Cricketer Yuvraj Singh and Billiards & Snooker World Champion Pankaj Advani are all set to launch their own NFT collection, which marks their entry into the digital space of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Actor Amitabh Bachchan and cricketer Dinesh Karthik have already launched their NFTs. 

Indian celebrities from the world of Bollywood and cricket are increasingly launching digital memorabilia through non-fungible tokens (NFT), hoping to rake in thousands of dollars by cashing in on growing interest in such assets.

NFTs can really be anything digital (such as drawings, music, videos), but a lot of the current excitement is around using the tech to sell digital art just like memorabilia. Every NFT is a unique token on the blockchain. While there’s only one definitive actual version, copies of the same artwork can be created for trading. The NFT can be sold and purchased like cryptocurrencies. 

After all, Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s NFT collections of ‘Madhushala’, autographed posters and collectibles, have received the highest-ever bidding in India at $756,000 when the auction ended. The auction was organized by Beyondlife.club along with Guardian Link, another branded marketplace for NFTs.

Madhushala NFT is the poem collection of the actor’s father recorded in the superstar’s own voice. In addition to this, the auction also has seven autographed posters from his iconic movies and half a dozen collectibles of ‘Punks and NFTs art and Poster collection’ which have received bids worth over $100,000 on Day 1.

Salman Khan has followed in Big B’s footsteps and is set to launch his NFT soon through Bollycoin, whose board includes actor Atul Agnihotri, his brother-in-law. BollyCoin, an NFT platform for Bollywood enthusiasts, has closed its pre-sale round of 20 million tokens worth $2 million within a month. Bollycoin is a cryptocurrency token that can be used to buy NFTs when they are launched. One BollyCoin is worth 10 US cents (roughly Rs. 7.5). 

BollyCoin has forged partnerships with Salman and his brothers Arbaaz and Sohail and is in talks with a few other Bollywood stars who seek to launch their own NFTs. “As many as 30 celebrities have launched their digital collectibles so far with us. They are music composer duo Salim-Sulaiman, cricketers Varun Chakravarthy and Dwayne Bravo, and Bollywood and TV stars Tanuj Virwani and Aamir Ali, among others,” says Arun Pandey, Co-founder of BeyondLife.club.

Why so much craze?

Rahul Vengalil, Managing Partner, Isobar, the creative experience agency from dentsu India, lists three things that have come together to create this craze or hype.

  1. Blockchain has been around for quite some time now. This technology allows for better transparent & trackable transactions. Smart Contracting, Removing fraud, Cryptocurrency, etc. were the early use cases of Blockchain. 

  1. Ever since the pandemic set in, there has been a surge of retail investors throughout the globe. Platforms like Robinhood in the US, Zerodha or Groww in India got more & more people onto the investing bandwagon. 

  1. Cryptocurrency currency became very popular in India over the past 18 odd months. Some people transact, some people consider this as an asset class.

“In short, there is technology, which is democratized and people are looking at diversifying their investments. Celebrities have many digital assets that can be monetised. In the traditional sense, these could be autographed T-shirts & other memorabilia, a painting that they made, and so on. Today, celebrities are creating digital content every single day. While some see the light of the day on social media platforms, there are so many other content pieces that are created but not published. This can be special creations such as art pieces, poems, a specific event that’s been shot on the phone, a personal space, and so on,” Vengalil told e4m. 

Vengalil says, “There are many marketplaces for creating NFTs. All you have to do is to have the piece of content/art ready, register with the market place and start with your NFT journey. Celebs may not necessarily go to a marketplace but rather have an exclusive partner. Either way, the platforms and technology are readily available these days.

According to him, “Once these become NFT pieces, there is a sense of exclusivity that comes into effect. Exclusivity means their value can increase in future. To add, we are a celebrity craze nation. So, people who have access to technology, money, and intent are jumping onto this bandwagon.”

Market size unknown

No official figures are available yet, says Arun Pandey, Co-founder of BeyondLife.club. Vengalil echoes the views, “It is still too nascent a stage to put a value on this market. Let it grow and become like Cryptocurrency and then we can dissect and analyze further.”

Experts speculate that NFT will find its applications in real estate, banking, entertainment, and the sports industry in a big way in the next few years. 

Cost to make an NFT

There is a gas fee that is normally applicable and varies. We are not charging it as of now from our partners, says Pandey. 

Blockchain

Most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is a cryptocurrency, like bitcoin or dogecoin, but its blockchain also supports these NFTs, which store extra information that makes them work differently. Some other blockchain platforms also have their own versions of NFTs. 

Benefits for Owners

NFTs are designed to give you something that can’t be copied: ownership of the work. NFTs have a feature by which the owners (Artist, cricketer, film star) can get a certain percentage of profit every time their NFT is sold or changes hands, making sure that if their work gets super popular and balloons in value, they’ll see some of that benefit.

Benefits for Collectors

NFTs can work like any other speculative asset, where you buy it and hope that the value of it goes up one day, so you can sell it for a profit. 

NFT buyers also enjoy some basic usage rights, like being able to post the image/video online or set it as your profile picture. Plus, of course, there are bragging rights that you own the art, with a blockchain entry to back it up.

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