It seems like only a short time ago that Cryptopunks exploded into the scene before many people started asking the question of where these poorly pixelated art forms were coming from, and how they were worth millions of dollars. While NFTs have been wrought with skepticism, many projects since the rise of non-fungible token popularity have expanded beyond their means. What started as a way to prove a point for artists to be able to properly monetize their work, has turned into a full unique investment project that can lead the world in technological advancement, sustainability, and community efforts.
Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin recently claimed rights that they are the first exchange to offer fractional ownership in certain NFT projects, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). This follows the announcement that Charles Schwab has fully created one of the first EFTs in the United States to be offered on traditional secondary exchanges. The difference is that the SEC still cannot approve direct ownership of NFTs or any digital assets for fear that the KYP and KYC monitoring process could not be adhered to.
Here’s how KuCoin is making this happen.
Blue-Chip NFTs through USDT Stablecoin
KuCoin has enlisted the help of Fracton Protocol, which is a service that offers the ability to fractionalize valuable NFTs. Of course, this is an unprecedented activity in its infancy, and the platform can only offer the top-rated and most stable/valuable NFT collections available on the market, enough so that investors are able to grab a proper piece of the pie without needing ludicrous amounts of capital investment.
KuCoin itself contains ERC-20 tokens, which represent about 1 in one million pieces of ownership in the entire BAYC collection. This, in turn, is denoted by a different token altogether, hiBAYC. The rest of the naming schema for the token follows the same suit, and KuCoin will be launching 5 projects to start with. This includes hiPUNKS, hiSAND33, hiKODA, and hiENS4 – each denoting a piece of the project you will be receiving with that token. While this may seem confusing at first, creating EFT tokens of underlying NFT assets will further break down and tranche their availability, so much so that everyone involved could potentially profit. This means that the creator, investor, and exchange would all participate in a digital economy that has benefited each person involved without the need to employ the help of the fiat financial system.
What Does This Mean For The Future of NFTs?
Digital assets, in general, would be more favorably looked upon as a result of this news. Not only does this pave the way forward for future NFT collections, but it promotes their ability to expand their use other than as a storage of value. If fractional shares could be accessed by the retail investor, this also allows the NFT to properly integrate itself into the metaverse, a place that promises to use NFTs both as a value for online and offline uses.
Similar to exchanges that introduced fractional shares for large names such as Berkshire Hathway and Amazon prior to the split, KuCoin is extremely excited to become the first centralized cryptocurrency exchange that can offer ETFs of popularized NFTs, in exchange for USDT. This represents a bypassing of the need to approve certain investments with the SEC.
KuCoin understands that there is a huge hassle with storage and crypto wallets. While they may be easy to understand, they are difficult to master. The introduction of NFT ETFs will increase the speed of transactions without the need for a crypto wallet.
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/07/29/kucoin-claims-bragging-rights-as-first-exchange-to-offer-nft-etfs/
