Unleashing the Power of Web3 & 5G: Niftmint at T-Mobile's Tech Experience 5G Hub

Discover how Niftmint's CEO Jonathan G. Blanco leaves tech enthusiasts buzzing with anticipation after groundbreaking insights at T-Mobile's 5G Tech Experience Speaker Series Panel.

Erin Raney (T-Mobile), Jonathan G. Blanco (Niftmint), Jeff Kramer (Microsoft), Dan Thygesen (T-Mobile), Sung Choi (Coinme)

Table of Contents

• Setting the Stage: The T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub

• Meet the Visionary: Niftmint's CEO and Founder

• Niftmint Partners with T-Mobile to Bring Attendees NFTs

• Unveiling New Frontiers: Company Demos

• Key Takeaways and Future Implications

• Conclusion

Attendees claimed their own NFT during the event

Welcome to the exciting world of technology and innovation! Today, we are thrilled to take you on a journey through the recent T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub Web 3 Speaker Series. This captivating event featured a stellar lineup of industry experts, including our very own Jonathan G. Blanco, Sung Choi of Coinme, Jeff Kramer with Microsoft, and T-Mobile's Dan Thygesen. This Speaker Series panel was moderated by Erin Raney of T-Mobile, Senior Director Network Technology Services and Innovation. The event also showcased groundbreaking demos by companies such as FreshCredit, 3NUM, Vennity, Inc., and Niftmint.

Setting the Stage: The T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub

Step into the realm of limitless possibilities at the T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub! This extraordinary platform serves as a catalyst for technological progress, providing a space where emerging trends and futurist ideas converge. With a mission to inspire collaboration and foster innovation, the 5G Hub has become a formidable force driving technological advancements.

Attracting leading figures in the industry, the T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub provides a dynamic stage for experts to share their insights. Among the distinguished panelists in the Web 3 Speaker Series, we were honored to have the visionary CEO and Founder of Niftmint take part in this groundbreaking event.

Panelists speak to audience and answer questions on Web 3 and 5G technologies

Meet the Visionary: Niftmint's CEO and Founder

Jonathan G. Blanco, Founder/CEO Niftmint

In the realm of technology, few personalities shine as brightly as Niftmint's CEO and Founder, Jonathan G. Blanco. With a track record of entrepreneurial success and a deep understanding of the industry, Jonathan's expertise has solidified Niftmint's prominent position in the market. As a panelist at the T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub Web 3 Speaker Series, Jonathan's invaluable contributions and insights have left an indelible mark on the event.

Jonathan captivated the audience with his visionary outlook and passion for pushing boundaries. His in-depth knowledge of the industry showcased his ability to foresee and harness future possibilities. By participating in the panel discussion, Jonathan provided invaluable insights into the technological advancements that are set to revolutionize the world.

Jonathan states, "I see Brands as the entry point for Web3 by consumers by offering web3 experiences wrapped into their existing offerings without forcing crypto or crypto wallets on the end user. At Niftmint | Web3 & NFT Commerce we provide the infrastructure to support Brands with ease as they add to their product catalogs."

Niftmint Partners with T-Mobile to Bring Attendees NFTs

Attendees claimed their NFT Powered by Niftmint Web3 Commerce Infrastructure

Niftmint partnered with T-Mobile to provide an #NFT for all who attended the event using Niftmint | Web3 & NFT Commerce infrastructure. The NFT for this event was a custom experience for T-Mobile. Several people claimed their NFT with many having it be their first NFT. If you attended the event, make sure to claim your NFT. It was great to see T-Mobile explore with NFTs.

Niftmint was honored to be one of the 20 companies selected this year to compete in the #TChallenge, the six-month long global competition driving innovation in Web3 development with 5G event that honored six companies and their solutions, which demonstrate the powerful potential to reshape how people engage with the internet. To read more about Niftmint participating in T-Mobile's TChallenge, click here: https://www.niftmint.com/post/niftmint-competes-in-the-2023-t-mobile-deutsche-telekom-tchallenge-in-bonn-germany

Unveiling New Frontiers: Company Demos

The T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub Web 3 Speaker Series also provided a platform for pioneering companies to showcase their groundbreaking technologies. FreshCredit, 3NUM, and Vennity, Inc, took center stage, captivating the audience with their cutting-edge demos.

Niftmint's T-Mobile app for NFTs

Attendees watching demos at booths

3NUM captivated the crowd with their innovative communication solutions, allowing secure messaging to your Web3 and Web2 friends through the world's first Web3 Mobile Number, while Vennity offered a glimpse into creating your own location-based collectible world where you can drop NFTs on custom maps and invite your community to collect them. FreshCredit showed what increasing access to credit on a global scale and empowering individuals to own and manage their own personal data looks like with their revolutionary approach to credit, offering new avenues for financial inclusion.

These remarkable demos not only showcased the exciting developments underway but also reinforced the notion that the future is closer than we think. With their disruptive technologies and forward-thinking approaches, these companies are poised to transform industries and revolutionize our daily lives.

