If you have been on the Internet anytime over the past month and a half, you would have heard the term ‘NFT’ floating around. Touted as the latest and most exciting development in the world of blockchain, an NFT (an acronym for non-fungible token) is a unit of data that certifies an asset as unique and can cover anything digital—like art, music, or even tweets. But what has garnered the most interest around the concept is its potential for revolutionising the creative industry in a parallel digital-only realm.
While the possibilities are endless, what is currently missing in the NFT world is a sense of structure and curation. To solve this, Media Publishares, publishers of Vogue, Esquire, Robb Report and Buro in Singapore, have announced a partnership with Vidy to launch and develop an NFT platform catering to the fashion, arts and music industry.
“What we are witnessing is a new creative renaissance where creativity and technology are driving change together. By creating an NFT platform, which essentially acts as a virtual marketplace between creatives and users, it allows us to provide a unique shoppable platform coupled with content for the community in the form of education, interaction and entertainment,” says Michael von Schlippe, President of Media Publishares.
The platform will feature 360-degree navigable virtual environment showcasing digital fashion, art, music and design. Key features of the platform include minting, trading and auctioning NFTs through a tokenised system. Also in the cards are social interaction capabilities—allowing users to form connections through the platform. The allure for users is two-fold: not only will it target a tech-savvy audience in search for luxury items with low environmental costs, it also provides creators an opportunity to explore new virtual identities for their designs.
“We believe this platform will unlock the imagination of art and technology, maximise the value of creativity, and accelerate growth in the fashion industry”
Singaporean entrepreneur and co-founder of Vidy, Matthew Lim, looks forward to the unique features that will make this NFT platform most suitable to do what it is designed for. “The NFT market is still in early stages and has a long way to go with regards to infrastructure development. With the metaverse and rise of digital models, people will be able to live in a parallel virtual world where they can own a digital identity and purchase items not just in a digital file, but as any unique asset in their virtual land, similar to their physical world,” says Lim.
He adds: “For this new NFT platform, Vidy will lead the technology and blockchain development given our unique experience in dealing with traditional businesses and crypto. We are confident we will create the finest platform that will boost the NFT world by allowing seamless participation from the traditional fashion, art and music communities.”
With a target to launch in the second half of 2021, the NFT platform will be collaborating with leaders in the digital arts and blockchain space. One such partner is Binance, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges with over 50 million users, who will provide their expertise towards building an innovative platform.
Helen Hai, head of Binance NFT says, “Binance is always dedicated to exploring innovative blockchain applications with industry leaders. We are excited to partner with Media Publishares as they are leaders in fashion and design content, as well as VIDY, an innovative web tech blockchain company. We believe this platform will unlock the imagination of art and technology, maximise the value of creativity, and accelerate growth in the fashion industry.”
As for concerns about sustainability—the developing blockchain industry has racked up its fair share of energy efficiency-related criticism—Binance is a few steps ahead in looking out for planet health, according to executive director of Binance NFT Athena Yu.
“The blockchain industry is at an early adoption stage and continues to innovate in terms of both improving energy efficiency and sourcing green energy. Binance Smart Chain is extremely energy efficient compared to other blockchains,” says Yu. “Using a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, Binance Smart Chain runs on just 21 validator nodes and consumes less than one percent of the energy required by Bitcoin.”
