Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has been at the forefront of interest in blockchain technology, smart contracts and non-fungible NFTs or chips.
It’s “like in the early days of all new technology, enthusiasm sometimes creates unique situations,” Cuban told CNBC Make It.
Recently, NFT-based art has sometimes sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but, according to the Cuban, “as more participants come to [NFT] on the market, it will become more efficient and prices will set, ”he says.
NFTs are unique cryptocurrency tokens used to represent assets, such as digital artwork, music, or movies. NFTs can be bought and sold, like physical assets, but since they run on the blockchain, a decentralized digital register that documents the transactions, ownership and validity of the asset they represent can be tracked.
One of their great advantages is that they allow creators to be paid, because their content is distributed on the Internet.
For example, if an artist sells their NFT-based artwork, a buyer could buy a unique symbol that represents the asset and can then prove the authenticity and ownership of digital art through the blockchain.
According to the Cuban, that’s where the value lies. “The technology is real,” he says. “The impact is real and permanent.”
The Cuban predicts that NFTs will disrupt the arts, music and film industries.
“[B]blockages and contracts and smart markets are here to stay, ”he says.
Recently, the “excitement” surrounding the NFT market has led to artwork auctions – for example, an NFT-based video created by artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, was turned upside down last week by 6.6 million dollars after being originally purchased for about $ 67,000, while a crypto art version of the 2011 Nyan Cat meme was auctioned and sold for about $ 590,000.
In sports, NBA Top Shot, an NFT platform that facilitates the buying and selling of short clips of popular players, has so far grossed over $ 280 million in sales, according to the CryptoSlam website.
The music industry is also sinking into the market, with bands such as Kings of Leon announcing that it will release a new album as NFT for a $ 50 token – the offer will be open for two weeks starting Friday at noon ET, and at the end , will not be done.
As for the Cuban, he has already earned NFTs by bidding on digital goods online, including a Mavs Suns Game Day Experience video. It also owns NFT-based digital assets, including a “Maxi Kleber dunk Moment” card that it considers a collection and as valuable as a physical sports card. The Cuban said he would not sell, but other Maxi Kleber digital dunk sets sold for anywhere from $ 35 to $ 800 on the NBA Top Shot website, which the Cuban describes as a massive innovation.
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to Shark Tank.
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