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Opinion


NFTS COULD BENEFIT DEVELOPING NATIONS THE MOST | OPINION

Joshua Jahani , lecturer at Cornell University and New York University
On 2/15/22 at 8:00 AM EST


01:32
What Are NFTs?
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Opinion Money Cryptocurrency Crypto Cash


Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) appear to be the Western world's most ridiculous new
plaything. When some are paying millions of dollars for pieces of digital art by
previously unknown creators, we're right to be skeptical.

NFTs may be a money waster for some in the West, but they're a legitimate
moneymaker for others everywhere else. They are opening up whole new revenue
streams for anyone with an internet connection. In doing so, NFTs are giving
millions a chance to finally compete fairly in an ever-evolving global economy.

NFT businesses don't rely on any raw material, manufacturing relationships, or
international supply chains. With a computer, internet connection and some
creativity, individuals can finally get paid fairly for their work. That's why
NFTs have the power to radically transform labor markets and redistribute wealth
fairly across the globe.



How NFTs could be used to improve the world and how they are being used today
are two very different things. The cash-rich, stimulus-checked Western economy
has been fueling some speculative bubbles over the past year, from the rise of
the cryptocurrency Dogecoin to the Gamestop debacle. Christie's $69 million sale
of an NFT by Beeple—a relatively unrecognized digital artist—appeared to follow
this trend.

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We must see the substance among the headlines. When excitement about a
revolutionary technology meets unjustifiable prices, we can find the perfect
breeding ground for a financial bubble. Yet we must remember, bubbles follow a
trend; the importance of technological innovations becomes clearer when the
intoxicating hype dies down. Those who dismissed internet companies in the late
1990s, and others who dismissed Bitcoin in 2017, have learned this lesson the
hard way.



In the emerging markets of the global south, NFTs are shaking up labor markets
and creating big business. Up until now the biggest barrier for entrepreneurs
was cost—you might have invented the wheel but you still needed a factory to
build it and someone to do the shipping. NFTs bypass this need; all you need to
sell goods is an internet connection and a good idea.

One such example is Osinachi, who grew up in Nigeria with limited access to
computers. Through sheer effort and creativity, he manipulated Microsoft Word in
order to create original digital art. His work sold for more than $68,000 at a
Christie's auction in October.

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NFTs are facilitating wealth transfer to the masses, through play to earn
models, where playing video games allows players to share revenues. One of the
most popular games is Axie Infinity; it's telling that players from the
Philippines and Venezuela make up 50 percent of the game's player base. Some
players report earning $2,000 an hour, which is far above the average wage in
Manilla or Caracas.

Crucially, those players are paid the same as someone logging in from New York
or Paris—a leap forward for global equality and economic growth.

The last internet explosion saw places like India, Bangladesh and the
Philippines become digital skills hotspots. Yet their location was exploited;
many companies would simply outsource to countries like India because they're
cheaper and not pay livable wages.



A mural is painted on a wall during the North American Bitcoin Conference held
at the James L Knight Center on Jan. 19, 2022, in Miami, Fla. Joe Raedle/Getty
Images


NFTs on the other hand, are nation anonymous, using them allows one to get paid
for participation, regardless of locale. Much like internet 2.0, NFTs could
trigger a real redistribution of value and labor across the world, as
geographical location fades further into irrelevance. This is particularly the
case for simple, repeatable labor-driven tasks.

To achieve this, NFTs should be allowed to mature in the same way as e-commerce.
When the first e-commerce transactions appeared, they emerged in shadier corners
online, like adult entertainment. As e-commerce blossomed, it made spending
money online easy and more trustworthy, causing the opportunities surrounding it
to explode. NFTs and cryptocurrency seem to be following that same pattern.
Those who survived the dot-com crash should look at where Amazon is now.

Just as India, Bangladesh and the Philippines embraced e-commerce, NFT related
jobs in entertainment, policy, development and application could become a global
leveler that changes labor markets around the world. No such shortage of jobs
exist on LinkedIn for some South American, African and South Asian companies.



NFT technology could fundamentally change how cultural and financial value is
exchanged across the world and in labor markets. When the noise from the NFT
X-rays of William Shatner's teeth finally quietens down, the true value of NFT
technology will make itself felt across the globe.

Nobody knows exactly how the future of NFTs will play out. Whatever the final
direction, one thing is clear, they will change the relationship between
customer and manufacturer and put many professional middlemen out of business.
In the end, they will create new industries, not just new headlines.

While some may lose capital buying NFTs, those who are creating, selling and
earning them across the globe have nothing to lose from their blockchains.



Joshua Jahani is a lecturer at Cornell University and New York University and an
investment banker at Jahani & Associates. He has written for or contributed to
Newsweek, BBC World News and The Independent.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

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