YouTube sees ‘new opportunities’ in NFTs and web3 for content creators

Google LLC-owned video sharing giant YouTube said Thursday its considering web3 technologies such as nonfungible tokens and blockchain to help enhance the relationships between creators and their fans and develop new experiences.

Web3, also called the decentralized web, is the next iteration of the World Wide Web based on distributed ledger blockchain technology that uses peer-to-peer transactional networks to create token-based economies.

“Web3 opens up new opportunities for creators. We believe new technologies like blockchain and NFTs can allow creators to build deeper relationships with their fans,” Neal Mohan, chief product officer at YouTube, said in a blog post. “Together, they’ll be able to collaborate on new projects and make money in ways not previously possible.”

An NFT is a type of blockchain asset that can be used to represent a virtual item such as artwork, music, video or even a ticket. What makes NFTs useful is that they are unique and can be bought, sold and traded. As a result, YouTube creators could use them to produce additional revenue streams related to their YouTube videos (even turn their videos themselves into NFTs) and sell them to their fans to create deeper relationships.

“Giving a verifiable way for fans to own unique videos, photos, art, and even experiences from their favorite creators could be a compelling prospect for creators and their audiences,” said Mohan.

YouTube reached a milestone of over 2 million creators in its YouTube Partner Program in 2021, which allows video creators to make money from their work. Many of those opportunities involve putting advertisements on videos, offering subscriptions and asking for tips from fans. By adding NFTs, it opens up another potential revenue stream for creators that also enables fans to trade virtual items related to their favorite creators.

During the same year, NFTs became a booming market exploding to a $41 billion trade volume, according to the most recent metric, up from $100 million in 2021.

Although the plans have just been announced, Mohan did mention that there’s still a lot to consider with the approach, especially doing so responsibly. However, he also said that the company sees “incredible potential” in web3, NFTs, and blockchain technology as well.

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