DC Comics Is Giving Away Potentially Millions of Free Ethereum NFTs

DC’s FanDome 2020 streaming event pulled in a reported 22 million viewers last fall to learn about the brand’s upcoming comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. The firm expects an even larger turnout for October’s FanDome 2021—and will use NFTs to help draw in viewers and spread the word about the stream.

Today, the WarnerMedia-owned DC announced a partnership with Palm NFT Studio to create a new line of NFTs tied into the upcoming streaming event. DC will offer up digital collectibles based on popular comic book covers, with the line featuring characters such as Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Harley Quinn, and Green Lantern.

And they’re all free. Starting October 5, DC will offer a free NFT to anyone who registers to attend the DC FanDome 2021 streaming event on October 16. Users can unlock a second free NFT by also sharing word about the event via social media.

Given the size of the viewer base for last year’s streaming event, DC suggests that this will be “very likely one of the largest NFT drops ever,” per an announcement. Palm could deliver potentially millions of free NFTs with this DC launch, a representative confirmed, depending on demand.

An NFT is like a receipt for a rare digital item, as verified by a blockchain. NFTs can take all sorts of forms, including still or animated images, video clips, functional video game items, and more. In this case, DC plans to give away digital recreations of both classic and modern comic book covers.

DC Publisher and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee “hand-selected” the artwork used for each collectible, according to an announcement, and each comic cover will be available in three rarity levels.

A representative for Palm tells Decrypt that this is the first step in an ongoing partnership with DC, and that they may release premium collectibles in the future. Palm uses a layer-2 scaling solution on top of Ethereum to minimize fees, congestion, and energy consumption for minting NFTs.

Although DC’s press release suggests that this is the firm’s “first collection of NFTs,” DC has previously released NFT collectibles through the VeVe platform. VeVe also works with rival comic book maker Marvel, releasing 3D “digital statues” that can be viewed in augmented reality, as well as rare comic book covers.

Earlier this year, amidst the NFT market’s first big boom—with $2.5 billion in total trading volume in the first half of the year—DC Comics reportedly told its freelance artists not to sell independent NFTs featuring DC’s characters.

The reported memo came soon after longtime comic book artist José Delbo generated some $1.85 million worth of Ethereum from selling Wonder Woman-themed NFTs on the MakersPlace marketplace in March. DC claimed in the memo that it was exploring its own NFT initiatives, potentially foreshadowing this newly-announced alliance with Palm for FanDome 2021.

Launched in March, Palm NFT Studio is a joint venture between Ethereum studio/incubator ConsenSys, film studio Heyday Films, and art services company HENI. ConsenSys also funds an editorially independent Decrypt.