Ever wished to be an NFT artist? Even those that aren't fans of NFT art can still agree on the brilliancy behind Americana Technologies as it touts a rather interesting chip, called NFTA Universal Chip, allowing you through the company to turn almost anything of physical nature into an NFT based on the blockchain.
Founded in 2021 by designer Jake Frey, who has worked with some of the biggest names in tech, including Snap, Twitter, Apple, and Shopify, Americana Technologies boasts a unique product. To its designer creator, Frey likens the process to visiting a contemporary art exhibit with only one exception: scanning the artworks and watching its internet existence unfold across one's cell phone screen.
"When we talk about NFTs, there are images and songs and videos and all of these things, but the sort of lightbulb [for Americana] was that all of these things are files" says Frey. "Of course, files are very easy to transact on the internet, but what about everything else?"
To the chagrin of most metaverse critics, who seem to appreciate the real world far more than its digital counterpart, Americana Technologies vies to bridge the real with the metaphysical. Bolstered by the baseline use case for NFTs, which stems from blockchain and its recording of an asset's authenticity and value, the NFTA Universal Chip aims to enhance the things we hoard on a daily basis, folding them into a digitized, valued asset that could, in theory (much like normal NFTs), give creators royalties as the NFT is merchandised.
someone that’s good at numbers can you translate this pic.twitter.com/SqzJKOZ57C
— frey (@frey) May 3, 2022
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"There are different use cases for transacting [through Americana], and then sort of collecting or flaunting, I guess - like bragging," Frey explains. "The average household actually has about several thousands of dollars in assets, and, for the first time ever, you can put all these things on-chain and you can just sort of brag about all the cool things you have in real life that already have enormous value, and already have enormous communities built around them."
The startup recently took home seed funding of $6.9 million via the likes of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who, according to Frey, is the perfect fit as a partner to Americana as the entrepreneur certainly knows a thing or two about building out budding tech platforms. Ohanian's contribution came primarily from his venture fund Seven Seven Six, in addition to well-known rap artist Future and NFT marketplace OpenSea.
Americana is built foundationally on targeting those in the NFT community - or even those that are far removed - that isn't tech-savvy. Frey explains the idea itself stems from the "other 99% of creators" that don't exactly have the tools, insight, or overall ability to launch a potential million-dollar digital asset like rival 3D artists and digital illustrators.
It also comes down to the unknowns of what we own. Few, if any of us, know the true value of the various things we own. Emphasizing these objects through digital recreations not only allots certain values to them but could well only enhance the overall value depending on said item's rarity or deeper meaning in the context of an avid collector.
A perfect example is Pokémon cards, which have seen extreme volatility of their own in recent years as the hype has risen and fallen dramatically in the face of outward collecting. A physical first edition Charizard, for example, costs a whopping $3,000, while a PSA 10 is 100 times that amount. When digitized and put on the blockchain, that $3,000 ungraded Charizard could cost astronomically more; grading scales may not even matter depending on the collector.
Herein lies the true beauty in Americana Technologies' platform. The NFTA Universal Chip adds both purpose and value to the things that populate our surroundings, making it all the more insightful in the knowledge that the startup consists of a total of 13 employees. Thus far, Americana's integrated NFTs are only supported on the Ethereum blockchain. Frey is looking to expand its efforts into other chains, such as Solana, and garner more staff, which are made all the easier with its newly-secured $6.9 million.
Frey concludes, "Our goal is to blend these [physical and digital] worlds, so coming at that from both angles is definitely something that we want to do."
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