Digital asset technology or Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) is in the spotlight in global society, including Indonesia. This phenomenon was triggered by Ghozali’s success in 2021, who earned billions rupiah through NFTs, creating a huge wave of interest among the public. This phenomenon has also triggered competition among individuals to sell digital assets at fantastic prices.
Amril Syalim, S.Kom., M.Eng., Ph.D., CISSP., who is an expert in cyber security, cryptography, and cloud computing from the Faculty of Computer Science (Fasilkom) Universitas Indonesia (UI) said that technology-based NFTs have previously been around since 2012, but the term was not as popular as it is. “NFT is a proof of ownership of digital assets in a product, such as images or videos that are considered unique. Then, the proof of ownership is stored on the public blockchain so it can be verified,” said Amril.
Quoting from “NFT & Metaverse: Blockchain, Virtual Worlds and Regulation” book, NFTs are computerized assets that represent various tangible and intangible products, such as investment instruments or assets in general, and have value through market mechanisms. NFT became known after the emergence of NFT Cryptopunks and Cryptokitties as pioneer NFT projects in 2017, and it became a source of inspiration for NFT projects in the following years.
Amril further said that NFTs use a security system where proof of ownership can be guaranteed and stored on the blockchain. Ownership cannot be faked. However, only proof of ownership is stored, so the digital content can be copied, stolen, or even resold in other ways. Therefore, NFTs have no protection for their own content.
In its development, this technology has become a platform for musicians, actors, designers, and influencers to enable them to find new ways to fund a project or desire using NFT-based technology. This is the case with one influencer in Indonesia who is taking advantage of this technological development through the Trakteer platform.
Trakteer is a platform that supports content creators to get financial assistance as a form of appreciation for their work lover, “By publishing content on the Trakteer platform, fans can support creators by giving treatment units for uploaded content, then it can turn into money,” said Emril.
The treat unit can be food, drinks, or snacks to treat friends, such as coffee, ice cream, or pizza, as a metaphor used to give or receive donations with Trakteer currency called darima (Trakteer balance). Payments used are like marketplaces in general, namely e-wallets (Gopay, OVO, etc.) and bank transfers or credit cards.
Emril added that, unfortunately, Trakteer does not clearly state that the platform uses an NFT scheme. Trakteer uses a crowd-funding or donation model that obtains support by providing “trakteers” to content owners, without transferring content ownership rights to fans. In contrast to the NFT model, the content sold will become the buyer’s property and can be traded again to transfer ownership of the digital product.
