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  4. Taco Bell celebrated the return of potatoes to its menu with taco NFTs that sold out in minutes. Now, they're reselling for thousands of dollars.

Taco Bell celebrated the return of potatoes to its menu with taco NFTs that sold out in minutes. Now, they're reselling for thousands of dollars.

Mary Meisenzahl   

Taco Bell celebrated the return of potatoes to its menu with taco NFTs that sold out in minutes. Now, they're reselling for thousands of dollars.
Retail2 min read
  • Taco Bell launched a collection of crypto art for $1 each, and they sold out in 30 minutes.
  • Some pieces have already resold for over $3,000.
  • NFTs are digital assets that make up a $250 million market.

Taco Bell just became the first fast food chain to jump into the NFT trend with five versions of digital art, selling five copies of each. Taco Bell is calling them "NFTacoBells."

NFTs are digital assets that have been around since 2017, and in 2020 they became a $250 million market. Creators are already realizing the potential to make millions in the relatively new space. Grimes sold her digital collection for $5.8 million in a 20-minute auction. A Miami art collector sold a 10-second video for $6.6 million. The NBA Top Shot online marketplace has done over $65 million in sales in just the last week.

Taco Bell's 25 total pieces of crypto-art sold in under 30 minutes on Sunday on the platform Rarible, the company told Insider. The five types were each related to Taco Bell's menu in some way, and started out priced at $1 each. The "Ever-Crunching Tacos" piece received the highest bid of 2 WETH, or about $3,646, according to CoinGecko. One of the pieces is for sale now for 10 ETH, or $18,365.25.

Even with the low initial price of a dollar, the pieces can generate significant money for Taco Bell, which gets 0.01% in each subsequent sale. Taco Bell says all profits will go towards its Live Mas scholarship.

Another piece in the collection, "Tato Dimensions," shows a 43-second clip of what looks like a spicy potato soft taco. The timing of these NFTs fits nicely with the return of potatoes to Taco Bell's menu on March 11 after backlash from furious customers.

"Right now, we are in the experimentation phase of the market, so I would expect to see lots of different experiments from musical and visual artists, brands, tech companies, media companies, and creators of all stripes. Sometimes brands can be rewarded for embracing emerging consumer trends earlier than their peer group, so kudos to Taco Bell" Venture capitalist David Pakman, an investor in NBA Top Shot, told Insider in an email.

"That said, in the long run, I expect that there will be way more supply of NFTs than there is demand for them, and the cream will rise to the top," Pakman said.

Taco Bell "may drop a second one in the future" the brand hinted.

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