I was recently interviewed by a journalist and asked whether NFTs are a bubble. It got published on HackerNoon and got quite trendy out there. Due to words constraint and limited space, it would be useful to elaborate a bit here on what I was trying to point out during the interview.
First of all, I was researching the NFT market since its beginning and got quite a conservative stance and not because I am not in love with its use case, potential and future, but mainly due to diligence and risk management when it comes to business and investments. I don’t want to see my money gone by collecting the wrong NFTs and wishing the same positive outcome for my partners and for new entrants. Since the beginning, I always pointed out that the NFT market is a mess since anyone can mint an NFT and it’s easy to create a scam or Ponzi scheme since the market is not regulated yet. Furthermore, there is a big lack of curation and that’s what we are trying to solve at ASKNIGHTS as well. However, this mess and its world wild west do not mean the technology doesn’t solve real issues of the traditional market. It definitely does and that’s why it is the future and it is not a bubble. The main action missing from this new innovation is the curation and cleaning of bad players. It is exactly what we are seeing happening now with FTX, SBF, Alameda Research, Voyager, and the rest. The same thing happens with the NFT space, not just the crypto. It is completely normal even for the traditional business market.
We have startups from construction companies to healthcare or hospitality and less than 10% succeed (not to say less than 1% since success may be a bit subjective and disputable). Why would the crypto or NFT space act differently than the traditional market? It is still a business and, thus, the same or similar rules apply. This inflated curve wrongly labelled as ‘bubble’ when an innovative technology comes in is completely normal to occur. It happens because the market and even investors follow the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) principle. Then it turns into FUD and critical thinking and, again, this is the normal thing to happen. The world works on the causality law – cause and effect. A lot of times, events are highly predictable if research and interpretation are done correctly.
Or let us look at the beginnings of the internet, the smartphone or the computer. Wasn’t it a similar story back then? For sure it was. Does it mean that the internet, smartphone or computer is a bubble? Of course not. It just means people were falling into the crowds without doing proper research (less risky and leveraged) and investing in the right thing at the right time. It is as simple as that. There is no such thing as an overnight success even if most people would like to believe it. If you don’t believe my words, please follow and listen to Gary Vee, a great entrepreneur with proven success records. For example, here (The NFT Bubble: Why 97% of All NFT Art Right Now Is a Bad Investment | “The Outer Realm” Podcast) is a great video to watch. Also, his NFT collections from Vee Friends have proved to be the exception from the rule: when the whole market went down, those collections were still going up in price. Why? It is not because they have the best art out there but because the management is serious and knows how to do business and provide utility and make it work. That is why at ASKNIGHTS we select similar NFT projects, the serious ones and which have big potential, being mainly focused on blue-chip NFTs and 1/1 NFT artworks. Hope I managed to clarify why real NFTs are not a bubble and only the fake ones are and were always like that for those who had good eyes to see it. Otherwise, if even real NFTs are a bubble, then everything can be argued to be one. Think about money and its banking system. For the last decades, it is no longer necessary to have gold to back up creating more FIAT currency/money. Yes, some banks go bankrupt when a strong financial crisis hits but it doesn’t mean it is a bubble. It is exactly the same with NFTs, their solutions, use cases and utility. Why would it be different?
The mentioned interview from HackerNoon:
“UK-based web 3 entrepreneur Sebastian Clej is determined to solve the image problem of crypto art through his idea of a highly curated art marketplace for contemporary art and blue-chip NFTs. His vision gave birth to ASKNIGHTS, the art-focused and tech-driven company he founded in London in 2020, and his determination has helped him to survive even the worst crypto bloodbath.
Today, ASKNIGHTS has more than two thousand followers on Discord and much more on Twitter and Instagram. And it has helped over 400 international artists and collectors to share its fast-growing digital platforms. Mr Clej recently sat down with Olayimika Oyebanji to discuss NFT art and his vision for a freer and more inclusive art market.
1. ASKNIGHTS can be the launching pad for many undiscovered artists who struggle in an industry that is as heavily gated as the space industry. How do you explain your motivation behind the founding of ASKNIGHTS?
The art industry and market have been gated for a long time. It seems that things are beginning to change now, thanks to innovative technologies such as blockchain, smart contracts and NFT. I have been an artist myself, so I know how difficult it is to penetrate the market and grow as an artist. Through ASKNIGHTS, my whole motivation is to help other artists and collectors as I would be helping myself.
The secret lies in mirroring – looking at others and seeing yourself, or at least a part of, in them. Since 2020, it’s been a lot of challenges, with ups and downs, but that is normal, no one said or expected that it is going to be easy. Holding on to a balanced, open-minded and agnostic approach, we mainly faced challenges from the two extremes: crypto maximalists and non-crypto maximalists. Both extremes leverage too much. Glad that the industry got rid of some in the meantime, such as FTX and partners.
2. The image problem of NFT or crypto art has divided the art audience globally. Here in the UK, you’ve got an eminent artist like David Hockney describing NFT as “silly little things’’. Do you think there is a real image problem in the NFT space?
That’s a great question; I don’t see it as a problem. It is normal to have different opinions; this is diversity’s beauty. It has always been like this throughout history. I respect David Hockney and his art, and I am not surprised to hear that from someone aged 85. Academic research in neuropsychology already pointed out that the older we get, the harder it is for the neurons in the brain to make new connections so that they can truly understand and learn new things. Those old neuro cells prefer to label the new as bad even without grasping new concepts.
