J.D. Salbego is Here to Tell You What Not to Do with NFT Art

By Jordan French Jordan French has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team
Published on April 7, 2021

Looking to get in on “NFT” investing and don’t know where to start? J.D. Salbego of CoinTelegraph fame visited with Grit Daily (virtually) to educate us mere pedestrians on why art is selling for a cool $69 million and news outlet Quartz got in on the act to pocket $1800. Naturally, we’ll take either number — or any number for that matter — as long as it’s greater than zero. 

Grit Daily: Just cut to the chase and tell us — if we forked over $10k of “in God we trust” fiat, how much can you return to us at year’s end?

J.D. Salbego: Why only $10,000? If crypto is a chase you want to cut to, then consider the fact that NFTs are running harder and faster than the rest of crypto put together, and AnRKey X is setting the pace at the head of the pack.

In the first three months of 2021 the market cap of all NFT projects rose by 1,785% – nearly matching the growth rate of DeFi for the whole of 2020. AnRKey X sold over $750,000 in NFTs, reaching #1 on Rarible, then we hit the #2 position – before hitting #1 again. We also made winners out of our community, with secondary sales of some of our GenSys.X NFTs hitting $47,000 – a 13,602% increase from the original $343 price. So it’s really up to you exactly how you work your $10K, but hopefully you can do the math and play smart.

Grit Daily: For the uninitiated, what’s the relationship between NFTs and art? 

J.D. Salbego: You might not know this, but the art world suffers from a serious authenticity problem. It’s believed that in one in three pieces of art – and by that I mean paint on canvas – is fake.There’s a really high chance that when you buy an old school artwork you’re not getting a genuine piece from the artist, but instead some cheap knock off. Forgery is absolutely rife in the art industry. Now just imagine what that does to the market and to investor confidence. With NFTs that simply can’t happen. NFTs allow artists to create amazing, wonderful works of art, to tokenize them and gain a fair return, and for buyers to know that what they’re purchasing is the real thing. Also, the artists in this space are amazing – the work is just so good. If you’re not looking into NFTs then you’re missing out on some truly awesome work.

Grit Daily: To what extent is “NFT investing” a passing fad? 

J.D. Salbego: I’d don’t believe it is a passing fad, but I understand the urge to dub it that. NFTs are a massive success story, the biggest in crypto right now, and the truth is that as much as people love to see success, it gets boring to them after a while. For that reason people start to say it’s fad, or call it a bubble like they did with DeFi. I think to some degree there’s a sense of disappointment when the ‘fad’ doesn’t end. Now, are there some people participating in the market who are only here only for speculation purposes? Yes, I do believe that, and perhaps some of those people might drift away over time or find something else to put their money in, but I also believe we are building a community of people who really get what NFTs are about and are in this for the long haul. So while some individuals may come and go, I think the industry at large will continue to grow.

Grit Daily: What’s behind the “Rarible” name? 

J.D. Salbego:  I’d suggest that this is a reference to the provably unique ‘rareness’ of every single non-fungible token. Each piece is a one of its kind collectible, a very rare collectible, or Rarible.

Grit Daily: What do you do in your role as “art director” at AnRKey X? 

J.D. Salbego: I take key decisions on the overall direction of the art which AnRKey X produces and creates, I decide which artists we bring on board and have final approval over all creative designs. Also, because much of our work also ties into our game Battle Wave 2323, I work with our art team to consider how all of the AnRKey X NFTs fit together, and what relationships they share. It’s a massive jigsaw puzzle and one which I am ultimately responsible for getting right.

As someone who has worked in creative industries for a long time, I hope I bring a lot of myself to the role. The thing about art is that it is ultimately subjective. I only ever want us to create and release artworks that I would love to own myself, but it has to be something that other people can appreciate and enjoy as well. I think that’s a major factor in how we ensure longevity.

Grit Daily: What’s with the play on words with “anRKey?” Is that just you or is that a “crypto thing” in relationship to “anarchy”?

J.D. Salbego: Honestly man, I hadn’t even noticed that until you pointed it out. Thanks for taking an interest in AnRKey X – it has been great talking with you.

By Jordan French Jordan French has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team

Journalist verified by Muck Rack verified

Jordan French is the Founder and Executive Editor of Grit Daily Group, encompassing Financial Tech Times, Smartech Daily, Transit Tomorrow, BlockTelegraph, Meditech Today, High Net Worth magazine, Luxury Miami magazine, CEO Official magazine, Luxury LA magazine, and flagship outlet, Grit Daily. The champion of live journalism, Grit Daily's team hails from ABC, CBS, CNN, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Forbes, Fox, PopSugar, SF Chronicle, VentureBeat, Verge, Vice, and Vox. An award-winning journalist, he was on the editorial staff at TheStreet.com and a Fast 50 and Inc. 500-ranked entrepreneur with one sale. Formerly an engineer and intellectual-property attorney, his third company, BeeHex, rose to fame for its "3D printed pizza for astronauts" and is now a military contractor. A prolific investor, he's invested in 50+ early stage startups with 10+ exits through 2023.

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