Australian Open NFTs tank in value on non-fungible token marketplace

NFTs sold by Tennis Australia for nearly £1.5m have tanked in value amid reports the organisation has walked away from its non-fungible token project.

Tennis Australia’s foray into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has hit a sour note, with the organisation reportedly walking away from the project and the value of the digital images of tennis balls sold for nearly £1.5m plummeting.

More than 9,000 of the NFTs, which are digital images of tennis balls, have shed up to 90 per cent of their value since the launch in 2022 by Tennis Australia.

Over 6,700 NFTs were sold in 2022, priced at 0.067 in the ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrency (A$277), with a further 2,454 sold for about A$446 a year later – a combined value of nearly A$3m.

Those would be worth upwards of A$350 and A$1,000 each today if their value was retained, but instead the price is roughly $25, or 0.005ETH.

The floor price of the majority of ArtBall units sits at between 0.006ETH and 0.017ETH, according to marketplace OpenSea.

It represents a huge loss in value for investors who backed the project, which saw balls at Melbourne Park – home of the Australian Open – linked to the NFT sales.

There are four owners who each occupy at least 100 units of the NFT.

The programme was operated largely like an airline’s air miles programme, whereby rewards are earned through ownership.

Ground passes for finals week were up for grabs, and it appears existing unit owners have been able to redeem those tickets.

The UK has seen similar involvement from cryptocurrency and NFT businesses, including in the Premier League and Premiership Rugby.

Though the level of NFT sales are not at their lowest period since their boom in the latter part of the previous decade, the average daily sales average currently sits at a lower point now than periods in every year since 2017, according to Statista.

Roland Garros launched the “RG Game, Set & Match” NFT collection in 2022, with prices above the current floor of the Tennis Australia product on purchasing platform OpenSea.

Wimbledon and Andy Murray announced a NFT collaboration named “The Exposition” in 2023, with expected prices on the same marketplace around double the value of the Australian project. The US Open launched its first NFTs in 2021.