Hong Kong artists experimenting NFTs are liking it – artists are able to set their own prices and engage directly with their fans. One report found that over 10% of people in Hong Kong are planning to own NFTs in the near future. One will see NFT seminars or advertisements on the streets every now and then. The popularity is partially driven by the status of Hong Kong as a center for financial innovation, an emerging hub for arts and cultural exchanges, and partially the fact we are sitting right next to Mainland China which is still currently conservative towards NFTs.
In addition to art, NFTs are encroaching into various fields such as sports, fashion and gaming. A set of generative art collectibles that includes 8,888 special soccer players' NFTs were launched in early 2022. A strategic football management simulation GameFi is being developed. More and more NFT trading platforms emerge in Hong Kong.
As the market continues to develop, significant opportunities will arise for creators, users and NFT holders, in forms of changing verification modes, expanding business scope and shifting ways of communication to become more tech-savvy.
On the other hand, there are obvious challenges and risks from the sky-rocketing popularity of NFTs. NFTs have to navigate through preferred aesthetics or traditional ways of (cryptocurrency) valuation. For cross border transactions, there are applicable legal risks in different countries or regions with varying legal regimes. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, in view of the current lack of regulation on NFTs, like any new technology, NFTs are expected to undergo pains such as high costs of trading and regulatory uncertainty. However, once NFTs gain enough attention and interest, it is likely that NFTs will develop into widely accepted virtual certificates of authenticity, transacted in digital marketplaces like commonplace.