Key Takeaways and Future Implications

As the T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub Web 3 Speaker Series drew to a close, the audience was left with a wealth of insights and key takeaways. The event sparked discussions on the future of technology, inspiring participants to consider the immense possibilities that lie ahead.

By fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing, the event paved the way for groundbreaking innovations. The dynamic discussions and demos showcased at the event left a lasting impact on participants, inviting them to play an active role in shaping the future.

The implications of Web3 advancements are profound, and the panelists played an instrumental role in shedding light on these implications. Their wisdom and expertise will undoubtedly shape the path ahead, as these leaders continue to drive technological progress and create a better future for us all.

Conclusion

The T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub Web 3 Speaker Series served as a powerful reminder of the transformative potential of technology. With the visionary CEO and Founder of Niftmint playing a prominent role, alongside esteemed moderator Erin Raney and trailblazing companies like FreshCredit, 3NUM, Coinme, Vennity, and of course Microsoft and T-Mobile, the event showcased the remarkable innovations that await us.

As we venture further into the realm of futuristic technologies, let us remain inspired by the collaborative efforts and unwavering passion exhibited by industry leaders. The T-Mobile Tech Experience 5G Hub will undoubtedly continue to be at the forefront of driving innovation, unlocking new possibilities, and shaping a future powered by technological brilliance.

Ridwan Grimes (Niftmint), Emil Liedtke (T-Mobile), Fuad Abdella (Niftmint), Dan Thygesen (T-Mobile), Erin Lowe (Niftmint), Jonathan G. Blanco (Niftmint)

Lessons for Brands from Porsche NFT: Put your core customers first

January 25, 2023 | Seattle, WA

Porsche recently launched their #NFT to a highly unfavorable result. After announcing the NFT drop in December 2022 in Miami, the drop early this week was met with criticism from all sides but especially from the NFT and Crypto community saying that Brands need to listen more to them. You can read CoinDesk's opinion and recap on drop here.

Here is the TLDR on Porsche's NFT Drop

Porsche released a 7,500-edition collection of NFTs based on the 911 which is perhaps the most famous car in its offering. In attempting to stick with a Web3 and Crypto native experience, Porsche created an allowlist for people to sign up for access to mint a 911 Porsche NFT for .911 ETH, which at the time of mint was just under $1,500.

The 911 NFTs started finding their way onto OpenSea and were selling below the mint price which led to Porsche deciding to pause the mint at around 2300 NFTs.

Since the mint was paused, the floor price for the Porsche 911 NFTs went up and is currently sitting at 3 ETH as of Wednesday, January 25th.

The Web3 and NFT analysis on the Porsche NFT drop is wrong

By all means, the Porsche NFT can be considered an unsuccessful drop, but not for the reasons news outlets and commentators are saying, especially those in the #Web3 and #NFT community, who by their comments make it clear they have limited experience working with Brands.

Prominent figures in the NFT community and leaders of large NFT PFP projects have been quick to jump on Porsche NFT, thinking if Porsche were only to partner with them the drop would have gone better with many suggesting the NFT needed to be cheaper, be marketed towards the NFT community, welcomed by NFT PFP projects, or that they needed to provide more Web3 education, all of which were not the problem and reason for the poor release.

The issue with the Porsche #NFT drop is not that they didn’t get the #NFT community involved more, as they could have received even less involvement from the NFT community and still had a more successful launch. Fortune 1000 Brands like Porsche do not need the Web3 or NFT community to have a successful NFT launch.

Porsche forgot about its core customers

The real issue Porsche did not find success with the NFT is they did not get the Porsche community involved, as in people who own Porsches or are fans of the Brand. In 2021 alone, Porsche delivered over 300,000 vehicles, in a time of semi-conductor shortages and COVID-19 slowdowns.

Porsche has built an iconic brand since it started building cars in 1948 and there are millions of Porsche owners worldwide. A fan base that is accustomed to frequently attending or participating in car clubs, race teams, and car shows as even listed on their website. The average Porsche owner is over 50 years old and they created an experience for their first NFT that completely alienated this customer.

Keep payments and ownership simple

Brands do not need to be spending time explaining to their customers how to use new payment technology to acquire products and experiences from them. It's up to the Brand to make conversion simple for their core customer base to maximize acquisition, which unfortunately Porsche did not do. Instead of making it simple for the Porsche community to be able to acquire and store the NFTs on a Porsche web experience, they relied on the typical yet heavy #Web3 purchase flows involving crypto wallets and cryptocurrency, even pricing in crypto, all practices their average consumer and fan is not accustomed to and likely won't be doing anytime soon.

The importance of Utility

The utility of an NFT is discussed loosely by PFP projects, boasting promises of future value, experiences, games, etc. as a result of owning a particular NFT. The problem with PFP projects is they often are startups or side projects with small or less mature teams that only have resources as a result of the NFT sale. This is not the case for large brands, particularly with large followings such as Porsche. If Porsche would have focused on its core customer base, it could have unlocked several utility opportunities for NFT holders.

