The NFT market continues to expand, with upcoming tokens based on a mainstream TV show.
Curio, a platform which sells non fungible tokens, is helping to bring to life NFTs based on the TV series American Gods. The show is based on a novel of the same name by author Neil Gaiman.
“We are working with Fremantle on creating officially licensed digital collectibles for the hit TV show American Gods, which airs on STARZ in the U.S. and Amazon Prime Video internationally,” Curio’s CEO, Juan Hernandez, told Cointelegraph, adding:
“This is a first-of-its-kind use of NFTs with mainstream media, and it shows how larger marquee brands are starting to embrace them as an integral piece of their broader digital strategy. Curio enables Fremantle to modernize how they engage with fans, to develop emotional connections for a more digital native generation of viewers who are hardwired to do more with the things they love. Now they can own a piece of the action wherever they go, in a manner that is certified and authentic.”
Fremantle, a media production company, and Canada Film Capital serve as the producers behind the American Gods tv show, according to IMDB.
What is an NFT though? NFTs are non-fungible tokens, meaning they provide a provably unique sense of ownership over the property they represent. Fungibility refers to an item’s uniqueness, or lack thereof. If something is fungible, it can be traded or act interchangeably one-for-one with another item of its kind.
“Technically speaking, an NFT uses blockchain technology to prove that a digital item is unique (scarcity), or that it is what it says it is (verifiable authenticity),” Hernandez explained, adding:
“But many people simply think about NFTs as ‘digital Beanie Babies,’ with limited utility outside of collecting. However, we see the potential for NFTs to create unique digital experiences that weren’t previously possible before the advent of the technology; to modernize fan engagement. This is what we’re excited to enable for our brand partners.”
Last fall, a digital artwork NFT called “Right Place & Right Time” by artist Matt Kane fetched over $100,000. In the months since, NFTs have become an even hotter market. Bidders recently paid millions of dollars for NFT’s based on a former Major League Baseball second baseman’s artwork. Other NFTs have also recently hit multi-million dollar price tags as well.
Why is the crypto market’s interest in NFTs on the rise? Hernandez said the world is going more digital. “There are generational trends on the shift away from physical to digital, and certainly the COVID pandemic accelerated these trends as people have been forced to stay home,” he said.
“Philosophically, the same elements of verifiable scarcity and immutability that have given rise to Bitcoin’s market dominance are at play with NFTs,” he added. “The ability to have full sovereignty over a digital asset is a new experience for many, and it causes you to truly rethink your ‘ownership’ of goods within the digital economy.”
