Matt Medved: The Four Factors That Make NFTs Successful

Keeping a digit connected the pulse of the fast-moving non-fungible token satellite isn’t an casual feat. But Matt Medved took connected that situation past twelvemonth and founded NFT Now, an online outlet focused connected each things NFT.

Majoring successful journalism astatine Northwestern University and having a heavy involvement successful euphony and dance, Medved served arsenic editor-in-chief of euphony astatine civilization mag Spin and besides founded fashionable euphony creation mag Billboard Dance.

To his disappointment, erstwhile helium ventured into the NFT abstraction aft archetypal proceeding astir and becoming fascinated with the exertion successful precocious 2020, determination wasn’t overmuch successful the mode of trustworthy and autarkic accusation connected this nascent industry. With his agelong way grounds of nonrecreational publishing, Medved knew NFT Now was the logical adjacent measurement for him.

This nonfiction is portion of Road to Consensus, a bid highlighting speakers and the large ideas they volition sermon astatine Consensus 2022, CoinDesk's festival of the twelvemonth June 9-12 successful Austin, Texas. Learn more.

Medved had an eclectic and reasonably planetary vocation – not lone arsenic a mag steadfast but besides a DJ and a non-profit worker. While completing instrumentality and master's degrees from George Washington University, helium carried retired quality rights probe successful Nigeria for planetary struggle solution NGO Search for Common Ground. He besides spent a twelvemonth successful South Korea teaching English. As a nonrecreational DJ, helium performed astatine top-notch festivals including Tomorrowland successful Belgium. For a wide-compassing taste ecosystem similar NFTs, each that bedrock of skills and experiences comes rather handy.

Despite his past being profoundly rooted successful the euphony industry, he’s not a euphony NFT maximalist. He’s bullish connected the abstraction arsenic a full – and that besides extends to less-sexy NFT worldly similar spot deeds and authorities record-keeping. After all, NFT arsenic a exertion is transformative and cuts crossed usage cases, and it’s the underlying exertion that excites Medved.

As helium makes evident successful this interview, Medved sounds astir excited astir humanities NFTs similar Rare Pepes. Those collections didn’t person fiscal incentives successful caput (in opposition to today’s NFT projects) and they were each astir the originative usage of exertion – the purest synergy betwixt creator look and technological deployment.

Medved, a talker astatine CoinDesk’s Consensus festival successful June, spoke with CoinDesk from his location successful New York City.

You travel from a household of aesculapian professionals similar me. In my experience, particularly for aesculapian families, there's an anticipation that kids volition beryllium inspired by their parents' practice. And yet, we some ended up successful the satellite of NFTs and publishing somehow. How did that happen?!

That's a large question. I bash consciousness truly fortunate. My dada is simply a neurologist. My parent is simply a caregiver and a familial counselor, but they ne'er pressured maine to prosecute a aesculapian career. They were truly bully astir supporting maine successful my areas of passion, which for my upbringing were ever writing, euphony and dance. Writing from an aboriginal property – originative writing, poesy camps, worldly similar that. …

While successful Milan during 2013, I discovered bitcoin [BTC] and started doing crypto. I was truly conscionable dabbling, bought the apical of that market, which, successful fact, crashed 2 weeks later. But I've conscionable held connected to it [because] I believed successful the technology.

And I truly started to get much funny successful cryptocurrency and the blockchain abstraction during the highest years of Billboard Dance, similar 2016 to 2018, which coincided with the bull run.

Just by virtuousness of being truly progressive successful the creation euphony space, I knew a batch of artists that were truly astatine the forefront of that. We knew this had the powerfulness to empower artists, but it was astir figuring retired how. To me, it was NFTs that ended up being that missing puzzle piece.

3LAU [founder of music NFT level Royal] pulled maine down the NFT rabbit spread successful autumn 2020. For me, it was conscionable a telephone with him, and each airy bulb was going disconnected successful my head. I was, like, “This is the exertion I've believed successful for a agelong time. It feels similar what I'm really passionate astir – music, creation and culture.”

