IN FOCUS: Opportunities and risks? Singapore creators ride NFT wave as new source of income
SINGAPORE: When 29-year-old Hafiiz Karim, known as The Next Most Famous Artist, first heard of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the jargon alone was enough to make him switch off.He hadn’t imagined then that the concept would help him sell more than 100 pieces of art worth more than US$100,000 – all in a day.It’s a far cry from the S$1,000 he earned on average each month selling physical prints of his digital work, best known for placing classical art characters in familiar Singaporean settings.NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital tokens that most commonly take the form of art, music or collectibles.
But they can digitally represent any asset, even real-life ones such as real estate.At its heart - a proof of ownership that cannot be replicated, as it is secured and verified by blockchain technology.He discovered the concept after an online art community touted it as the “next big thing” for digital artists.
So far, this has rung true for him.More than a year since he started selling his art this way, Mr Hafiiz has sold more than 200 NFTs worth about US$150,000.
The logistics are also easier than for traditional sales, as digital transactions mean he no longer has to labour over printing and delivery.When someone resells one of his creations, he also gets a cut – previously unheard of in conventional art sales.Yet the most valuable thing has been finding tribes of his own. “I'm a part of a few (artist) communities and we all support each other.”“And the community with my followers … I give back to them, engage with them, they support me.
