DAS 2021: Owning an NFT is Like Owning a ‘Piece of Innovation’

Skeptics question why someone would pay a large sum of money for what appears to be a cartoon, but Ikigai Founder Travis Kling described holding the asset similar to “owning a layer of innovation.”

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by Axel Rangel

share

key takeaways

  • Bitwise’s Matt Hougan said NFTs can expand beyond JPEGs of “digital rocks”. NFTs can revolutionize digital property rights
  • Ikigai’s Kling believes that NFTs are “highly unlikely to go away” and will be a “major part of everybody’s life”

Digital Asset Summit 2021, New York City — The non-fungible tokens (NFT) craze has taken the world by storm. In recent months, certain NFTs have sold for $69 million, along with their marketplaces such as OpenSea reporting monthly trading volumes of over $3 billion.

Skeptics question why someone would pay a large sum of money for what appears to be a digitized image, but Ikigai Asset Management Founder Travis Kling described holding the asset similar to “owning a layer of innovation” during a panel at the Digital Asset Summit Tuesday. 

“If you’re heading in that direction, where people are spending more and more time in the digital world, then you’re going to start somewhere [and that’s with NFTs],” Kling said.

Panel at Digital Asset Summit 2021
From left: Travis Kling, Ikigai; David Grider, Grayscale; Matt Hougan, Bitwise; Blockworks Digital Asset Summit 2021: Source: Photo by Mike Lawrence

In the session, featuring Horizon Kinetics’ Peter Doyle and Grayscale’s David Grider, panelists touched on the future of the asset class as well, discussing its potential capabilities. 

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management, said NFTs are far more than just “digital rocks”. They can revolutionize digital property rights. “As goofy as [paying] $3 million for a digital rock may seem, these are just the first instantiation of digital property rights,” he said. 

Although NFT use cases are most commonly associated with the arts and entertainment industries, the same framework can transfer to healthcare as well. Using NFTs via a decentralized ledger and blockchain networks, holders can track health data like pharmaceutical drugs and blood donations, making tracking medical records potentially faster and more efficient. 

“[NFTs] are the beginning of something that I think is highly unlikely to go away. In the future, I believe it’s going to be a major part of everybody’s life,” Kling said.


Are you a UK or EU reader that can’t get enough investor-focused content on digital assets?Join us in London on November 15th and 16th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) London. Use code ARTICLE for £75 off your ticket. Buy it now.


Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

tg trading bot report graphic.png

Research

Telegram trading bots have found their primary niche in highly speculative token launches and retail-dominated memecoin markets, with many features specifically tailored to token sniping and copy-trading strategies.

article-image

Paradigm’s Charlie Noyes thinks that the attention on stablecoins is well-deserved after Mesh’s $82 million round

article-image

Crypto may benefit from developments during the second quarter after a rough start to the year

article-image

With a friendlier regulatory outlook and the airdrop flow being stemmed, some are looking to how new native tokens can become valuable assets

article-image

The recent action paints an uncertain picture for future monetary policy moves

article-image

Is the finance world becoming “more liquid”? Experts give their takes as TradFi players consider new moves