NFT Vending Machine Draws Lackluster Response in London

As part of its mission to clear the barriers to entry to purchasing non-fungible tokens (NFTs), myNFT placed a vending machine selling the digital assets in the middle of London — just in time for the NFT.London conference being held Nov. 3-4.

Placed at the event’s venue — the Queen Elizabeth II Centre — the machine takes contactless payment and Apple Pay, collects a fee of 10 pounds ($11.18) and then dispenses an envelope with a QR code that can be redeemed for an NFT on the myNFT platform, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Nov. 3). Despite the easy access to NFTs, Bloomberg noted that the purple vending machine only attracted stares from onlookers.

Reached for comment Monday (Nov. 7), a myNFT spokesperson told PYMNTS via email that the machine sold nearly 400 NFTs during the 16 hours in which it operated and that the 3,900 pounds (about $4,500) it collected would be donated to charity.

Beyond that, the machine was filmed and photographed by many visitors who then posted the images on social media, the spokesperson said.

“There is so much potential in the NFT market, and it’s such a shame to see some of that go to waste when possible investors are put off getting involved by various unnecessary and complicated barriers,” myNFT Co-founder Hugo McDonaugh said in a statement provided to Bloomberg for its Thursday report. “We’re determined to turn NFT investment into an everyday activity, and break it out of its current clique.”

The tokens available through the vending machine include those from “Doctor Who: World Apart,” “Thunderbirds” and “Delft Blue Night Watch.”

Following the conference, myNFT will find a more permanent home for its vending machine. “We are looking at a couple of bars,” McDonaugh said in the report.

According to its press kit , myNFT was launched this year and is a multi-chain NFT marketplace that aims to enable the creation and trade of NFTs on any blockchain, in any currency, at any cost and by individuals and businesses alike.

“myNFT is built for all — prioritizing education, simplicity, accessibility and transforming the way NFTs are created and traded for the long-term,” the company said.

As PYMNTS reported in January, the number of steps involved in buying an NFT has generally involved anywhere from 19 to as many as 30 steps.

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