The NFT Experience Recap: Social Impact of Digital Collectibles – NFTs and Mainstream Culture

The NFT Experience Recap: Social Impact of Digital Collectibles – NFTs and Mainstream Culture

Session Description:

NFTs are revolutionizing mainstream culture as a means for creators to hold more control over their work and forge stronger connections with consumers. But as they become adopted by the masses, what aspects of our internet and “real-world” life will they reshape? With this in mind, panelists will take a deep dive into identifying how NFTs are impacting cultural norms as they become a larger part of everyday life.

The Speakers:

• Moderator | Justin Roberti
• William Quigley, CEO at WAX
• Peter Ponton, CEO at Risidio
• Nathaniel Hunter, CEO at DreamView
• Peter Yang, MD at Fenbushi Capital

Summary:

The panel was comprised of a diverse group of entrepreneurs, artists, and investors in the defi and NFT space. The conversation was free-flowing and was wide-ranging in terms of topics covered. The group expressed their marvel and joy at the speed of innovation, the growth based on the number of new ideas, and the number of new companies formed in this nascent industry.

When the conversation turned to comparing the NFT phenomenon to the current societal zeitgeist, the participants offered an apt comparison to the explosion of consumer use and spending of apps in the Apple and Google mobile devices that are so prevalent today.

The panelists did acknowledge that the ‘hockey stick’ growth in NFTs has to be mentioned in the same breath as what the last 18 months of being in a global pandemic did to people – creating a bottleneck for content and forcing creators and consumers alike to find new channels to entertain and spend respectively.

When the question eventually turned to the environmental impact of NFTs, the panel widely acknowledge that just all sectors should do – the industry needs to strive towards practices that better the world and to work towards carbon neutrality.

Overall, the panelists were well-reasoned and brought a wave of cautious optimism with them. Whereas they acknowledged the NFT space could be in for future volatility – as all fast-growing industries tend to do – the underlying technology and innovation so far has proven without a doubt that democratizing content and ownership of content is the path forward for mass consumption and adoption.