NFTs Are the Riskiest Asset Class in the Virtual Economy, Says BNP Paribas CEO

The recent NFT boom has seen several individuals make so much money from digital collectibles. Everything from artworks, virtual lands to sports cards, and even tweets have now become non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

NFT Investments Are Like Gambling

With this raging NFT mania, investors are worried that this might be another bubble. More recently, John Egan, the CEO of French bank L’Atelier BNP Paribas, opined that investing in NFTs is like gambling, adding that they are the riskiest asset class in the virtual economy.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Egan noted that while most people are drawn to the NFT space because of the thrills of making so much money and gaining property rights over the digital asset, it is becoming a problem.

Ownership Issues

He pointed out that the issue of ownership is becoming a big problem in the NFT space since people are now stealing other people’s works and turning them into NFTs.

“What I think we’ve seen increasingly over the past few months is people trying to register NFT-based ownership over other people’s copyrighted tweets… We’ve seen many instances of artists having their works effectively plagiarized by people minting NFTs of their work even though they weren’t the creators,” he said.

Egan also stated that the NFT space is so risky that it could well be identified as the riskiest asset in the world of digital assets. He likened investing in NFTs to gambling in a casino where winning is based on luck.

He said, “[NFT] is an alternative digital emerging asset. I don’t think we could find many more risky categories of assets at this point. I think it’s probably, at this stage, akin to going into the casino. You know you’re going to spend money but maybe you’re doing it for enjoyment, for the experience. If you win, you’ve got lucky and I think it’s the way we need to think about it at this point; it’s in its initial phase.”

A Bedrock Infrastructure

However, despite acknowledging the risks associated with NFTs, Egan is optimistic about the growth of this part of the crypto industry. 

He added, “I do expect NFTs to be some of the bedrock economic infrastructures within the virtual economy as it emerges over the next ten years, especially as that virtual economy begins to emerge out into the real world.”

Featured Image Courtesy of Bloomberg