bryant Day.
The photoshoot took place inside an old meatpacking facility without electricity in downtown Los Angeles with photographer Davis Factor in 1999.
“I think this shoot is special because it’s one of his first fashion shoots,” Factor told Insider. “The purpose of this Kobe Bryant NFT drop, for me, is to raise as much money as humanly possible to give to Kobe Bryant’s foundation.”
Cryptograph co-founder Tommy Alastra recently went through Factor’s personal book project and came across the eight photographs of the then 21 year old Bryant.
“I was like, ‘Hey, man, this is a great time,'” Alastra told ESPN. “‘In about two months it’s national Kobe day [on Aug. 24]. Have you [Factor] ever considered what this could potentially do?'”
The auction took place for 72 hours, bought with Ethereum, with the highest photograph auctioned off for approximately $18,000.
All the earnings from this auction will benefit the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, a non-profit founded in memory of Kobe and Gianna, that looks to fund sport programs in underprivileged areas.
The popularity of NFTs have been absurd this past year, with transaction volumes reaching $1 billion. The popular NFT marketplace NBA Top Shot is licensed with the NBA and has reached over $700 million in sales. Dapper Labs, the company that owns Top Shot is currently valued at over $7.5 billion.
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