NFT Deepdive 1/3 – How NFT’s are Revolutionising Art & Collectibles

Tracey: [00:01:00] Welcome to the crypto curious podcast designed to help you navigate the dynamic world of cryptocurrency. This podcast is here for anyone who is interested in crypto at all. Maybe you've already dip your toe in the water, or maybe you don't know anything about it, and this is the very beginning. Crypto curious is a place to get started as we cover off all the basics that you need to know, but we recommend heading back to the early episodes to get your footing. However, if you think you're ready to dive in headfirst, then let's do it. Hello, my name is Tracey, and I'm joined by my mates and colleagues from the Bamboo app Blake and Craig. How are you going, guys? 

Blake: [00:01:36] Very well, Tracey. Thanks.

Tracey: [00:01:38] Hey, Craig, how are you going? 

Craig: [00:01:39] Good. Thanks, Tracey. How are you? 

Tracey: [00:01:41] Very well. Today we are very excited to start our series on lefty's. We're going to spend three episodes talking about this well, because it's clear that it's what you've wanted to talk about. If our crypto curious inbox is any indication, 

Craig: [00:01:56] if you're thinking WTF is an NFT, go back to our NFT nonfungible idea episode in the feed. It is episode number seven and we give you the one on one there, and that's where you get up to speed with the basics. 

Tracey: [00:02:09] Here we go. Let's take a deeper look on how NFTs have morphed and changed over the last two years. They've really embedded themselves in modern day culture, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't at least heard of NFTs so that we can all understand a little easier. We're focussing on each episode in one topical area, so that will be art, which we're talking about today, gaming and then music. And why are we starting with art? Because that basically is the OG. That's where it all started. So today we're going to look a little bit at the NFT art scene and where it started. And then we're going to push forward and talk about these popular art communities and the NFTs that are out there right now. 

Craig: [00:02:52] Quick recap Before we get going, there are two kinds of art in the NFT world. One is a collectable. Now these are the ones you may have heard of. Like the crypto punks and the bored apes, they're a collection of normally around 5000 to 10000. But if you want to compare these two collectables in the real world, think of something like Air Jordans. There are thousands of Air Jordans made, but they need to be the authentic Air Jordans from the Nike store. To be worth anything, you can probably go to a market and get some cheap, you know, Air Jordans, but you're not going to look as cool as someone with the fresh, authentic pair. And the second type is the one of a kind. Think of it like owning a Picasso or an original Leonardo. What's his name again? 

Tracey: [00:03:41] Leonardo da Vinci,

Craig: [00:03:42] Leonardo da Vinci. Yeah, think of only one of his pieces. Yeah, no. Two paintings of the same. They're originally painted by an artist, and these artist ones like people who sold a piece of art a few years ago, might have been last year for. Yeah, yeah, about 70 million us, which is pretty expensive for a JPEG, Tracey. 

Tracey: [00:04:02] So when we talk about the beginning of NFTs and art, collectables really were the first ones, though, weren't they? 

Craig: [00:04:08] The big first lord of collectables were the CryptoPunks. And if you want to scale back even more, we touched on, you know, the CryptoPunks, you know, back in the day that actually came up with the bitcoin experiment. And you can actually go back to the bitcoin form and how Finney, who we've talked about here on the past, he actually talks about crypto trading cards in 1993, which is pretty insane. He talks about the idea of authenticating authenticating collectables online 

Tracey: [00:04:42] and just to go back, do you want to give a recap on who Halfinney is, 

Blake: [00:04:46] he was part of the cypherpunks and was part of that group of people that potentially, you know, led to the creation of bitcoin and how any also, you know, he's a computer scientist and invented smart contracts or at least conceptualised them. So a really important person in the sector. [

Craig: [00:05:05] Yeah. And just back on to how the crypto punks, you know, actually started and why they became such a big thing is because you could actually authenticate the rarity of a punk online. Now if if you think about it back in the day or in the real life, in the real world, if you have what you like, my things are very rare baseball card. He might need to give it to an expert and he can give his best guess and say, Look, you've got a, you know, really rare card here is probably going to be worth 10000 thousand or whatever. But now with, you know. Having these rarities coded in, if you have a zombie crypto punk, you have a trait that may only 10 punks out of 10000 have, so obviously that's extremely rare. Yeah, and it's since then become a bit of a status symbol. You know, CryptoPunks was the first. And now we've got, you know, bought apes, CryptoKitties and the locks.

