2021 brought a huge increase in the interest of NFTs leaving many to wonder whether this fascination will continue into 2022. As 2021 comes to end, here are a few noteworthy NFT projects to remember.

1. CRYPTOPUNKS

The CryptoPunks are one of the earliest examples of an NFT. Launched in June 2017 by Larva Labs, the CryptoPunks are now commonly credited as being the first major NFT project. The CryptoPunks are a collection of 10,000 uniquely generated pixel characters with proof of ownership stored on the Ethereum blockchain. They have been featured in The New York Times, Christie's of London, Art|Basel Miami, and The PBS NewsHour. Since no two CryptoPunks are alike, their scarcity has increased the price with the average CryptoPunk selling for between $350,000 and $500,000, and some selling for millions.

2. BORED APE YACHT CLUB

The Bored Ape Yacht Club is also a collection of 10,000 NFTs, each depicting an ape with different traits and visual attributes. The BAYC was created in April 2021 by Yuga Labs and is considered one of the most prestigious NFT collections in the world. In addition to the digital avatar, the purchase of a Bored Ape NFT provides the buyer with membership to a virtual club where members are given access to an exclusive Discord server and invitations to in-person events.

3. LOOK LABS CREATES THE "WORLD'S FIRST DIGITAL FRAGRANCE".

The Berlin-based studio LOOK LABS in collaboration with Montreal-based artist Sean Caruso, created the world's first digital perfume, Cyber Eau De Parfum. Branded as The Scent of the Metaverse, the company created a physical fragrance and recorded the molecular structure of the real scent using near-infrared stereoscopy, which they encoded as an NFT. According to LOOK LABS, the scent was inspired by "sci-fi movies and a world in which technology, AI, and advanced scientific innovations are integrated parts of our daily lives."

4. ARTIST SELLS HER EGG

Narine Arakelian auctioned a painting called Love, Hope, Live, as both a physical creation and an NFT of the painting. The painting is set to be auctioned with an embedded contract promising an egg from Arakelian's ovaries to the buyer. According to Arakelian, "The NFT will include a contract that gives the buyer ownership [of the egg]. Then when they want to collect, I will have a procedure and they will be given the egg."

5. COVID-19 NFT

Viromusic has launched an NFT collection of songs that are created using the genetic sequence of COVID-19. The NFTs are a collection of songs made with a technique called DNA Sonification, where the letters of the genetic code inside the coronavirus are turned directly into a melody. Every note in the melody is part of the step-by-step instructions the virus uses to make more copies of itself. The NFT is unique and based on different parts of the viral code and/or note mappings. The melody is created from the viral code, while other instruments are added as an accompaniment.