Porsche’s failed NFT drop is a lesson for brands in Web3

Porsche’s NFT drop was supposed to be a game-changer. But in what has become a somewhat regular occurrence with NFT drops, it failed to live up to the hype.

The project, auspiciously announced at Art Basel Miami Beach, launched on Monday, and by Tuesday fewer than 1,500 of the collection’s 7,500 NFTs had been minted. Buyers, sensing this lack of demand, began listing their tokens on secondary marketplaces for less money. Hours later, after significant backlash online, Porsche cut the token supply and announced it would halt the mint. Only 2,383 NFTs had sold by the end of the fiasco, or just over 30% of the intended supply. 

“Many customers from the Web3 community have obviously held back because direct resale seemed unprofitable due to the customization of the NFT,” said a Porsche spokesperson. “The size of the community is not decisive for us. What is crucial, is that we can offer the community the most exclusive and individual events and utilities possible.”

The floor price has risen steadily on OpenSea, which seems like a good thing, but in reality it shows people are buying and flipping for the arbitrage opportunity and not caring about Porsche’s Web3 community.