ZebPay to soon launch India’s first full-service NFT marketplace: Vikram Rangala

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With around $2-3 million worth of trading happening every day globally, NFT has become a buzzword in India too. ZebPay announced India’s first NFT, the ZEBRA token, back in December 2020, with a limited release unfolding in 2021.  The company soon plans to launch Dazzle, India’s first full-service NFT marketplace. Vikram Rangala, CMO of Zebpay, talks about how you can buy and sell NFTs in India and the risks associated with them.

Q: WazirX has launched a marketplace for NFTs. Does Zebpay plan to launch one soon?

Vikram: ZebPay announced India’s first NFT, the ZEBRA token, back in December 2020, with a limited release unfolding in 2021. At first, ZEBRA tokens will give owners rewards on ZebPay, then later unlock other special features, just like players unlock powers in video games.

ZebPay will soon launch Dazzle, India’s first full-service NFT marketplace. Anyone can use this platform to create, buy, and sell NFTs. It is not limited to artists. Digital collectables and intellectual property of all sorts can be turned into an NFT on Dazzle. We are happy to see WazirX joining the NFT party.

Q: How can one buy NFTs through exchanges?

Vikram: At the moment, India has no marketplaces where you can buy an NFT directly using INR. Indians can use other online marketplaces—there are several built on Ethereum and using Ether as a payment system.

Step one is to identify a marketplace such as Opensea or NBA Top Shot that suits your interest, whether it’s works of art, game cards, or video clips from a historic moment in a game.

Next, buy Ether from an exchange like ZebPay and transfer that to a wallet associated with the marketplace. Metamask and Trustwallet are two of the most popular.

Finally, buy your NFT using Ether from your wallet. Most of these marketplaces use an auction format, sort of like eBay. Some marketplaces operate more like an exchange, using the highest bid and lowest ask for NFTs that have more than one copy. NFTs that are in high demand can sell for 5 to 10 times their initial price, right after the release.

There are primary and secondary markets for buying NFTs. The primary market is where you buy NFT directly from the creator. The secondary market usually means buying from a reseller. A benefit of purchasing an NFT from the primary marketplace is the potential immediate resale value. The downside is it’s hard to estimate the resale demand for the NFT you just bought. Secondary marketplaces help you compare your purchase to previous sales to estimate its potential value.

Q: Are there any regulations for NFTs?

Vikram: Since NFTs are backed by cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, the regulations applied to cryptocurrencies will be applicable to NFTs as well. For now, we are looking at the current laws that best align with digital art and cryptocurrencies while we wait for the government to come up with clear regulations.

Q: What are some of the dos and don’ts while buying NFT?

Vikram: NFT is trending now similar to the “dot com” era in the late 90’s. Applications of NFTs, as we see now, are not limited to artworks or entertainment items. Other applications like contracts or certifications may take time to develop and become mainstream. Buyers should calculate the potential of NFT they are investing in and place their bids accordingly.

Buyers should also do their due diligence in identifying the authenticity of the NFT — whether the piece of work truly belongs to the seller or to another organisation or comes under any copyright claims.

Q: What are the common items that one can buy through NFT? How costly are they?

Vikram: Buyers of NFTs have different goals of their own. Some are collectors, while others want to resell for a profit. As a buyer, it is important to have a goal and be prepared for competitive bids. An NFT’s value is whatever the buyer sees in it and the price just follows this value. Digital artworks and game-related NFTs are popular now and can run from a few dollars to the $69,346,251 we saw for Beeple’s digital artwork. NFTs have tremendous scope beyond digital art and gaming. The band Kings of Leon recently released an album as an NFT. In the near future, things like birth certificates, passports, proof of ownership, and nearly any unique and valuable item could be turned into an NFT.