LG Launches NFT Marketplace For Smart TV Owners In The U.S.

Consumer Electronics Giant Bets Big on NFTs During Bear Market

Despite the NFT markets being in the doldrums, LG, the consumer electronics giant, is launching an NFT marketplace for its premium smart TVs.

The company launched its LG Art Lab marketplace for U.S.-based television owners on Sep. 5, showing that the firm believes non-fungible tokens still hold mainstream appeal. The marketplace can be accessed from the home screen of TVs running webOS 5.0 or later, with users able to buy, sell, and display NFTs.

Christian Hasker, the CMO of Sworlds Labs, the team behind Hedera, said the marketplace is helping to transition NFTs “beyond being computer-based collectibles and toward becoming a piece of art displayed as any other artwork would be within the home of its owner.”

The first digital artwork created by contemporary sculptor, Barry X Ball, will launch on LG Art Lab in the coming weeks. Ball is known for reinterpreting classical sculptures using both traditional techniques and 3D scanning and printing technology.

The marketplace features artist profiles and previews of upcoming works slated for release. It also hosts live countdowns to new NFT drops, including short films depicting the creative process behind supported artworks. 

Powered By Hedera

LG Art Lab is powered by the Hedera network, an enterprise-focused blockchain. Transactions can be completed using Hedera’s Wallypto mobile wallet via QR codes.

Network fees are fixed on Hedera. Minting an NFT collection on the network costs $1, while minting a single token costs $0.05, and token transfers are priced at $0.001.

LG and Hedera are clearly betting the NFT markets will recover from the brutal bear trend currently hanging over them.

The news comes less than three weeks after daily trade volume on the leading NFT marketplace, OpenSea, dropped to its lowest level in 13 months. Just $6.5M worth of trades were executed on OpenSea on Aug. 17, more than 95% lower than its early 2021 highs.

According to DappRadar, $8M worth of trades were executed on the platform over the past 24 hours, with 21,280 users completing 46,200 transactions. In contrast, activity peaked with 50,000 users executing more than 100,000 trades worth $190M in a single day during January.

‘Enormously Hyped’

Shayne Higdon, the chief executive of Hedera’s HBAR Foundation, told The Defiant that NFTs were “enormously hyped — perhaps more so than they should have been for everyday consumers” at the market’s top. 

“In 2022, we’ve seen the hype dip,” he said. “This is where the real innovation begins… We’re seeing the beginning of sustainable, long-term adoption of NFTs, for a variety of use cases that meet consumer and business needs and wants.”

Higdon cited the Gartner hype cycle, predicting that 2023 will host the ‘enlightenment’ and ‘productivity’ phases of the NFT cycle. 

“Items of value like tickets to sporting events and concerts, title deeds to real estate, and proof of ownership of high-value assets like cars and jewelry will be tokenized,” he predicts.

Gartner ‘Hype Cycle’. Source: BMC Software

Hash Axis, Hedera’s top NFT marketplace, drove just $282 worth of trade over 24 hours, with 352 users executing 802 transactions, according to DappRadar.