Case Study — Should You Join the NFT Universe?

案例分析 — 你應該加入現在最火熱的 NFT 宇宙嗎?

Neverlandseeker
Second Star To The Right

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The first NFT I minted, what does it make you think of? Find the answer on OpenSea./ 我第一個鑄造的 NFT,它讓你想到什麼呢?歡迎到 OpenSea 找答案。
The first NFT I minted, what does it make you think of? Find the answer on OpenSea. /我第一個鑄造的 NFT,它讓你想到什麼呢?歡迎到 OpenSea 找答案。

NFT is one of the hottest buzzwords in 2021. It relates to all the cool things in town; such as blockchain, Ethereum, DeFi, metaverse, and so much more.

I first heard about NFT in a podcast program, “Daodu Tech,” this March. In one NFT episode, the guest speaker talked about NBA’s Top Shot Moment NFT and other similar products in the market. Then, when the host was trying to find a good example to explain NFT, I immediately thought of those moving pictures in Harry Potter.

At the time, the concept of NFT seems so fascinating: it’s a digital asset that can be in any format like pictures, music, video, etc.

A few months have passed, as people have still stuck at home, no thanks to the endless COVID outbreak, the NFT universe seems to be booming at an impressive speed. To ride on the wave of recent hype, I’d like to do a case study analyzing whether people should join the NFT universe if they haven’t already done so.

The Fat Lady and Hogwarts students in the 2004 movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Fat Lady and Hogwarts students in the 2004 movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

What’s the latest in the NFT domain?

A piece of popular news in Asia’s music industry is that the Malaysian rapper Namewee made US$1.1m after selling 100 NFTs of his song on OpenSea.

All of a sudden, I began to hear discussions on this new digital innovation from different social groups. Whether it’s investors, writers, designers, lawyers, or marketing professionals, everyone seems to have an opinion or two on the subject of NFT.

There’s no limitation on the format of an NFT, so naturally, the momentum is strong; from both demand and supply sides.

On that note, you can imagine the competition is intense. Your competitors come from all over the world at all ages, even a 12-year-old. Therefore, creating a hit is not an easy task. Even so, you can still have a winning chance if you can find a unique spot and have a brilliant marketing strategy. Let’s come back to this topic later.

The 12-year-old boy in London who made £290,000 from his “Weird Wales” NFT series. Source: BBC
The 12-year-old boy in London who made £290,000 from his “Weird Wales” NFT series. Source: BBC

What makes NFT so special?

NFT stands for non-fungible token. By nature, every piece of NFT is unique since its underlying infrastructure lies in the blockchain network. Consequently, for each NFT transfer, the network will add a new code to its record file; hence whoever owns that NFT will automatically inherit all the historical records.

If you are an antique collector, you may want to buy the one once owned by a well-known historical figure. It would demonstrate how valuable your procession is and what a great taste you have. The same logic applies to the NFT market, too. Marketplace visitors can see when an NFT was minted, who made the bidding, and what price. And that distinctive record is one of the reasons that would make an NFT unique and even go viral.

The seller can also put some juice on it. For example, there’s an Unlockable Content section at the OpenSea marketplace, where creators can include ideas that transfer an online activity into physical interaction. Another case involves the new sci-fi film The Matrix: Resurrections. Warner Bros. already announced that it would release 100,000 two-phases transformable avatars NFT before its premiere on Dec 22nd.

Another selling point of NFT is its application in the metaverse. However, I would argue that most NFT is still in a 2D space, and the 3D metaverse is still a work-in-progress; it will take quite some time before we can see more extensive use of NFT in the metaverse.

How about profitability? Well, I know you may envy how artist Beeple sold his “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” NFT for $69 million earlier this year. But let’s be more realistic. You would want to consider minting cost and gas fee in the process. Choose your marketplace and blockchain network wisely. A Polygon chain may be a great choice to mint your work for free.

