Internet personality and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk announced today that he would be launching a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). They will be called VeeFriends, and about 10,255-character tokens will be available for purchase through the Ethereum (ETH) network.
Gary Vaynerchuk, an entrepreneur who was notably an early investor in Facebook, Uber, and Coinbase, is now getting involved with the rise of NFTs. Vaynerchuk was also behind restaurant reservation app, Resy, which he and his co-founder sold to American Express in 2019.
After spending the last few weeks teasing drawings through Twitter, he announced Wednesday that he was launching his first collection of NFTs. These non-fungible tokens are a type of digital asset that allow people to track ownership of a virtual asset using blockchain technology, Ethereum’s smart contracts is used primarily.
Vaynerchuk wishes to use smart contracts to interact with buyers of the NFTs. For instance, he plans to do this by offering an annual business event, VeeCon, which token holders will be given exclusive access to for three years, after purchasing a token.
He’s not the only tech entrepreneur backing NFTs though. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, recently sold the first ever tweet for just over $2.9 million.
NFTs are here to stay
This announcement comes as prices of digital currencies have risen exponentially during lockdown and, with continued institutional acceptance of bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum, the market for NFTs has boomed. Vaynerchuk has acknowledged the raise of NFTs by saying,
“I know that NFTs will be here for the rest of my life.”
Vaynerchuk also announced that a portion of the revenue he generates will go to charity, as well as setting aside five tokens that will include access to a scholarship. The scholarship program will allow the token holder to learn from the VaynerMedia CEO and his well-established professional network.
Furthermore, donations will be made to Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, DAOs, who look to offset the negative impact crypto mining has on the environment.
