October 24, 2021
Reuters via South China Morning Post
Indian celebrities from the world of Bollywood and cricket are increasingly launching digital memorabilia through non-fungible tokens (NFT), hoping to rake in thousands of dollars by cashing in on growing interest in such assets.
NFTs are a type of digital asset which use blockchain to record the ownership of items such as images, videos and other collectibles. Their roaring popularity has baffled many but the explosive growth shows no sign of abating.
Bollywood superstars such as Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan are planning to launch NFTs soon. While Bachchan’s NFTs will include autographed posters of his films, Khan has been building excitement on his Twitter account by telling his 43 million followers about the planned NFT launch.
“NFTs are right now alien to Bollywood, but I am sure they (film stars) will see this as another platform where they can use their existing content and generate revenue,” said Ayaan Agnihotri of Bollycoin, an NFT marketplace for Bollywood assets.
Agnihotri said that within days of launch this month, his platform sold 8 million of the 20 million available so-called “BollyCoins”, crypto tokens that can be used to buy NFTs when they are launched. One BollyCoin is worth 10 US cents.
But its still early days for celebrity NFTs in India.
Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik is auctioning a digital art reel from a cricket match where he hit a match-winning six on the last ball for around 5 ethereums, a digital currency, worth around US$20,000. But he has yet to receive any bids.
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