The Economics and Finance Center held a lecture on Digital Assets and NFTs.

Last Tuesday, March 29th, ESEG – Faculdade do Grupo Etapa hosted Anderson Araújo Silva, economist and professor, for a lecture on “Digital Assets and NFTs”. With over 10 years of experience leading projects in strategic areas and business development, the guest is a specialist in Data Science, Valuation and Entrepreneurship and has worked in companies such as LCA Consultores, B3 and Mercado Bitcoin.

To begin the presentation on the topic, which is trending and frequently discussed in the media, the professor addressed an important aspect: blockchain, which has revolutionized the market for intangible assets. According to the speaker, this programming language is responsible for securely recording virtual transactions. This is because its structure or chain is made up of blocks, and each block contains information. "To hack the blockchain, you need to hack the entire system, all the blocks, because each block is dependent on the other. Therefore, the main characteristics of this technology are reliability, availability, and integrity." The professor also explained that blockchain can be used in cryptocurrencies, fan tokens, and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). "Blockchain technology was created as an alternative to traditional systems, but to become widespread, it's important to have supply and demand. That's why, year after year, we've seen the growth of investors in cryptocurrencies and tokens," he explained.

Tokens are encrypted data files used for information. NFTs, on the other hand, are crypto-collectibles used by artists, game developers, and others, and can be used in digital asset transactions to acquire collectible items that possess a cryptographic electronic key. The owner of an NFT possesses an intellectual property certificate, which guarantees its authenticity and uniqueness. Therefore, an NFT cannot be exchanged due to its individual specifications. Because of this, these assets have undefined values. Fan tokens, on the other hand, are widely used by football teams. Their holders enjoy exclusive benefits involving decisions and participation in internal club matters. Among the different categories of cryptocurrencies, fan tokens fall under utility tokens, meaning their purpose is to be used as a means of accessing real-world services.

The main difference between a fan token and an NFT is: when you buy a fan token you know its value, what you will receive, unlike NFTs, which are traded and can have price fluctuations according to their appreciation. Among the most valuable NFTs are "The First 5000 Days," which was sold for US$$ 69 million, and Crypto Punk, valued at US$$ 7.6 million.

The professor warned those present: "One should not buy NFTs expecting appreciation. It's a bet on something that may have value in the future. Whoever paid US$$70 million for the image may have lost money, because today, the image probably no longer has that value.".