A start-up has announced the opening of an NFT vending machine in New York that allows anyone – even those without cryptocurrency – to buy NFTs. Located near Wall Street, the ATM accepts credit and debit cards and dispenses a box with a unique code inside for NFT. Neon, the digital collection and NFT platform behind this effort, closed a $3 million seed round last month.
The code inside the box can be redeemed on Neon’s platform without the need to use cryptocurrencies or a cryptowallet. The vending machine is open 24 hours a day. Asked by ZDNet, Neon co-founder Jordan Birnholz said his vending machine currently sells “Colors” for $5.99 and “Party Pigeons” for $420.69. The “Party Pigeons” collection was created by an artist named Typfy specifically for Neon. The Colors Project allows users to randomly choose a color that can be bought, sold, or traded to create a collage.
“Right now, they can only be purchased on Neon, but you can transfer them to any Solana wallet, including Phantom, and they can be resold anywhere,” says the entrepreneur. “There are no fees or requirements to use Neon. There is literally no easier way to buy something than a vending machine. We wanted to show people how powerful and easy it can be to support digital artists, and demystify the process of getting an NFT. In the future, Neon plans to feature other artists who signed up on neonapp.com in our real NFT vending machine. »
Attract the general public
The founders of Neon say they opted for the Solana blockchain because it is the most energy efficient and has a theoretical throughput of 65,000 transactions per second, with near zero fees. All Neon transactions are carbon neutral through offsets purchased by the Solana Foundation, according to Jordan Birnholz.
“We wanted to adopt a blockchain that is fast, green and meets global demand. Our goal is to support artists and creators by allowing them to sell digital art to everyone, but also to help everyone who wants to become collectors. By giving people the choice to use ATMs and an easy online platform that decouples cryptocurrency from NFT participation, we can engage the widest possible audience,” explains the Neon co-founder. “Buying and selling NFTs doesn’t need to be a mystery, and you shouldn’t be required to hold Ethereum, write a smart contract, pay gas fees, or establish a bridge between blockchains to participate. »
“While only 2% of Americans have digital wallets, 80% have a credit or debit card. This represents a 40-fold increase in an artist’s potential audience. We want to empower creators and digital artists whose work has often been undervalued because it is not tangible in the traditional sense. We make selling digital art even easier than selling physical art. If creators want to create NFTs from their existing content or new material, we want them on Neon. »
NFTs have become massively popular in recent years, with data showing that platforms like OpenSea generated over $4.95 billion in Ethereum trading volume in January. Neon is backed by the Digital Currency Group, Entrée Capital and General Catalyst.
Source : ZDNet.com
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