As of September 18th, at least three prominent non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces have imposed restrictions on trading activities involving the Stoner Cats cartoon NFT collection, which gained notoriety as the brainchild of actress Mila Kunis. The collection is accompanied by an animated web series in which Kunis voices a character.
Each of these NFT marketplaces has implemented varying degrees of limitations on Stoner Cats trading. OpenSea and Blur continue to display items from the collection but have curtailed trading by concealing listings and offers under individual NFT pages. An OpenSea spokesperson confirmed that Stoner Cats cannot be bought, sold, or transferred on their platform but emphasized that the collection has not been delisted or removed, directing users to the platform’s general policies.
In contrast, Rarible has chosen to entirely hide the Stoner Cats collection, making it inaccessible to users, although it assures them that they still own the items. Like most NFTs, these items can still be freely circulated on the blockchain or traded on other compatible NFT marketplaces.
The decision to restrict Stoner Cats trading on these platforms appears to be influenced by regulatory actions, either directly or indirectly. On September 13th, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the parent company of Stoner Cats with securities violations and announced a $1 million settlement.
These actions coincided with significant fluctuations in Stoner Cats’ trading activity. Daily trading volumes for Stoner Cats surged from almost zero to over $6,000 and $11,000 on September 12th and 13th before dropping to nearly zero once again. Floor prices for these NFTs currently stand at $96, more than three times higher than late August and early September levels.
It is speculated that these unsustainable trading trends, rather than just legal concerns, prompted the NFT marketplaces to restrict trading. However, none of the platforms have provided comprehensive explanations for their decisions, leaving the exact causes open to interpretation.
