“Why are NFTs?” is a question I ask myself every day. I don’t have the answer yet but Samsung wants to put them in your living room anyway.
In a press release, Nifty Gateway — a company owned by the Winklevoss Twins, who are best known for suing Mark Zuckerberg but have since become crypto moguls — announced that it’s partnered with Samsung to bring NFTs to TVs.
Select Samsung smart TVs will have access to Nifty Gateway’s NFT marketplace, including the QLED and Neo QLED TVs. If you have a Samsung Micro LED TV or the Frame TV, you also have access to the app. That latter model is also the most obvious option for becoming an NFT delivery device since it exists to turn your TV into a display for art.
If you’re going to buy a TV for showing off NFTs, Samsung wants you to choose their models as a vessel for displaying the so-called works of art. As we reported when Samsung originally announced this integration at CES 2022, the company will offer a Smart Calibration tool to adjust the display settings on the TV to match an NFT’s preset values. If you’re going to blow hundreds of dollars on something that looks like knock-off Simpsons art, it might as well look intentional. In a recent live stream, Samsung even showcased how Ambient Mode has been optimised for this particular use.
Samsung’s TVs won’t just display the NFTs. Nifty Gateway will provide access to its marketplace, so you can buy art with the click of your remote control. You can use a variety of payment methods, including a debit or credit card, and cryptocurrency. And then, think about what brought you to the point that you’re willing to make a monetary transaction through the TV for rights to an image. Maybe before you do any of that, think about that time Nifty was hacked and thousands of dollars worth of art was stolen. Buying expensive digital goods with the click of a remote is probably a bad idea.
As evidenced by its foldable smartphones, Samsung has found some wins chasing trends, but Nifty Gateway’s track record is too dubious for fanfare just yet. It also seems risky to partner with a company distributing NFTs as the industry currently lacks regulation. And if the fan backlash to other companies jumping into bed with the crypto industry is any indication, this could all be more trouble than it’s worth.
Samsung doesn’t usually shy away from joining in on the latest technology trend, so it should be no surprise that it’s testing the waters with NFTs. After all, this company helped propagate the idea of 3D TVs in your home a decade ago, and we all saw how that turned out.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.