【中英双语】探索代币化产业

或许NFT看起来像是一场昙花一现的热潮，但仅2021年第三季度，它的交易额就超过100亿美元。    

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) may seem like a passing craze, but with over $10 billion traded in the third quarter of 2021 alone, it’s become clear that this emerging technology — a blockchain-based tool that enables anyone to monetize digital content — is growing into a major industry. In March of this year, musician 3LAU collaborated with crypto startup Origin Protocol to create a specialized platform to sell his new album as an NFT, where it ultimately sold for $11.6 million. Visual artist Beeple famously sold a tokenized digital artwork for $69 million through Christie’s auction house, and the NBA’s Top Shot, which is owned by crypto platform Dapper Labs and enables fans to buy and sell tokenized video clips of basketball game highlights, has generated over $715 million in transaction volume.

NFT，即不可替代代币（non-fungible token），已成为一个很大的产业。但与大多数新兴技术一样，有许多相互竞争的平台和增长方法，对于特定企业来说，哪种最适合并不总是很明显。或许NFT看起来像是一场昙花一现的热潮，但仅2021年第三季度，它的交易额就超过100亿美元。很明显，这种新兴技术（一种基于区块链、让任何人都可以将数字内容货币化的工具）正在成长为一个大产业。2021年3月，歌手3LAU与加密初创公司OriginProtocol合作创建了一个专门的平台，将他的新专辑作为NFT出售，最终该专辑以1160万美元的价格售出。著名视觉艺术家Beeple通过佳士得拍卖行，以6900万美元的价格出售了一件代币化的数字艺术品。而在NBA，其TopShot由加密平台DapperLabs拥有，让球迷能够买卖篮球比赛集锦的代币化视频剪辑，已经产生了超过7.15亿美元的交易量。

In response to this massive growth, both individual creators and firms as wide-ranging as retail, music, entertainment, consumer products, fashion, and more have begun actively exploring ways to engage with the world of NFTs. Specifically, while some sellers have opted to build their own NFT marketplaces, most have found that a partnership with a third-party platform is more feasible, as it can reduce upfront costs, offer access to a larger existing customer base, and provide valuable add-on services such as marketing, legal, and technical support.

面对这种规模庞大的增长，个人创作者和零售、音乐、娱乐、消费品、时尚等领域的公司都开始积极探索与NFT世界互动的方式。具体来说，虽然一些卖家选择建立自己的NFT市场，但大多数卖家发现，与第三方平台合作更为可行，因为它可以降低前期成本，有机会接触更大规模的现有客户群，并提供有价值的补充服务，例如营销、法律和技术支持等。

What is an NFT marketplace?

什么是NFT市场？

In contrast to platforms such as Spotify and Netflix, which provide unlimited digital content for a subscription fee, NFT platforms are built around the idea that just like physical content, digital content too can be scarce — that is, limited in quantity — and can therefore be meaningfully owned and traded. These platforms leverage blockchain technology to verify the provenance of digital content, similar to how a traditional auction house might verify that a given work of art is in fact the original and not a replica, and some platforms even offer the ability to “burn” items, further reinforcing the concept of scarcity for these digital products. Blockchain-based transaction logs can also facilitate royalty attribution, automatically sharing a percentage of revenue from second-hand sales with the original creator every time the NFT is traded.

与声破天（Spotify）和奈飞（Netflix）等以订阅费提供无限数字内容的平台相比，NFT平台的构建理念是，就像物理内容一样，数字内容也可能是稀缺的——即数量有限——因此可以被有意义地拥有和交易。这些平台利用区块链技术来验证数字内容的出处，类似于传统拍卖行验证特定艺术品是原作而非复制品。有些平台甚至提供“烧毁”物品的能力，进一步强化了这些数字产品的稀缺性概念。基于区块链的交易日志还便于版税分配，每次交易NFT时，都会自动向原始创建者分享一定比例的二手销售收入。

Of course, as with any investment into a new capability, while partnering with the right marketplace can unlock entirely new markets and revenue streams, partnering with the wrong platform can seriously backfire — and when it comes to leveraging a rapidly-evolving new technology like NFTs, it’s not always obvious what the right choice is. To avoid making costly mistakes, it’s critical to understand the landscape of platforms that are currently available and determine which will be the best fit for your NFT offerings.

