Ep. 34 - All about NFTs with Michael Lee, Jr.

Riches in the Niches Investor Podcast

We are happy to welcome back Michael Lee, Jr. In this episode, we talk to Michael and Call Participants about NFTs. As an alumnus of the Riches in the Niches Investor Podcast, Michael was the perfect guest to walk us through NFTs and the Metaverse. Michael is the Founder and CEO of Gondola Capital a firm focused on the Alternative Asset Space.

*This is a recording of a Group Call that took place on October 7th, please excuse any audio issues as participants were using their mobile phones.

To listen to our prior podcast with Michael please click here. Bitcoin: Few Understand This.

You can reach Michael on Twitter at @MLeeJr. To learn more about Richard please visit www.thinkaen.com.

Show Notes:

(01:15) Michael goes over his background. Talks Morgan Creek Capital, Mark Yusko and endowment investing in the Blockchain. Also talks about Ben Forman at ParaFi, Ethereum and more.

(06:36) Introduction to NFTs. How Michael got into researching NFTs and how he leveraged his blockchain experience to understand it. Odell Beckham, Jr. Jay Z and other celebrities having their own avatars.

(10:45) Crypto gives us the ability to transfer value at the speed of information. Michael think NFTs will be called something else five years from now. Discussion over the dynamics of the NFT market and how sales on platforms like OpenSea impact pricing.

(14:20) Introduction to OnChain Monkey and other Avatars, in general.

(18:14) Profile Picture PFPs represent the perfect avenue for new users to get familiar with the NFT space. Discussion over the other PFP art including Crypto Punks. Potential for sporting events to use NFTs. Mark Cuban has talked about this a lot.

(22:56) Dive into the Metaverse, Michael talks about his nephew Cooper. Kids are growing up digitally native in the Metaverse.

(30:39) 24 by 24 pixelated art versus 3D Generated Art. The value of a lot of NFTs is based around the artist. The real deal is that a 16-year-old artist from Afghanistan can create art and sell it anywhere in the world completely permissionless and censorship free over the blockchain.

(33:19) Michael talks about energy consumption. He believes that Bitcoin is the most secure computing network the world has ever known.

(35:43) Introduction to SerSleepy who goes over the Metaverse. The metaverse is a collective virtual share space, including the sum of all virtual worlds and the internet. It may contain derivatives or copies of the real world, but is distinct in augmented reality. Metaverse is made up of the prefix, meta meaning beyond and the stem verse - a back formation from universe. It’s a 3D world that allows you to be your true self.

(37:32) People are already in the Metaverse creating new worlds. People are creating galleries where you can put your art.

(41:08) How copying NFTs is beyond the point. The creator really matters.

(45:37) Where to network all things NFT? There are various meeting hubs on Twitter and Discord where you can chat with other collectors and artists.

(47:24) Question from Erin regarding NFTs and mortgages; things like a deed to a house.

(49:04) Richard talks about prior Podcast Guests including Mike Cagney, CEO of Figure Technologies and Jeff Moore. Through Figure, Mike is using the Provenance Blockchain to reshape Payments, Stock Exchanges and Lending.

(49:57) More remarks regarding use cases for blockchain within the Financial Services Industry. Closing comments. If you would like a full copy of this recording, please email Richard.

Our interview with Mike can be found here. Financial Transactions on Blockchain with Mike Cagney.