YouTube has announced that it will be stepping into the world of Non-fungible-tokens (NFTs), metaverse fueled by web3 and blockchain. The platform wants to connect artists with their audiences “on a deeper level” and wishes to adapt to the emerging world of “Web3 and its elements”, Neil Mohan, Chief Product Officer, YouTube wrote in a blog post released on February 10.
In his post, Mohan said YouTube wants “to provide a verifiable way for fans to own unique videos, photos, art, and even experiences from their favorite creators” in the form of NFTs. For the uninitiated, NFTs are digital assets that cannot be changed or modified and are recorded on a distributed database called Blockchain. Art,music, GIF, videos, and even a selfie can be turned into an NFT.
It is possible that YouTube could integrate NFTs in such a way that the NFT collectors could gain exclusive access to a creator’s content, or earn special NFT badges during livestreams. This will provide additional monetization mechanisms for creators. However, more details on YouTube’s NFT plan is awaited.
Speaking about integrating metaverse in YouTube, Mohan said one possibility would be allowing users to watch videos together in a metaverse. For now metaverse on YouTube will focus on videos related to “gaming, where we’ll work to bring more interactions to games and make them feel more alive,” the blog said. Metaverse is the next iteration of the internet where users will be able to build virtual lives, share spaces, transact and collaborate in new ways.
Mohan added that he wants to take a responsible approach to any Web3 integrations. “There’s a lot to consider in making sure we approach these new technologies responsibly, but we think there’s incredible potential as well,” he added in the post.
Some of the other features that Mohan mentioned in the blog are: “Channel Guidelines,” sorted comments for livestreams, and Super Chats (tips) for YouTube Shorts.
Meanwhile, several of YouTube’s rivals have already jumped on the NFT trend. Twitter began letting users post NFTs as profile photos and Instagram is reportedly working on a similar offering, according to the Financial Times. In 2022, NFT trade volume jumped nearly three-fold in the month of January to $6.86 billion from $2.67 billion in December 2021, according to numbers collated by The Block Research.
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