Samsung hosted 837/NEXT at its flagship location in the heart of Meatpacking District. The electronics company’s inaugural NFT.NYC program featured live panels, discussions, private events with Axe Infinity, Art Blocks, and Web3 enthusiasts, and more throughout the four-day festival.
On June 23, Los Angeles-based recording artist and metaverse influencer Dope Stilo (pictured right) took over the venue for a live performance.Photo: Courtesy of Samsung
NEW YORK—We’re arguably in the “gold rush” of NFTs, which have disrupted not only pop culture but also the cryptocurrency, technology, and multimedia markets since an artist by the name of Beeple sold a mere 10-second video for $6.6 million back in February of last year. However, the non-fungible tokens have been in existence since 2014, and June 20-23 marked the fourth annual NFT.NYC, a four-day event that aims to unite the global NFT community of brands, developers, gamers, tech entrepreneurs, investors, artists, collectors, and enthusiasts.
NFT.NYC 2022 was hosted across seven venues in Times Square, including Radio City Music Hall, the New York Marriott Marquis, and the Margaritaville Resort Times Square, and featured a lineup of speakers that are pillars in the industry. Talent included the likes of Alex Kim, the founder and president of cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance; Alexis King Wilson, the senior manager of social impact at Spotify; NFT artist Katie Langhammer; and so many more.
Education was also plentiful, covering topics such as investment strategies, IP and licensing, the future of NFT decentralization, and revolutionizing the music industry with NFTs, just to name a few. And each of the estimated 14,000 attendees received NFT swag giveaways minted on the Polygon blockchain that included art and other NFTs redeemable for physical merch or sponsor offers.
Events throughout the week included Gutter Cat Gang NFT.NYC, a reception hosted by Gutter Labs, the creative studio behind the Gutter Cat Gang NFT project; a series of NFT and Web3-centered celebrations dubbed 837/NEXT, presented by Samsung; and the Ledger Op3n, a conference and NFT marketplace.
While details on NFT.NYC 2023 have yet to be released, NFT.London is slated for Nov. 3-4 at the QEII Centre, with early bird tickets now available for £499.
But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Keep scrolling for an inside look at NFT.NYC, and decide for yourself if the non-fungible tokens are worth investing in.
What’s an NFT? Once an NFT is created, it’s stored on a blockchain—the same kind of blockchain that cryptocurrencies are stored on (although this is where the similarities between NFTs and crypto ends). Blockchains provide NFTs with proof of ownership and make the buying, selling, and trading of NFTs more efficient and less susceptible to fraud. Why do people buy NFTs and why should we care? And increasingly, we’re seeing individuals and companies alike utilize NFTs as a unique way to launch products and campaigns, as well as create activations and exclusive, membership-based communities. Want to see how? Check out how NFTs reshaped Miami’s 2021 Art Week, and why restaurants are adding the tokens to their menus. |
He added of the importance of NFT.NYC: It “represents the emergence of a new cultural tentpole on the marketing calendar that goes above and beyond the immediate NFT and tech arena.”
McIntyre added: “This block party consisted of a Gutter Kicks station sponsored by Puma with custom sneaker giveaways.” Anchoring the space was a neon sign that read “kick it in the gutter,” and around the room, guests could pick up colorful laces and lace up their sneakers in unique patterns using diagrams courtesy of Puma.
Themed cocktails available at Gutter City’s BlockBar included a namesake beverage made with tequila, ginger ale, and lime, as well as whiskey and coke dubbed "Gutter Juice" and "On The Block," a blend of Tito’s vodka and cranberry juice.
MacIntyre said on what NFTs mean for the future of events and event tech: “It was only a few months ago when we were talking about Web 3 and NFTs as important new marketing channels. What we’re seeing is (that’s) actually happening—and now.”
A standout? What seemingly looked like busts of the felines were slinky-like structures that could bend before guests’ eyes.
At the venue’s entrance, “a pair of custom, two-way mirror monoliths featuring animated content [were] followed by interactive LED columns that flanked the hallway,” explained Frank Moran, the founder and managing director of The Experiential Group (TXG), which handled event production.
![The hero product on display was Ledger’s hardware wallet, which was “housed in custom resin casing.” Moran said it “was definitely one of the standout engagement points within the space,” because when a guest lifted the product off the pedestal, “they would trigger a reaction that would encapsulate the entire room with a high-impact content treatment.” Suddenly, all the digital screens inside the 12,000-square-foot venue 'featured everything from [Ledger-centered] animation graphics to branded content.'](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2022/07/IMG_0121.62cd9f7c338ff.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
And in the “Collab Zone,” exclusive products from Fendi, the video game Sandbox, the NFT marketplace WVRPS, as well as Ledger, were on display. Moran thanked the partnership integration, as well as the attendance and on-site branding, for the overall success of the event. He referred to it as “the ultimate trifecta for success,” pointing out that the “integrations were executed in a way that not only felt authentic to the individual partners but, most importantly, felt organic to the overall Ledger Op3n experience.”
Jam3 handled creative design while Chemistry Creative helmed fabrication, and Sound Investment was tapped for AV.
On June 23, Los Angeles-based recording artist and metaverse influencer Dope Stilo (pictured right) took over the venue for a live performance.
Michelle Crossan-Matos, the chief marketing officer at Samsung Electronics America, said of the experience: “We were thrilled last week to bring the Web3 community together at our event series in-person and virtually in the metaverse and on our Discord server. After so many months of being apart, the mix of in-person and virtual events offers brands like ours a new way to engage with people, celebrate creators, and help cultivate a community.”
On June 23, Los Angeles-based recording artist and metaverse influencer Dope Stilo (pictured right) took over the venue for a live performance.
