Image Credit: Manhaii (Flickr)
Non-Fungible-Tokens Have Become a New Revenue Source for Once Stodgy Institutions
Announcements of innovative and creative uses for non-fungible tokens (NFT) have become almost weekly events. The underlying blockchain technology most recognized for its cryptocurrency benefits is seeing tremendous potential growth with NFTs. This week’s big NFT announcement is something that has never been done before. It came from the American news service, Associated Press (AP). The companies 175-year-old treasure trove of images will be used via NFT sales to fund growth into other journalistic pursuits.
In their news release, AP said they plan to open an NFT marketplace with the first offering to debut on Monday, Jan. 31. The initial collection will feature photography by current and former AP photojournalists and a selection of digitally enhanced depictions of their work. These works will include Pulitzer Prize-winning AP images. The marketplace will use the Xooa platform.
“For 175 years AP’s journalists have recorded the world’s biggest stories, including through gripping and poignant images that continue to resonate today,” said Dwayne Desaulniers, AP director of blockchain and data licensing. “With Xooa’s technology, we are proud to offer these tokenized pieces to a fast-growing global audience of photography NFT collectors.”
Each NFT will include a comprehensive set of metadata to heighten collectors’ awareness of the time, date, location, equipment, and technical settings used for the shot.
The company said the initial collection will be released over a period of weeks beginning Jan. 31. NFT subjects will range from space, climate, war, and other images to spotlight the work of specific AP photographers.
NFT price points will vary. As a not-for-profit news cooperative, proceeds go back into funding AP journalism.
Collectors of all levels will be able to seamlessly buy, sell and trade official AP digital collectibles through the marketplace. It will support secondary market transactions and purchases using credit card payments as well as crypto wallets, including MetaMask, with support for Fortmatic, Binance, and Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) to come.
The NFTs will be minted on the Polygon blockchain, which is an environmentally friendly, Ethereum-compatible layer two solution.
“Xooa is proud to work with The Associated Press to launch AP’s NFT marketplace. Xooa’s work with brands around NFTs and metaverse marketplaces provides inherent scarcity and utility for collectors as well as a powerful connection between the virtual world and the real world,” said Zach Danker-Feldman, Xooa’s head of marketplaces. “In this marketplace deployment, emphasis has been placed on accessibility for all types of collectors to empower them to join a community that shares their interest in stunning photography.”
Take-Away
There are new ways companies are finding to benefit from blockchain-derived NFTs. Even a 175-year-old company is finding value and a way to unlock that value in its rich history of photos and other images. The AP plans to launch its NFT marketplace on January 31st. It will sell cryptographically-signed versions of its award-winning photographs.
Suggested Reading:
 Making Sense of Non-Fungible Tokens – Living in a Digital World
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 Fractional NFTs, Metaverse-Museums, and Crypto-Brokers
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 Attend Paris Hilton’s Metaverse NYE Party
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 Blockchain 2022 – What’s Next?
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Sources:
https://apmarket.xooa.com/p/join-waiting-list
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