Until the crypto winter began thawing at the end of it, 2023 was a relatively quiet year for the world of NFTs—having seen an explosion of growth in 2021 and 2022, which paved the way for numerous exciting new NFT projects to come to life.

Despite this, and with the market now coming back to life, people are still launching new NFTs and NFT collections, and many of these new NFT projects offer a compelling investment opportunity for savvy investors who have the foresight to identify them early in their lifespan.

To help clarify the investment landscape, this guide will discuss the best new NFT projects this year, covering the top upcoming NFTs before highlighting where to invest in these assets today – with no transaction fees.

The Top 10 New NFT Projects for 2024

Below is an overview of the best upcoming NFT projects to be aware of this year. The following section will discuss these new NFTs in detail, ensuring you know precisely which assets to mark on your NFT calendar.

  1. Launchpad xyz – Best new NFT projects for those who trade, or are looking to, in all aspects of web3
  2. Pikamoon –  Play-to-earn metaverse game for battling NFT character teams, with online multiplier and offline campaign modes
  3. Umoja Foundation – Sublime generative art created from the imagination of children
  4. Rough Ryders – Hand drawn 3D art from the wild west, with an ETH Back Guarantee
  5. Saved Souls – A gamified NFT collection for those who have found their calling in Web3
  6. Moonbirds – Pixel art NFT collection, from art-centric brand, continually rewarding loyal holders
  7. ARRAKIS Labs – Using medicinal plants and the power and skills of people to enhance livesin retreats and online
  8. Claynosaurz – New, family-friendly metaverse game on Solana with lovable and quirky NFT clay dinosaurs
  9. Doodles – The NFT collection that keeps iterating and has a real-world presence
  10. Nakamigos – Pixel art collection of 20,000 NFTs with utility and creator rumors igniting conversations of future utility

If you want to invest in upcoming NFT projects, we recommend using Crypto.com – the best platform to buy NFTs with no transaction fees.

A Closer Look at the Best Upcoming NFT Projects

The new NFT projects listed above provide exciting investment opportunities for investors of all experience levels. Let’s explore each of these projects individually so that you can gain a deeper understanding of the best NFTs to buy this year:

1. Launchpad xyz – Feature-Rich Web3 Trading Platform for Tokens, NFTs, and Fractionalized Assets

Launchpad xyz is an all-encompassing Web3 trading platform that offers tiered NFT access to traders of different levels. These NFTs can be obtained by contributing particular amounts to the presale—which is live now. What makes Launchpad xyz the best new NFT project in December 2024, is the sheer number of features the platform will offer to traders.

Launchpad XYZ presale banner

On Launchpad xyz traders will be able to access token and NFT trading, with hundreds of token pairs available and NFT listings aggregated from all the biggest NFT marketplaces. Users will have access to exclusive Telegram groups, market insight newsletters, and a AI trading assistant that offers meaningful trading insights for traders using the platforms built in DEX and NFT marketplace.

Alongside AI-powered insights and trading signals from expert traders, Launchpad xyz NFT holders from all tiers also get access to the Launchpad Quotient (LPQ). Launchpad Quotient is a ranking system for tokens, NFTs, and fractionalized assets that utilizes over 400 data points to provide timely insights that help traders build their trading framework and make crucial trading decisions.

Launchpad xyz whitepaper

Launchpad xyz is the best new NFT project for traders of all levels, offering data-driven insights and trading education that helps users improve their framework for trading in web3. Those interested in getting out in front of the pack and improving their trading skills should check out what Launchpad xyz is all about by reading the whitepaper, joining their Telegram group for traders, and following them on Twitter to keep up with updates.

2. Pikamoon – RPG Play-to-Earn Game in the Metaverse with NFT Characters and Items

Pikamoon logo The 13th God aims to reshape the world of Dreva, where the Pikamoon game is based, and it is your task and that of others to stop that from happening. The immersive world of Pikamoon is split into 6 distinct regions, each of which is visually different and offers unique challenges to players.

The Pikamoon game takes its inspiration from the popular games of Pokemon and Fortnite; inspiration for its creatures comes from Pokemon, inspiration for its landscapes come from Fortnite, and inspiration for its gameplay come from both.

There are two game modes in Pikamoon. The offline campaign will be released first, followed by an online multiplayer mode where players can battle each other with their teams of Pikamoon characters to see who comes out on top.

