The crypto world prides itself on its own share of memes and jargon. ‘Decentralisation’ is an important term to know and understand. There could not have been a better time to explain this concept as the shiny centralised corporate Visa Inc, does business with the decentralised blockchain.
Blockchains are the operational base layer for the crypto ecosystem. Think of them as iOS or Android that powers your smartphone. No one party manages or owns the Blockchain. The term ‘decentralisation’ essentially means distributed control or ownership. Crypto is open-source as there are no prerequisites or KYC needed for anyone to participate. No one can change the rules so developers building DApps (Decentralised Apps) can confidently build on top of these networks. Transactions are executed by miners who are verifying and continuously adding these records on an interconnected ledger system called the blockchain. Once these are a part of the block, these records become immutable- meaning they cannot be changed and live forever. Read this article, if you’d like to get a deeper understanding of blockchains.
CyptoPunk #7610, property of Larva Labs
NFTs and Visa Inc
Newsflashes on mainstream media, incessant posts, and retweets from ‘cryptonians’1 have made Visa, the payments technology company an overnight NFT influencer. If you’ve not come across the big news through your social channels, get the full details here.
Visa bought female CryptoPunk #7610 with a mohawk and red lipstick for ETH 49.50 or approx $150,000. Why is this a significant inflection point for crypto, brand marketing and the future of digital e-commerce?
Here’s what Visa’s Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield had to say, "We think NFTs will play an important role in the future of retail, social media, entertainment and commerce." He viewed the purchase as an opportunity to learn firsthand, the infrastructure requirements for a global brand to purchase, store, and leverage an NFT. Cuy also added that it was a signalling mechanism to demonstrate support for the creator economy and help brands better understand NFTs and how they can be harnessed for customer and fan engagement.
There was some skepticism from ‘crypto twitter’2 about Visa’s intention. The decentralised world advocates going ‘bankless’ and there’s always some friction when the two converge. Visa, is a centralised payment gateway that charges transaction fees, between 1.4-2.4% as compared to variable gas fees earned by miners to execute transactions on blockchains. NFTs did a $1B sales volume in August 2021 alone, as compared to $100M in all of 2020 which shines a light on the future earnings potential from NFTs.
At the risk of upsetting the crypto maximalists, the participation of the centralised enterprises will uplift the whole decentralised ecosystem and will encourage curiosity and adoption from non-crypto people. Visa, made a huge statement by purchasing a CryptoPunk and earned column inches beyond what any marketing or PR campaign could deliver. Their intention to work with brands and creators shows optimism and preparedness for Web3 as more users enter the metaverse. Buying the punk is a calculated strategy by Visa to be relevant and at the forefront of the digital payment space.
Will we see more brands adding digital assets like crypto or rare NFTs to their portfolios?
From a brand strategy perspective, creating a bespoke NFT campaign (CoolCatsNFT X Time), maybe more effective for the long term. For now, the CryptoPunks owners are rejoicing! Sales of the punks hit a record of $69M in daily sales volume just after the Visa announcement. The CryptoPunk Twitter Bot recorded the last sale at $260K for Punk #7965!
For any new technology to become mainstream, there needs to be mass adoption. NFTs have enabled blockchain and crypto adoption through digital art and interest in rare collectibles. Fuelling the rage is the scarcity value and the desire to own something unique or belong to a community. It’s a cultural movement, through independent action and belief, not motivated through brand or product advertising. Brands can unlock new customer experiences and drive engagement if they are relevant and behave crypto native.
We are at the beginning of a new Web3 pathway where communities build brands and products.
If you’d like to learn more or work with me on a custom NFT strategy for your brand:
Share this post
Micro Lesson 2: NFTs Just Happened To Visa Inc
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Centralisation weds Decentralisation.
The crypto world prides itself on its own share of memes and jargon. ‘Decentralisation’ is an important term to know and understand. There could not have been a better time to explain this concept as the shiny centralised corporate Visa Inc, does business with the decentralised blockchain.
Blockchains are the operational base layer for the crypto ecosystem. Think of them as iOS or Android that powers your smartphone. No one party manages or owns the Blockchain. The term ‘decentralisation’ essentially means distributed control or ownership. Crypto is open-source as there are no prerequisites or KYC needed for anyone to participate. No one can change the rules so developers building DApps (Decentralised Apps) can confidently build on top of these networks. Transactions are executed by miners who are verifying and continuously adding these records on an interconnected ledger system called the blockchain. Once these are a part of the block, these records become immutable- meaning they cannot be changed and live forever. Read this article, if you’d like to get a deeper understanding of blockchains.
NFTs and Visa Inc
Newsflashes on mainstream media, incessant posts, and retweets from ‘cryptonians’1 have made Visa, the payments technology company an overnight NFT influencer. If you’ve not come across the big news through your social channels, get the full details here.
Here’s what Visa’s Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield had to say, "We think NFTs will play an important role in the future of retail, social media, entertainment and commerce." He viewed the purchase as an opportunity to learn firsthand, the infrastructure requirements for a global brand to purchase, store, and leverage an NFT. Cuy also added that it was a signalling mechanism to demonstrate support for the creator economy and help brands better understand NFTs and how they can be harnessed for customer and fan engagement.
Sounds familiar to an earlier post I published.
There was some skepticism from ‘crypto twitter’2 about Visa’s intention. The decentralised world advocates going ‘bankless’ and there’s always some friction when the two converge. Visa, is a centralised payment gateway that charges transaction fees, between 1.4-2.4% as compared to variable gas fees earned by miners to execute transactions on blockchains. NFTs did a $1B sales volume in August 2021 alone, as compared to $100M in all of 2020 which shines a light on the future earnings potential from NFTs.
At the risk of upsetting the crypto maximalists, the participation of the centralised enterprises will uplift the whole decentralised ecosystem and will encourage curiosity and adoption from non-crypto people. Visa, made a huge statement by purchasing a CryptoPunk and earned column inches beyond what any marketing or PR campaign could deliver. Their intention to work with brands and creators shows optimism and preparedness for Web3 as more users enter the metaverse. Buying the punk is a calculated strategy by Visa to be relevant and at the forefront of the digital payment space.
From a brand strategy perspective, creating a bespoke NFT campaign (CoolCatsNFT X Time), maybe more effective for the long term. For now, the CryptoPunks owners are rejoicing! Sales of the punks hit a record of $69M in daily sales volume just after the Visa announcement. The CryptoPunk Twitter Bot recorded the last sale at $260K for Punk #7965!
For any new technology to become mainstream, there needs to be mass adoption. NFTs have enabled blockchain and crypto adoption through digital art and interest in rare collectibles. Fuelling the rage is the scarcity value and the desire to own something unique or belong to a community. It’s a cultural movement, through independent action and belief, not motivated through brand or product advertising. Brands can unlock new customer experiences and drive engagement if they are relevant and behave crypto native.
We are at the beginning of a new Web3 pathway where communities build brands and products.
If you’d like to learn more or work with me on a custom NFT strategy for your brand:
Get in touch
A term to describe a group of people who are passionate about crypto
A term to describe the crypto community on Twitter