Nothing Launches an NFT In Another Attempt To Fuel the Hype Machine

NFTs are stylish, and Nothing’s fan base appears to need nothing to do with them. The firm that’s been lately buzzed about in Android circles for its closely teased upcoming smartphone launch introduced right now that it’s shilling NFTs. They’re referred to as Nothing Community Dots, they usually’re there to entice you to “connect” the dots towards the corporate’s cellphone launch.

The first dots are referred to as the Black Dot NFTs. They’re to be “redeemed exclusively by our community investors,” they usually presently include a golden ticket to the Nothing Phone (1) launch in London on July 12 (although holders will should e-book their very own lodging and flights).

People who’ve invested within the firm throughout the previous two years are eligible for Black Dots. The Nothing Discord neighborhood’s “Power Users” may also seize the NFT, as can anybody who has pre-ordered certainly one of the primary 100 items of the Nothing Phone (1) by way of StockX.

TechCrunch says the NFTs may be redeemed by wallets like MetaMask. But after the NFTs drop on July 7, they’ll be opened as much as the general public for buy on Opensea, one of the vital common and energetic NFT marketplaces. (It’s additionally handled numerous fakes prior to now.) It’s unclear how a lot the NFTs are presently priced or which blockchain they’re hosted on.

The Black Dot NFT is merely a video clip of a rotating, see-through dice with—what else?—a black dot squarely within the center. Nothing’s followers don’t appear impressed. One of the highest feedback on the Instagram post saying the NFT calls it “embarrassing.” Another calls it “a waste of resources on something completely useless.” The remark beneath that additionally echoes a sentiment that we’re all considering. “You already focusing on NFTs?”

There’s rather less pushback on Twitter, although there may be nonetheless a smattering of parents expressing concern over a digital NFT launching earlier than an precise, bodily smartphone. “Seems like a whole lot of Nothing (pun intended) and there isn’t really anything enticing about having a black dot,” writes one user.

Discord’s sentiments appear slightly quieter, although it’s value noting the chat room is closely moderated. There are some artistic emoji replies to the unique NFT announcement put up, together with a “polite smile” cat. The present hottest emoji is the “nopers” frog, adopted by a skeleton emoji.

Nothing is the brainchild of OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, who left the corporate in 2020. I can’t assist however discover the obvious similarities between the hype machine created across the preliminary OnePlus launch in 2014 and the Nothing Phone (1), popping out quickly. It’s a surprise if this air of exclusivity will hurt the model greater than assist it, since NFTs have an extremely polarizing status as they presently exist on the web.

But it’s additionally seemingly that the NFT connection aligns with what Nothing is making an attempt to realize. TechCrunch factors out that the corporate partnered with Polygon, a startup that helps handle blockchain transactions. Decrypt lately printed an interview with Polygon’s Vice President of Growth, Arjun Kalsy, who mentions the Nothing group already possessed a wealth of information about Web3. That, coupled with the truth that the Nothing Phone (1) is already obtainable on public sale, appears to level out that that is the deliberate trajectory for this specific smartphone model.

Kalsy continues:

“If you look at any Android or Apple phone, you log in with either a Google ID or an Apple ID, and to an extent, Apple or Google owns the customer, right? That is where the value comes from,” mentioned Kalsy. “In a decentralized world, we need to help the user take back control.”

It’s value noting that Nothing isn’t the primary Android smartphone model to undertake NFTs as a option to gasoline the hype machine. Samsung additionally provides NFTs by Discord, although Digiday calls Samsung’s metaverse technique a “test-and-learn” method. But if the Android platform’s greatest system maker can be flirting with the blockchain on this method, it’s not far off to think about extra corporations hopping on board to maintain up with the pattern.