The first digital art vending machine is in Manhattan

The first digital art vending machine is in Manhattan
On 23 February 2022, Neon, a Solana blockchain-based NFT marketplace and gallery, launched its own NFT vending machine in New York’s Financial District, at 29 John Street, near Wall Street.
The vending machine, the first of its kind in the world, makes it easier for virtually anyone to dive into the world of NFTs without having any specialised knowledge of blockchain or cryptocurrencies.
How the first NFT vending machine works
Aiming to make NFTs easier for everyone
According to a report by Business Wire, the vending machine is up and running 24 hours a day. Users can obtain a unique code in a box from the vending machine using their credit and debit cards in USD. The code is redeemable for Solana NFTs on the Neon platform.
Jordan Birnholtz, CMO and co-founder of Neon, said the goal is to allow artists to sell their art to anyone who wants to become a collector.
‘Buying and selling NFTs shouldn’t be a mystery, and you shouldn’t have to hold Ethereum, write a smart contract, pay gas fees or connect blockchains to participate,’ Birnholtz told Business Wire.
Highlighting the logic behind credit and debit card acceptance, Birnholtz pointed out that only 2% of Americans own digital wallets, while about 80% of them own one of the two cards.
‘We make selling digital art even easier than selling physical art. If creators want to create NFTs based on their existing content or based on new material, we want them on Neon,’ he said.
The booming world of NFTs
Several prominent celebrities, athletes, luxury fashion labels and other companies have jumped on the NFT bandwagon, particularly since 2021. The surge in interest in the NFT space has recently led to the creation of experiences such as an exclusive dating app, Lonely Ape Dating Club, for collectors, as well as art property auctions in the form of NFTs.
NFT artworks have sold for millions over the course of a year. On 13 February 2022, CryptoPunk #5822, part of the acclaimed CryptoPunk collection, was purchased for 8,000 ETH, or approximately $23.7 million at the time, making it the most expensive CryptoPunk sale ever.