Canon is jumping into NFTs and building a digital art marketplace called Cadabra

Canon USA has announced the development of Cadabra, a curated photography marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFT). The Cadabra marketplace will “empower creators by connecting them with enthusiastic collectors who celebrate the art of photography through a shared appreciation of these digital works of art,” Canon explains.

Canon is the latest photography company to launch an NFT marketplace, following Meta’s announcement this fall that creators would be able to create their own “digital collectibles” on Instagram.

The NFT space is still confusing for many visual artists. Some artists have made significant money selling NFTs, including Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, who sold a single JPEG image in an online auction for a staggering $69.3 million in 2021.

In his guide to NFTs, PetaPixel explains NFTs: “NFTs are verified using the blockchain, which is basically a transparent history of ownership, purchases and trades that no one can edit and anyone can see. The blockchain ensures that there will always be a trace of the current owner to the original creator.”

To sell NFTs, artists “tokenize” a digital good, such as a photograph, and upload it to an NFT marketplace for sale. Artists have control over the sale of their items without having to make physical copies, while potential owners become the verifiable owner of a digital item via the blockchain.

CEO of NFT marketplace Bitski, Donnie Dinch, told PetaPixel that NFTs give photographers new opportunities to make money. “I think the biggest reason is that you can more easily monetize yourself,” Dinch said. “There is a market for photography, but with the proliferation of things like Instagram, where a lot of photographers are putting out incredible content and getting tons of likes, but haven’t been able to convert that into paying rent.”

As for Cadabra, Canon hasn’t announced many specific details about how the new curated NFT marketplace will work. Canon says it will share information about creators and Cadabra’s “first drop” later this year.

Canon is previewing its Cadabra digital marketplace at the annual NFT.NYC event currently underway at the Javits Center in New York City.

“The digital art will range from landscape, wildlife, lifestyle, sports, abstract and other categories to spotlight the amazing work of the invited creators,” says Canon.

At launch, the Cadabra Marketplace will only be available in the US, with additional availability coming at an unspecified time.

Some NFT marketplaces require users to purchase items with specific cryptocurrencies. Canon says Cadabra will support cryptocurrency wallets and credit and debit cards. Digital art at Cadabra will be minted on the Ethereum blockchain.

Expanding beyond the digital space, Canon says creators of all levels will also have the choice to offer buyers prints with their initial drops, which Canon will fulfill, so owners of the digital content can have a physical item to display.

Photographers interested in Cadabra can register on Canon’s dedicated Cadabra website to receive information as soon as it is available.

This isn’t Canon’s first foray into NFTs. Last June, Canon announced that several members of the Canon Legends program were creating a limited collection of photo NFTs on the Immutable Image NFT marketplace. “The Legends Mint” collection included NFT images from accomplished photographers Sam Abell, Barbara Bordnick, Gregory Heisler, Ryszard Horowitz, Walter Iooss, Jr., Melvin Sokolsky and Joyce Tenneson.

Ahead of Cadabra’s launch later this year, photographers can learn more about making money using NFTs in PetaPixels guide, “How to Create and Sell NFTs for Free.”