NFT Criticism – From Art Critics To Bill Gates
Like them or not, it’s up to anyone. Still, despite the ongoing popularity of non-fungible tokens, NFT criticism persists, with the latest one from Bill Gates.
Author:Stefano MclaughlinReviewer:Camilo WoodJun 20, 2022213 Shares2.9K Views
NFT criticismensues regardless of the number of people buying NFTs.
We’re not only talking about investors here. There are also private collectors both from the middle class and from those groups who travel the world in private jets.
Of course, when it comes to something trendy, there will always be a celebrity or two who don’t want to miss the fun.
Beyonce’s better half, rapper Jay-Z, and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban are non-fungible token (NFT) fans.
However, it appears that in spite of the hype and the long list of wealthy supporters, NFT criticism never stops.
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Bill Gates On NFTs
No less than the Microsoft founder hurled his own NFT criticism recently.
The explosive comment from Bill Gates happened at the "TechCrunch Sessions: Climate 2022" at the University of California, Berkeley this month.
Hosted by TechCrunch, a news website with focus on high technology and startups, Gates attended the event on June 14.
Aside from talking about the environment, with climate change among the hot issues, Gates set aside a moment to mention NFTs.
And what a moment it was between Gates and his views on NFTs!
The billionaire’s NFT criticism initially took the form of a sarcastic remark (as quoted by news site The National):
“„Obviously, expensive digital images of monkeys are going to improve the world immensely.
Some news sites reported that he tried not to laugh when he said that. However, per Artnet, Gates didlaugh.
He even extended the sarcasm by adding: “You know, I think that’s incredible.”
Gates was referring to the digital art works by Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), which happens to be particularly popular among celebrities.
The BAYC NFT collection is composed of 10,000 images of a monkey, from one wearing a crown to one with a halo on its head.
Gates, who released his book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” in 2021, apparently knew about the harmful effects of crypto mining to the environment.
In 2015, he founded Breakthrough Energy, the name of a group of organizations promoting sustainable energy.
His NFT criticism at the UC Berkeley event wasn’t the first time he took a jab at cryptocurrency.
Gates, as quoted by The Motley Fool, said that cryptocurrency was “100 percent based on greater fool theory.”
The Motley Fool, an investment and financial company, explains:
“„The greater fool theory is based on the idea that during a market bubble, investors can buy overvalued assets and then sell them for a higher price.
In other words, there are other people willing to pay a higher price for something. In this case, they are willing to pay higher for cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
And, Bill Gates categorically said he’s not one of them.
Other NFT Critics
In April 2022, the floor price of Bored Ape NFTs fetched as high as 152 Ethereum (ETH), or approximately $429,000.
Sydney-based writer Amanda Yeo, in her March 2021 article for Mashable, an international news website, made an NFT criticism.
The headline says it all:
“„Think cryptocurrency is bad? NFTs are even worse.
Yeo reminded probable buyers that the only privileges they will have upon purchasing an NFT is the “right to sell it.”
Plus, “bragging rights.”
But she’s asking what’s the point of bragging about it.
She also wrote about the tons (in millions!) of carbon dioxide emitted as a result of mining cryptocurrency.
No wonder Yeo further described an NFT as “very costly, environmentally disastrous.”
Yeo’s NFT criticism is strong but based on facts.
All the ten artists interviewed by The Business of Business expressed opposing opinions about NFTs.
Most of them expressed concern over art theft – the same concern Yeo mentioned in her article.
Anyone can just tokenize any artwork without the consent of the original artist and without giving credits to the original creator.
ArtReview’s editor and art critic J.J. Charlesworth said that while NFTs gain acceptance today – as something that could belong to the so-called artworld – it might be different tomorrow.
Since crypto attracts several people with deep pockets, let’s quickly mention three billionaires.
After referring to cryptocurrency as “rat poison,” Warren Buffett invested $1 billion in crypto.
As Bill Gates once said, if you have as much money as Elon Musk (or a billion dollars to spare like Buffet), then invest in cryptocurrency.
Which goes to say that if you’ve got the moolah, then buy all the NFTs you want without minding other people’s (like artists, for example) NFT criticism.
Stefano Mclaughlin
Author
Camilo Wood
Reviewer
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