These NFTs are essentially a means of commodifying digital assets on the internet, such as photos, videos or social media posts, by using blockchain technology to mark them as unique. If a certain digital asset – say, a prominent tweet – is certified as an original, unique asset with an NFT, it can be bought and sold like an antique or a piece of art.
What quickly became apparent in our discussion was that, across industries, we are only at the beginning of understanding the potential transformations coming our way.
Given this state of flux, a longer lens can offer useful perspective. In particular, a specific period in European history comes to mind, characterised by what could be argued to be a comparable marriage between art patronage and new modes of accounting and transaction. During the Renaissance in Italy, the Medici family developed what is now standard practice in present-day book-keeping, the double entry. This is a system for tracking debits and credits against each
India Drafts Bill to Create Government Cryptocurrency, Ban Private Cryptocurrencies, with Exceptions
On 2/3/21 at 11:55 AM EST
India s Parliament is expected to consider a bill to ban private cryptocurrencies that would allow the government to create a state-sanctioned digital alternative.
The governing Bharatiya Janata party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi controls both houses of parliament, making passage of the bill likely if it gains support. The Crypto-currency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency measure of 2021 would empower the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to create an official digital currency. The draft bill seeks to ban private crypto-currencies, but hasn t defined what that means, Jason Deane, Bitcoin analyst at Quantum Economics in London, said in comments sent to
Adoration of the Magi, also known as the Zenobi Altarpiece, shows representations of the Medici family as the Magi and members of their court, as well as a self-portrait of Botticelli to the far right. Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images
For more than three centuries (1434-1737), the fabulously wealthy Medici family of Florence, Italy, was one of the most powerful and influential dynasties in Europe. Two popes and two queens came from the Medici line. Art lovers can thank the Medici for fostering and funding great Renaissance talents like Donatello, Botticelli and Michelangelo. And in Florence, which had a love/hate relationship with the Medici, you can hardly walk a block without running into a palace, church or museum that bears the Medici crest or drips with the family s rich cultural inheritance.