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NEW YORK—Would you buy an NFT from a vending machine? NFT and digital collecting platform Neon hopes so.
The brand, fresh off the heels of a $3 million seed round, has opened what it’s billing as the world’s first NFT vending machine. Located at 29 John Street in Manhattan’s Financial District and open 24 hours a day, the machine is housed inside a brightly lit, gallery-like storefront close to Wall Street. Anyone can enter the space and use a credit card, debit card or mobile payment to purchase a small box, which features a unique code for an NFT that can be redeemed on the Neon platform.
The idea is to bring the concept of NFTs to a wider audience—no cryptocurrency or specialized knowledge needed—and to support digital artists and creators by letting them sell digital art to the masses. “Giving people the choice to use vending machines and an easy online platform that decouples cryptocurrency from NFT participation means we can engage the widest possible audience,” explained Jordan Birnholtz, CMO and co-founder of Neon, in a statement. “NFT buying and selling doesn’t need to be a mystery and you shouldn’t be required to hold Ethereum, write a smart contract, pay gas costs or bridge blockchains to participate.” 
The vending machine is housed in a gallery-like space that displays some of the pieces available to buy. The team opted for bright lights and colors inspired by the vaporwave era to draw attention from passersby. "The primary goal of the NFT ATM was to surprise, delight and charm people," said We Make Pop's Hamish Glover Wilson.Photo: Courtesy of Neon
Neon worked with creative and production studio Buoyancy and pop-up and experiential company We Make Pop to design and build the space, which had a soft launch in November and officially launched Feb. 23. It’s now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the team is relying on foot traffic and word of mouth to gain traction.
Hamish Glover Wilson, head of production for We Make Pop, told BizBash he was excited to work on such a culturally relevant topic. "NFTs are at the dawn of a new era, and there is nothing more exciting for a creative studio than getting to play on a conversation-starter piece," he said.
Glover Wilson added that the brief was to be “purposely absurd and to design a jaw-dropper, attention-stopping piece of storytelling. The idea of an ATM selling NFTs is quite ridiculous when you think about it.” The team purposely built the space, which was inspired by design from the vaporware era of the early 2010s, with bright lights and colors to provide contrast to the neighborhood’s surrounding palette of grays. 
Passersby can enter the space and use a credit card, debit card or mobile payment to purchase an NFT.Photo: Courtesy of Neon
Beyond the design decisions, having an unmanned space that’s open to the public 24/7 comes with its own logistical challenges. The goal was to make the space as inspiring and memorable as possible while still being functional. “We had to think of security cameras and how to integrate them into the design, consider weatherproofing for NYC’s winter months and design a concealed door for access to the windows and gallery space to maintain the phantasy of the cubicle—all whilst being conscious of building codes and building in a solid yet semipermanent way,” explained Glover Wilson.
But, ultimately, he described the project as “so much fun”—and added that NFTs aren’t going anywhere. “NFTs are 100% going to take a major role at events and experience,” he predicted. “If anything, NFTs push boundaries—and brands not already engaged should consider ways to work with them.” 
The machine dispenses a small box, which features a unique code for an NFT that can be redeemed on the Neon platform.Photo: Courtesy of Neon
