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Digital currencies
OpinionComment
Adam Au
Adam Au

Opinion | Climate friendly or not, NFTs could open up new vistas to Hong Kong artists

  • While novel technologies will have their flaws, NFTs can spur Hong Kong-based artists to experiment beyond the confines of urban spaces
  • If such an unorthodox business model proves viable, NFTs might represent a big leap towards the perfect combination of art, finance and blockchain technology

Reading Time:3 minutes
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A visitor looks at an NFT digital artwork to be auctioned at the Millon Belgique auction house in Brussels, on May 18. After the sale in March of a collage of 5,000 digital images by the American artist Beeple for US$69 million, the Europeans are getting into the NFT act. Photo: AFP
Adam Au
Jazmine Boykins is a 20-year-old digital artist based in North Carolina, US. Her online artwork, while it received positive feedback, did not earn much income. But she recently made money by selling the same pieces as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, US media reported.
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Hong Kong artists frequently struggle to be seen due to limited gallery spaces. Should they start looking into this new way to market their work?

Since the pandemic, business models have been evolving. NFTs have sent the art world into a frenzy. In one month this year, according to a Time report, more than US$200 million was spent on NFT-based artwork, memes and GIFs.

Like bitcoin, NFTs are built on blockchain, which acts as a fraud-resistant decentralised ledger. But while bitcoin is fungible, NFTs are unique digital assets, hence “non-fungible”.

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SCMP Explains: What are NFTs?

SCMP Explains: What are NFTs?

On the surface, the whole concept reeks of a bubble: investors paying millions for works that can often be viewed and shared online for free. Many speculative collectors see NFTs as an alternative investment instrument, no different from any other financial product.

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