That's erstwhile I became idiosyncratic who was singularly focused connected the NFT space. We launched the NFT Now societal accounts successful January 2021 due to the fact that we felt similar determination was a existent request for an independent, credible dependable successful the space. We started seeing tremendous maturation and realized that we had an accidental to physique thing truly special. My co-founders Alejandro [and] Sam and I took it from there.

Given your past experiences and areas of interest, would you accidental you are astir bullish connected euphony NFTs?

It's funny, actually. I americium precise bullish connected NFTs but I really amazed a batch of radical erstwhile I archetypal got into the space. People expected maine to beryllium each astir euphony NFTs and truly absorption connected that. To beryllium honest, I emotion euphony and I americium precise bullish connected it – I bash deliberation it volition disrupt the industry.

But I was truly fascinated by the humanities NFTs question that led to the roar successful mainstream attraction of NFTs. I really dove truly head-deep successful crypto creation and started learning astir the crypto creation OGs, similar the aboriginal artists connected SuperRare, the aboriginal pioneers successful Namecoin, Rare Pepes and each that.

Crypto-native civilization drives truthful overmuch of the space. And for me, I already knew a batch astir the euphony industry, I knew a batch astir music. I was really enamored by the elements of find to larn this history. I've ever been fascinated by past crossed everything – from euphony history, to existent past successful existent life.

It's absorbing due to the fact that I really became truly fascinated by the past of crypto creation and generative art. One of the things that I emotion truthful overmuch astir NFTs connected the blockchain is that the receipts are each there, right? I was going done the archetypal artists to marque them connected SuperRare, and learning astir XCOPY, Sarah Zucker and each of these artists that person been pushing things forward.

That said, I americium highly bullish connected euphony NFTs. I person truthful galore friends successful the manufacture – the creator side, manufacture broadside and truthful connected – who person been hitting maine up trying to get much accusation oregon understanding. For me, it was really, truly heartening to spot that due to the fact that I deliberation for a agelong time, we were trying to get anyone successful the euphony manufacture to attraction astir this. Now, it's thing that they conscionable can't spend to ignore.

What is astir humanities NFTs that entreaty to you?

I don't deliberation that conscionable being aged is capable but I deliberation that arsenic we proceed down this path, humanities NFTs are going to beryllium a smaller percent of the wide [NFT landscape].

One happening I really emotion astir humanities projects is that a batch of them were created without the aforesaid fiscal calculus that we spot successful projects today. That's 1 happening that primitively drew maine to CryptoPunks – the thought that they were fixed away, they were an experiment. I emotion artists similar XCOPY who were experimenting connected SuperRare, who ne'er expected their works to beryllium settling for 7 figures successful their life. There's thing truly peculiar astir that originative expression.

How bash you consciousness astir the information that determination are a batch of scammers trying to exploit the NFT space? How bash you grip tons of NFT pitches you person each day, immoderate of which could beryllium rugpulls successful the making?

I deliberation you bring up a truly bully point. As you tin astir apt guess, my DMs are an implicit nightmare. I'm being bombarded from each space connected everything. A batch of those projects look suspect, and determination are a batch of radical who don't enactment successful bully faith.

Our ngo for NFT Now is to empower the creators of civilization and mainstream adoption of NFTs. Part of the second includes education. I deliberation we person a work to support newcomers to the space. We clasp our editorial standards to the highest caliber.

We person really present solved a pugnacious occupation that we were having, which was uncovering trustworthy, credible accusation and resources connected the NFT space. When we got into the space, we recovered that the clime was truly characterized by platforms with megaphones promoting their ain drops, and besides talking to influencers shilling their ain bags. We were like, “Where is the Billboard of the NFT space? And wherever is that independent, credible marque that is trustworthy and connected the loop?” That's what we're gathering with NFT Now.

As idiosyncratic who wants to bring a cardinal radical into Web 3 oregon NFTs, I judge that this exertion is going to fundamentally redefine however creators and their communities make shared worth together.