Blake: [00:06:02] You know, raise the idea here about, you know, maybe the difference between collectables and art. Of course, collectables have a component of artistic merit to them. However, that's, you know, not necessarily their focus. Their focus is on the rarity and where they fit within the culture of the crypto sphere. Whereas there are other elements of like NFTs that are far more focussed on their artistic merit. So I think, you know, we could almost define two subcategories within NFTs are 

Tracey: [00:06:37] absolutely I totally agree. Yeah. So art is where it's all started in NFTs, and that's because this type of thing fits perfectly with their pieces being online. And it's for these three reasons. It's because being NFT, it's trustworthy, it's easily transferable, and it will let them maintain their ownership rights and it will even let them be paid royalties in the future, which we cover off in episode seven back there. But once again, really quickly, the basics. An NFT can be digitally represented by their artwork, and they can turn this digital artwork into a one of the kind by creating a digital signature that defines the ownership of that assets and that's written into a smart contract. And this can then be bought and sold for real money, and it can't be fractionalised like other things. So I've never done this, Craig, have you ever? I mean, none of us have actually made an NFT, and I think we have you mint. You've minted one, though, haven't you? 

Craig: [00:07:33] I've mentioned a couple of stinkers, but I've never made one. Like if I was if I was to make an NFT, what would I have to do? 

Blake: [00:07:42] Well, there's different tooling that you can use in order to do that, and there's lots of platforms that have popped up to make it really easy for anyone to create an NFT. I haven't personally done it. However, I know that as the the industry, as you come to more prominence over the last 12 months, it has become easier and easier. 

Tracey: [00:08:02] Let's take it back a little bit, Blake, and tell us, you know, when did we first hear about NFTs? How long have they been around? 

Blake: [00:08:09] Yeah, NFTs have actually been around since 2014, but you know, 2021 was the year that the technology really kind of came to prominence. And over the course of the past 12 months, NFT scene has really evolved with, you know, lots of big names, you know, participating in in the sector. Like you mentioned, Craig Art was the first area for this to take off, as artists recognise that for the first time, they could attribute a rarity or ownership to a digital item. 

Craig: [00:08:39] So a digital JPEGs and digital art in the past, if you wanted to use them in a commercial sense, you would have to either pay a Geddy or a Shutterstock and you 

Blake: [00:08:49] know, which are third party services. 

Craig: [00:08:50] Exactly right. Whereas with certain NFTs, you get full commercial rights over that image. So I think, Tracy, I mean, you saw this the other day, Caleb Brown, who is a Melbourne crypto firm, they had a massive billboard in Melbourne with their board apes as the advertising they said, you know, it was about six bought apes and the tagline was, You're in good company, which is also an Equity Mates podcast. But you know, as a marketer, I can really appreciate that. But if you think about, you know, if if they wanted to do that in the past with an image of, I don't know, skyscrapers or whatever, they would have to go through the commercial rights usage process, 

Blake: [00:09:34] I suppose, as well. Craig, this creates the opportunity to your peer to peer kind of licencing and lending without having to go through third parties because, you know, you can essentially code in the terms into the NFT itself. 

