After an erratic start to the week, bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies ticked higher.
Today the bitcoin price soared 3.5% from yesterday’s low. Ethereum’s price is up 2.3%, BNB
Meanwhile, the non-fungible token (NFT) market has scored a landmark achievement. One of the world’s largest asset managers overseeing $85.5 billion in assets, VaNeck, announced the first-ever “institutional NFT” collection called, VanEck Community NFT.
A total of 1000 NFTs will airdrop on May 2 and will give its holders exclusive access to VanEck’s digital asset research, events, and other NFT-related perks.
“We’ve designed the VanEck Community NFT to function like a digital membership card, providing NFT holders with exclusive access to a wide range of events, digital asset research and the insights of an inclusive community of digital assets enthusiasts and investors,” said VanEck’s Matthew Bartlett.
[Ed note: Investing in crypto is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
Ethereum
Zooming out
During the pandemic, digital assets have infiltrated Wall Street.
Like a caterpillar, crypto king bitcoin transformed from a speculative cocoon into a full-fledged asset. And in light of reckless monetary policy, fund managers are increasingly adopting it as an alternative (or addition) to gold.
Ethereum is also making it onto the Wall Street menu. According to a recent SEC filing, Goldman Sachs plans to offer its institutional clients an easy and liquid option to trade this cryptocurrency at scale through a third-party digital asset fund.
Now, big money is pushing into NFTs. VanEck is launching the first-ever institutional collection of NFTs. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley is “securitizing” NFTs by pooling them into investable funds.
The most recent example is a $30 million fund called Curated. As TechCrunch reported: “Curated is devoted to buying and holding NFT artwork. The fund is backed by a who’s who of crypto investors, with LPs including a sizable chunk of a16z’s investing team (Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, Andrew Chen, Arianna Simpson and Jon Lai are all backers), as well as Alexis Ohanian, Justin Kan, Electric Capital’s Avichal Garg and Curtis Spencer and a host of other investors and founders in the space.”
VanEck’s CEO Jan van Eck thinks this is just the beginning. “It looks like blockchain technology will completely revolutionize Wall Street. The only reason it is taking so long would be the regulators. The whole NFT phenomenon, I mean, I’m wowed by all the technology. That’s the positive,” he said at the Bitcoin
Looking ahead
In just a few years, NFTs have grown into a $41 billion market—nearly the size of the global fine art market. If “blockchain JPEGs” don’t lose stream, experts believe that, at this pace, this market could triple by 2030
But are NFTs worth that money?
Some experts say it’s yet another bubble of collectibles that will end in tears like tulips, sports cards, or video game cartridges. Others believe NFTs will revolutionize the blockchain and will change investing forever.
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