The NFT industry is losing steam as brands find few takers
NEW DELHI : Brands leveraging non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for user engagement and to offer exclusive experiences to customers, especially millennials, have not taken off in India as initially expected. The market has been muted after the initial excitement among celebrities and a handful of brands.
NEW DELHI : Brands leveraging non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for user engagement and to offer exclusive experiences to customers, especially millennials, have not taken off in India as initially expected. The market has been muted after the initial excitement among celebrities and a handful of brands.
NFT platform providers said very few brands are venturing into the NFT space as India still does not have enough takers.
NFT platform providers said very few brands are venturing into the NFT space as India still does not have enough takers.
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“While NFTs have the potential to revolutionize digital ownership and value exchange, their adoption by brands and companies in India has been slow. This is largely due to the lack of awareness of NFTs among the general public, as well as a significant supply and demand gap with fewer buyers compared to creators in India,” said Toshendra Sharma, founder and CEO of NFT firm Nftically, which launched Comearth, a metaverse platform of NFTs for brands.
Textile manufacturer Mafatlal Industries, which opened a metaverse gallery and NFT store for fashion enthusiasts at Comearth last July, along with carmaker MG Motor, travel platform MakeMyTrip and smartphone maker Nothing are among companies that have used NFTs to drive engagement and create buzz around . New products. But the number of such brands has remained uneven over the past year amid a downturn in the crypto market.
Meanwhile, in the overseas market, top brands such as Gucci, Nike, Adidas, Time Magazine, Budweiser and McLaren have dabbled in NFTs. In fact, Adidas, Nike, and Gucci generated $137.5 million in combined sales of their NFT collections in just three months, according to a March 2022 report from DappRadar.
“When a new concept enters the market, like NFT, it’s actually pushing an idea set that doesn’t exist in the consumer mindset. For many brands, these are slanted thoughts and concepts,” said Harish Bijoor, a brand strategy specialist. He pointed out that NFTs are in the initial stages of their life cycle when only individuals and a few “maverick brands” are adopting it for PR. value. “The rest will wait and see and join as it matures,” Bizoor said, adding that markets like the US are much more aware and mature in adopting new technology.
Furthermore, experts added that last year’s downturn in the cryptocurrency market has also affected sales in the NFT area. Last June, NFT sales plunged to a 12-month low of around $1 billion after scaling a record high of $12.6 billion in January, according to market research firm Chainalysis.
“The crypto winter has dampened investor confidence in the broader cryptocurrency market and consequently the NFT industry has also been affected,” said NFTically’s Sharma. He added that many buyers are skeptical about NFTs due to fear of fraud and fraudulent projects.
