Neon, a Solana-based NFT marketplace that sells NFTs online, has closed a seed round of $3 million. In December, the company soft-launched its first NFT vending machine at 29 John St in Manhattan. The vending machine is now open 24 hours a days and collectors can buy Solana nFTs using fiat currency.
NFTs -unique tokens based on blockchain that represent ownership over assets–have seen a surge in popularity in recent months, with Ethereum-based market OpenSea earning more than $5 billion last month. OpenSea is not without its problems, and lawsuits. NFT marketplaces competing for your business offer something unique to you.
Neon Co-founder Jordan Birnholtz and CMO of Jordan Birnholtz say he was a summer intern who came up with the idea to create an NFT vending machine. Birnholtz hopes to make purchasing an NFT as simple as possible.
Birnholtz explained to Decrypt that “my thought was that there is literally not simpler way to purchase something than a vending device.” It was built to demonstrate how simple and powerful it is to support digital artists and to simplify the process of getting an NFT.
Neon’s brick and mortar method allows buyers to walk up to vending machines and purchase an NFT with either Visa or Mastercard credit card, or the Samsung Pay or Apple Pay mobile app. Next, the buyer scans the QR code on the item with their smartphone’s camera and claims the NFT online.
Birnholtz stated that Neon was founded with fiat as it is unique in its mission to deliver digital art and collecting to a broad audience.
Buying an NFT is a difficult task for those who are new to HTML3. To transfer crypto to digital wallets and connect them to an online NFT market, users must first go through cryptocurrency exchanges. There are also other issues, such as the need to pay gas to Ethereum assets or dealing with wrapped cryptocurrency.
Although crypto and NFTs are becoming more mainstream, mass adoption has not yet occurred. According to recent research, while
Neon’s visitors will not know which NFT they will get, unlike other vending machines that sell soda and candy bars. The buyer can choose the collection, and must punch in a number for the box to be dispensed. However, the boxes won’t tell the exact NFT being bought. Collectors can see examples of NFTs in the NYC location.
Neon’s vending machine experience feels more like a physical option to an online NFT mining process. This also involves blind-purchasing tokens and not knowing which ones you’ll get.
There are currently two types of NFTs available for purchase: Project Color and Party Pigeons. The Party Pigeons were created by Typfy specifically for Neon. Additionally, the Project Color NFTs were commissioned for the NYC vending machines project.
Birnholtz said that Neon is seeking to add more vending machines to its list and to include artists.
“We will be expanding our vending machine network to a few cities this summer. Birnholtz stated that they have overcome the technical difficulties in redeeming and dispensing NFTs and are now inviting creators and artists to showcase their NFTs in our machines. Birnholtz said that many artists on Neon’s waiting list discovered the brand through the NYC-based vending machines.