Tracey: [00:09:50] I think with artists, you know, like you said, of course, they're going to find different ways to be expressive and this is just the perfect avenue for them. Look at, you know, what's happened last year with the Banksy Aboriginal art piece that they burnt and destroyed a live video stream, and they made that into an NFT. Or just recently, there was a Russian visual artist in New York City who took a very unique stand against the violence in the Ukraine, and she burnt her passport, her Russian passport, sorry, in front of the Russian embassy, she captured that footage and then, you know, made that short clip into an NFT and then donated 100 per cent of the auctioned off those proceeds to save the children of the Ukraine fund. Wow. Yeah, it's amazing. And speaking of auctions, just a sidebar for a second to talk about the fact that auction houses are now. Out, Rita, really getting in there and reinforcing and legitimising this whole NFT industry. And I really want to go back and talk about Beeple, who we mentioned in episode seven and Craig mentioned a little bit earlier, but last year he sold his compilation artwork and Beeple in his own right is a really well known artist. And this compilation that he sold for 69 million last year was, I think, might have been 5000 individual artworks in put together in one piece of art. And the way that this bit of artwork was sold, the sale was facilitated by Christie's auction house. And again, this really legitimised the innovative side of things within the art world. 

Blake: [00:11:21] Yeah, exactly right. Trace. And while NFTs have started generating impressive prices in marketplaces such as OpenSea, this was the first time the prestigious auction house had offered an NFT. So I'm really a big change. And, you know, kudos to Christie's for embracing innovation. I feel 

Craig: [00:11:41] like that was the sale that was a sell and everyone was like, Yeah, this is a big 

Tracey: [00:11:46] deal. Yeah, absolutely. And since then, you know, Christie's themselves have done $136 million in NFTs, so they've gone at it in a big way. They're out there spruiking NFTs. They're actually saying that, you know, they're really skewing towards younger millennials. And they're saying that about a quarter of their bidders this year or so up sorry, 20 per cent since 2019 are young millennials. 

Craig: [00:12:13] So some millennials must be buying art instead of property. 

Tracey: [00:12:17] Where do I even get the money? I just don't understand. 

Blake: [00:12:19] I mean, they're selling NFTs to buy art 

Tracey: [00:12:22] that it's just huge. Absolutely. 

Craig: [00:12:24] But there's no denying the engagement between the high end art world and NFT space is coming together quite rapidly. With these auction houses you mentioned Trace. 

Blake: [00:12:33] Yeah, exactly right there. Rival Sotheby's were the first to move into the Web3 world. This is pretty big news last year when Sotheby's launched Sotheby's Metaverse, and it's their own dedicated platform aimed at digital creators, offering a curated selection of earnest. He's chosen by the auction houses, which is, you know, super interesting so that curating almost like a public art show. And these guys are the only auction house to build a proprietary custom NFT marketplace that will serve as a destination for NFT sales. And I think what we could imagine here in the future is instead of having to fly all the way across the world to go to an art exhibition, you know, putting on your VR goggles and you're walking through a gallery with the artists and them speaking about your art, that's that's viewable, which you know, is a big change. 

Craig: [00:13:31] I have a question for you both this rise in digital art. What about original art? What about, you know, an iconic piece on the wall? Is that dead and gone? 

Blake: [00:13:43] I don't think so. You know, I think this is just a new segment of the market. You know, that's based of technological innovation, makes more new possibilities for new types of art. You know, it's not I don't think it's replacing anything rather maybe even engaging more people into the fine art world. 

Tracey: [00:14:01] Yeah, absolutely. And it'll go in roundabouts as well because in another 10, 10, 20 years, it'll it'll come about that, you know, that'll be back in favour again. Yeah, we're really talking about the virtual world here, but there was a big in real life artists gathering in New York late last year, Blake. And I think you just missed it because you're in the city a month later. But do you know much about that event that took place 

Blake: [00:14:23] during the first week? In November, members of the NFT community flew in from all over the world to meet in New York City, and it was called NFT Dot NYC. And the NFT community is a vast and energetic and exists almost entirely online. So heading to a in real life event isn't the norm. But yeah, this was a really prominent moment because you're it forced people that, you know, wouldn't use the interface with, you know, the segment of the market to, you know, visually see it. And there was lots of, you know, exclusive and luxurious parties with, you know, lots of celebrities and fintech and crypto person digital artists all getting together and doing what they do best. Yeah. 

Tracey: [00:15:08] And some of these communities for these collectable NFT projects are huge. And I know we've spoken about bought a yacht clubs a lot, but geez, they are so good at staying relative. I know it's one of your favourites, Craig. And you know, they have just talked about the Metaverse gaming world that they're moving into, and they've announced that this week. And I think, you know, they're doing a whole big virtual land. And, you know, probably a bit more about the eight coin. Craig, can you tell us a bit more about that? What are they doing and a coin? 

