Kanye West explains why he won't make NFTs, for now
BNN Bloomberg
Kanye West says he won’t be cashing in on the NFT craze, unlike other celebrities and musicians. But because it’s Kanye, he left the door open to changing his mind.
Kanye West says he won’t be cashing in on the NFT craze, unlike other celebrities and musicians. But because it’s Kanye, he left the door open to changing his mind.
The artist jotted down his feelings about non-fungible tokens on a blank piece of paper and posted it on Instagram late Monday afternoon West Coast time to his 10.5 million followers.
“My focus is on building real products in the real world,” read the handwritten note, with the instructions not to ask him to do an NFT. But, in a postscript, he wrote, “Ask me later.”
Celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Melania Trump and William Shatner have begun hawking NFTs, selling tokens that represent ownership — although not necessarily copyright ownership — of art, trading cards, virtual clothing or other items. Quarterback Tom Brady released NFT collectibles in December, and an NFT company he co-founded recently raised USUS$170 million from Silicon Valley.
About USUS$44 billion was been traded on NFT marketplaces in 2021 alone, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain software and data company.
The purchases are high-risk and have little track record of returning some or any of an individual investor’s money. But some customers aren’t in it for a payday. They may just want a souvenir or birthday gift.
