News organisation The Associated Press is set to launch a non-fungible token marketplace where collectors can purchase its award-winning, historic photojournalism in the form of NFTs.
Set to launch on January 31, the marketplace will feature a selection of digitally enhanced depictions of work from current and former photojournalists alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning images licensed by AP.
The array of NFTs available will include images from topics such as space, climate, warfare and also highlight the work of specific AP photographers.
Alongside the iconic images associated with the NFT, it will also include diverse and original metadata attached to the photo – providing collectors with better insights into the “time, date, location, equipment and technical settings” used to take the photograph.
An image of a home covered in ash from a volcano erupting on La Palma in the Canary Islands will be one of the NFTs available on AP’s marketplace. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
As for pricing, AP said that “NFT price points will vary” based on each individual image and that proceeds from sales of the collection will be reinvested into “funding factual, unbiased AP journalism”.
Minted on the Polygon blockchain, the collection will be available on a marketplace built by Xooa – a solution that enables brands and enterprises to easily build out a functional NFT marketplace.
Collectors will be able to buy, sell and trade AP digital collectables using crypto-native wallets like MetaMask, with support for Fortmatic, Binance, and Coinbase planned for the future. Collectors will also be able to purchase an NFT using a credit card.
“For 175 years, AP’s photographers have recorded the world’s biggest stories through gripping and poignant images that continue to resonate today,” said Dwayne Desaulniers, AP director of blockchain and data licensing.
“With Xooa’s technology, we are proud to offer these tokenised pieces to a fast-growing global audience of photography NFT collectors.”
The NFT marketplace isn’t AP’s first venture into the cryptocurrency space – it currently works with oracle provider Chainlink as a node operator to bring trusted data to the blockchain.
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