Beeple’s famous creation “Everydays: The First 5000 Days”. Source: The Verge
Beeple’s famous creation “Everydays: The First 5000 Days”. Source: The Verge

How to make a splash?

Back to our earlier marketing strategy topic. Since countless NFT enthusiasts are entering the market every day, how can you stand out from the crowd?

I’m no expert, but I can share some tricks that people use. Whether it’s good or bad, I’ll leave you to decide.

Firstly, you need a good story like the 12-year-old boy Benyamin Ahmed who created pixelated whales using his own program. You can leverage famous characters to give you a hand, as in the case of “The One Token That Rules Them All” JRR Token. Or you might seek AI’s support. For example, GPU designer Nvidia recently launched its GauGAN AI to turn pure text into delicate images.

Otherwise, you may try the celebrity route if you already have a fan base like Linkin Park’s rapper Mike Shinoda. I heard his NFT journey at the 2021 Singapore FinTech Festival this month. He seemed genuine when he admitted how good it felt not to worry about monetization ever since he met this new tech.

Moreover, it’s possible to increase your media exposure via a partnership. Nevertheless, one must know how to use it smartly and do it right. At this point, you may want to read an article on Beeple’s record-breaking deal controversy written by an independent blogger Amy Castor.

The NFT from Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park was a collaboration with his fans. You can make your bid on ZORA.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, we’ve discussed NFT’s potential from the angle of its competitive landscape, product feature, and marketing strategy. Now I reckon we all agree that it’s a market that you can not ignore. Let alone JP Morgan just announced that its market is now worth more than US$7b.

Before diving in, something you should be aware of; which is the risk involved. From either buyers’ or sellers’ point of view, the copyright issue is something that one can not take it lightly. Even the famous director Quentin Tarantino got himself into a lawsuit trying to sell the NFT of his 1994 masterpiece “Pulp Fiction.”

And don’t treat NFT as a purely speculative investment vehicle. If you want to invest, invest in the project that you have a passion for. This way, even if the heat diminishes one day, you can still hold that digital asset with pride and affection. Think about those collections you had as a child; did you buy them to make a buck? Or was it out of love?

Where should you go from here, you might ask. You don’t need to be a creator of any kind, but I recommend doing a bit of research on your own to understand the technologies involved.

After all, Web 3.0, the infrastructure that makes the NFT universe possible, is a revolutionary invention that will shape the world in the next decade. You may refer to my other article, “How Will Web 3.0 Shape the Financial Service Industry?” to learn more about it.

It may take years to build the virtual world described in the movie Ready Player One. For the time being, no matter which industry you are in, you should accumulate more knowledge on NFT and its applications. Prepare yourself and make the best out of your digital identity in the much-anticipating metaverse one day.

Are you ready to join the NFT universe? Give me a shout-out below, or drop me an email to tell me all about it.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to follow this account or subscribe to my newsletter so that you won’t miss the latest update. And you can check out my other industry sharing here.

Last but not least, if you like my article, you can buy me a coffee by clicking the icon below to support my writing project.

NFT 是 2021 年最紅的流行語之一,它和時下流行的酷炫元素都有點關係,如區塊鏈、以太幣、DeFi 去中心化金融、元宇宙等等。

我第一次聽到 NFT 這個詞是從《科技島讀》今年 3 月的一場 Podcast 節目,在這集中來賓寶博士提到 NBA 發行的 Top Shot Moment (進球時刻) NFT 和其他相關商品。當主持人周欽華試著舉例說明 NFT 到底是什麼,我馬上就聯想到,這不就像哈利波特裡面那些會動的畫嗎?當時覺得這個概念好炫:因為這個新問世的數位資產可以以任何形式存在,不論是照片、音樂、影片都可以變成 NFT。

幾個月過去了,當人們仍因疫情的爆發不得不關在家裡,NFT 宇宙正以驚人的速度成長。為了搭上這股浪潮,我想做個簡單的案例分析,探討還沒這麼做的人究竟應不應該踏入 NFT 的世界。

胖夫人 (The Fat Lady) 和一群霍格華茲的學生們,出自 2004 的電影《哈利波特:阿茲卡班的逃犯》
胖夫人 (The Fat Lady) 和一群霍格華茲的學生們,出自 2004 的電影《哈利波特:阿茲卡班的逃犯

NFT 市場有什麼最新消息?

