YouTube’s new CEO Neal Mohan is bullish on NFTs and the metaverse – what does this mean for the crypto industry?
YouTube’s new CEO Neal Mohan has expressed optimism about the integration of new technologies into the video-sharing platform, including NFTs, metaverse and blockchain.
Mohan, who recently replaced Susan Wojcicki as YouTube’s new CEO, said Web3 “opens up new opportunities for creators.” He added that these innovations can help creators and their fans connect on a different level and monetize in new ways.
“We believe new technologies like blockchain and NFTs can allow creators to build deeper relationships with their fans. Together, they will be able to collaborate on new projects and monetize in ways that were not previously possible.”
He specifically mentioned that creators can use NFT to give fans a verifiable way to own unique videos, photos, art and even experiences. However, Mohan insisted that they must approach these new technologies “responsibly”.
“And across all of these formats, you’ll see even more ways to help creators monetize and build a business,” he added, noting that new technologies like NFTs can open up new revenue streams, not only for creators, but also for fans and viewers.
Mohan also touched on the subject of the metaverse, claiming that they are “thinking big” about how to make the show more immersive. He noted that this would likely affect games first, where they would try to bring more interactions to games and make them feel more alive.
Last week, Wojcicki stepped down from YouTube after nine years at the helm, outlining plans to start a “new chapter” focused on family, health and personal projects. During her term, she supervised, among other things, the central introduction of the income sharing model.
Mohan, a Stanford graduate, joined Google in 2008 as chief product officer at YouTube. He was involved in some of the biggest developments and changes on the platform, including YouTube Shorts and Music.
YouTube’s sister company Google has also made inroads into the world of cryptocurrencies and Web3. Last year, the company announced the launch of a cloud-based service for Ethereum projects and developers called Blockchain Node Engine.
While Ethereum became the first blockchain to be supported by the Blockchain Node Engine, the tech giant revealed the following month that it would extend the Blockchain Node Engine to the Solana Blockchain as well, a feature set to launch in the first quarter of this year.
Furthermore, Google partnered with Coinbase to allow users to pay for cloud services using crypto. A select number of customers will be able to pay for their Cloud services using crypto-assets such as Bitcoin starting this year.
