'Forget Bitcoin': Investment Pours into the Digital Revolution of Art [Correspondent's Diary]

NFTs Transform Digital Art and Sports Collectibles
From Jack Dorsey's Tweet to NBA Top Shot,
Blockchain Authentication Drives New Investment Boom

[Asia Economy, New York = Correspondent Baik Jongmin] The emergence of "pop art" in the 1960s overturned the basic concept of art. The rise of a new artistic style led by pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein was considered heretical at the time, but today it is regarded as the pinnacle of contemporary art.

This is why so many visitors line up in front of Warhol's masterpiece "Campbell's Soup" at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan, New York City, to take photos.

However, now the same phenomenon is taking place not in galleries, but in the digital asset market.

Blockchain technology, which originated from the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, is attempting to transform the concept of art into a digital form.

A prime example is the first tweet ever posted by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

The tweet Dorsey put up for auction, which reads "just setting up my twttr," was being offered for $2.5 million as of March 7 (local time).

Why would bidders be willing to pay such a hefty sum-about 2.8 billion won-for this tweet? It is because this tweet comes with authentication based on cryptocurrency technology.

While anyone can copy and possess it, a tweet purchased through auction can be recognized as the "original." When Jack Dorsey’s digital certificate, an NFT (Non-fungible Token), is attached to a digital asset that anyone can replicate, it transforms into a one-of-a-kind, unique existence.

Once an NFT confers authenticated value to a digital virtual asset, it becomes tradable like a real-world asset. This is why not only artwork, but also music and digital cards, are actively incorporating NFTs. If an asset is recognized as authentic, its value is expected to rise in the future, which is drawing investors in.

As investments pour into NFT-related products, prices are soaring. One example highlighting the rise of NFTs is when Grimes, the wife of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, auctioned off digital artwork as NFTs and earned 6.5 billion won in just 20 minutes.

"NBA Top Shot," which sells basketball-themed collectibles as NFTs, is also booming. In February, NBA Top Shot accounted for 65% of all NFT transactions, generating sales of $225 million.

CNBC reported that as in-person attendance at sports events was suspended, many people began trading sports-related products in virtual markets, causing the popularity of NFTs to skyrocket. CNBC also explained that thanks to NFTs, trading digital sports cards has emerged as an investment opportunity with higher returns than the S&P 500 index on the New York Stock Exchange.

While debates about the future of cryptocurrencies are ongoing, NFTs are also not free from bubble concerns. Mark Cuban, billionaire investor, Bitcoin enthusiast, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, recently remarked that the prices of NFT-related products seem crazy at the moment but will gradually stabilize.

However, Cuban also emphasized that the technology "is real" and stressed that NFTs will become mainstream.