(Bloomberg) — Salesforce Inc., the leading maker of customer relations software, is introducing a cloud-based service for creating and selling NFTs even as sales of the digital assets have plummeted.
The service announced Tuesday is designed for consumer brands that want to sell NFTs for special access, such as admission to an event, rather than art or trading value, said Adam Caplan, who oversees emerging technology at Salesforce. “The art should look great. But that’s not really the point.”
Nonfungible tokens — tradeable digital collectibles that use the same technology as cryptocurrencies to prove ownership — are currently sold on third-party marketplaces. OpenSea, the largest such online store, was hit with a phishing attack earlier this year, which led to millions in loses and a drop in trading activity, and has been plagued by other scams.
Salesforce, with an eye toward those cybersecurity fears, said it will provide a more-secure service for its customers who want to create and release tokens. Sales can be hosted on a brand’s own site to convey legitimacy to shoppers while Salesforce handles back-end security, contract-writing and authentication, Caplan said during a press briefing. The company is rolling out the service for a select group of customers with plans to make it widely available in October.
NFT trading activity has declined about 90% from a September peak according to industry analyst NonFungible, though more than $2 billion was still spent on tokens last month. Salesforce’s customers are more interested in NFTs as a driver of engagement than asset value, Caplan said.
Earlier this year, news that Salesforce was developing an NFT service ignited pushback from employees who believe the effort violates Salesforce’s broader commitment to sustainability, citing the environmental impact and numerous scams associated with crypto. More than $1 billion has been reported lost to crypto scams since the start of 2021, according to a Federal Trade Commission report released last week.
Caplan said the service would let brands buy carbon offsets and use more environmentally friendly blockchains. As for security, the company will have the ability to pause assets or wallets associated with fraud and help with education, he said.
Software peer Microsoft Corp. said it was looking into NFTs earlier this year, and its venture capital arm has invested $27 million into startup Palm NFT Studio, according to report from CoinDesk. International Business Machines Corp. offers private blockchain services and has said its working with IPwe to turn corporate patents into NFTs.
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