How the technology that powers crypto is being used for more than money
CBC
From powering cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to digital assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), it seems as though the blockchain technology is everywhere.
Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that stores and records data, and is best known for facilitating transactions for digital currencies such as bitcoin.
It also has many people hoping to get rich, by investing in digital assets like GIFs and artworks — some of which sell for millions, like the digital art Everydays: the First 5,000 Days by American artist Beeple, which sold for $69.3 million U.S. in 2021. The technology has also been criticized for its harmful environmental impact.
But investors and celebrities are not the only ones investing in the technology or the cryptocurrencies that blockchain enables.
In B.C., Indigenous artists are leveraging blockchain to secure their art, while researchers are studying how the technology can better protect personal health information.
In an airy studio in Burnaby, B.C., artist David Fierro of the Okanagan Nation creates drums using traditional hides, like those of elk, and acrylic paint that seems to come alive under black light.
But the drums, part of the 400 Drums project, aren't made to be sold as they are. Once done, the instrument is photographed and sold as a non-fungible token or NFT.
An NFT is a digital asset that typically exists on the Ethereum blockchain, and stores unique data that includes a record of ownership and transactions. NFTs cannot be replicated, and unlike cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, each NFT has a unique value.
That unique nature is one of the reasons NFTs appeal to Indigenous artists like Fierro, as the theft, replication and sales of inauthentic Indigenous art remains a major problem, even at major galleries.
WATCH | Can the tech that powers crypto be used for more than just making money?
The ability to record and verify the authenticity of an artwork through blockchain is also appealing to Tamara Goddard, Fierro's business partner, who spearheads 400 Drums, a campaign supporting Indigenous creators harnessing online platforms to share teachings and stories.
Fierro and Goddard plan to sell the NFTs on the OpenSea platform for 1 ether — the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain — which is roughly equivalent to $4,200.
The funds will support initiatives for Indigenous youth and artists, including media training and workshops for starting their own NFT projects.
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