- Leading Japanese airline All Nippon Airways has unveiled an NFT marketplace
- Dubbed ANA GranWhale NFT Marketplace, the platform is powered by the Ethereum blockchain
- The first collectibles on the platform feature the airline’s Boeing 787 and other plane images captured by photographer Luke Ozawa
Leading Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) has unveiled an NFT marketplace dubbed ANA GranWhale NFT Marketplace. Powered by the Ethereum blockchain, the marketplace will include collectibles featuring the airline’s personalized Boeing 787 and other plane images taken by photographer Luke Ozawa in the last 50 years. The marketplace comes eight months after Japan’s prime minister revealed the country’s plans to fund web3-focussed activities.
NFT Commercialization to Unlock Unique Products
The marketplace will also feature digital artworks from its Airbits collection. In an announcement, the airline said that the marketplace is part of its plans to bring digital collectibles to the aviation industry, adding that it also provides a new way to improve its customers’ experience.
ANA has launched an NFT business and the virtual platform ANA NEO will operate the “ANA GranWhale NFT MarketPlace”, making ANA the first airline in the world to sell NFT products!https://t.co/Cf7wdIKj5N
— All Nippon Airways (@FlyANA_official) June 1, 2023
According to the company, the marketplace will continue adding the number of collectibles available for trading while also allowing the NFTs to be used for commercial purposes to unlock “unique products from various regions” in the country.
As per the announcement, the platform will offer a total of 267 items at launch (May 30) and increase the number to above 1,570 items from June 7 this year.
The marketplace adds to Japan’s appetite for the virtual world. In February, for example, Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida said that the country is open to using web3 technology to publicize innovations. According to Kishida, the technology cuts across geographical boundaries to bring communities together around a common agenda.
Japanese Companies Unite to Explore the Blockchain
Japanese companies in different sectors have also united to create the Japan Metaverse Economic Zone to explore the blockchain world. Other countries like China and South Korea have also revealed considerable investments in blockchain technology including NFTs.
With ANA’s new NFT exchange, it’s yet to be seen whether it’ll have an impact on the global NFT space.
