Modern Finance breaks down all things bitcoin, cryptocurrency, finance hacks & tips, decentralized finance (DeFi), yield farming, NFTs, robo-investing, and more. Join entrepreneur and technology venture capitalist Kevin Rose as he interviews experts and the entrepreneurs building modern finance tools. Time Magazine calls Kevin one of the "Top 25 Most Influential People on the Web," and Bloomberg lists him as a "Top 25 Angel Investor." Kevin has appeared on the Jimmy Fallon Show, Charlie Rose Show, as well as the print covers of Businessweek and Inc. Magazine.
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episode 1: NFTs - Blockchain-Powered Art, Trading Cards, Music, and More with Aftab Hossain
Aftab Hossain (Twitter: @iamDCinvestor) is a strategic advisor and private investor to projects in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, with special focus on decentralized finance ("DeFi"). He specializes in technologies related to the Ethereum public blockchain -- the world's largest decentralized blockchain for programmable financial activity.
SHOW NOTES
- What is an NFT (non-fungible token)? For that matter, what is a fungible token? [02:20]
- We've been able to freely download copyrighted material from the Internet for decades, so what makes NFTs valuable? How does something like a piece of art become a uniquely accountable asset when it's tied to the blockchain? [04:22]
- Why might a collector (of art, baseball cards, comic books, or any scarce asset) find the NFT market so appealing? [07:44]
- Why an NFT has better provenance than a mint copy of Marvel's Wolverine #1 or a rare Magic: The Gathering card. [11:44]
- What is DeFi? [15:26]
- What were the first NFTs, and how valuable are they today? [15:48]
- How NFTs have infiltrated the mainstream, and what any collector should keep in mind about investing in anything that wildly fluctuates in value. [20:19]
- How can someone "burn" an NFT? [26:49]
- Where can someone check out curated NFTs for sale? [30:27]
- What is generative art, and how is it represented in the NFT world? [32:11]
- What is the first instance of generative art being tied to the Etherium blockchain? [38:04]
- There are multiple new NFTs launching every day. What's caught our attention of late, and how does a potential collector discern between NFT-based art created by a legitimate artist that is likely to go up in value and junk churned out by some Photoshop-savvy teenager trying to cash in on the NFT gold rush? [40:32]
- As the owner of two EulerBeats NFTs, what can Aftab do with those assets? What are the potential benefits of an NFT to an established artist? [42:21]
- To someone asking if NFT collectibles are a bit like a Ponzi scheme, Aftab asks: aren't all collectibles a Ponzi scheme if you extend the analogy far enough? [45:02]
- What are Unisocks, and how can they be used? Why, from a practical standpoint, is this whole NFT phenomenon something worth trying to wrap your mind around? [48:10]
- Other projects in this space Aftab finds worthwhile. [53:43]
- Will NBA Top Shot live up to its hype? [56:46]
- Where can people learn more about NFTs? [1:01:12]