BUCKHANNON, W.Va (WDTV) – Four West Virginia Wesleyan College alumni and Theta Xi fraternity brothers have joined together to launch what will be the first state-themed NFT project aptly named 1863nft.
Rob Raffety, Mike Malfregeot, Jeff Noah and Jason Wilhelm met as WVWC students and fraternity brothers and have come back together around a shared interest in technology.
It started after Wilhelm saw a tweet Raffety shared about cryptocurrency and sent him a message.
Soon, the four began chatting about their shared interests and brainstorming projects.
The idea for 1863nft gained traction approximately a year ago as interest in NFT technology grew.
Raffety said the four co-founders wanted to make their project something that mattered and was meaningful for them and West Virginia is that unifying theme.
The project 1863nft is a collection of 304 affordable assets celebrating West Virginia history, culture and people.
“Conceptionally, we thought wouldn’t it be cool to celebrate West Virginia in a positive light, to be trendsetters, to really use this emerging technology and plant a flag for West Virginia that isn’t often thought of as being on the cutting edge?” Raffety said.
The idea also grew to include five West Virginia artists who would not only be able to sell their works, but also gain broader exposure for their own creative ventures.
One of the most exciting aspects, according to Raffety, is the utility piece.
“Aside from owning a digital asset which may appeal to some collectors, there is this very wide-opened space in NFTs called utility that you can now give to the owner of a token because you can verify that they own it,” he said. “The owner of a token might get the utility of receiving in the mail a physical print of an artwork.”
Similarly, the purchaser might receive access to a gated community for a class or online discussion with others around the piece they purchased.
“This technology is touching the world and has already created major impacts globally,” Malfregeot said. “Our West Virginia artists are deep-rooted in local communities and this bridging of art and new technology will help 1863 foster this learning all throughout Appalachia.”
Click here to learn more about the project and the upcoming launch.
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