on the crypto
K-Pop fans will soon be able to purchase collectible digital products from some of their favorite bands using blockchain technology.
A new horizon for NFTs
RBW Japan, a subsidiary of South Korean company Rainbowbridge World (RBW) representing Mamamoo and other famous K-Pop artists such as Vromance and Oneus, is entering the world of cryptocurrencies thanks to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) traded on the Xeno based exchange. in Hong Kong.
The tokens give K-Pop fans and other investors real ownership of digital products linked to RBW stars. The Xeno team announced that RBW Japan has granted the exchange the exclusive rights to mint and list its NFT-based digital products.
Xeno said the digital products will include "3D model renders" of fan favorite K-Pop idols, virtual concert tickets and membership tokens that "allow artists to engage their fans."
RBW's move comes at a time of explosive growth in trading volumes for NFTs, which tripled in 2020 compared to 2019, according to data from Dune Analytics. The surge in interest in NFTs is partly driven by the COVID-19 pandemic which has resulted in the cancellation of most live events. Unlike fungible cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (quotation BTC) and ether (quotation ETH), NFTs are unique tokens.
What does all this mean
For Mamamoo fans, this translates into the ownership of a unique digital product developed around the singers. The Xeno NFT market was launched last month after the company observed a potentially huge market for NFTs in East Asia, Xeno president Anthony Di Franco said.
The company currently operates mainly in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. RBW's choices could lead the major entertainment companies in East Asia to follow the NFT trend, as most of the live events around the world they are still on hiatus due to the pandemic, according to Xeno executives. In addition to those in K-Pop, several partnerships with established names in high fashion and the online gaming industries are already "in the pipeline," the exchange said.
Polkadot's choice
While the majority of NFT exchanges are based on the Ethereum blockchain, Xeno is built on the Polkadot network for its best scalability, interoperability and full cross-chain integration, and Polkadot's unique "parachain" functionality that gives the team the full protocol level control of the system, Di Franco said. “NFTs are the perfect way to grow and evolve these habits,” Di Franco said.
"NFTs take ownership of digital assets from their silos, transforming a collection of mutually exclusive walled gardens into a true marketplace and exponentially increasing the possibilities for creative entrepreneurship for digital artists and business opportunities for platforms. they work on ".