亞洲音樂市場當紅的新聞,應該就是馬來西亞歌手黃明志一夜間在 OpenSea 平台以自己歌曲的 NFT 賺進新台幣 2400 萬元的報導。

突然間,我開始在不同的群組聽到對這個發明的諸多討論;舉凡投資人、作家、設計師、律師,甚至是行銷人員,每個人都對 NFT 議題似乎都可以給出一兩條評價。

前面提到,NFT 的形式是沒有限制的;自然地,從供給和需求面來看它都自帶強勁的動能。

有鑑於此,你可能已經可以想像到NFT 世界的競爭異常激烈。你的競爭者來自世界各地不同年齡的創作者,甚至有年僅 12 歲的男孩。在這樣的環境下,可想而知,要打造一個熱賣的 NFT 產品絕非易事。因此,你必須找到讓自己作品獨樹一格的特色,還需要絕妙的行銷策略;這點待我們稍後再談。

來自倫敦的 12 歲男童因為創造了 “Weird Wales” (奇怪鯨魚) 系列 NFT 而賺進 29 萬英鎊。照片來源:BBC
來自倫敦的 12 歲男童因為創造了 “Weird Wales” (奇怪鯨魚) 系列 NFT 而賺進 29 萬英鎊。照片來源:BBC

NFT 有什麼特別?

NFT 是 non-fungible token (非同質化代幣) 的縮寫。從本質來看,因為底層技術架構在區塊鏈網絡上,每個 NFT 都是獨特的。因此,每次 NFT 轉手時系統就會在紀錄中加上一段代碼,不論下一個所有者是誰,他或她都會自動繼承歷年所有的紀錄。

如果你是個古董收藏家,你可能會想購入某個歷史人物擁有過的收藏;一方面可以彰顯這份收藏的價值,另一方面可以展現你的絕佳品味。而這一套邏輯當然也適用在 NFT 市場。在 NFT 平台上,使用者可以查看某個 NFT 是什麼時候鑄造、誰曾經出價、又出了多少錢;而這絕無僅有的紀錄就是 NFT 特別又風靡全球的原因之一。

賣家當然也可以來點加碼。譬如在 OpenSea 平台上有一個 “Unlockable Content” (不可鎖住的內容) 項目,創作者可以想一些點子讓線上的活動轉化為線下的互動。還有一個例子是關於即將上映的科幻電影《駭客任務:復活》,華納兄弟公司已經宣佈在電影 12/22 首映前會發行 10 萬個兩階段可變身的人物肖像 NFT

NFT 還有另一個賣點就是現在最夯的元宇宙運用。然而,我的觀點有點不同,有鑒於目前大部分 NFT 都還存在於 2D 的世界,而 3D 的元宇宙又還是個半成品,若真要看到大量 NFT 在元宇宙裡使用恐怕還得花上好長一段時間。

那麼獲利能力又如何呢?我知道你可能很羨慕藝術家 Beeple 在今年稍早以新台幣 19 億元的天價賣出一組 “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” (每天:最初的5000天) NFT;但我們還是實際一點吧,別忘了你必須考慮鑄幣成本跟轉移 NFT 的礦工費。記得要慎選你的販售平台跟拿來鑄幣的區塊鏈,Polygon 鏈不用鑄幣費我想是個很不錯的選擇。

Beeple 著名的 NFT 創作 “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” (每天:最初的5000天)。圖片來源:The Verge
Beeple 著名的 NFT 創作 “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” (每天:最初的5000天)。圖片來源:The Verge

如何打出知名度?

回到我們稍早的行銷策略討論,既然每天都有無數的熱情創作者投入 NFT 市場,你要如何在人群中脫穎而出呢?