Pikamoon NFT explainer

There are, currently, 27,018 NFTs in the Pikamoon universe that will be distributed to token holdersv through a free mint in 2024. These NFTs are the Pikamoon characters that players use to build their undefeatable teams to play the game.

These NFTs are first made available, for free, to the holders of the game’s native token, $PIKA—and the more $PIKA a wallet holds, the more NFTs they will be eligible for. Each Pikamoon NFT character’s attributes vary from character to character, making building a top quality team a dynamic and ever-evolving process. What’s more, Pikamoon’s NFT creatures can be captured in the wild of the Pikaverse, and even upgraded with weapons and spells bought from the in-game marketplace using $PIKA.

Pikamoon Banner

The $PIKA token is currently in presale, with just over 80% of tokens sold and over $4m already inputted into the presale. Pikamoon character NFTs will be distributed, for free, to token holders in 2024, and, right now, $PIKA is being sold at a discount from the launch price in the presale.

Read the Pikamoon whitepaper and join the Telegram channel to learn more about this cryptocurrency. 

3. Umoja Foundation – Generative Art from the Minds of Children with Proceeds Supporting an Orphanage in Uganda

Blockchain technology and the emergence of web3 are grounded in the ethos, and their ability, to create a fairer world for all the humans who inhabit it. The Umoja Foundation is taking such a statement literally and harnessing the power of blockchain technology and NFTs to create an intrinsic connection between art and charitable contributions.

The Umoja Foundation’s new NFT art collection consists of generative art based on the imagination of real children from Uganda. The children are asked to let their imagination run wild and write a short description for a picture. These are then put into an “Imagination Creator” and turned into art—which are then turned into NFTs. All the proceeds from the sale of the art will go to support the Dasom Ministries Orphanage in Uganda.

Having the art drawn from the imagination of children (by AI) has produced some beautifully abstract images.

Umoja Foundation Art Examples

The 17 children and 3 volunteers of the Dasom Ministries Orphanage are not the only ones supported by art purchases, as on any day, the Orphanage could feed and clothe up to 50 individuals.

The team behind the project is an impressive collection of people and artists in the web3 space. The Umoja Foundation NFTs are priced at an affordable 0.015ETH, or ~$30 USD, each and the sale started in November 2023, and continue until the collection is sold out, continuing to raise money for the people supported by the Dasom Ministries Orphanage.

Not only do proceeds go to a good cause, but NFT owners also receive multiple benefits, including:

  • Early access to future drops from Umoja
  • VIP entry for Umoja events, both virtual and real world
  • Discounts and giveaways
  • A voice in the future ventures of the Umoja Foundation

After the first mint, it can be expected that the Umoja Foundation will report back with what funds from the sale have achieved and what the next steps are regarding future fundraising—although this has not yet been stated.

4. Rough Ryders – 3D, Art-Deco Style Wild West Character PFP Art, with Holders Having Full IP Rights

Rough Ryders LogoThe Rough Ryders project is a Wild West themed NFT collection that already offers up some attractive pieces of art. The Rough Ryders collection proper will be PFP-style art featuring 3D human, Wild West characters. These will be hand drawn, and there are going to be a total of 3000 NFTs in the collection. Each NFT owner will hold the IP rights to the art in their NFT.

The Rough Ryders project was started by two NFT enthusiasts, @CronosICUDoc and @Westside_Habibi, who host the NFTs are Thriving podcast together, a podcast that celebrates project founders still grinding and the communities still building during the bear market.

Rough Ryders Silver Dollar Saloon

Rough Ryders aims to become a rewarding ecosystem for its holders and participants, with numerous ways in which rewards are generated, including an AI managed trading strategy, from which membership rewards are claimed on a weekly basis, with a portion of membership rewards being compounded to produce higher monthly rewards. Of course, this will only happen after the mint day, and that is TBD in early 2024.

The Rough Ryders project has partnered with other projects, including Bulls and Apes, whose Methane token will be integrated into the project and used to enter raffles and earn discounts in the Rough Ryder merch store.

The Rough Ryder merch store is already live and features T-shirts, caps, hoodies, and more for the project’s early supporters to buy.

Finally, and maybe one of the stranger offerings from an NFT project, Rough Ryders is offering an “Eth – Back Guarantee,” where, without more details, it seems like users can return their NFT to get a return of their Eth investment if they’re simply not happy.

5. Saved Souls – Gamified NFT Collection for Those with a Passion for Web3

The Saved Souls NFT collection is targeted at those who feel that they found their “calling card” in Web3, and is aptly named for the community of like-minded people, “saved by Web3”, that has grown around the project.

