In his monthly crypto-tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira discusses emerging technologies in crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi), and blockchain, and their role in shaping the 21st century economy.
If one tries to examine the non-fungible token (NFT) economy as it has evolved over the past few months, two main trends can be identified. On the one hand, a completely new market that allows different artists to join a new creator economy – the creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, different types of pixel art creators and creative flickers like the creator of long-necked women paintings, the sale of which brought the first 12-year-old artist nearly 1,394 ethers (ETH), equal to $ 6 million at the time of writing.
But the truth is that an NFT is much more than that. Take, for example, one of the first significant NFT sales when Jack Dorsey sold the first tweet that appeared on Twitter in exchange for an amount that was worth about $ 2.9 million at the time. This NFT increased in value, but in fact its assimilation as an NFT retained some kind of legacy.
The day Twitter disappears from the internet or the outdated text platform disappears, like many websites that were part of the web annals and just disappeared, all that will be left will be the things that someone has created economic value for, which goes beyond the symbolic value. A unique value that stands for itself and makes the preservation of tradition and heritage a sustainable business.
Garry Kasparov does NFTs
Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion who has held this title for more years than anyone, has decided to digitalize his legacy and turn extensive chapters of his past into an NFT.
“My NFT project with 1Kind reflects my lifelong desire to take on new challenges and work with exciting new technologies,” says Kasparov. “From artificial intelligence to cryptocurrencies and blockchain, I’ve always believed that innovation is the only way forward. We worked closely from the start to not only create unique items, but a whole new way of using NFTs to tell a story, one with a real story behind it. “
What is interesting about Kasparov is his interest in human-machine interfaces. Kasparov is perhaps the most famous chess player of all time, the youngest world champion and the longest reigning world chess champion of all time.
But in fact, his games against supercomputers earned him his worldwide fame. Kasparov has repeatedly won state-of-the-art chess computers, but his 1997 loss to IBM’s Deep Blue computers marked the turning point and symbolized the fact that artificial intelligence manages to match and even match human intelligence. On a symbolic level, it was precisely this loss that linked Kasparov’s fate to the development of the digital age.
Related: Without quantum security, our blockchain future is uncertain
Now, with the NFT project that Kasparov is launching together with the 1Kind platform, he is shaking up fundamental concepts – of heritage and history – once more. Kasparov wants to present various chapters of his past digitally and thus create a legacy that is independent of exhibits, showcases or history books. He rummages through NFTs for the objects, pictures and paintings that depict his past, not to support a creator economy but, like this Dorsey tweet, to preserve a legacy before it disappears and to attract more people to it are interested in preserving this legacy. As Kasparov explains:
“This is the first time a whole life has been turned into NFTs – my life. I didn’t just want to share my chess games and successes, but everything that has shaped me and my legacy on and off the chessboard. “
A new chapter in the persistence of inheritance
In order to document a legacy, one still needs unique books, museums or guided tours today. However, all of this requires massive, long-term support – after all, a museum cannot own itself and needs the support of taxpayers’ money or unique funds. But when Kasparov makes his legacy public in the NFT, he is decentralizing the preservation of the legacy. He calls on collectors to participate not only in his legacy, but also in its preservation. At the simplest level – if Kasparov himself disappears from human consciousness, even these cultural heritage objects will lose their value. So that the interest of the person involved in the sale corresponds to that of Kasparov himself. Preserve the legacy and make it available to as many people as possible.
“The deeply personal nature of this project is evident in every NFT. My family and childhood, my rise as a chess master and the conquest of the world title and my explorations in politics, education, writing and speaking. Documents and artifacts that have never been seen before in the public include my personal notebooks and family photos, the coaches who shaped my chess, my fresh start with a new career and family after chess and by the way my greatest champion of the first hour, my mother. “
“Garry, how would you like to be remembered?” I admit that I thought about such things as a young world champion, but at the time I was only thinking of my legacy on the chessboard. Decades later, this third drop of NFTs is my answer. https://t.co/dpqqNvnVJD pic.twitter.com/OGtaKMkOex
– Garry Kasparov (@ Kasparov63) December 16, 2021
In practice this is an interesting experiment. After all, this sale includes not only digital art or depictions of past moments such as the moments of the NBA, but also digital depictions of real objects such as notebooks, cards, physical photographs from Kasparov’s past and others. That is, the buyer has digital ownership of objects that another person may have physical ownership of.
Related: Gen Z and NFT: Redefining ownership for digital natives
In fact, however, it is possible that in the world we are headed towards, it is not clear who has the same property – the one who keeps a paper copy of a playing card in the safe, or the one who owns the digital representation that was shown to the world without fear of being damaged or lost. Kasparov himself also admits that this is no small challenge, but maybe this is again his way of breaking down barriers and concepts in which Transition into the era of Web 3.0.
“I admit to being a little nervous, like sitting down in my first World Cup match, playing against a supercomputer or leaving the familiar chess world behind to fight for democracy in Russia and beyond. But what are we without new challenges? ” ? Without taking risks? The status quo has never been good enough for me, and with that in mind, I’m excited to share this ambitious and unmatched collection. I hope people enjoy them and I can’t wait to see what’s next, “says Kasparov.
This article does not provide investment advice or recommendation. Every step of investing and trading involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Ariel Shapira is the father, entrepreneur, spokesman, cyclist and founder and CEO of Social-Wisdom, a consulting agency that works with Israeli startups and helps them build connections to international markets.
