Publishers are riding the NFT wave… and it’s working

People, this is an NFT (Source: The Generalist / Visualize Value / Mirror)

The NFT space is as hot as a Carolina Reaper dusted in chili powder.

Recently, publishers have been trying to get in on the action and a growing number are toying with NFTs in a variety of ways:

• Time’s “Space Exploration” cover art NFT sold for $249k+ (the company is also building a 50-person team focused on NFTs and crypto)
• Bleacher Report auctioned NFT basketballs for ~$810k in collabs with 2 Chainz, Quavo, Lil Baby, and Jack Harlow
• The New York Times auctioned off a column about NFTs as an NFT and its now worth ~$700k

For writers, NFTs could be game-changing

Mario Gabriele, who runs the business analysis outlet The Generalist, recently led a project that — to his knowledge — culminated in the first tokenized, crowdfunded equity research report.

In English: The Generalist turned a written report about Coinbase’s IPO — accompanied by visualizations from digital artist Jack Butcher — into a set of NFTs that benefited everyone involved:

• Writers and artists got paid through crowdfunded support
• Supporters were rewarded through returns from a subsequent NFT sale of the work for 28.6 ETH ($59k+ at the time)
• Collectors gained ownership over one-of-a-kind NFTs

In a conversation with The Hustle, Gabriele said he thinks NFTs “could offer newsletter writers an alternative to subscriptions and sponsorships.”

Writers? Money? We’re not complaining.