The Saved Souls NFT collection has been embraced by the NFT community, and, while it was released in April 2023, it is considered new and up-and-coming because the collection’s game is steadily released in stages and the project continues to blossom from its initial release.

This collection features 9,999, nautically themed PFP NFTs with algorithmically generated qualities.

Saved Souls Logo Banner

For many, one of the most important elements of Saved Souls is that the initial NFT mint was free (with users only having to pay gas fees), but Those who wished to mint more than 1 Saved Soul were charged 0.009 ETH per extra NFT.

Those who were first to mint received a part of a map to start their journey into the Swamp Land—where gamification begins. The Swamp Land is where the Swamp Souls—the second NFT collection—lurked. Here the Saved Souls battled the Swamp Souls in the Swamp Land.

They then, however, allied to fight a common enemy, Gom-lul Wo. This happened in real time, through an interactive and collaborative dashboard.

The next element, released in November 2023, is the Toxic Swamp, where holders, who’ve finished collecting the compass, must collaborate to an even greater level to defeat Franklin the Undead in the Toxic Swamp.

Recently, it was announced that each Saved Soul NFT owner can also mint their own Ethereum Name Service (ENS) subdomain for free, e.g. yourchoice.savedsouls.eth.

Overall, Saved Souls is a community of of Web3 enthusiasts whose journey is continuing to evolve and might even become one of the most sought-after NFTs as we move into a bull market in 2024—if the game develops in a way to offer mass appeal.

6. Moonbirds – NFTs from Art-Centric Brand that Rewards Longterm Holders

Moonbird logo The Moonbirds NFT Collection originally debuted in April 2022, but what puts it here as one of the best new NFTs to buy in 2024 is the continued evolution of the collection’s story, recurring NFT drops, and its connection to well-known and highly respected artists.

Moonbirds are from the PROOF Collective and on their release they drove the hype train and landed on top of the NFT charts, clocking in over $200 million (69,000 ETH) in trading volume—becoming a blue chip NFT in the process.

Moonbirds NFT Collection Banner

PROOF is a private collective of NFT collectors, artists, and visionaries and Moonbird NFTs give holders access to the private PROOF Discord channel, amongst other benefits which include access to the the upcoming PROOF metaverse project Highrise, Parliament meetups, IRL events, and exclusive Moonbird drops.

These Moonbird drops can only be accessed by users who Nest (i.e. stake) their Moonbird NFT for a specific period of time. In April 2023, PROOF dropped a collection of 10,000 exclusive pieces for Moonbird holders.

This collection is called Moonbird: Diamond Exhibition and features artwork from 22 well-known artists, including Beeple, Summer Wagner, and Terrell Jones—it also coincided with a Beeple party at NFT NYC and a physical gallery showing the collection of artwork.

Only those who have reached Diamond Nest level, 180+ days of nesting, can mint art from the Moonbird: Diamond Exhibition. Moonbird holders can also mint a Mythic Egg, that then allowed them to mint a Mythic NFT, a new animated Moonbird-esq NFT.

There are 4 other levels below Diamond Nest level, each with its own physical perks once a user’s NFT has reached that level, which go up to and include a framed version of your Moonbird, animated by Mark Mograph.

All-in-all, the Moonbird NFT collection offers holders and NFT collectors the chance to be a part of an exclusive community and to earn rewards for being a loyal NFT holder—these, and other upcoming perks make Moonbirds one of the top new NFTs to invest in this year.

7. ARRAKIS Labs – Members Only Club for Medicinal Plants, NFTs can be Exchanged for Retreat Days in Costa Rica

Arrakis Labs Logo With a focus on using medicinal plants from the Americas to heal the body, ARRAKIS Labs is releasing 2 collections of NFTs with real-world utility, high-quality PFP style artwork, and a community of like-minded people.

The ARRAKIS Labs collective is a community combining blockchain technology with indigenous medicines of the Americas, healing practices, and the art of divination. The community is global and primarily exists on Discord, and also organizes healing meetups and transformative experiences in the real world.

Meetups are held at the OM Jungle Medicine retreat center in Samara, Costa Rica, and the first few meetups have already been organized for the beginning of 2024.

ARRAKIS Labs PFP NFT Collection

The first NFT drop from ARRAKIS Labs is the ARRAKIS Pass. This consists of 1,111 NFTs that allow the holders to become Arrakis Elders (OG Members) at the end of 2025. Each NFT pass comes with access to 1 plant medicine ceremony at the OM Jungle Medicine retreat center, and also guarantees early access to all future drops and the minting of at least 3 Psychedelic Social Club NFTs.