当然，与对新能力的任何投资一样，与正确的市场平台合作可以开启全新的市场和收入，但与错误的平台合作可能会导致严重的反效果，而在利用NFT等快速发展的新技术方面，正确的选择并不总是显而易见。为避免犯下代价高昂的错误，你应当了解当前可用平台的格局，并确定最适合你的NFT产品的平台，这一点至关重要。

What kinds of marketplaces are out there?

目前有哪些类型的市场？

While there are a number of factors to consider, we’ve found that it can be particularly helpful to characterize NFT marketplaces on a spectrum from streamlined to augmented. Streamlined marketplaces support a broader range of NFTs and offer more limited, generic services to sellers, while augmented marketplaces are highly specialized and provide a more full-service experience.

虽然有许多因素需要考虑，但我们发现，将NFT市场按照从精简型到增强型的特征加以标识会特别有帮助。精简型市场支持较为广泛的NFT，并为卖家提供较为有限的通用服务，而增强型市场则高度专业化，提供更全面的服务体验。

Streamlined platforms include services such as OpenSea and Rarible, which host both auctions and fixed-price sales for a wide variety of NFTs, and more closely resemble traditional platforms such as eBay, Esty, or Mercari. These marketplaces focus predominantly on enabling efficient transactions, often providing payment infrastructure to accept both credit cards and crypto payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and occasionally other specialty tokens. They offer minimal additional services, and because of their breadth, these platforms generally have fairly large and varied user bases.

精简型平台包括OpenSea和Rarible等，它们为各种NFT提供拍卖和固定价格销售，更类似于eBay、Esty或Mercari等传统平台。这些市场主要专注于实现高效交易，通常提供支付基础设施，以接受信用卡和比特币、以太坊以及（偶尔）其他特殊代币的加密支付。它们提供最低程度的附加服务，并且由于它们的广度，这些平台通常拥有规模极大且多样化的用户群。

Augmented marketplaces, on the other hand, tend to focus on narrower niches, and offer numerous value-added services such as minting (creating the NFT itself), marketing, curation, pricing recommendations, portfolio trackers, and even full-blown games built on top of the NFTs. For example, the NBA’s Top Shop focuses exclusively on basketball collectibles that the platform packages and markets, SuperRare focuses on visual art and provides extensive curation and recommendation services, and Sorare, which focuses on digital sports cards, hosts fantasy soccer competitions that incorporate the cards users buy on the platform.

另一方面，增强型市场往往聚集于更狭窄的细分市场，并提供许多增值服务，例如铸币（创建NFT本身）、营销、策展、定价建议、投资组合跟踪，甚至是基于NFT构建的成熟游戏。例如，NBA的TopShop专注于该平台包装和销售的篮球收藏品，SuperRare专注于视觉艺术并提供广泛的策展和推荐服务，而专注于数字运动卡的Sorare则举办虚拟足球比赛，让用户在该平台购买的卡片具象化。

These specialty services can add a lot of value, but of course, they come at a cost. To account for the resources required to build out, integrate, and support an array of customized tools and experiences, augmented platforms generally have a higher “take rate,” or transaction fee, as well as higher upfront setup costs. Streamlined marketplaces typically have lower initial and ongoing costs, but may require sellers to invest their own resources or hire external experts to design, mint, and market their NFTs.

这些专业服务可以增加很多价值，当然，它们是有代价的。考虑到构建、集成和支持一系列定制工具和体验所需的资源，增强型平台通常具有更高的“佣金率”（即交易费用），以及更高的前期设置成本。精简型市场通常意味着较低的初始和持续成本，但可能需要卖家投资自己的资源，或聘请外部专家来设计、铸造和营销他们的NFT。

How can I engage with the market?

如何接洽这类市场？

So, how can you determine which type of platform is the best fit for your business? Companies with a large pool of intellectual property and a target audience within a specific domain may find it beneficial to partner with an augmented platform. A larger quantity of monetizable content generally means a larger upfront investment is more likely to pay off, and these specialized platforms can draw on their niche experience to ensure a successful launch and drive additional value through secondary tools and services.