All of these scams and rugpulls are truly scary due to the fact that the past happening that I privation to spot hap is what happened with the [initial coin offering] roar successful 2017, 2018 wherever a batch of bully radical dipped their toes successful the h2o and got burned. A batch of them near with a atrocious sensation successful their mouth, and immoderate of them person not returned to the space. The past happening that I privation to spot is for newcomers to the NFT abstraction to beryllium burned similarly, and to beryllium turned disconnected from what I deliberation is an incredibly almighty and transformational exertion for empowerment.

From what you've seen and experienced truthful far, what are the qualities of a bully NFT project?

That's a large question. I ever measurement projects according to 4 halfway factors. To me, those factors are artistry, community, past and usability.

I privation to accidental archetypal and foremost, artistry is capable successful its ain right. Artists who are genuinely expressing their originative imaginativeness are creating worth for the space. I cognize there’s a batch of statement close present astir the artistry versus inferior side. I don't deliberation artists should beryllium pressured into adding utility. There are immoderate absorbing originative ways – if they consciousness inclined – to physique a assemblage astir what they do.

Community, obviously, for a batch of these projects, is the cardinal factor. The mode I specify the quality betwixt assemblage and communities is that an assemblage knows you beryllium and are alert of you but a assemblage really wants to spot you triumph and feels invested successful you. We've seen successful the emergence of these collectible PFP projects that the assemblage is often the biggest determining origin to a project’s success.

When it comes to utility, I bash deliberation that determination are immoderate truly absorbing and breathtaking usage cases for NFTs, [such as] provable rank and immutable grounds keeping.

What astir NFT task founders? What qualities bash you look astatine there?

I deliberation the biggest happening is for founders to marque it precise wide that they are present to make value, and not extract worth from the space. Oftentimes, that’s the crushed wherefore the abstraction is truthful wary of projects that travel from obscurity that don't person a way record.

Some of the astir palmy community-projects that we've seen – similar Bored Ape Yacht Club – person made acold much wealth disconnected of the secondary income than they did with the superior merchantability due to the fact that they did sustainable community-building to rise their perceived worth to that level. They did that due to the fact that they deliver.

So erstwhile you person these projects that are present invaluable and started rather small, it's a spot presumptuous erstwhile a task that doesn't person that way record, sets its [mint] terms rather high. And you wonderment sometimes if those founders are acting successful bully religion and going to beryllium arsenic incentivized to enactment to make that worth successful the agelong term, particularly fixed that determination are a batch of scammers and rugpulls.

How bash you consciousness astir the information that galore NFT task founders take to stay anonymous, which whitethorn look unusual to newcomers to NFTs oregon crypto successful general?

When we're looking astatine projects, seeing that the laminitis is doxxed is evidently a reassuring origin due to the fact that you cognize that they're not conscionable going to driblet disconnected the look of the Earth. Anything they bash is going to interaction their estimation and not immoderate projects. But NFT Now is simply a precise anon-friendly publication. We ne'er effort to doxx anyone, we ever privation to support people's individuality truthful they consciousness comfortable.

Some radical person antithetic levels of comfort. There's immoderate radical we pass implicit DMs oregon if they privation to bash an interview, possibly we'll bash it implicit email. I deliberation it's up to everyone to fig retired wherever they consciousness comfortable.

For those who are newcomers to the space, it's conscionable portion of crypto civilization that determination are anonymous oregon pseudonymous figures successful the space. Even the laminitis of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto – radical don't cognize if it was a existent idiosyncratic oregon a pseudonym arsenic well. I deliberation 1 happening that's truly interesting, though, is that a absorption connected being capable to physique your ain integer identity. It’s thing that has ever fascinated our nine since the days of the cave paintings to Renaissance portraiture.

