Moonlight lights the way for accessible NFTs – USC Viterbi
Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have exploded in popularity, bringing in millions. (Courtesy/WTF)
Blake Asherian, a senior at the USC Marshall School of Business, was intrigued by the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.
The “Apes,” a collection of meme-worthy, cartoonish primates on the Internet, have become some of the most sought-after NFTs, or non-fungible tokens — unique, digital items like photos, videos, songs and even brain scans that people can buy or sell. Recently 101 NFTs of the cartoon monkeys were sold for 24 million dollars at Sotheby’s‘s, according to Forbes.
Unable to buy one of the NFTs herself last year, as many cost tens of thousands of dollars, Asherian texted her housemates to see if they’d be willing to split the cost of one. A text message chain that was usually dormant responded immediately, as did Asherian‘s housemates jumped at the opportunity.
“There‘is something here,” Asherian said. “I looked at the marketplaces that do that at the moment and it really put me off the idea because the platforms were very confusing and they just‘does not make sense.”
The interest his housemates showed in buying an NFT together inspired Asherian to get ahead of this unique market. Ultimately, he decided to create Moonlight, a platform that would be simpler and more accessible than the marketplaces that prevented Asherian and his housemates from collectively owning an NFT.
After a semester abroad in France, Asherian returned to Los Angeles last summer ready to take on this new idea and met USC senior Gabriel Perez and USC graduate Matthew Hausman. Perez studies economics and minors in blockchain, a perfect combination to take on this exciting project. His own interest in NFTs and experience trading them, as well as his involvement in the USC Blockchain Club prepared him to ttake his subject matter expertise to the next level with his new company Moonlight.
Moonlight is a decentralized platform, meaning that no major entity has control over the transactions and users can see exactly where their own assets are going.
“What Moonlight allows users to do is own ‘fractions‘ of these assets. It opens up extremely in-demand items for the concept of collective ownership on the blockchain,” Perez said. “Moonlight would allow hundreds of different people to share the cost or own a piece of the artwork. This means they would be able to show it and provide proof of authenticity on the blockchain.”
Likewise, not every investor can afford a piece of Warren Buffet‘his company, Berkshire Hathaway. Instead, they can buy fractional shares, literally a percentage of the stock. In the case of Moonlight, investors could theoretically buy a small piece of internet art or a LeBron James slam dunk.
Moonlight seeks to democratize the ownership of NFTs, as their high prices prevent the average person from participating. Many people do not understand the value of owning an NFT, as unlike a tangible work of art, it can only be displayed electronically. However, the Moonlight team sees a more complex future for NFTs. For example, when Asherian posted one of his NFTs on Twitter, he immediately attracted a community.
Many people understand that NFTs are simply a way to show off their assets, but Asherian sees them differently. “NFTs can serve not only as a photo, but as a passport, a membership, a one-of-a-kind, Asherian said. “This is a way of owning something social, and much of what NFTs stand for is community.”
Matthew Hausman, a graduate in Computer Science and Business Administration from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the FrontEnd architect for Moonlight, which means his role is to work on the visual part of the website. “I hope that we make collecting NFT fractions a de facto way to have exposure to NFTs for collectors with less money to dedicate to speculative games,” Hausman said
Since cryptocurrency and decentralization have such a strong future ahead of them and represent collectivity, Asherian said. According to the team, Moonlight’s ultimate goal is to lower the barrier of entry for everyone to participate, the team is striving for ways to innovate this year; for example, the team hopes to let people who don’t own cryptocurrency buy NFTs using credit cards and digital wallets connected to their social media accounts.
USC has fostered the connection between the collaborators in Moonlight, while giving them a strong network for the future of the product.
“[USC] have prepared me more than you know. It‘is the Trojan network,” Asherian said.
Published October 5, 2022
Last updated 5 October 2022