Craig: [00:15:36] I don't. I don't think they've worked out with the coin actually as yet. But I think if. If you hold it, if you hold a border, if you're going to get a cheeky air drop, I'd say, like

Blake: [00:15:45] any good coin, nothing's too to find. 

Craig: [00:15:48] Yes, exactly. But the yeah, the price of the of the port apps have been going mad recently because of this. 

Tracey: [00:15:55] So yeah, it's just madness. So they're currently raising funds at a $5 billion valuation for which they're planning to build this gaming focussed metaverse called mitter RPG. So that kind of thing just just boggles my mind completely. It's madness, but I think that's a good time to take a pause. Help you digest all that information about NFTs, but in a moment, we'll come back and we'll give you the lowdown on our favourite NFT projects and what we're keeping our eyes on. 

Tracey: [00:17:00] Welcome back to the crypto curious, and we're talking all things NFT, so let's dive straight back in. Craig, do you have any favourite? Do you? Of course you do. Please narrow it down to one of your favourite collectable communities or artists that you can tell us about right now. 

Craig: [00:17:15] So this project I have has a special place in my heart. It was the first NFT I ever minted. Cementing means as it gets released during the first batch of people that can get this NFT. So this is my first one, and I was actually showing my dad how to sell it. And I didn't think it would sell and I sold. I was like, Oh, this is how you sell it? And then like, it's gone, right? Turns out it was a really rare one. And if I held it now, like I told someone the other day, they were like, Oh no. You also had a pharaoh heart. So sorry. Well, let me sorry show these guys were like the first they called Degenerate Ape Academy, so they were the first sort of big NFT drop on Solana. And I remember that was during the Salama Solana summer chase. You and Solana was going crazy. Mm hmm. So if you look at them out, they're pretty cool. Graphic apes, some of them are eating toasted sandwich. Some of them are ending a banana. My ex I ate because I sold him. He had a Larry Bird. This is you, Larry. Yeah, sure. Yeah. And a and a fairer hat. And I've literally look every so often to see if he's still for sale. But this is a classic case of an NFT community that has just gone like so amazing. So a few things the community's done one, they made a deal and a beer. So they actually had Jeanette Cairns and, you know, they gave him around.

Tracey: [00:18:46] We were sorry. Where were these for sale? Is this where? Where could you buy these beers? 

Craig: [00:18:50] I'm not sure because I don't have a name, so I wasn't a crook. 

Tracey: [00:18:52] Also, because you were part of the owner could get the beer because you were part of the community. Yes. 

Craig: [00:18:57] And they had these cool hoodies. And then they had this thing for Valentine's Day, where if you had to apes, you could stake them in a virtual bathroom and you could braid and then get an egg NFT. 

Tracey: [00:19:13] But hang on a minute, you're apes were doing the do in a bathroom. They weren't even they weren't even giving you a bedroom. 

Craig: [00:19:21] Nah, it's cool. It was called the great the great gangbang. Sorry, sorry kids. 

Tracey: [00:19:28] Closer with children 

Craig: [00:19:29] then. Yeah, you got an egg NFT did it hatch? Oh, I have no idea if it hatched, so I don't have an ape, so I purposely keep myself out of comms. But it sounds 

Tracey: [00:19:39] like you're right into what's going on in this community that you're no longer a part of. 

Blake: [00:19:43] Mm hmm. Is there a fee to watch this or what? 

Craig: [00:19:46] Yeah. Zero point six Solana to make. And so I think my hypothesis is that these guys have like a cult following. And if OpenSea ever supported Solana, then that would be a good thing for this community.

Tracey: [00:20:02] So how many of these apes were there? About 5000, 10000 10000. Okay. Wow. So you can be really good. It shows how community driven these are. You getting your free freebies, you get your free hoodies, 

Craig: [00:20:14] or when they even the board apes like you could get a bought out Woody. But like these bought apes like 400 grand. So what? You're going to walk around with a hoodie saying, you know what I mean? Like, you're just a target to get robbed. So I don't know why

Tracey: [00:20:27] that's really interesting. 

