Non-fungible tokens have the potential to revolutionize pop culture. by Madeleine Buckley, associate editor
N
FT. That acronym seemed to appear in our online vernacular almost overnight, and then suddenly it was everywhere. Maybe you first saw those three letters in a headline from a major newspaper, a tweet from your favorite collectibles company, or that SNL sketch from March in which Pete Davidson rapped, “Can you please explain what’s an NFT? I said, what the hell’s an NFT?” Especially for those in the fandom community, it may feel like every company is now offering exclusive, virtual items for fans, gamers, and collectors. However, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) didn’t actually arrive overnight. They have become more and more prevalent over the past few years and have the potential to permanently change fandom culture. But to come back to the question that SNL so eloquently posed, what the hell is an NFT? If concepts like blockchain and bitcoin send your head spinning — as they did, and honestly still do, mine — you may be avoiding this new tech trend entirely. So, let’s start with the basics. As Dan Crothers, COO and co-founder of virtual collectible company VeVe explains, every type of collectible you can own — from baseball cards and limited-edition sneakers to Funko Pop! figures and high-end cars — is non-fungible because each one is unique. “These collectibles derive their value by their utility or usefulness, the story behind the item (which often can be sentimental), and rarity,” Crothers says. As with any collectible, owning an NFT is special because it’s yours, but the idea of actually owning a digital item is a fairly new concept. Over the past few decades, we have started to live in an increasingly digital world, which has spilled over into creativity, art, and design. May-
be, for example, you’ve bought a digital print from your favorite artist. However, unlike when you purchase a physical print (especially a numbered one), it can be hard to prove ownership of digital art. There’s really nothing stopping someone from copying that image file and passing it on to others, explains Jules Urbach, CEO of OTOY, a cloud graphics company that is currently curating the work of legendary comic book artist Alex Ross into an NFT archive. “Amidst this explosion of digital content, there have been few ways to monetize or own digital content, which has limited its potential,” Urbach says. “NFTs are revolutionary because they provide the first way to own and monetize digital content, and this is profoundly empowering for creators and fans.” And through a process called “minting,” which gives a digital item unique, trackable metadata, we are able to prove singular ownership of our virtual things.
A DIGITAL SHOWROOM Exactly what those virtual things are can vary greatly. Some companies, such as VeVe, offer digital collectibles inspired by popular shows, movies, or characters, which fans can curate within an app and display using augmented reality (AR). VeVe has officially licensed digital collectibles, such as virtual versions of statues, 2D cover art, and more, from DC Comics, Ghostbusters, Cryptozoic’s Cryptkins, and more, which all have verifiable scarcity. Once users own these digital items, they can create a showroom in the VeVe app, a process that Crothers says takes some fans hours to curate. “Being able to display and show off your collectibles is an integral part of the
collecting experience. The VeVe virtual Showrooms take this idea and reimagine it for the new digital world,” he says. “With our augmented reality integration, [fans] can drop their Showrooms into their real-world surroundings and literally walk through them. Once they have crafted the perfect digital space, users can also share them directly to the in-app social feed so that other collectors can enjoy them, too.” Crothers’ personal favorite NFT is a virtual replica of the DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future, which collectors can place in their garage or driveway in 1:1 scale. VeVe, which Crothers founded with David Yu in 2017, also specifically caters to fans who may not be well-versed in blockchain (which is, simply, a digital ledger of cryptocurrency transactions). The duo saw the complexities of blockchain as a barrier for many fans, and decided to keep those components in the background of the app. VeVe isn’t alone as an entry point for consumers who can’t quite wrap their heads around blockchain or cryptocurrency. On Curio — another app-based digital collectibles platform in which fans can curate and display their digital collectibles inspired by American Gods, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and more — users have the option to pay for NFTs with a credit card using U.S. dollars. Curio Co-Founder and Chief Risk Officer Ben Arnon recognizes that the cryptocurrency experience can be challenging or intimidating for new users. “We don’t want the consumer to be concerned with what technology is powering this offering and this product,” he says. “We just want them to be delighted by the benefits and the experiences that THEPOPINSIDER.COM | #FuelYourFandom | 9
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