The Exchanges

Q Where we are with NFTs right now, Do you feel like we're past the money grab stage, or are we still there?

A I hope that we're past it, because as you know, Sean, in early 2021, NFTs really blew up. From my perspective, so many people that never would have been interested in NFTs were talking about them, and You know, there were money grabs, and it's, I guess, let's use a metaphor, because history repeats itself. In the ICO boom of crypto in 2017, there were money grabs, and after that bear market that occurred after the ICO boom, all those projects got washed out, and the ones that were left were there to stay, and it's just my hope that the same thing is occurring now in the NFT space. The The projects that were money grabs, that didn't have the proper culture, that didn't have the proper community and utilities, I hope that we'll see them getting washed out. You know, it's the survival of the fittest and the money grabs just simply won't live.

AI assessment note: “I hope that we're past it, because as you know”

Q There have been a tremendous number of NFTs that have come out. Who do you think makes the most money from them? Is it the creator of the NFT? Is it the designer of the art that goes into the NFT? Is it the buyer of the NFT who then tries to resell? You know, who is it?

A It's a very good question, and it's entirely dependent on You know, what sort of contract the creators have with the artists. I've, I've seen deals where the artist gets 50% of the sales and so do the creators. I like those. I think, you know, the artist should always be rewarded sufficiently. And then of course the owner of the project and the artists are also splitting the royalties. I think in any given case, generally the, the owners and the artists receive the most monetary benefit from an NFT project. You'd have to really, as a collector, you'd have to really buy a significant share of the NFTs and then hope that, you know, you've done well on, on what is an investment to be able to make more than the owners.

AI assessment note: “generally the, the owners and the artists receive the most monetary benefit”

Q So do you think, and I would probably Like put more of an emphasis on the, the Gen Z's because I, a lot of the ones that I know are really interested in NFTs. Do you think young people see NFTs as a way to like hold wealth the way, uh, older people look at like real physical paintings?

A Yeah, man, absolutely. I mean, in the, in the, in the older days when someone's been successful from a financial perspective, they diversify those assets into, You know, let's say like a, you know, traditional Picasso, like we were saying before, some form of art that retains its value. And now when a Gen Z or even like an earlier millennial has created wealth throughout this ecosystem, no matter what it's in, whether it's in crypto or somewhere else financially, they diversify that wealth into NFTs. And for them, it's important because they can diversify the wealth. They can have their collection. They know that if they're choosing the right NFT, it's probably going to retain its value. It's, it's a simple method of, yeah, diversification.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, man, absolutely... they diversify that wealth into NFTs.”

Q you're playing Final Fantasy XXV. Which clearly doesn't exist yet. And let's say it's like Final Fantasy XIV, where it's an MMORPG. Are you telling me that a random bar in a random city in this MMORPG could be purchased with an NFT, and then all of the people who play the game, who go to this place to buy stuff, would end up actually putting money in your pocket?

A I think so. That, that's my bet, at least, and that, because I see, you know, when the metaverse really starts to take off, because it hasn't, just simply hasn't yet, There's gonna be this play-to-earn economy, in my opinion, that's gonna be created, and I, I don't think that, that, that people in the future will ever be playing video games to just, for, for free, essentially. I, I think that every game will have an economy in whatever metaverse it is, and I, I think people will be playing to earn. And I think that everything will be real. I think the objects will be real, and there will be rewards, and it's just, I just, it just comes down to that. I, I don't think gaming in the future will be just to play the game. I think there will be real money on the line, and there will be real stakes. And risk.

AI assessment note: “I think so. That, that's my bet, at least”

Q gonna take some of the aspects like immutability and go, you know what? We don't need that. They're gonna say, oh, you're gonna get your salary in our CVDC, but we're gonna garnish your wages. On the way to it coming to your wallet, or, you know, we think you sent money to somebody that we don't like, so we're going to freeze your account. Does that not worry you?

A It does tremendously. You know, it's a big brother situation that we're talking about here. You know, they, they want to, to retain that centralized control. They want to have full omniscience. If everyone's spending money, where that money's going, how it's being used, and I guess things like that are unfortunately possible and even probable, but I just hope that there's a different sort of consciousness in the future and that there's more freedoms than we have now. Maybe that won't happen, but the best I can do is, is, you know, retain my optimistic outlook that it's going to give people more freedom. You know, and when we get there, and when things are looking bad, there's gonna be a resistance to that sort of thing. Like, that's, you know, that's just what's naturally gonna happen.

AI assessment note: “It does tremendously. You know, it's a big brother situation”

Q How can someone, if they do buy an NFT, protect it from being hacked?

A Well, it's a good question, and I think that goes back to To the philosophy of, of Bitcoin and the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency because the user who holds the keys hold their funds that the only people who own the funds is decentralized. There's no centralized control. And that's why people really like it, you know, because they can be in charge of their own funds on their own accord. And if the, the proper, um, security precautions aren't taken, those keys can be stolen. So it's, it's really important just to, you know, if you're holding NFTs, you're holding it in the same keys as cryptocurrency. It's really important to know that your keys are always secure. It's, it's, it comes down to that and having the right knowledge and, you know, information on how to Make sure your keys are stored and that no one can hack it or steal it, or, you know, just clicking on a funny link, man on discord. People have gotten their stuff stolen.

AI assessment note: “just clicking on a funny link, man on discord. People have gotten their stuff stolen.”