Non-fungible tokens, the digital megatrend
Trading in non-fungible tokens (NFT) has become a digital megatrend in a very short time. After a recent decline in trading volume, experts expect the NFT market, currently valued at USD 3 billion, to grow to USD 13.6 billion by 2027 - corresponding to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.0%*. secupay AG offers automated payment and wallet solutions to NFT trading platforms, including the NFT pioneer Timeless, whose investment app can be used to purchase shares in unique and limited assets. secupay provides information and support.*. Die secupay AG bietet NFT-Handelsplattformen automatisierte Zahlungs- und Walletlösungen, so auch dem NFT Pionier Timeless über dessen Investment-App Anteile an einzigartigen und limitierten Assets erworben werden können. secupay informiert und unterstützt.
What are NFT or "Non-Fungible Tokens"?
A token is a digital asset. Non-fungible tokens represent a very specific item and are therefore unique. NFTs are secured via blockchain technology. In simple terms, a blockchain is a chain of digital data blocks. This provides the digital item with certain key data, e.g. on the creator, price or time of referencing. This bundle of digital data is combined into a "token" and documents ownership. Blockchains are thus virtually unmanipulable. Because ownership is documented through tokenisation, NFTs are also very suitable as assets. Various valuables such as works of art or real estate, as well as music, domain names or videos can be digitised into an NFT. The diversity is great, because non-fungible tokens can represent almost anything and are therefore not limited to one area. For example, in the tokenisation of real estate, an object can be split into many shares. Investors can thus acquire shares in the real estate with affordable funds. In the music industry, NFTs open up new perspectives for artists and audiences. Those willing to invest can support artists by buying streaming shares and find innovative investment opportunities at the same time. Whether the investment is worthwhile depends on many factors. Without a corresponding demand, it can be difficult to sell. However, if the demand is high, the price of a non-fungible token can rise enormously in a very short time - and that's what investors are hoping for.
Fungible Token vs. Non-Fungible Token
Unlike NFTs, "fungible tokens" can be exchanged for each other. Using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as an example, this means that a Bitcoin can be exchanged for another Bitcoin at will, as they always have the same value. Another example of fungible tokens is the cryptocurrency Etherum. Our cash is also based on the same principle: a five-euro note can be exchanged for another five-euro note at will. Nevertheless, a five-euro note can be made into a unique item and thus an NFT with, for example, the autograph of a celebrity.
Buy and sell NFT
Anyone, who wants to buy non-fungible tokens or sell NFTs must register with a corresponding platform. The best-known trading platforms, on which NFTs are traded, are Binance, FTX, OpenSea, Nifty Gateway, SuperRare or Rarible. In order to buy NFTs, it is often a prerequisite to have cryptocurrency, e.g. Ether. The cryptocurrency can be sent from the platforms to a wallet that can be connected to an NFT trading place. The Timeless platform handles it differently. Here, those willing to invest can also invest in valuable assets without cryptocurrency.
secupay and Timeless - an NFT project example
Thanks to Timeless, the fact that exclusive assets are only accessible to a limited group of people is a thing of the past. Under the motto "invest in things you love", the investment start-up also offers small investors the opportunity to invest in valuable paintings, luxurious vehicles or other collectibles. Of course, it's all about returns, but not only: it's also about acquiring ownership of history, culture or even a dream - starting with a co-ownership share of 50 euros. Tokenisation makes it possible for Timeless to digitally divide the collectible into equal shares. With each share sale, also called a drop, more than 1,000 shares are sold in a short time. Investors in the investment app do not need a crypto wallet or any prior technical knowledge to get involved in tangible asset investments.
The success proves Timeless right: already at the first drop, the company sold all shares within a few minutes. This is made possible by the integration of "fast" payment methods. For this purpose, secupay provides the payment methods credit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay and transfer. The tokens generated when the shares are purchased, which document ownership, can be traded on a "notice board" within the Timeless app. For this purpose, all investors are identified semi-automatically by secupay via Onfido and webID. For each sale, secupay takes the stakeholder shares into account and pays them out to the relevant stakeholders according to the predefined split.
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