According to Decrypt, preparations for the third edition of the NFT Paris conference on February 23-24, 2024 are well underway, and founder Alexandre Tsydenkov anticipates a big turnout, with mainstream brands âfully embracingâ the technology of NFTs or non-fungible tokens. Even amid the current bear market, brands continue to have active NFT projects in development, Tsydenkov told Decrypt. âI would say [they're] fully embracing,â he said. âObviously they have to make sense financially, so some have slowed down a bit, but thereâs definitely still a strong interest [in NFTs].â
"Weâve definitely seen a detachment from the speculative aspect, that is really happening nowâbecause there is not a lot of money left," he added. "So the people who are left here are here to see how we use the technology, and corporates are still very eager to use the technology." At the 2024 edition of NFT Paris, Tsydenkov said, the range of participants âis going to be even broader than last year.â While the 2023 conference focused on luxury, music, fashion, gaming, and arts, he said, âthis year itâs going to be the same, plus definitely a bigger focus on blockchain builders, more technical aspects.â
"Itâs a conference about culture also,â he said. âSo people are excited about music, film, luxury, and fashion, so thereâs still a lot of excitement.â The French government is positioning Paris as a crypto and NFT hub, he added, noting that itâs âpushing a good ecosystem.â The NFT Paris loyalty token One addition to the coming edition of the conference is that itâs walking the walk as well as talking the talk, with the launch of a loyalty token through a free mint. Over 120,000 tokens have been minted so far, Tsydenkov told Decrypt. âItâs been a very good response,â he said, âmuch beyond our expectations.â The loyalty token is a soulbound token, meaning that it canât be transferred or traded, and is âessential to get the fungible token that is NFTPARIS,â Tsydenkov explained.
"The goal was to attract the right people to NFT Paris, and to be able to know more about the people that come to the event,â he said. The tokens were airdropped to âwho we considered as being good,â he added, explaining that, âWe airdropped more tokens to the best collectors in the space that didnât sell during the bear market.â Token holders can redeem the NFTPARIS token for bonuses and discounts, against merchandise such as NFT artwork, customized Ledger hardware wallets, discounts with partner organizations, and even a nightâs stay in a luxury hotel during the NFT Paris event. âThe goal is to haveâeach weekâproducts from gaming, from art, from fashion, to serve different interests.â Ultimately, Tsydenkov said, the aim is for the NFT Paris token to extend beyond the conference itself, creating âa loyalty program for Web3 as a whole, and rewarding users who are the most engaged.â