The Psychedelic Social Club NFTs are the second mint from ARRAKIS Labs and feature 1 of 9 different pieces of high-quality PFP style artwork that can be redeemed with the NFT. Each NFT can also be exchanged for 1 night of ceremony (both plant medicine and non-psychedelic ceremonies are available) at the OM Jungle Medicine retreat center in Costa Rica.

8. Claynosaurz – A Clay Dinosaur Metaverse Designed for Educational Fun for Children

Claynosaurz Logo

There are 10,222 unique NFT Claynosaurz’s that inhabit the world of Claynotopia, each with their own unique personality—they are one of the best new NFTs on the Solana blockchain. These are from a total of 7 species (and counting). These clay dinosaurs and the world they inhabit (also made of virtual clay) have been created to bring enjoyable education to the metaverse on Solana.

With epicly cute and entertaining animations, the Claynosaurz team has been creating short and fun content on social media, specifically TikTok and Instagram, to promote their project—and they have already built a solid following from this effort. Along with this, owners of Claynosaurz are encouraged to make and share their own content with their NFTs.

Claynosaurz Origins and Characters

The user’s experience in Claynotopia is a story-driven experience along with their character. While there are 10,222 unique NFT characters, they can be changed even more by their owner through the application of clay and the Claymaker machine, which are also trade-able NFTs.

While most of the information about the overall design and functional aspects of the metaverse world, Claynotopia, is yet to be revealed, the team has experience working with and for some of the biggest and most well-known names in the animation business—leading to some exciting thoughts about what might lie ahead!

On top of all this, two new Claynosaurz were added to the herd in mid-2023, leaving some thinking that the herd might even be expanded at some point in 2024, allowing users to join the herd themselves at a good mint price, and maybe even introduce their children to the world of NFTs and web3 sooner than they might have thought!

Finally, the team at Claynosaurz is playing to the project’s strengths, and have already planned to release one of their characters as a soft plushie toy.

9.  Doodles – Ever Expanding NFT Project with Many In-Person Events Doodles Logo

The original Doodles NFT collection has been around since late 2021 and is an algorithmicallygenerated collection of 10,000 NFT avatars. It was initially known for its innovative token mechanics, and collaborations with high-profile creators from inside and outside the NFT space, but grew to prominence for its continued innovation and popularity.

While Doodles is an “older” collection it remains one of the best new NFT collections as it continues to iterate and produce new art and collections, specifically Doodles 2, released in January 2023—on the Flow blockchain—and Space Doodles.

Doodles NFT Collection Characters

Since its inception Doodles has emerged as a Web3 brand, paving the way for others. The brand has hosted many in-person experiences, exclusively for holders, and these often coincide with annual NFT events, greatly increasing their presence in the space.

In early 2023 Doodles announced that they acquired the award-winning animation studio, Golden Wolf. This, it is said, will lead to the building of narrative stories around the characters in the NFT collection and the Doodles world.

Alongside all this, the Doodles creators have also released Doodle Records and a sock-themed NFT collection game.

The Doodles 2 collection is a customizable NFT collection that allows holders and enthusiasts to customize a Doodle character using the Dooplicator—which allows holders to duplicate a trait from an original Doodle to get wearable items for their Doodle 2 NFT.

Genesis Box NFTs have also been released—July 2023—and are a one time use items that, among other things, give the holder a Doodles 2 Beta Pass which gives the holders access to the private beta for a create-your-own Doodle feature.

The Doodles project has completed numerous rounds of fundraising, raising $54 million from venture capitalists to continue developing this top ranked PFP NFT collection. With all this advancement, a high profile and regular new and exciting product launches many saying to watch what happens in 2024 with Doodles, and that this is the best new NFT to purchase this year.

10. Nakamigos – 20,000 NFTs of Pixel Art Characters with Full Commercial Rights for Holders

The Nakamigos collection was launched in March of 2023, but its utility and creators are still shrouded in mystery. The first few days after the launch saw a massive amount of trading happening with the Nakamigos collection, with around 2000 trades a day, and floor prices as high as $1,260.

In a blog post by Nakamigos, the artist creator is described as an “OG crypto artist,” however, their identity has never been revealed, which has led to reams and reams of speculation as to who it might be. Some have speculated that it is the artist Sartoshi, thanks to a tweet from February promoting the Nakamigos collection.

