William Shatner Makes History on the WAX Blockchain; Digital Trading Cards Sell Out in Minutes

For the first time ever, troves of actor William Shatner’s most personal memorabilia is available to the public in digital form on the WAX Blockchain. The demand for the sale was so high that the 10,000 packs filled with approximately 125,000 digital photographs sold out in just nine minutes. Sales and trades on secondary markets are booming as collectors are buying, selling, and trading photographs from the iconic actor’s personal life and career. 

William Shatner is one of film and television’s most beloved actors whose career spans more than 60 years. The Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning actor starred in an endless list of roles that includes Captain Kirk in television’s most famous science fiction series, Star Trek, to the title role in T.J. Hooker, to the Priceline Negotiator. 

The scenes in this series include a picture of himself at the moment he found out his daughter was born, a candid photo of him hugging Leonard Nimoy, even one of dental x-ray pictures (the first on the blockchain)!

There were two types of packs that went up on sale at 12pm EST on shatnercards.io:

• 3,000 Mega Packs containing 30 digital collectibles. These sold out in 3 minutes.
• 7,000 Standard Packs containing 5 digital collectibles. These sold out in 9 minutes.

This is the third such record-breaking NFT sale on WAX since May 2020.

William Shatner Digital Trading Cards on the WAX Blockchain:

William has been a vocal fan on social media of blockchain-based products for years. “There is a saying that putting something online is forever. I disagree. Putting something on a blockchain is forever,” says William Shatner. The blockchain records every aspect of every collectible transaction and stores it forever. These blockchain records can’t be changed by anyone and can be seen by everyone. Therefore, the blockchain is proof that the collectibles are authentic and they can be traded or sold at any time without ever taking a chance with a buyer or seller because it’s verifiable on the WAX Blockchain. 

The series of digital trading cards is made up of a type of blockchain-based collectible, called NFTs (or non-fungible tokens). Every NFT is one-of-a-kind and features unique characteristics that differentiate it from any other NFT, and can never be counterfeited or duplicated. Collectors purchase packs which they then open to reveal the collectibles inside. 

Owners of the William Shatner NFTs can:

• Sell them on a marketplace
• Trade them instantly, with anyone, anywhere in the world – for free
• Trade with confidence that every collectible is certified authentic, unique, and can never be altered
• View a collectible’s full ownership records and trading history
• Showcase their inventory on social media
• Search wishlists of other traders

Some of the William Shatner NFT trading cards can be combined to create new and more rare collectibles, and others can be redeemed for physical merchandise personally autographed by William himself. 

Data for William Shatner cards on the WAX Blockchain includes:

• Detailed specifications for each card and shard including the date it was created, its rarity, images of the card, proof of its authenticity, and more. With this information, collectors know exactly which cards and shards they are trading – no guesswork, no need to trust or verify other traders.
• Comprehensive ownership records that show who traded the item and when. Since everyone can see its full ownership history, no one can ever fake ownership.
• Complete trade history

William Shatner Digital Cards Sale Details:

The collection includes:

• 10,000 digital packs
• Expected 124,935 shards
• A total combined possibility of 41,709 individual trading cards 
• 25 cards that can be redeemed for an autographed headshot
• 1 card that can be redeemed for an autographed Captain Kirk action figure

“I love this release,” says Evan Vandenberg, Director of Business Development for WAX, “It’s so unique not only from the perspective of William Shatner’s personal memorabilia being put on a blockchain, but the shard concept and the ability to craft cards is a simple, yet awesome mechanic that should really take NFTs to another level.”

What are Collectors Doing with Them?
Once the packs were released, a buying and trading frenzy commenced. Collectors can still buy and trade or chase after their missing pieces to create full cards on secondary markets. 

Collectors are buying and selling the collectibles on secondary marketplaces including: 

• Shatner.Market
• Wax.simplemarket.io
• Collectables.io

This launch is one of a series of NFT sales that WAX has planned for 2020. The most recent NFT sale sold out in 67 minutes, with the prior NFT sale selling out in 28 hours. Read more about The Worldwide Asset eXchange Blockchain and Shatner Trading Cards on the WAX blog here.