How THE SMUGGLEVERSE mixes digital cannabis with NFTs
In this Metaverse interview, Toni Witt talks to Todd Denkin, co-founder of the GameFi NFT project “THE SMUGGLEVERSE” on his intersection of two prominent sectors – cannabis and NFT.
Highlights
00:37 — Denkin, who has an extensive background in both corporate media and the cannabis industry, created THE SMUGGLEVERSE as a way to “give people a place to smuggle digital weed into the Metaverse,” because “avatars should have some fun, too.” THE SMUGGLEVERSE is about giving users the ability to “take an NFT, cut it down into many, or take a larger NFT and stack it up into a larger one worth more money.” The team at THE SMUGGLEVERSE is working on other media, specifically a video game, which he calls a “cross between ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and ‘The King of Pot'”, a film and a documentary series. The SMUGGLEVERSE team builds a bridge between old media, new media and Web3.
02:35 — Until recently, Denkin did not know what an NFT was. Although he has had a background in media for the past 30 years, it wasn’t until he worked with a technology company that he learned what he knows now about the service technology space. In 2008, as his time with the tech company came to an end, Denkin was looking for the next big trend, which led him to cannabis cultivation, as growing cannabis became increasingly legal around the year 2009. He launched a hydroponic company called Photo Tron and saw big success in the organization since Colorado had legalized the recreational use of cannabis. Given his experience in all these industries, he landed himself at a test lab that “pushes these three things together,” eventually leading him to NFTs.
05:26 — In SMUGLEVERSE, a link is the benefit. The way the company uses tokenomics is to release a certain number of pounds of specific strains of digital cannibis, which can be broken down into smaller amounts, using a joint as the final transaction. In addition, with the purchase of larger quantities, users will receive a seed for different digital strains and can create their own. There is a music division within THE SMUGGLEVERSE, and music NFTs will also act as utility as it develops more. The aim is to create value for stakeholders in the NFTs, as well as for the tool.
07:21 — THE SMUGGLEVERSE is a fusion of many industries and classifies the development game as GameFi – a mix between video games and finance, but many users criticize these games for being boring and overfunded. Toni asks Denkin to elaborate on the ways social applications can use NFTs to add a financial aspect.
08:33 — The pandemic has introduced a new group of people to the internet who were previously not as interested. Because these people make up a demanding audience, companies need to deliver a high level of entertainment – the added economic element is a “win-win” situation for developers and users. Too much focus on economics can change the dynamics of a game, but not if the user is having fun with it.
10:45 — Throughout history, brand new technologies have always been discriminated against, leading people to be skeptical of them. NFT, blockchain and cryptocurrency are the next wave of new technologies; they will have the same impact on society as the internet and mobile phones. An organization’s refusal to participate in the next wave of technology is a lost opportunity since these new technologies are not going away.
14:02 — The vision of THE SMUGGLEVERSE is to create a space in the Metaverse where avatars can have their vices, as most people do in the real world. A long-term goal is to create a place where music is connected to the lifestyle of these vices, where hip-hop artists can collaborate with the team to create music dedicated to the kind of culture these vices promote.
