Discover the world of NFT at the RIGA COMM 2022 Web3 conference!

2022-09-09

airBaltic is the first airline in the world to release a unique NFT collection based on the blockchain technology. The collection includes 14 Latvian city landmarks represented as animated 3D images; the collection is available in only eighty full copies. Being one of the most innovative companies in the Baltics, airBaltic expands the use of this technology with its next product—the Planies—an NFT collection which adds a new layer of loyalty opening up unprecedented opportunities for its users. As part of this project, airBaltic hired Artūrs Garais, one of Latvia’s blockchain and NFT specialists. You will be able to meet him on 7 October at the RIGA COMM 2022 Web3 conference, but before that here is an insight into his vision of the importance and influence of NFTs on business in Latvia.

NFT virtual currency

Asked to clearly explain what an NFT is in essence, Artūrs Garais said: ‘An NFT is a digital token encrypted on the blockchain. You can call it digital art, because you can buy works of art, such as drawings and music, as well as technological solutions, and each has its own unique story. For example, Kiwie, a popular Latvian street artist, puts each of his street art pieces on the blockchain, along with the coordinates of the painting. The first person to purchase the artwork via NFT is commemorated on a unique metal card along with a miniature representation of the street painting.’

airBaltic Planies

The airBaltic Planies collection, slated to be released in late September 2022, also has a special story. Planies is a special collection of cartographic aeroplane designs with 10 thousand tokens stored on the Ethereum blockchain. Each Planies collectible is a unique work of art made up of 180 different features, such as wings, engines, mouth, eyes, etc. The benefits of the airBaltic loyalty club will create added value for the owners. ‘Anyone who buys their unique Planies token with virtual currency will become a member of the loyalty club. Their user account will generate a certain amount of points every day, and these points can be redeemed to get various benefits, like free flights, free luggage transport, in addition to the potential to sell the NFT on the secondary market,’ Artūrs Garais explained. Read the airBaltic Planies story.

Use of NFTs in business

Just like the digital token, transactions in business must have added value. Currently, companies interested in working with the NFT project can create more opportunities for partnerships and media publicity. But the problem is in the demand: unless there are enough consumers, the interest of businesses in investing money in NFTs is going to be small. They are also wary of the prospect of their investments not paying off, or very quickly losing their money. The market value of NFTs is also a result of external factors such as the economy, purchasing power and interests of the general public, etc.

However, the airBaltic specialist expressed his optimism, indicating the need to strengthen the Web3 community, making it possible for people to network, come up with new powerful solutions and continue to grow: ‘Sooner or later, many services that we use in business and in everyday life, will be interconnected and easily useable through the blockchain technology.’

Discover Web3

If you are interested in it, getting into the world of Web3 is not difficult. The experts are easy to reach, give interviews talking about the potential and development of Web3, and take charge of workshops whose participants can create a virtual wallet of their own, understand how it works, and explore the horizons opened up by other technologies. However, compared to Europe and the rest of the world, there are very few experts in this field in the Baltics, but we still do not fall too far behind the rest. Artūrs joked about this, too: ‘In Europe and the rest of the world, meeting specialists is easy. I can go abroad now, attend a Web3 conference every day, and return home around the same time next year. Meanwhile, if we do not count series events like Honeybadger separately, the Baltics only have two international technology events for industry experts to make presentations, and for entrepreneurs, managers and specialists in various fields from all over the world to attend. RIGA COMM is one of these!’

Web3 conference in Riga

The RIGA COMM Baltic business tech fair will take place in Ķīpsala, on 6 and 7 October! Across the two days of the fair, nine conferences will be held in parallel to it, including the first-time Web3 conference. Leading Baltic experts in Web3, from companies like Accenture, Salto X, Braintrust, Colizeum, and others, will discuss blockchain technology, NFTs, metaverse, and other related topics.

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