Non-Fungible Tokens have taken the crypto currency market and art world by storm. They're unique digital assets that can be sold for big money. Chinese creators are excited about the potential. But is it sustainable or a bubble just waiting to burst? Wang Siwen takes a look.
A 10-second video clip sold for 6.6 million dollars.
This new kind of digital asset-digital artwork stored on a blockchain as a non-fungible token, has exploded in popularity.
Enthusiasts and investors scramble to spend huge amount of money on items that only exist online.
And China is jumping on the bandwagon.
Offline exhibitions of blockchain-based art held in Beijing. Works use blockchain technology, which means every piece of art is represented by a unique set of data.
KEN YANG, FOUNDER Punk. Network & NFTCastle.io "It's very hard to commercialize the artworks of illustrators, designers, and short video makers. They used to be made only by business deals, customized products. Now NFT technology opens their mind and set them free, so they can make what they want, not only products."
JI XIAOFENG Funding Partner Beijing 3 Gallery "Artist is artist, they create art by all kinds of materials they can use to express their ideas. NFT and digital material can provide much more opportunities for artists."
People have been buying and selling NFTs since around 2017, but the market has exploded this year.
A virtual pair of sneakers sold for 28,000 dollars on the Chinese digital marketplace Treasureland.
Examples of NFTs range from digital artworks to sports cards to pieces of fake land in a virtual environment.
KEN YANG, FOUNDER Punk. Network & NFTCastle.io "American KOLs, and the celebrities like Paris Hilton, some NBA top stars are trading NFTs, NFTs market is a borderless market, when Chinese artists participate in the creations, I think the Chinese art will occupy very important positions in the world."
NFTs may be all the rage. But while some people rush to invest, others are asking how long will this last? And is it a bubble that sooner or later will burst?
Wang Siwen, CGTN.