Nakamigos Commercial Rights Blurb

Because of the pixilated style of the art in the Nakamigos collection, it has also been linked to Larva Labs, the company that created the popular NFT project CryptoPunks, and sold it to Yuga Labs in 2022, as the art is invitingly similar to the art from this collection.

The Nakamigos collection was created by HiFo Labs, who have only produced Nakamigos and a follow-up collection called Nakamigos Cloaks. Owners of the original Nakamigos NFTs were each given a free mint of the Nakamigos Cloaks collection in September 2023.  HiFo Labs claim that they have been producing NFTs and more in the space for 5 years. This also helps to fuel the aforementioned rumors concerning the artist and the people behind the project.

Sample Nakamigos NFTs

All owners of Nakamigos have the commercial rights for their NFTs and can even trademark them if they’re being used in commerce. A practice that is becoming more and more commonplace in the NFT space.

Nakamigos may just be at their final stage, however many are of the mindset that there is something much bigger to come from this collection, will this be the case? At the time of writing, Nakamigos were trading with a floor price of 0.16ETH. If they go the way some expect, could we see them getting close to the  top NFT charts and the millions of dollars paid for some CryptoPunks? Only time will tell.

How to Find the Best New NFTs

If you’re wondering how to invest in NFTs efficiently, it’s crucial to know where to look for high-value NFT drops. With that in mind, presented below are three of the best strategies to follow to identify the best new NFT projects: 

Utilize a Reliable NFT Calendar

Whether you’re looking to keep tabs on upcoming Solana NFT projects or wish to view projects launching on other blockchains, it’s wise to make use of an accurate NFT calendar. As the name implies, these calendars detail all of the noteworthy drops occurring in the months ahead, making it easy to keep track of projects you are interested in. Since there are so many NFT drops occurring each month, it’s best to use an NFT calendar that only focuses on credible drops offered by solid development teams to ensure that low-quality drops are avoided.

Check out Top NFT Marketplaces

Many of the best NFT apps and marketplaces will highlight the top upcoming drops on their user interface. A great example of this is Crypto.com, which has a dedicated ‘Drops’ page featuring new NFT projects launching soon. These platforms tend to allow users to subscribe to an email list that will notify users when the drop is about to go live – providing scope to invest in new NFTs before they sell out. 

marketplaces with new nfts

Keep Tabs on Social Media

Finally, due to the popularity of NFTs with retail investors, social media is a great resource to find exciting new NFT projects. There are different avenues to do this, although following top NFT creators on Twitter is an excellent way to hear about upcoming drops before anyone else. Alternatively, various Twitter accounts are dedicated to informing their followers of exciting NFT projects in real-time, which can be a valuable tool.

Where to Buy Upcoming NFT Projects

Finally, now that you understand what the best new NFT projects are, let’s turn our attention to the purchasing process. As you’ll likely be aware, NFTs can be purchased through dedicated NFT marketplaces, either using FIAT or crypto. Although there are various options to choose from, our pick for the best NFT marketplace is Crypto.com.

Although Crypto.com is best-known for its crypto exchange services, the platform became involved in the NFT space during 2021 and now offers a dedicated NFT marketplace. Users can purchase NFTs from the Crypto.org blockchain and the Ethereum blockchain, ensuring a diverse range of assets to choose from. Notably, Crypto.com allows users to buy these NFTs using a credit or debit card – meaning there’s no need to buy Ethereum (or another crypto) beforehand to facilitate your investment.

top collectibles of new nfts

Another great thing about using Crypto.com for NFTs is that the platform charges no fees when you buy an NFT. This contrasts with some other platforms that charge a transaction fee when making purchases. Finally, Crypto.com has already collaborated with high-profile names such as Snoop Dogg to launch NFT collections, which creates a pathway for more celebrity-driven projects to launch in the future! 

Best New NFTs – Conclusion

In conclusion, this guide has presented a comprehensive overview of the best new NFT projects to be aware of this year, highlighting their features and value potential.

By understanding the upcoming NFT projects with the highest potential, you’ll put yourself in pole position to make effective investment decisions over the longer term.

For investors looking for the next big new NFT project, Launchpad xyz is an excellent option because contributors to the presale receive one of 5 NFTs that gives the holder access to their trading terminal for tokens and NFTs, along with market insights from multiple sources, including an AI assistant and a data-powered token ranking index.

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