那么，你怎样才能确定哪种类型的平台最适合你的企业？拥有大量知识产权和特定领域目标受众的公司可能会发现，与增强型平台合作是有益的。较大数量的可货币化内容通常意味着，较大规模的前期投资更有可能获得回报，这些专业平台可以利用其在利基市场的经验，来确保NFT产品的成功发布，并通过辅助工具和服务来提升附加价值。

If you’re not sure what kinds of specialized services might be a good fit for your business, it’s worth looking to other creators’ NFT experiments for inspiration. For example, artists may leverage these platforms to offer exclusive video content, or sports teams might include a free meet-and-greet or VIP upgrade with NFT purchases. McLaren Racing recently launched a program where fans can collect various components of a Formula 1 race car in digital form, and the first fan to collect all 22 of the NFTs required to assemble a complete digital version of the car will win an all-expenses-paid trip to a Formula 1 race.

如果你不确定哪种专业服务可能适合你的企业，那你可以从其他创作者的NFT实验中寻找灵感。例如，艺术家可以利用这些平台提供独家视频内容，运动队可以通过购买NFT提供免费的球迷见面会或VIP升级。麦克拉伦（McLarenRacing）最近推出了一项计划，车迷可以通过该计划以数字形式收集F1赛车的各种部件，第一个集齐组装完整数字版汽车所需全部22个NFT部件的车迷将赢得一次包含全部费用的F1观赛奖励。

In addition, some augmented platforms offer detailed data analytics around when other NFTs on the market were minted, how many NFTs competitors are minting, average prices, sales numbers, and more. Firms can then use this data to make informed choices about how they mint and price their own digital offerings. For example, NBA Top Shot offers a detailed analytics page for each NFT that includes a breakdown of related market activity, ownership history, and other information about the video highlight. Similarly, electronic music marketplace RCRDSHP presents users with extensive analytics on both individual NFTs and on the overall state of the market. Although these industry-specific platforms may have narrower reach, they can be extremely effective within a given market — Sorare, for example, generated nearly $20 million in transaction volume last month and over $100 million in the past year.

此外，一些增强型平台提供关于市场上其他NFT何时被铸造、竞争对手正在铸造多少NFT、平均价格、销售数量等详细数据的分析。然后，企业可以使用这些数据就如何铸造和定价自己的数字产品做出明智的选择。例如，NBA的TopShot为每个NFT提供详细的分析页面，其中包括相关市场活动和所有权历史的明细信息，以及有关视频集锦的其他信息。同样，电子音乐市场RCRDSHP为用户提供对单个NFT和市场整体状况的广泛分析。尽管这些特定行业的平台可能覆盖范围较窄，但它们在特定市场中可能非常有效——例如，Sorare 2021年10月产生了近2000万美元的交易量，过去一年的交易量超过1亿美元。

For products with broader appeal, however, companies and creators may be better off partnering with a streamlined marketplace. For example, Coca-Cola partnered with OpenSea to auction off a “Loot Box” NFT that included digital versions of a vintage Coca-Cola cooler, jacket, and logo, as well as a real, fully-stock Coca-Cola refrigerator delivered to the winner’s home. It was a simple enough offering that didn’t require much in the way of custom, industry-specific specialization, and so OpenSea’s streamlined platform was a good fit. (The NFT collection ultimately sold for over $575,000, which Coca-Cola donated to Special Olympics International.)

然而，对于具有更广泛吸引力的产品，公司和创作者最好与精简型市场合作。例如，可口可乐公司与OpenSea合作，拍卖了一个“LootBox”NFT，其中包括老式可口可乐冷却器、夹克和徽标的数字版本，以及一个真正的、装满可口可乐的冰箱（送到中标者家中）。这是一个足够简单的产品，不需要太多定制的、限于行业的专业化，因此OpenSea的精简平台非常适合。［该NFT系列最终以超过57.5万美元的价格售出，可口可乐公司将这笔钱捐赠给了国际特奥会（Special Olympics International）。

What will the future hold?

未来会怎样？

At this point, you may be asking yourself which of these many platforms is likely to emerge as the Amazon-like industry standard. Traditional marketplaces tend to exhibit winner-takes-all dynamics, meaning that once a single platform achieves scale, it becomes nearly impossible for competitors to overtake it — and so, it’s only natural to be concerned about investing in a platform that won’t be made obsolete. However, in contrast to traditional markets, we believe that no single NFT platform is likely to assume such a dominant position. There are two key reasons for this:

此时此刻，你可能会问自己，这些众多的平台中，未来哪一个可能会成为类似亚马逊的行业标准？传统市场往往表现出赢家通吃的特征，这意味着一旦单一平台实现规模化，竞争对手就几乎不可能超越它——因此，这自然要牵扯到投资于一个不会过时的平台的问题。然而，与传统市场相比，我们认为没有一个NFT平台可能占据那样的主导地位。这出于两个关键原因：

First, NFT markets are inherently more open than their traditional counterparts. Since NFTs are built on fully public blockchain infrastructure, most transaction data is publicly available, limiting the extent to which these platforms can build the kinds of data moats that lead to monopolies.