PFP projects are a earthy hold of our tendency to make integer identity. And what's absorbing is now, we tin really ain those integer identities. I deliberation that connected different level too, changing your illustration representation to NFT oregon PFP, connected immoderate levels is simply a awesome to the satellite that you're some virtually and figuratively invested successful this movement. I deliberation that's wherefore you spot a batch of radical rallying astir these PFP communities. It's truly fascinating that astatine the extremity of the day, whether we’re successful Web 3, 2 oregon 1 – we're each humans. Psychology is inactive astatine play, but it's been fascinating to ticker from a sociological perspective.

When you accidental it's a signal, you mean similar a awesome for taste belonging, right? Not a awesome arsenic successful fiscal flexing.

Yeah. Twitter is 1 of the purest segments of the NFT abstraction and Instagram somewhat much similar a tourer segment. I retrieve I had a PFP connected my Twitter for a portion and I was like, “You cognize what, I'm gonna marque a conscious determination to power connected Instagram.” I knew a batch of radical would beryllium like, “What the hellhole is this?” and portion of that was astir creating that curiosity. Part of it was putting that successful beforehand of people, and radical DMing maine being, “What is simply a CryptoPunk?” and I was much than blessed to assistance explicate it to them.

Do you deliberation these attitudes volition yet change?

I ever accidental that we are the past generations to turn up without integer ownership from time one. Future generations aren't going to person the aforesaid bent ups arsenic ours do, right? “When volition I spot [this NFT] connected my wall, ohio I volition close click and save” – each that silliness. [People] are gonna judge [digital and carnal ownership] for their ain unsocial strengths and appeals. It's conscionable going to beryllium a mean portion of everyone's experience.

I’m hoping, particularly with NFT Now’s content, to amusement radical that there's a batch more, that this genie is not going backmost wrong the bottle. Digital ownership is going to go a taste conception successful the generations to come.

What we ever effort to bash with NFT Now is zoom retired a bit, amusement radical the bigger representation and animate radical by showcasing immoderate of these little heralded, but nary little important, stories of empowerment.

But I get conscionable arsenic excited erstwhile I spot much time to time connected immoderate stories of artists quitting their time jobs to beryllium capable to absorption connected art. Artists being capable to – integer artists particularly – marque a surviving disconnected of their ain originative imaginativeness and not person to beryllium reliant connected a client. Seeing however photographers are going from a services system to a due goods system and building, collecting that benignant of stuff. … Seeing autarkic musicians marque acold much retired of NFT drops than they could person ever made.

That's what truly excites maine – that's what gets maine up successful the greeting – and that's what we're hoping to amusement radical connected NFT Now. We’re precise overmuch knowing that for galore people, they whitethorn get successful for PFP. They whitethorn get successful by trying to flip something, and that's okay. We anticipation that they tin besides rotation their ears, commencement to excavation a small deeper, larn a spot much and recognize that they shouldn't beryllium missing the wood for the trees. This is going to beryllium an implicit oversea alteration successful however creators and communities make worth together.

NFTs are much than art, adjacent though they’re lone associated with integer creation these days. NFTs tin besides beryllium not-so-sexy worldly similar spot deeds oregon doorway locks. Don't you deliberation we request to commencement making immoderate wide distinctions and halt lumping them each arsenic NFTs?

I deliberation that this marketplace and exertion is inactive truthful nascent, and it is inactive truthful aboriginal from a marketplace penetration perspective. Different usage cases, categories, disciplines from art, collectibles, music, photography; and little sexy worldly similar you said, similar grounds keeping, onshore titles, authorities documents, healthcare, literate NFTs, rank passes. We are lumping each these conscionable due to the fact that they hap to stock a medium, due to the fact that they’re each NFTs.

What's important to enactment is that each of these antithetic usage cases person antithetic originative and user priorities astatine play. I deliberation 1 happening that's happening close present is due to the fact that it's truthful new, due to the fact that the abstraction is truthful comparatively small, and everyone's lumped together, there’s 1 municipality hallway [instead of] 200 antithetic municipality halls. I deliberation what we're doing is simply a batch of radical are applying the aforesaid expectations to antithetic types of NFTs that they would ne'er bash successful the accepted world. I ever accidental it's similar erstwhile you bargain a painting, you're not needfully expecting it to get you into a club, right? I deliberation we person to beryllium truly cognizant of these antithetic user priorities astatine play. Because what is close for a community-based collectible PFP task – to beryllium capable to make sustainable and improving worth via a roadmap – is not not the aforesaid happening arsenic a 1+1 creator oregon immoderate lensman – we shouldn't beryllium expecting the aforesaid things from them.

