NFTs get physical with the world’s first real store opened in Dubai
ftNFT retail stores offer experiences at the intersection of digital and real-life art
by Serkan Keskin
The nonfungible token trend might have originated in a digital universe, but the growing popularity of real-world NFT organizations indicates that its future lies in the physical world. Numerous crowded crypto events across the globe in 2022 showed that technology needs physical and in-person interaction to expand — and NFTs are no exception.
Given that the crypto industry perceives NFTs as the newest form of art, it’s no surprise that the first attempts to bring them to the physical world involved art galleries. However, the potential of NFTs extends beyond artistic use, and the industry is starting to realize that. Dubai, the pioneering crypto hub of the thriving Middle East and North Africa region, introduced a fresh take on non-fungible tokens with the launch of two physical NFT shops. Located in the Mall of the Emirates and and an upcoming location at Dubai Mall, both stores are created by ftNFT — a Fastex brand — and feature new ways to interact with NFTs.
Photo booth out, ‘avatar booth’ in
3D AVATAR NFT SCANNER
Fastex’s ftNFT retail store utilizes a wide array of physical means to experience NFTs, even for non-crypto visitors, adding a new dimension to people’s interaction with the digital world. Aside from putting popular NFTs from the ftNFT Marketplace on display, the brick-and-mortar stores host an “avatar booth” equipped with a 3D scanner.
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From NFT to merchandise
The launch of physical NFT stores in a thriving region with over 130 million annual visitors only contributes to the more extensive goal of raising awareness for NFTs, Fastex explains. However, boosting mainstream adoption requires more than turning physical efforts into digital goods — it needs a two-way interaction between the physical and digital worlds. That’s why ftNFT reserved a significant part of its physical store for digital-to-physical items.
EYE-SHAPED SCULPTURES FROM AKNEYE SERIES
The AKNEYE project brings forth a variety of unique minds and forms of imagination, creating a place for artists around the world to bring their passion together and express their vision. Artworks in the collection come in the form of wooden eye sculptures that encourage creativity within the digital space, building a bridge between artists and the virtual world. The sculptures themselves carry glass bottles in place of tear ducts, containing various types of liquid, such as 50-year-old Armenian brandy. Importantly, every piece is personal to the artist that creates it, and when finished, it can be turned into an NFT.
DJ BOOTH AT AN FTNFT SHOP
Despite the multitude of layers added to the basic premise of NFTs, Fastex’s physical stores lean more toward educating people and growing the adoption of NFTs than simply selling goods. This is the reason why the shop is designed to resemble museum exhibits rather than everyday retail stores. From the DJ at the entrance to the avatar booth, ftNFT shops aim to entice non-crypto people inside with the hope of demonstrating the positive impact of NFTs in both the digital and physical worlds first-hand.
Surviving the 2022 bear market with over 100 million transactions shows that the NFT market is here to stay. And Dubai presents an ideal starting point for educating people about the nascent technology, as the city boasts ambitious goals of becoming one of the world’s top 10 metaverse economies.
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