Craig: [00:20:28] Anyway, Tracy, what's your favourite? I know you love a bit of an NFT, you know 

Tracey: [00:20:32] Peter at all. Look, my favourite, I don't I don't own or hold one of these buttons, but I do remember seeing it. This is always I remember seeing it. I didn't get one at the time, but my favourite, yeah, my favourite project right now is world of women, and it's getting so much traction. And this is a relatively new company launched in July last year by artist Yem Kariuki. And I'm probably saying that wrong, but this is aimed at welcoming women into the digital collectable space, and it did get a lot of traction at the time. And the artwork, like a lot of these, is stunning. It's really it's really awesome stuff. It's really inclusive and empowering imagery, and the collection is again 10000. It's really diverse and they're all female avatars, and they were around 200 at the time when these came out in the really early days. And now they're trading at like, you know, a couple hundred thousand and up from there because obviously celebrities have jumped in and you know, the hype all around it. And just an interesting fact. Canadian accounting firm KPMG jumped in and purchased one of these 25 s at the time, 70000. And they were saying that, the statement read, was women are represented in the world of all things crypto, which makes us proud to make our first NFT acquisition in a collector, in a collection that supports women. So look, making a play there to support women in the space and another really big win for world of women was there crossover over into the music industry with Billboard magazine and Billboard magazine, who have been struggling with their print magazine for a while, wanted to really shine some efforts on equality at the time, and they decided to create a special series of covers for women in the industry and showcase that with three iconic singers. And they had Christina Aguilera, Madonna and Mariah Carey. And they used this NFT series and these artists to use those on the covers. So that went really well, and they all came out last month, which is pretty huge. And lastly, good old Reese Witherspoon, who's really been getting behind crypto recently, has entered into a partnership with World of Women in 50s, and she's doing some kind of storytelling character universe franchise with these guys as well. So it's going to be I don't know if it's a scripted or unscripted TV series, but that's just huge for a project that's not even a year old yet. I mean, but also the artworks are amazing. The story behind it's amazing, and all it takes is a couple of these big thing big, big companies and celebrities to get behind it, and it takes on a world of its own. What about you, Blake, and you think you're looking at at the moment? 

Blake: [00:23:08] Yeah, actually. A friend of mine is starting an art project that really celebrates Frida Kahlo, which is a famous Mexican artist that died in the 50s. And about two and a half million people visit her home, her and her studio in Mexico every year. But because of Covid, a lot of people couldn't travel and and view her home and her works. So, yeah, a friend of mine, he's sitting up like a small metaverse that would be displaying her artwork so people don't have to travel all that way to be able to check it out. They can get tours in the metaverse from the comfort of their home, which you know, may be all the way across the world. So, yeah, really interesting project and just shows. Yeah, just shows the power of the technology, and it creates lots of accessibility for people, really.

Tracey: [00:24:04] Yeah, that's awesome. That's really cool. Yeah. So there's just so much content out there and the NFT art world, and we could probably dedicate an entire podcast just to that topic alone, but we'll leave it there for episode one of our NFT series. You know, it might be challenging to predict the future for the digital art collecting, but it's safe to say we have yet to imagine the extent of what will emerge in decades to come. That's for

Craig: [00:24:27] sure. Next time we talk NFT, we'll talk about NFT gaming. So if you have any burning questions on your mind. Flip them to us at podcast. Get Bambu to Io and we'll talk about the lay of the land and how it could become a trillion dollar industry. 

Tracey: [00:24:42] And that's it. So we still want to know what you want to know about crypto, so send us an email at that podcast at Get Bambu. Email tik-tok. I was just mentioned. So all those details that we've talked about today will be in the show notes below. And don't forget to write and review us and your podcast app. But thanks for listening in and join us again next week. So bye for now. 

Craig: [00:25:02] Cheerio. 

Blake: [00:25:03] Thanks for listening. 

Tracey: [00:25:04] See you later!