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Manny Pacquiao has taken to social media to announce that he's getting into the NFT marketplace.
'PacMan' is fresh off his bid for the presidency of the Philippines. Pacquiao was serious about taking a stab at the highest office. So serious, in fact, that the 43-year-old announced his retirement from boxing in order to pursue the presidency.
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However, Pacquiao didn't end up winning the general election. He garnered less than seven percent of the national vote, in an election that wound up being won by Bongbong Marcos. Now, with his bid for the presidency over, the former boxer has moved on to other ventures.
Since concerning the election, Pacquiao has been relatively quiet on social media. While he's still a senator for his country, he hasn't announced any other ventures since his loss in the presidential election. That was until earlier this week, when the 43-year-old announced he was dropping an NFT.
Pacquiao announced that he was dropping not just one NFT, but an entire collection comprising of nearly 10,000 unique NFTs. The tentative mint date for the collection is July 15th, and fans will get more updates on the drop on his social media and website.
See Manny Pacquiao's announcement about his NFT collection below:
How did Manny Pacquiao's NFT project begin?
Manny Pacquiao's website announcing his NFT collection offers an interesting look into how it came to be.
'PacMan' hasn't shown much interest in NFTs since before his announcement, but it's clear that the project has an emotional connection to him. On his website, where fans can get details and learn more about his collection, it shared how the project began.
Pacquiao, working alongside his friend, Onix, began work on the collection following a conversation the two had about the blockchain. The former boxer's beloved dog had recently passed away in an accident, so they decided to pay tribute to him.
On its website, Onix recalled a story about how the project came to be:
"One sunny afternoon after the accident, Manny and I were sitting in a quiet cafe when I casually introduced him to the idea of the Blockchain and all the wonderful things the technology can bring. While elaborating on various technical details, I began to see Manny’s face suddenly start to glow ecstatically as if he’d been struck by some life-changing epiphany. “Does that mean… Pacman can be forever?”, he stuttered with excitement. And so it came to be!"