我不是專家,但或許可以分享一些其他人用過的技巧;但究竟這是好是壞,就得由你自行判斷了。

首先,你需要準備一個好故事;就像那位用自己的程式創造出像素鯨魚的 12 歲男孩 Benyamin Ahmed。也可以讓知名角色助你一臂之力,像最近的 “The One Token That Rules Them All” (一枚 NFT 統治天下) JRR Token 代幣。或著尋求 AI 人工智慧的幫忙,例如圖形處理器的晶片設計公司 Nvidia 剛宣布開發出可以將文字指令轉換成精美圖片的 GauGAN AI

再來,如果你已經有一群粉絲支持,也可以試著走名人路線;Linkin Park 聯合公園成員 Mike Shinoda 就在今年加入了 NFT 宇宙 。我在這個月的 2021 Singapore FinTech Festival (新加坡金融科技節) 聽過一次他的分享,他說自從接觸這個新科技後,再也不用擔心如何將創作變現,聽起來很真心。

更甚者,透過合夥關係增加媒體曝光也是可行的。然而,你必須知道如何做得正確,並用聰明的方法進行。說到這裡,你可能會想先看一下獨立部落客 Amy Castor 所寫的一篇關於 Beeple 創紀錄拍賣背後爭議的文章。

這是聯合公園 (Linkin Park) 成員 Mike Shinoda 和粉絲共同創作的 NFT,你仍可以在 ZORA 平台上對這個作品進行出價。

這是聯合公園 (Linkin Park) 成員 Mike Shinoda 和粉絲共同創作的 NFT,你仍可以在 ZORA 平台上對這個作品進行出價。

寫在最後

從上面的段落,我們已經從產業動態、產品特性、行銷策略的角度分別探討了 NFT 的潛力。現在,我想我們應該都同意這個市場大到不能忽視,更何況摩根大通剛宣布它的市值突破了驚人的 70 億美元。

但在進入 NFT 宇宙之前,有些事情你必須知道,就是它的相關風險。不管從買方或賣方角度,NFT 的著作財產權都不可以等閒置之。即使是大導演昆汀·塔倫蒂諾 (Quentin Tarantino) 都因想出售自己 1994 的經典作品 《黑色追緝令》NFT 吃上官司

同時,不要把 NFT 當作是個單純的投機投資工具。如果你真的想投資,找一個你有熱情的標的吧!如此一來,即便哪一天這把火慢慢熄滅了,你還可以帶著驕傲跟感情保有這份收藏。想想你小時候那些得來不易的收藏,你當年是為了賺一筆而買下它們的?還是出自對他們的真心喜愛?

你或許要問,下一步是什麼?你不一定要成為某種形式的創作者,但我建議至少自己要做點功課去瞭解 NFT 背後的科技運用。

畢竟讓 NFT 宇宙變為可能的基礎建設 Web 3.0 是個革命性的新發明,很可能在下一個 10 年大大改變我們的生活。欲了解更多可以參見我的另一篇文章《 如何用 Web 3.0 設計金融服務? 》。

當然我們要達到電影《 一級玩家》 (“Ready Player One”) 裡勾勒的虛擬世界還要很多年,但在這個時間點,不論你身處哪個產業,你都應該努力累積更多 NFT 和其相關運用的知識。為了自己做準備,然後有一天利用你的虛擬身份在萬眾期盼的元宇宙大放異彩。

你準備好加入 NFT 宇宙了嗎?歡迎在下方留言或透過 email 跟我分享。

若想收到最新文章可以追蹤這個帳號或訂閱我的電子報;你也可以在這裡閱讀我的其他產業分享。

最後,如果覺得我的文章對你有幫助,歡迎透過以下讚賞公民 Liker 的連結支持我後續的寫作計畫,謝謝。

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Neverlandseeker
Second Star To The Right

World explorer, sharing my WOW moments along the way while climbing up the rabbit’s fur~