Digital Playgrounds: The Market Potential of Kid-centric NFTs

There has been an increasing recent rise in NFT projects with intellectual property targeted at younger audiences. While not all projects will succeed, expanding the market from the typical 20–50 year old collector to their children has both interesting business opportunity and the potential to onboard an entirely new generation into Web3.

Let’s look at a few of these projects to see how they are executing in this space as they venture outside of the existing NFT marketplace.

One of the first NFT projects to focus on art aimed at younger audiences was Cool Cats. Created by the artist Klos, Cool Cats as created an interactive cartoon world (dubbed “Cooltopia”) where holders can send cats and other pets on missions and earn $MILK, the Cool Cats native token. From merchandise, to interactive installations at NFT_NYC to a balloon in the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Cool Cats has made an effort from Day 1 to build a brand that has the ability to appeal to a much broader audience than other Web3 brands.

VeeFriends, crafted by entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, brought a novel twist to the NFT space. The initial collection from this brand were characters hand-drawn by Gary himself. With names such as Accountable Ant, Optimistic Otter and Tolerant Tuna, these characters embody many of the positive sentiments Gary speaks about publicly. In addition to the creation of dozens of lovable characters, each token also grants access to Gary’s annual conference, VeeCon, bridging the digital and physical realms.

Finally, we have Pudgy Penguins. These lovable little birds have had ups and downs in the Web3 space, but have really taken off under the leadership of Luca Netz, who took over the project from the original founders. Recently, Luca launched Pudgy Penguins figures on Amazon, making it the first major NFT brand to launch a physical collectable at scale. According to Netz, the product generated over $500k in revenue in the first day alone. In addition, each collectable comes with a way to onboard the purchaser into Web3 by helping them create a wallet and giving them their first digital collectable, likely bringing in a whole new audience into the Web3 space.

The popularity of these projects among younger users is an intriguing development. Children, being digital natives, have an innate affinity for navigating novel technologies, including the concept of digital ownership. The potential market growth in this sector is substantial.

Nevertheless, the entry of the younger demographic into the world of NFTs comes with its own set of challenges. Concerns around online safety, financial responsibility, and digital literacy require serious consideration and open discussion with our kids.

The intersection of the physical and digital world via NFTs is poised for significant growth, and we are just witnessing the beginning.