Based on our surveys as well, usually, older people are neither interested in new technologies nor learning something new. That’s why this attitude was highly expected. In the end, no one can stop a positive innovation that benefits the many, and it’s for the greater good; it generally just occurs sooner or later. Thus, it is not like I am condemning such an attitude, but rather that I understand it. For instance, I can’t be sad about my grandfather for only being a fan of the Moon and not Mars. The sky and Moon were limited during his time, but now it is Mars.
What is stopping us from dreaming bigger and surpassing our actual limits as humans is only our mind; history has proved it multiple times. Or let’s look at a younger artist such as Damien Hirst (57-year-old), a great English artist from Bristol. He successfully launched his new art collection as NFT, and it helped him reach new audiences more effectively than the traditional one.
3. Judging by your disposition, it’s compelling to say that you don’t subscribe to the notion that NFT is a fad or a bubble. Does crypto art yet qualify to be described as contemporary art?
In a way, some believe that everything after the Big Bang or God’s Genesis is a bubble. Without going that far, I don’t see NFTs as a bubble. NFT art and Web 3 definitely have more long-term potential than art on Web 2. It is mainly because this new technology is more secure and reliable. It solves the ownership and traceability issues without breaking information privacy rules, as is common in the old Web 2 space. Web 3 NFT Art also offers immutability and is here to stay for a long time; what we are seeing now is definitely just the beginning.
4. What is the value proposition of ASKNIGHTS?
Own art: Exclusive NFT Art & Artiverse’ is our UVP. The goal is to support immutability and art conservation, focusing on blue-chip fine art and especially the digital side of it because we believe that if thinking in thousands of years, digital art is more valuable due to better art conservation standards and risk management. Basically, we are making art as long-lasting as possible while aiming for eternity and making it everlasting. And the beauty of Web 3’s new space, compared to Web 2’s, is that it generally consists of an open and creative space where everyone is free to get involved in multiple ways and choose the role that suits them best. And so is at ASKNIGHTS.
5. How is ASKNIGHTS in a different class of its own?
By solving key market issues in a unique and efficient way. We seem to be the only one that links artists and collectors, being blockchain agnostic, decentralised, and truly hybrid. Or, in other words, we act as an impartial medium and portal, always valuing freedom of speech and artistic expression and its ingenuity. Art is meant to be freer even than journalism and entertainment since some of it may only be addressed to a verified private list of members. Art DAOs with NFT verification are a great use case example in this sense. ASKNIGHTS also started its DAO registration on Discord.
More specifically, no one is creating that much value and utility to the NFT art world than we do, based on our limited low budget as it is for now. If we had gathered more funds, the situation would obviously be better, and we could have helped the users more. Perhaps everything happens at the right time so let’s not complain. At least, it proved we’ve been extremely cost-effective for what we built by now and still going a few steps upward when the whole market did it the other way around, according to recent market data.
6. The idea of building a virtual environment for the curation and exhibition of art pieces is superb. Is the art world ready for immersive technologies?
I definitely think 2020-2023 is marking only the beginning of it as both a product and market development. It is one of the most favourable times we have experienced recently for such implementation and adoption. Or let’s just think about the time during the covid waves when everyone had to stay cautious and keep it safe at home. Virtual digital spaces were a great alternative to continuing our daily life routine and even improving it in some areas. Users enter virtual universes or worlds through VR headsets, laptops or even smartphones. However, what we are seeing now is just the beginning. When talking about immersive experiences, there is still more way to go; more exciting things are ahead of us! Just keep an eye on this new economy, creative culture and art movement manifesto where the NFTs are the expressions of it.
7. What advice do you have for young emerging artists making technology the cornerstone of their craft?
Always use your thoughts, ideas and words wisely so it benefits you in the long run. It doesn’t mean that you can’t be more punkish, mix things in between or that you can’t go for both physical and digital art forms, called hybrid or phygital. Make the best out of your experiences and use technology as a way to make your work more effective and its outcome better. Art and technology are here to stay and help us have a better future.
- How do you intend to solve the art industry’s problem with elitism through curation?
First of all, by offering to everyone a decentralised curation system and rankings governed by smart contracts on immutable public ledgers. In this way, hacking, corruption and elitism are at least 100 times less likely to occur. Secondly, by supporting as much diversity as possible through curation. And, of course, there shall be no intention to promote any political party.
- What is the stack of technologies that can help fulfil ASKNIGHTS’ ambition? How do you leverage them?
Decentralised networks, blockchain, Token Gating for events attendance and exclusively private content, Dynamics NFTs, NFT Brewery Factory to change NFTs over time (breeding and transforming them into something new), proof-of-authenticity, proof-of-originality, meta-reviews, and proof-of-reserve for physical art tokenisation (collaborating with ChainLink in this regard). Decentralised public ledgers and smart contracts support everything. We also use ThirdWeb and Token Factory (Rarible Protocol) for minting NFTs and their back-end functionality on our curated NFT art store and marketplace. For the metaverse within Fringe Multiverse, we use Unreal Engine and 3D creation software such as Blender and Cinema4D.
It is vital for us to connect the NFT art marketplace with the metaverse within Fringe Multiverse so that it adds up more value and creates more utility for NFTs. In this way, we make both sides happy, including the customer, who is the collector and owner. Since intellectual property, terms and conditions, and ownership are our cornerstones; we encourage everyone to include as many of them as possible in the metadata before minting and selling anything. That is what ASKNIGHTS is doing together with its partners.”
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