SA entrepreneur pays R224,000 for rare marijuana
A South African entrepreneur is the highest bidder and pays R224,000 for rare marijuana at auction.
Since entering the market, non-fungible tokens have quickly become the hottest commodity.
In case you have not been introduced to the world of NFT's, here's a short, basic explanation: "Non-fungible" means that an item cannot be exchanged on a like-for-like basis, as each one is unique, unlike assets such as gold bars, stocks, or dollars, which are "fungible".
Examples of NFTs range from digital artworks and sports cards to pieces of land in virtual environments or exclusive use of a cryptocurrency wallet name, akin to the scramble for domain names in the early days of the internet.
The NFT phenomenon has really kicked off with artworks selling for millions and even YouTube videos being auctioned off for what seems like insane amounts.
But one group has managed to combine one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, cannabis, with NFTs and are appealing to a whole new market.
A Cape Town gallery recently auctioned a digital piece of art for R59,000, so it is also a growing craze in SA, which brings us to the recent purchase of a local entrepreneur.
Matt Benas has started multiple businesses from web development to frozen food distribution, but aside from being a businessman, he is also passionate about growing cannabis.
At a recent auction by Gage Green Group, a United States-based cannabis cultivator, Benas outbid the competition by dropping approximately R224,000 for a combination of "fine art, digital currency, and luxury cannabis".
He walked away with two packs containing 10 seeds of superior genetic quality each and two digitised artworks that were handpainted by the GGG founder Jeff Selsor.
The first digital art piece is called 'Rise' and the GGG website described it as follow:
GGG ▲ R I S E is a multimedia perspective on designer cannabis seeds by GAGE GREEN GROUP. The GGG ▲ R I S E is the world’s first NFT and BLOCKCHAIN enabled cannabis seed. Four significant firsts: ▲ R I S E, the first cannabis strain of its kind, a bold take on the legacy of Triangle Kush. The first one-of-one GGG release for one exclusive owner. The first artistic expression of a genetic creation by the artist himself. And the first blockchain enabled release of cannabis and art. This NFT represents the digital ownership of the one of one GGG RISE NFT by GAGE GREEN GROUP. This NFT is a digitalized version of a hand-painted piece by KEYPLAY7 on fine hemp paper. The work evokes inspiration from the breeder and founder himself. Using mixed media and multimedia to release the GGG RISE, the artists at GAGE GREEN GROUP discover new ways to tell their story and paint their masterpiece.
And this is what the second piece, 'Burn', looks like:
I've been interested in cannabis for around 20 years," Benas told Business Insider South Africa. There is a global perception of how elite Gage is and I've known about them for a long time. I'm [also] very interested in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology and [thought] this [NFT auction] was made for me. I really want South Africa to have something unique and special throughout the world… and now we do, South Africa is going to be producing an absolutely unique cannabis strain that we will only ever be able to produce. You're only going to get a once-off, one in the world. There’s a lot of value that people don’t see.
While NFTs as a concept is still relatively new and might not be for everyone, people are clearly interested in these items for the right price.
Will the next big digital sale be a bottle of wine? Who knows, we'll just have to wait and see.
Want to catch up on all your favourite duo's best moments? Listen to everything #StaceyAndJSbu below:
Main image courtesy of iStock