During the NFT.NYC 2024 Conference in New York City, BlockchainJournal.com editor-in-chief David Berlind interviewed Jonathan G. Blanco, CEO and founder of Niftmint. The two discussed the evolution of his company and the challenges facing enterprises in the realm of tokenization. According to Blanco, Niftmint's namesake service is a blockchain-based tokenization platform that, among other things, allows organizations to offer digital versions or "twins" of their physical products to customers in a way that seamlessly integrates into existing non-blockchain e-commerce platforms. NFT-based strategies that involve this sort of "digital twinning" are referred to as "phygital" strategies.

One key feature of the platform that could appeal to businesses is that brands and customers do not have to transact with one another using cryptocurrencies in a way that's typical of many blockchain-based solutions. While Niftmint manages the crypto-specific nuances of using blockchain in the background, organizations and customers can transact with one another using fiat currency like the US dollar.

In the interview, Blanco explains the use case for tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), particularly in the context of luxury brands like high fashion manufacturers. He explains how brands can offer customers NFT-based digital twins of the physical items they buy, thereby enhancing the consumer's overall brand experience and potentially mitigating issues like counterfeit products where the digital twin can serve as a blockchain-based (and therefore cryptographically secured) Certificate of Authenticity. But certificates of authenticity are simply one advantage of pairing individual NFTs with their real world counterparts. As Blanco explains, once a physical product is paired with something like an NFT that's programmable, all sorts of new experiences and business process efficiencies can be tied to that inventory item in a way that benefits manufacturers, marketers, consumers, and other product ecosystem stakeholders (wholesalers, retailers, etc). 

Blanco was a speaker at NFT.NYC, and in his presentation, he argued that current trends in artificial intelligence are driving a significant amount of distrust in the provenance of content and physical goods and that blockchain-based tokenization of both is the most obvious solution. As a result of AI, Blanco predicts a future where consumers will shift their spending to only those physical and digital products that involve a digital guarantee of provenance.

To watch the video version of this podcast or read its full-text transcript, go to:
https://blockchainjournal.com/interview/risks-posed-ai-could-drive-consumer-demand-blockchaintokenized-physical-and-digital-wares

The video can also be watched on Blockchain Journal's YouTube Channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_BEGXQU6xI

Risks Posed by AI Could Drive Consumer Demand for Blockchain-Tokenized Physical and Digital Wares

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