Welcome to the Metaverse: NFTs and the Future of Investing

| Feb 18, 2022 | Michael Benigno

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—crypto assets typically packaged as digital collectibles, such as art, music, video game items, and concert tickets—are endorsed by today’s top companies, celebrities, and athletes who helped the once-underground market explode to more than $27 billion.

NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain, and their value in the virtual metaverse, were the topics of discussion in this webinar sponsored by the OLB Group, and presented in partnership with the Gabelli School of Business and the Museum of American Finance. Drawing from their backgrounds in law, investment banking, marketing, and academia, a panel of four NFT experts considered how NFTs can be used for marketing and merchandising, how brands are leveraging them as a means to collect royalties, new security, regulatory, and intellectual property issues, and what the future holds.

Panelist Devika Kornbacher, a partner in the law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP, said that outdated intellectual property laws are an especially pressing concern. “I’m hoping that Congress will start to get involved because when you read our old copyright act, it still talks about phonograph recordings,” she said. “It hasn’t even gotten close to being able to deal with the metaverse. The law is not ready for that fight.”