首先，NFT市场天生就比传统市场更加开放。由于NFT建立在完全公共的区块链基础设施上，大多数交易数据都是公开可用的，这限制了这些平台构建（导致垄断的）数据护城河的程度。

In addition, the success of augmented platforms suggests that differentiation is highly valuable to both buyers and sellers. We’re already seeing that there’s strong demand for multiple coexisting NFT marketplaces, each focused on a different domain and offering specialized tools to help their partners succeed. Even within industries, multiple platforms can coexist, as long as they differentiate in the tools and experiences that they provide. For example, one NFT art platform might specialize in minting functionality, while another might focus on gaming experiences built on top of art NFTs.

此外，增强型平台的成功表明，差异化对买家和卖家都非常有价值。我们已经看到，对多个共存的NFT市场的需求非常充沛，这些市场中的每个平台都专注于不同的领域，提供专门的工具来帮助合作伙伴取得成功。即使在行业内，多个平台也可以共存，只要它们提供的工具和体验有所不同。例如，一个NFT艺术平台可能专注于铸造功能，而另一个可能专注于建立在艺术NFT之上的游戏体验。

While winner-take-all dynamics may be more likely among streamlined platforms, where the marketplace that provides the lowest cost transactions will likely attract a majority of both buyers and sellers, these platforms will never offer the degree of customization and industry-specific support made possible by a wide array of augmented platforms. And investors seem to agree: While streamlined platforms have certainly done well, augmented platforms have also had no trouble attracting funding, with Dapper Labs securing a $7.6 billion valuation and Sorare raising a record-breaking $680 million at a $4.3 billion valuation.

虽然在精简型平台中更有可能出现赢家通吃的情况，其中提供最低交易成本的市场可能会吸引大多数买家和卖家，但这些平台永远不会提供各种增强平台实现的那种定制程度和针对特定行业的支持。投资者似乎也同意：虽然精简型平台确实做得很好，但增强型平台在吸引资金方面也没有问题，比如DapperLabs获得了76亿美元的估值，Sorare以43亿美元的估值筹集了创纪录的6.8亿美元资金。

So, if you’re a creator, don’t feel like you have to wait for the “Amazon of NFTs” to emerge. Evaluate the marketplaces that are currently available based on how well they fit with your unique offerings and business needs, and if you find one that seems well-suited for you, go ahead and dip in a toe.

所以，如果你是一个创作者，不要觉得你必须等待“NFT界的亚马逊”出现。根据它们与你的独特产品和业务需求的契合程度评估当前可用的市场，如果发现一个似乎非常适合你的市场，那就请抓住机会尝试一下。

While NFTs are still a burgeoning industry, they have demonstrated the potential to be highly lucrative, creating real value for both buyers and sellers. They may have started out as a science project driven largely by crypto enthusiasts and risk-loving, tech-savvy artists, but NFTs are now rapidly entering the mainstream. Whether you’re a major brand like the NBA or an up-and-coming independent artist, partnering with the right platform is the critical first step to drive customer engagement and secure your position in this new digital economy.

虽然NFT仍然是一个新兴行业，但它们已经展示出利润丰厚的潜力，能为买卖双方创造真正的价值。它们最初可能是一个主要由加密爱好者和热爱风险、精通技术的艺术家推动的科学项目，但NFT现在正在迅速进入主流。无论你是NBA这样的大品牌，还是崭露头角的独立艺术家，与合适的平台合作都是推动客户参与、确保你在这个新数字经济中地位的关键第一步。

Pavel Kireyev is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at INSEAD.

帕维尔·基里耶夫是欧洲工商管理学院营销学助理教授。

Peter C. Evans is the Managing Partner at the Platform Strategy Institute, Chief Platform Officer of RCRDSHP and co-Chair of the MIT Platform Strategy Summit.

彼得·埃文斯是平台战略研究所的管理合伙人、RCRDSHP的首席平台官和麻省理工学院平台战略峰会的联合主席。