If you’ve been keeping up with NFTs and our coverage of it, you’ll know that the metaverse is not just about art. Instead, growing attention has now been more on the utility it offers.
While there are those jumping on this prospect, such as Tun M and architects, there are those who still remain iffy about NFTs in general.
Tun M delves deeper into NFTs with his eponymous club
A month ago, we learned that Tun M spent an afternoon with well-known Malaysian NFT creators including RoachPunks and Bad Ape NFT. The former prime minister had talked about Web3 and NFTs with the creators over a two-hour session.
The talk must have gone well, as Tun M ended up signing a RoachPunks NFT made in his likeness.
Turns out, that isn’t the only NFT-related signing he’s a part of, as he recently just witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Pejuang party’s youth wing (Pejuang Muda) and Silver Gold Collector Club (SGCC).
Now, you might be wondering—how does that have anything to do with NFTs? Well, the “Tun M NFT Club” was launched on the same day as the signing, so surely there’s a connection there.
According to The Malaysian Reserve, through this MoU, Pejuang Muda SGCC will be organising an event called Malam Aspirasi Negarawan in collaboration with RoachPunks, powered by Imbas.io through Pentas.io.
Imbas.io is a new platform by Bad Ape NFT, PandaHeritage, Rich Cats Nation, RoachPunks (Master Breeder), PandaPunkNFT, and Rumah Tangsi.
According to the website, Imbas.io seems to be a platform championing the utility of NFTs. Its use cases include: ticketing services, merchant vouchers, wallet and data collection, and interactive NFTs.
Set to take place on July 1, the event will involve blockchain technology through the use NFT passes, seemingly made by the Tun M NFT Club. According to the organisation’s Twitter account, it aims to innovate NFT passes to “unlock future benefits”.
Beyond that, there’s not much else that we already know as of the time of writing.
Architects want in
Earlier this year, Qhawarizmi Architect’s non-fungible terrace concept won Sime Darby Property’s Concept Home 2030. Essentially, the idea is all about digital homes built on blockchains that will eventually be translated into the physical world.
Qhawarizmi Architect’s Ar. Qhawarizmi Norhisham has gone on to become the COO of Seetiverse.io, a startup in the blockchain tech space. The platform consists of architects, creatives, new media specialists, as well as Web3 and virtual developers.
Ar. Qhawarizmi hosted a seminar on June 18 at Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (Malaysia Institute of Architects). It was about architecture and the metaverse, showing how architects can be part of the blockchain ecosystem.
Considering that the Institute of Architects organised the seminar, it shows architects could be serious about expanding into the metaverse, and we’re curious to see where development in this space could go.
Some artists want out
While there have been lots of progress in the NFT space, that isn’t to say that everyone is behind it. Recently, we spoke to some Malaysian artists who shared that they refuse to be involved with NFTs despite their popularity and possible lucrativeness.
One of the main reasons why they disagree with NFTs includes their environmental impact.
“I personally witnessed apartment units rented out just for people to mine bitcoin, snatching away actual real estate from people who need it more,” an artist by the name of M.KHT shared.
Some of the artists also felt that the NFT space allows for art theft. An artist, Tama, said that “anyone can upload anything and steal art from anyone to put up on NFT listing sites”.
Two of the artists further shared that they felt NFTs were a pyramid scheme and a system where the rich simply get richer. M.KHT said that even if artists manage to earn millions, the hoops they have to go through to actually get their hands on that money is “borderline money laundering”.
As the excitement over NFTs in specific communities, it’s still crucial to remain critical about the impact of NFTs on its stakeholders and the environment in various ways.
If the end goal is to truly benefit stakeholders, remaining and new gaps and loopholes in the ecosystem will have to continually be addressed, and that will only be possible with continuous scrutinisation.
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To some, the recent growth of putting emphasis on the utility aspect of NFTs might actually justify their existence. However, this also perpetuates the idea that art has no inherent value.
Just because NFT is more focused on utility now doesn’t mean that there isn’t still space for artists, though. While it’s understandable why some artists disagree with NFTs, it’s understandable how it can also be empowering for some.
Whether it be through the community they’re able to find, the living wages they’re able to earn, and more, some artists have certainly benefitted from NFTs.
For example, we recently spoke to Bunga and Bintang, a Malaysian architect-turned-artist who claimed to have sold 4.15 BNB worth of NFTs (around RM4K) thus far.
She currently ties no utility to her art NFTs, so those buying them are simply appreciative of her creations.
- Read more articles we’ve written on NFTs here.
Featured Image Credit: Tun M NFT Club / Seeitverse.io / Ceniwen