For example, Porsche NFTs could have been offered to anyone who takes a test-drive, anyone who recently purchased a Porsche, or to people who had recently attended a Porsche event. Utility for these Porsche NFTs could have been anything from discounted or free vehicle service, discounted or free car rental in other markets, access to private events, merchandise, higher trade-in value, or any other marketing decision Porsche would have wanted to unlock.

Instead, Porsche did not offer any meaningful utility and expected users to purchase strictly because it's a Porsche NFT and there is nice art. This being said, any company can add utility to an NFT at any point in the future and still have the token be the access point to the experience. As NFTs are essentially digital wrappers around content files, or programable content files, the Token ID and Smart Contract would just be the identifiers which allow access to the token holder to the future product, service, or offering.

What should Brands like Porsche be doing instead or for the next drop?

The most important aspect for Porsche and other Brands considering launching their own NFT collection or Web3 experiences is to make sure it speaks to their core customers and fans in a manner they are most likely to transact and convert. Brands will not have successful NFT collections if they do not get support and understanding from their core customer base and can risk losing their core customers if they begin to feel alienated or as if the brand is no longer serving them.

Five Tips for Brands looking to offer their first NFT

Now that we have established the importance of focusing on your customer, it's time to break down five important items for Brands to consider when releasing an NFT.

1.) Own the Customer Experience

• Just as Brands prefer their customers to purchase products from them directly on their branded website or retail stores, Brands must ensure their customer's purchase, acquire, or are gifted their NFTs on the Brand's channels. Brands are not in the practice of sending their customers to third-party marketplaces over their own websites or retail store

2.) Make Crypto Payments secondary, Fiat Payments primary

• This may sound crazy to those in the Web3 and NFT community, but as mentioned beforehand, Brands must focus on their core customer first. The average consumer is not familiar with how to use cryptocurrency or how to manage a crypto wallet, which should not prevent them from acquiring digital products or experiences from the Brands they love. Even crypto-centric consumers can be hesitant to spend their cryptocurrency to purchase NFTs if the price of the cryptocurrency has been volatile and they don't want to use it at a lower value than what they paid to obtain the crypto.

3.) Custody the NFT for your Customers on your Channels

• If Brands are offering NFTs to their core customer, chances are they trust the Brand to keep their information and products purchased safe. As we have already established that the Brand's core customer is not likely to have a crypto-wallet, the crypto-wallet should not be a barrier to the customer acquiring the NFT. Brands should work with a Web3 technology partner to custody NFTs on behalf of their customers and make them accessible via the Brand's website.

4.) Avoid getting involved in Secondary Markets

• If a Brand does not currently get involved with the secondary market activity of its physical products then NFTs are not the place to start worrying about secondary markets, as it puts Brands in a position to have to manage speculative expectations of growth and profit, which creates a multitude of problems and customer management. Not to mention if a Brand promotes the secondary market or insinuates growth or profits to customers they start to skirt the line of securities laws. Your core customers are less likely to try to flip the products you sell to them.

5.) Launch with scarcity

• One of the greatest benefits of digital inventory is you can create digital products on demand or as needed, therefore there is no need to mint 10,000 NFTs or a high number of NFTs before knowing if the NFT collection is going to be successful. Instead focus on a lower, achievable number and set milestones that will unlock the minting of more NFTs until the high number is reached. This way you can make sure there is not an overabundant supply. In this model, NFTs with lower Token IDs (meaning minted first or earliest) could receive additional offers or perks. Porsche NFT did this unintentionally as a result of the slow start to minting and in doing so create the scarcity that drove the price of the NFT up to 3 ETH when it had been trading at below the mint price. This has seemed to improve the outlook on the NFT launch, though secondary sales should not be a driver in the success of an NFT for Brands.

Brands can have a successful NFT drop and NFT product offering without the NFT and Crypto community if they just focus on their core customer. Niftmint supports Brands with technology and expertise in implementing and executing these five tips for Brands looking to offer NFTs to their customers.

---

About Niftmint

Niftmint makes it simple for Brands to Mint, Sell, and Custody NFTs directly on their site while abstracting crypto and crypto-wallets from the Brand and their Customers via our embedded Nifmint Wallet. Niftmint has productized all smart contracts, wallet creations, token deployments, and transfers while providing a user experience native to traditional Commerce.

About the Author

Jonathan G. Blanco is the Founder and CEO of Niftmint and has been building companies at the intersection of Web3 and Commerce since 2017, working with leading brands to establish, build, and execute Web3 Commerce in their organizations. As a Product and Branding leader, Jonathan has been working with and building Brands since 2009 and has been building retail technology and commerce integrations since 2014. Jonathan has long been an advocate for Web3 always doing so from a product and customer lens to make sure the experience is true to the business need.