Kanye West says he won’t be cashing in on the NFT craze, unlike other celebrities and musicians. But because it’s Kanye, he left the door open to changing his mind.
The artist jotted down his feelings about non-fungible tokens on a blank piece of paper and posted it on Instagram late Monday afternoon West Coast time to his 10.5 million followers. Wealth for You
“My focus is on building real products in the real world,” read the handwritten note, with the instructions not to ask him to do an NFT. But, in a postscript, he wrote, “Ask me later.”
Celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Melania Trump and William Shatner have begun hawking NFTs, selling tokens that represent ownership — although not necessarily copyright ownership — of art, trading cards, virtual clothing or other items. Quarterback Tom Brady released NFT collectibles in December, and an NFT company he co-founded recently raised $170 million from Silicon Valley.
About $44 billion was been traded on NFT marketplaces in 2021 alone, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain software and data company.
The purchases are high-risk and have little track record of returning some or any of an individual investor’s money. But some customers aren’t in it for a payday. They may just want a souvenir or birthday gift.
More broadly, celebrities have been leveraging their brand and credibility to crypto-related products or coins. Even A-listers like Matt Damon, who is promoting Crypto.com, are getting involved.
It’s a risky prospect. Bitcoin has fallen more than 35% since Damon’s ad campaign was announced in October.
Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have been sued for their roles promoting a cryptocurrency called EthereumMax. Kardashian also drew fire from the U.K.’s financial regulator, who said that she and other celebrities were being paid to shower their followers with “delusions of quick riches.”
West, Kardashian’s ex, said in his note that he was focused on “real world real food real clothes real shelter.” He’s certainly got little need for a digital payday having built up a business empire that includes fashion, sneakers and real estate.
In 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, Bank of America valued his sneaker business alone at as much as $3 billion.
In the caption to his Instagram post, West told everyone to stop asking him to make NFTs. He hedged again, saying he was not on that wave “for now.”
Read full story on Bloomberg