Group听chat births Filipino NFT movement
In early September 2021, college students Alfred Someros and Karl Ruelan were playing听Mobile Legends听and communicating with fellow gamers through their Crypto Discussions channel on Discord.听
From conversations about online gaming, their online community shifted to conversations on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the cryptocurrency market. The same community was the beginning of their online educational movement in the digital world.听听听听
Mr. Someros, a sports science student with a background in organizational management, and Mr. Ruelan, a mechanical engineering student at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, began their research and enriched their knowledge on financial literacy, the beginnings and developments of NFTs, and the cryptocurrency market.听听听听
The weeknights of online gaming led to their first unofficial podcast on NFTs through Discord with 30 to 50 listeners.听听听听
The online community grew to become the听, a Filipino NFT movement focusing on educating investors on the fundamentals of the digital world. They have financial advisers in their team to share their expertise in financial literacy with their online community.听听听
According to the Bored Punks of Society website, the group鈥檚 objective is 鈥渢o educate and welcome people to the beauty of cryptocurrencies, metaverse, and investing through our weekly community discussions, unlimited reliable resources, and educational podcasts with certified financial advisors, Bored Punk educators, and influential people in the space.鈥澨听听
鈥淥ur focus is to educate people鈥,鈥 said Bored Punks鈥 lead director Mr. Ruelan in English and Filipino, during a presentation at the Brasserie on 3 at Conrad Manila in March. 鈥淲e saw a chance to help people who are interested in the world of crypto. Many get into it blindly without proper knowledge, so they lose [money]. We want to help them explore.鈥澨听听
Mr. Someros, Bored Punks鈥 chief marketing officer, said, 鈥淲e wanted to help other Filipinos learn about NFTs and how casual gamers can actually go on a much deeper level and engage others to earn a respectable living. From what is still considered a 鈥榞ray area鈥 for us Filipinos, we want to help create more success stories for others by breaking it down for the everyday person.鈥澨听听
During their online discussions, Messrs. Someros and Reulan would host sessions with avatars.听听
When participants expressed interested in owning an avatar to identify as a member of the community, the Bored Punks of Society offered its first 7,640 Avatar-based NFTs for approximately P2,500 each on the OpenSea marketplace. The NFTs sold for 25 matic (a cryptocurrency) each, and sold out a month after their release. They were also able to resell their NFTs for over P510,000.听听听听
The earnings from the initial sale were used as seed money to further build their online community, a website, and invest in equipment for their podcast.听
WHAT IS AN NFT?
NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital assets (which may be a drawing, meme, animated GIF, video, etc.) purchased online through cryptocurrency. Its record of ownership is stored in a digital ledger called a blockchain.听听听听
To create NFTs, artists make limited copies by 鈥渕inting鈥 them on various NFT platforms including SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, Rarible, and Foundation.听听听
According to research by Finder.com published in November 2021, 32% of Filipino internet users currently own an NFT. In an online survey of over 28,000 people across 20 countries to compare NFT ownership, Finder.com recorded that the Philippines takes the top spot for NFT adoption.听听听
鈥淗owever, while 32% of the 1,507 Filipino Internet users surveyed said they currently own NFTs, an additional 9.5% said they plan to acquire some. This means NFT adoption in the Philippines could soon hit 41.5%,鈥 said Finder.com.听听
NFTs seem to attract older people, according to its survey: 鈥淧eople ages 65 and over are the most likely to have NFTs in the Philippines (40.7%). At the other end of the spectrum are people ages 18 to 24 (22.4%).鈥澨听
Still, most people do not know about NFTs.听听听
鈥淲hile NFT adoption is forecast to increase around the world in future, a large number of people still don鈥檛 know what NFTs are,鈥 said the听. 鈥淛apan has the highest percentage of people who said they don鈥檛 know what NFTs are (90%), followed by Germany (83%) and the United Kingdom (79%). On the other end of the spectrum, the Philippines recorded the lowest percentage at 49%, followed by Nigeria (52%) and Thailand (53%).鈥澨听
HOW TO GET STARTED
Messrs. Someros and Reulan demonstrated the basic steps to enter the NFT market:听听
First, one needs to download the app of a cryptocurrency wallet (in their case the Metamask wallet). Then, the user has to create a new wallet (equivalent to an account) with a password, and a unique recovery phrase of 12 words (which are to be encoded to secure the wallet). The user will need cryptocurrencies which can be purchased using a credit card through Coinbase, Kraken, eToro, and even PayPal.听听听听
Once the user has secured a wallet address, they can browse through various marketplaces such as Rarible, Foundation, and OpenSea.听听听
Mr. Someros, however, emphasized that the NFT environment is a double-edged sword.听听
鈥淏e careful where you put your money at, always buy with a burner wallet (an extra wallet. Not one with all your assets), and always check the roadmap, project鈥檚 community, and its legitimacy,鈥 Mr. Someros said.听听
Since it started the online movement in September of last year, the group now reaches 20,000 members through its Bored Punks Podcast.听听听听
The group鈥檚 podcast airs on Saturday, 8 p.m., through Facebook, Apple Music, and Spotify.听听听听
鈥淲e were quite surprised by the number of people that wanted to learn about cryptocurrency or blockchain and [who have been] supporting the project ever since,鈥 Mr. Someros said in a subsequent conversation via Messenger chat in April.听听听
Messrs. Someros and Reulan are currently finalizing the Bored Punks DNA with an updated version of their roadmap for the group.听听
鈥淸It is] mainly focused on maximizing education, physical-digital adaptation, and technological innovation on blockchain that can further sustain, onboard, and educate our fellow听kababayan,鈥 he said.听听听听
For more information, visit Bored Punks of Society at听, and their official social media pages on听,听, and听.听听鈥斕Michelle Anne P. Soliman听
