At this point, NFTs have been derided as useless, a route to potential scams, and a simple waste of money. So, inexplicably, Intel is helping produce one.
A livestream shopping platform that we’ve never heard of, NTWRK, has teamed up with a visual artist that we’ve never heard of, King Saladeen, to design the Intel x King Saladeen line of NFTs—one of which is shown in our primary image, above. We have no idea who will own this particular NFT now that we’ve published it, but that’s not really our problem.
“Each NFT features King Saladeen’s iconic bear image graphic,” according to a press release that dropped in our inbox. “In one eye, viewers see a wifi [sic] symbol to symbolize the lightning fast internet speeds of Intel Evo Laptops, while the other eye features the visual artist’s signature money sign. Each unique piece of digital artwork in this series will be created exclusively using Intel Evo Laptops, and celebrate the power of innovation while uplifting creators, like King Saladeen.”
Intel and King Saladeen are debuting the NFTs at the NTWRK x Galore’s Art Basel exhibition, which is taking place in Miami Beach. But the “exclusive NFTs will be turned into limited-edition art prints” which will be then be available via the NTWRK app. We’re very confused about who will actually own the resulting Intel Evo Money Bear images, but we’re getting bored of this whole concept already.
Apparently King Saladeen is big enough to produce a mural that appears in the Philadelphia International Airport, however.
“Having been raised in a tough urban environment where artistic outlets were few and far between, Saladeen instead turned his attention to basketball,” Saladeen’s bio reads. “Through traveling, Saladeen saw numerous places where his eyes were opened to the landscapes, shapes and colors that were vastly different from what he saw on a day to day basis. These opportunities allowed him to daydream on a greater scale and be influenced and inspired in a fresh way. In an effort to promote fearlessness and the idea that no one should be boxed in, Saladeen’s art continues to meld the art world with fashion, music and now tech.”
As one of our colleagues pointed out, at least it’s not an Intel Evo cryptocurrency.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor
As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.