[Exclusive] 'Buying and Selling NFT Art on TV' Samsung Electronics to Launch NFT TV in the First Half of Next Year

NFT Gateway, LaCollection, and ARTTOKEN to Be Installed on Three NFT Trading Apps

Samsung to Generate Additional Revenue from NFT Trading Fees

Samsung Electronics will be the first in the world to launch a TV that allows users to buy, sell, and display digital art created as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in the first half of next year. To achieve this, Samsung Electronics will unveil a TV NFT trading service using three different company apps at CES, the world's largest IT exhibition, in Las Vegas, USA, on January 5 of next year (local time).

According to industry sources on the 21st, Samsung Electronics will launch a smart TV equipped with three NFT art trading apps in the first half of next year. In connection with this, Samsung Electronics plans to hold a large-scale demonstration of the service—trading NFT art on an 85-inch ultra-large 8K smart TV—at CES in January next year, inviting global media, corporations, and influential internet experts (influencers).

This service will provide a function to buy and sell NFT art using installed apps on smart TVs released in the first half of next year, allowing users to display purchased artwork on the TV. When the art is sold, it disappears from the TV. Even users of the latest smart TVs can use it by downloading and installing the relevant apps without needing to change their TVs. An industry official stated, "Samsung TVs will now become a giant living room gallery, a digital photo frame, and an art trading tool."

To this end, Samsung Electronics will install three NFT apps developed by three companies—NFT Gateway in the US, LaCollection in France, and the Korean startup ARTTOKEN—on its smart TVs. Users can buy and sell thousands of NFT artworks using these three apps. Notably, with the inclusion of the domestic ARTTOKEN app, Korean artists can also sell their NFT works globally through Samsung Electronics TVs, presenting them with a new opportunity.

Payment methods, including cryptocurrencies, are currently under review. In this process, Samsung Electronics will secure a portion of the transaction fees as revenue, enabling it to offer additional services through the TV.

This is also why Samsung Electronics is entering the NFT art service market. It is to expand the TV into various service platforms using the recently popular NFT. The strategy is to transform the TV from a simple video delivery device into a living room hub that offers multiple services, much like a smartphone. To this end, Samsung Electronics explored the possibility by displaying NFT art on a TV at the IFA appliance exhibition in Berlin, Germany, last September.

Despite controversies over its utility, NFT art continues to garner continuous interest. At the exhibition held by the startup Blank at Mother Media in Hannam-dong, Seoul, on the 16th and 17th, 30 pieces of video art by artist Deok-hyung Lee, titled ‘Waltz Movement,’ were sold for a total of 4.8 million KRW per piece, including both physical and NFT versions. Mike Winkelmann's NFT works, famous under the nickname 'Beeple,' became a sensation when they sold for $69 million (approx. 89.1 billion KRW) at Christie's auction in the UK.

LG Electronics also introduced NFT art trading services using TVs under the name 'Art Lab' in the US last September and is now considering global expansion. Therefore, NFT trading services using TVs are expected to expand further. An industry official emphasized, "While there are concerns about NFTs due to the weak cryptocurrency market, NFT art has real asset value," adding, "The addition of NFT art trading services will be an opportunity to expand the utility of the TV when TV sales are decreasing."

Choi Yeon-jin, IT Specialist Reporter

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