Although NFTs were initially praised for letting artists profit from their work without middlemen, the lack of regulation has meant fraudsters can profit from their art instead.
There are the allegations of money laundering to consider. Recent reports suggest that fraudsters are taking advantage of the anonymity of NFTs to disguise money laundering practices, especially considering the high prices NFTs can sell for without raising suspicion.
The American manufacturing company Funko was founded in 1998 and made its name by selling all kinds of collectibles related to pop culture, such as figurines and licensed apparel. If you know anything about NFTs, you’ll know that collectibles are a growing area, so it makes sense that Funko would be keen to get involved.
The company has struck up a partnership with the popular NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway to launch a collection of NFT artwork. It has already sold the Playboy Rabbitars NFTs collection for $9 million, suggesting a strong future.
Jiayin is an online loans marketplace from China, so it doesn’t have obvious ties to NFTs. In fact, it hasn’t even officially launched a collection or made any moves into the space, so it’s a bit of a wildcard.
Takung Art dates back to 2009 and sells artwork aimed at investors, especially Asian artwork, and offers shared ownership. Although art is where the bulk of the NFT issues are happening, this is partly due to the practices of NFT marketplaces like OpenSea.