I think, arsenic these markets mature, we'll spot each of these categories, these antithetic areas, truly benignant of blossom successful their ain close and beryllium accepted connected their ain terms. That doesn't mean that they won’t leverage the imaginable of this exertion due to the fact that determination is simply a truly chill accidental erstwhile a portion of creation tin pb to rank successful a assemblage and definite utilities.

But we shouldn't expect that from everyone. We request to recognize that each of these antithetic creation forms and creators person antithetic originative priorities, and the radical who are being attracted to them person antithetic user priorities. A batch of radical successful the sermon are coating with a truly wide brush. I deliberation that's problematic due to the fact that they besides enactment unit connected artists to bash worldly that aren't needfully ever earthy to that. If it's an creator who is doing a genuine creator look – that isn't similar a collectible project, this is simply a portion of creation – the lone inferior that I expect retired of it is that it makes maine consciousness something.

How bash you consciousness astir institutions and brands aping into the NFT space? What proposal would you person for them?

I deliberation 1 of the astir breathtaking things to maine astir the NFT abstraction is however it empowers creators and creatives, to bypass gatekeepers and hierarchies that person agelong dominated industries. You've seen this successful the creation satellite wherever each of a sudden, large auction houses and the starring galleries person gone from virtually getting to determine who gets to get seen, to scrambling to support up and capitalize connected artists and creatives who are already getting that assemblage and support, creating markets independently.

That's a inclination we're going to proceed to see, I deliberation it's going to beryllium thing that revolutionizes the euphony industry, and truthful on. But, of course, powerfulness structures don't conscionable vanish without a fight, right? There's a crushed wherefore you're seeing large brands, similar Facebook becoming Meta [FB], coming successful to bash what they're gonna do. It's natural, but we person a existent accidental present to physique a future, Web 3 and beyond – not conscionable the aforesaid accepted hierarchies and inequities that we've mostly seen.

Most of those hierarchies I'm referring to are mostly male, white, and cisgender. There's a crushed wherefore the creatives who person been uplifted successful those accepted powerfulness structures person often looked similar. I deliberation that it would beryllium an implicit shame if we bash not, arsenic a community, guarantee that those aforesaid hierarchies and inequities are not conscionable simply rebuilt successful the metaverse if we don't bid 1 acceptable of gatekeepers oregon different without really ensuring meaningful diverseness representation. That's thing of paramount value to me, to NFT Now, and I deliberation it's a work for builders successful the space.

What I urge for brands coming into the space… Well, I bash deliberation that the assemblage is welcoming, but it is besides rather discerning. It's gotten to the constituent wherever we tin odor a currency drawback from a mile away. I deliberation what I said earlier astir the value of proving that you are present to make value, and not extract value, is precise important.

If you conscionable spot the NFT abstraction arsenic a caller gross watercourse and readying for the abbreviated term, you're going to fail. I ever accidental this like, an NFT merchantability is simply a opening – it's not an ending – of a caller transportation with your community; it’s the opening of a relationship. Earn the spot that you are creating with your assemblage and with your customers. If you're playing for the abbreviated term, it's going to beryllium precise evident and you're not going to person different accidental successful the agelong term.

So we're saying to brands entering the abstraction – bash it successful a credible way, wage artists what they're worth. We’re leaving that full clime of not crediting artists and paying them peanuts; we're leaving that successful the past, but that doesn't bite. To wage artists their due, you person to springiness them designation and you person to instantly prosecute the community. That's a batch much than a property release. It's gonna instrumentality existent sustained time. And the brands that we've seen participate the abstraction successful the champion way, they would enactment successful the enactment and they did truthful successful a credible way.