Logan Paul Bids Rp8.9 billion for Bryan Lie’s NFT: Is NFT the future of Indonesian artists and creators?

Over the past year, local artists and creators have begun to venture into non-fungible tokens (NFT). The trading method has gained popularity as a new way to market their works digitally. By minting their works, artists and creators will be able to offer the one and only token that certifies exclusive ownership over the piece.

YouTuber Logan Paul on Tuesday (24 August) purchased an NFT art created by Bryan Lie, a Jakarta-based artist and the figure behind 0n1 Force, for $623,000 (Rp8.9 billion). Not long after, American DJ Steve Aoki on Wednesday (25 August) claimed he just made his most expensive NFT purchase from 0n1 Force at $310,000 (Rp4.4 billion). 

All of these purchases were made via OpenSea, an international crypto assets and NFT trading platform that houses many NFT big names. Denny Januar Ali, an Indonesian author and entrepreneur, earlier this year (22 April) sold his NFT art called “A Portrait of Denny JA: 40 Years in the World of Ideas” for 27.5 WETH or more than Rp1 billion. The painting was marketed in and sold via OpenSea as well.

In the local scene, artists and creators have started to tap into NFT, especially after TokoMall by Tokocrypto was launched. Tokocrypto is a local crypto assets online trading platform established in 2017. To support the local creative industry, the company last Thursday (19 August) launched TokoMall, a marketplace platform for NFT assets. Today, the platform houses several creators, artists and brands.

The most recent creator to launch their first NFT piece on the platform is local streetwear brand Dominate Jakarta. The brand minted a collage artwork of its “Target” design combined with other graphics, such as Soundsystem, Haile Selassie The Emperor and Dominate's Lion of Heart. The artwork is a form of exploration on digitalism through the brand’s identity. 

Earlier, DAMN! I Love Indonesia entered the market with an audiovisual design showing Indonesian Founding Fathers with the Declaration of Independence text embedded as well as the audio of President Soekarno reading it. TokoMall also has exclusive partnerships with Nevertoolavish, Si Juki, Banyan Core, KaryaKarsa and many more.