Follow us on Spotify
In this B-Side episode,听Marissa Trew, marketing manager of TZ APAC, a Singapore-based blockchain consultancy firm speaks with听大象传媒 reporter Michelle Anne P. Soliman about the potential听of听non-fungible tokens听(NFTs)听as a tool for conducting business, an investment instrument, or a revenue stream.
TAKEAWAYS听
NFTs听have听business听applications beyond crypto art and blockchain games.听听
NFTs, which represent unique听assets on a blockchain,听went mainstream because of pieces of digital art that fetched millions at auction, and celebrities like听Paris Hilton,听Snoop听Dogg,听and Grimes听launching their own digital drops.听听
But beyond these buzzworthy bits of news, NFTs听can also be used in business-to-business transactions such as licensing, supply chain management, and invoicing.听听听
“NFTs have utility far beyond being a digital asset. There’s a large enterprise use case that’s being developed,” said Ms. Trew. “There’s a lot of actual B2B use cases that NFTs are able to provide well beyond the creator economy in the digital space, in terms of music, art, and collectibles.”听
NFTs听give artists access听to an online network and market.听
In the Asia Pacific region,听artists are using听NFTs听to sell their work听鈥 not necessarily for $69 million as听Beeple听did at the Christie鈥檚 sale, but at less stratospheric听prices听(Filipino artist Luis Buenaventura III听and Argentinian comic book artist Jose Delbo听sold听222 editions of听Satoshi The Creator 鈥 Genesis听for $1,999 each).听
鈥淒igital creators use it as a way to embrace technology to showcase their work,鈥澨齭aid听Ms. Trew said.听鈥淲e saw artists making a little bit more money for their work being better able to generate sales, generate their audiences. And largely for digital artists who were traditionally making their money off commissions were now earning higher incomes just based on their original work.鈥澨听
鈥楶roof听of听Stake鈥櫶齜lockchains听are听more energy-efficient听than their 鈥楶roof of Work鈥 counterparts.听
Proof of Work blockchains, according to Ms. Trew,听are those that require a higher amount of energy consumption such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.听听
鈥淭hey require are massive amounts of computing power because the way they process transactions are by validating and solving complex algorithmic puzzles, which requires a strong computer network,鈥 she said.听听听
Meanwhile Proof of Stake is considered a more energy-efficient option.听听
鈥淚t relies on the听amount听of value users stake to the network to do the same kind of transactions. For example,听Tezos听is based on the proof of stake consensus mechanism. And just by relative scale, it consumes some estimates put it at 2 million times less energy than Ethereum to conduct the same kinds of transactions,鈥 she said.听听
TZ Apac is a leading adoption entity supporting the Tezos ecosystem in Asia.
Investing in听NFTs听is driven by sentiment.听
鈥淭he NFT discussion about whether it’s considered a future asset class is largely down to how much sentiment and how much you value people see in owning a digital asset over a physical asset,鈥 Ms. Trew said.听听听
鈥淧eople are having a new source of emotional experience鈥here is a feeling that’s associated with owning something that’s unique, that’s one of a kind in a digital realm. And that’s very new to people,鈥 she said.听听听
鈥淭heir value comes from scarcity. So, it’s about generating demand over limited supply.鈥听
Recorded remotely on July 14. Produced by听Paolo L. Lopez听and听Sam L. Marcelo.听听听听
Follow us on Spotify听
