National Geographic Announces NFT Collection

Nat Geo has announced their latest NFT collection.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are considered harmful to the environment because of the carbon emissions from the production (or mining) of blockchain based assets like Bitcoin. However, several organizations and individuals that are not directly involved in crypto and have no noticeable association with crypto companies or projects have launched their NFT collections. The latest to join this growing community is the National Geographic Society. Nat Geo, an esteemed nature-focussed magazine, announced that they will release a collection of 1,888 items with 118 editions of images by 16 artists.

Today is the day! Nat Geo’s Genesis collection ‘GM: Daybreak Around the World’ will go on sale at 12pm PT / 3pm ET! https://t.co/03vvZMbCB0 pic.twitter.com/Sdhfcv7bBK
— Nat Geo Photography (@NatGeoPhotos) January 17, 2023

Announcement strongly criticized

However, the announcement met with heavy backlash on social media. A user said that he could not imagine any more antithetical promotion by the company and that they should be ashamed of the initiative. Some called the collection ridiculous while a user asked to “delete it. Another account holder commented that he is staying “light years” away from NFTs.

Could not imagine a promotion more antithetical to the NatGeo mission statement if I tried. Between the well-documented climate impact of the NFT market and your absurd tardiness to buy into this pyramid scheme, you should be deeply ashamed of this.
— cory (@coryrj) January 16, 2023

This move can raise serious questions about the Nat Geo’s ethics and fundamental principles. Founded as a society in 1888, National Geographic has clearly angered its audience and pro-climate individuals. But the hate for blockchain based-items like NFTs is not limited to those who speak for the climate – blockchain-based tokens are hated the most by traditional gamers.

A similar incident happened when Sega, creators of Sonic the Hedgehog, announced an NFT collection in April 2021. A user said that this is the same organization that created a game which focuses on the prevention of mechanized and toxic wasteland. He said that being a Sonic fan, he was disappointed by the initiative.

NFTs came into existence in 2014 but did not come into the limelight until 2021. 2021 remains the most fruitful period for the digital asset market as several cryptocurrency prices climbed to all-time highs, including the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Moreover, the NFT market grew by over 21,000% that year.

Currently, the global NFT trading volume is down by around 10% with a market capitalization of $16.1 billion according to CoinMarketCap data. Non-fungible tokens will become an integral part of metaverse which is another widely discussed technology. Decentraland, The Sandbox and more remain one of the most popular metaverse games today.

Though NFTs are deemed harmful for the environment, various projects are taking initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. Last year, Ethereum switched from Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Stake. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, said that the move would reduce Ethereum’s carbon footprint by over 99%.

Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2023/01/18/national-geographic-announces-nft-collection/