This article was featured on BOAT International in March 2022 and was written by Holly Overton.
Project Metaverse has been designed by Gregory C Marshall, whose most recent projects include the 80 metre multi-award-winning Artefact, and is offered for sale as an NFT on the blockchain for $95,000,000. If sold, the project will be the highest price ever paid for an NFT. North American shipyard Delta Marine has agreed to build the vessel, so as well as owning the non-fungible token for Project Metaverse, the new owner will be able to see the design crossover into the real world.
Project Metaverse builds on the growing Cloud Yachts portfolio of NFT yachts, the first of which made their debut at the Miami Yacht Show in February 2022. Cloud Yachts teamed up with Marshall to create a limited-run of superyacht designs and sold 10 in Miami at 1 ETH (Ethereum) each.
“Understanding we were on to something, I began thinking of ways to scale our business with Cloud Yachts”, said Marshall. “It was clear to make Project Metaverse real we would need a creative broker who not only has the clients but can also effectively communicate the experience and technology we are offering. Knowing Alex Clarke’s impressive superyacht sales history we believe he is the guy for this monumental task.”
“I am beyond excited to help pioneer this revolutionary new build process with Gregory Marshall Naval Architects, Delta Marine and Cloud Yachts,” said Alex Clarke, sales broker at Denison Yachting. “When I first heard about the Gregory Marshall NFT new build project I knew I had to be involved as feel this will be a groundbreaking project and implement a shift in the way yachts are built and sold.”
Cloud Yachts have partnered with some of the industry’s top designers including Bannenberg & Rowell and Marco Casali to design, mint, market and sell this new range of digital assets. Project Metaverse will make its official debut at the Palm Beach International Boat Show at the end of the month.
An NFT (non-fungible token) is a digital asset that represents a real-world object. What started as a way to buy and sell digital artwork has snowballed into cars, houses and even superyachts. They are frequently sold in cryptocurrency and are often encoded in the same way.