A firm backed by Taiwanese pop icon Jay Chou has launched a non-fungible token (NFT) project featuring virtual avatars called “Phanta Bears”, joining a growing list of entertainment and sports celebrities to test the technology that verifies ownership of unique digital assets. The Phanta Bears, a collection of 10,000 algorithmically-generated digital avatars launched as a spin-off from Chou’s PHANTACi fashion brand, sold out in less than 40 minutes on New Year’s Day, according to an official Tweet from Ezek, the decentralised entertainment platform created by Starvision, which hosted the sale. On the peer-to-peer NFT marketplace Opensea, Phanta Bears prices soared…