This article is prepared by Paulius Stankevicius who is a CEO and founder of Stankevicius Group. Stankevicius group is launching a digital asset bank in 2021.
When we hear the term digital assets, the 21st century investor in all of us probably immediately thinks of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Granted in this day in age, cryptocurrencies may be the hottest form of digital assets with one of the easier paths to a stored future value, given its current accessibility through online platforms. But digital assets as a definition, includes any sort of binary assets that can appreciate, or consequentially depreciate, over time. Investing is not just about long-term stocks or ETFs anymore, as people begin to realize the value of non-traditional assets, and we continue to see transformation in the digital age.
This year promises to be the strongest yet for the digital asset market, as investing continues to become a mainstream activity. Investors are constantly searching for other ways to capitalize on the current surge in digital transformation and have been quite creative with some of the ways to invest. Currently, there are over 4,000 different cryptocurrencies that one can invest in, with more appearing by the week. Think outside the box! Here are a few creative ways in which the digital asset market is evolving.
Artwork: Yes, you could invest in artwork before, but one of a kind paintings can now be digitized and secured leveraging blockchain technology to help identify the real deal from fakes. Geotagging and security authentication can also help keep these priceless assets safe and away from art thieves or other malicious individuals.
Real Estate: Again, people have been investing in real estate for centuries, but the digitization of physical landmarks actually provides the ability for people to fractionally own specific buildings or monuments. While the argument of property and ownership is still a factor in these transactions, the ability to one day be able to invest in something like a space shuttle or racehorse has to be appealing to some investors.
Sports Cards: The sports card market has returned with incredible popularity. It seems as though the scarcity of assets like Bitcoin have actually made people realize about the value of scarce commodities. Sports cards have recently been seen as a forgotten hobby, but with the introduction of things like NBA Top Shot, which are fully licensed digital NBA collectibles, interest has reached a fever pitch. NBA Top Shot capture digital videos of real moments from NBA games, and have been sold for upwards of $70,000. The blockchain based collectibles have already brought in over $2 million for Vancouver, B.C. based Dapper Labs, and the demand is higher than ever as ‘packs’ of these moments sell out within seconds of release.
There are dozens of other ways in which digital assets are being invested in, but these three give a wide range of possibilities that the blockchain technology brings to non-financial instruments. As we learn more about the blockchain and how it can be utilized to store value in assets we otherwise would not even consider to be investments, you can quickly see why 2021 can be the year in which diversified digital assets become a regular part of an investors portfolio.
