Disney Partners with Dapper Labs to Launch NFT Platform on Flow Blockchain

A new NFT platform called Disney Pinnacle will digitalize Disney's vast universe of animated characters and superheroes into the world of NFTs.

On the evening of November 14, 2023, it was announced that the world's largest entertainment conglomerate, Disney, has partnered with Dapper Labs, the developer behind the Flow blockchain, to launch a new NFT trading platform called Disney Pinnacle.

Designed as a social-oriented experience, Disney Pinnacle will allow fans to collect and trade digital characters from Disney’s extensive entertainment universe. The platform promises to be a global trading environment while ensuring security.

Dapper Labs positions itself as one of the most successful companies in the NFT space through various efforts. Notably, “NBA Top Shot Moments”—an NFT collection of notable basketball moments developed in collaboration with the NBA—once achieved a valuation of $7.6 billion. Additionally, the company has received backing from Google to support the Flow blockchain.

Roham Gharegozlou, CEO and co-founder of Dapper Labs, stated:

“Disney Pinnacle is an entirely new product designed from the ground up to integrate everything we’ve accumulated over the years. Fans can interact with these items from anywhere in the world, allowing them to collect these digital assets on their phones, trade them instantly, and ensure security.”

According to the press release, the platform will host intellectual properties from Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Iconic Disney characters such as Woody and Buzz Lightyear from "Toy Story," Snow White, as well as villains and heroes from Star Wars and the MCU, will appear in Disney Pinnacle as tradable NFT assets.

Each collectible in the various collections will be designed with its own unique journey, allowing collectors to personalize them anywhere using just their phones.

The first Disney Pinnacle beta test was announced on the morning of November 14, 2023, but is only available to users on the waitlist for experience and feedback purposes. The official version is expected to launch by the end of the year on both iOS and Android platforms through the Apple Store and Google Play Store.

Despite Disney cutting staff in its Metaverse department and Dapper Labs laying off 22% of its workforce amid the NFT market downturn, the collaboration between Disney and Dapper Labs highlights the increasing interest of major brands in the NFT space. This partnership also creates potential for "mass adoption" of NFTs due to Disney’s global fanbase.

The collaboration comes as the NFT market shows signs of recovery, with NFT trading volume up 32% in October 2023, and the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection seeing a 240% increase in volume due to a partnership with the world's largest retail chain, Walmart.

In October 2023, the Taipei International NFT Conference gathered many notable figures and projects, including Yat Siu (founder of Animoca Brands), Ray Chain (founder of 9GAG and Memeland), Gideon Welles (former OpenSea manager), and Johnson Yeh (former Riot Games China and SEA manager), indicating a potential upcoming NFT boom.

The price of FLOW token also rose over 15% from $0.629 to $0.744 following the news.