Investing in Meme NFTs: How India is responding to the new trend

Web 3.0 is here, and it is here to stay. If you’re listening, that is. And it seems that a major portion of the world has been listening, investing, and rejoicing (at their profits, of course). In this novel era, investment doesn’t have to be tedious, boring, or difficult to comprehend.

People are buying NFTs in the form of shoes, pets, avatars, memes, and much more; some of them work, live, marry, and even chill around in the metaverse space. Is this all very confusing? Did you ever collect stickers as a youngling? Or perhaps pictures of your favorite actors?

Well, NFTs (part of the Ethereum blockchain) refer to non-fungible tokens that are interchangeable units of data or code on a blockchain or digital ledger that can be shared, sold, and stored. NFTs are able to award verifiability, uniqueness, and credibility to a certain code so as to prevent it from being duplicated, thereby safeguarding a creator’s work. In layman’s language, they are digital collectibles in the form of videos, music, memes, emojis, digital prints, short clips, pixelated punks, and more.

Memes as NFTs: Possibilities & Comprehension

Memes are endearing and humorous, and they offer a sense of escapism to all those people loitering around on their social media after long work hours or just some simply hard days. An average meme is shared by around 100,000 – an unimaginable amount (depending on location, target audience, and theme of the meme), therefore, proving its potential as an NFT.

How does one create a meme NFT, you ask? If you’re a meme developer, it will be mighty easy for you to create a meme NFT and proceed to sell it further. Surely if there is a metaverse where you can work a job as a subway guy, there will be some effortless steps and platforms that can help you create a successful meme NFT. Several apps, websites, and start-ups let you convert your memes in a few simple steps.

Generally, you can select the meme file of your choice and create your Ethereum wallet with a specific sum. These steps will allow you to join an NFT marketplace where you may sell and share your meme NFT further.

Potential & Response in India

We’ve all surely heard of Amitabh Bacchan’s NFT artwork auction, wherein he is known to be selling off some of his most treasured and sophisticated artworks as NFTs. As a country that thrives on the trends set by Bollywood celebrities, India has seen a rather massive surge in the pick-up of NFT numbers in recent years. We are finding many celebrities and in turn, common people flocking to make a collection of NFTs – meme or otherwise – in anticipation of the metaverse phase.

A famous example of a meme NFT sold at a lucrative price is – Zoë Roth, from the well-known ‘disaster girl’ meme selling the original copy at USD 500,000, The meme NFT has been known to have slowly crawled and made its way to the Pakistani population as well.

In truth, meme NFTs are at a very nascent stage in the Indian audience since we are yet to educate them on the probability of success pertaining to the same. To a crypto-enthusiast looking in, it is as plain as day that India is an up-and-coming potential with reference to meme NFTs. Even though most NFT developers identify as foreigners, there is a myriad of Indian developers who are hopping onto the trend as the phenomenon takes precedence.

However, the hesitancy that revolves around the cryptocurrency space is what is probably hindering its shot to success in a split second. Despite this hesitancy, we have seen the meme NFT space dominated by cat memes, baby memes, Kamlesh memes, and more, that audiences simply love and cannot control their laughter over.

The NFT space was built for memes. With the creation of meme NFTs, creators can now amass and create wealth through NFTs, while profiting the audiences with the same precision. Meme Chat, an organization specialising in meme NFTs, now holds at least 4 million followers in an Indian capacity, referring to the growing market for the same. An average meme NFT can cost anything from INR 1000 – 5000; of course, you can expect a rapid spike in price once the concept becomes more popular.

Popular meme-creating platforms in India now find themselves partnering with the likes of ALT Balaji, Hotstar, and Amazon Prime, indicating a valid market. Such organisations offer their users, creators, and bidders with facilities such as online events, a regular supply of merchandise, meme community gatherings, and more.

Why Invest in a Meme NFT?

The reasons you should invest in the NFT revolution, as people are referring to it nowadays, go hand in hand with how it is distinctive from cryptocurrency trading. If you are a student, working individual, parent, creator, or collector, meme NFTs are doubtlessly a sound investment as opposed to contrary beliefs and myths about the crypto space.

Below are some pointers that may help:

• An NFT cannot be split as opposed to a crypto trade; it holds onto its unique representation.
• A meme NFT can be rendered exchangeable – you do not need to remember your particular token number to purchase numerous assets of the same kind.
• Many separate standards of NFTs have been introduced in multiple blockchain areas due to their scalability.
• The high demand for meme NFTs points to its inevitable scarcity, which in terms of an end goal can help it climb the market ladder.

Today, ancient memes (since maybe we were teenagers) or even regular ones are being auctioned at astonishing prices. The metaverse is our future as we know it, and dabbling into or trying to understand the future is the only way to move forward.

Cursory note: It is pertinent to note that the exchange and purchase of NFTs can alter one’s carbon footprint significantly. Therefore, it is advisable to weigh all options before making a conscious decision to purchase, create, or sell.

Guest contributor Taaran Chanana is the MD and Co-founder of MemeChat, a popular homegrown social media networking apps for Generation Z and millennials. Any opinions expressed in this article are strictly that of the author.