Rami Alame: Bitcoin and NFTs are Garbage?

Rami Alame is an acclaimed author and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Lexyom, the first digital legal platform of its kind in the Arab world. His most recent book, ‘Startup Kudos’, lays out essential business tips and solutions through examples that serve as a gateway into the world of entrepreneurship. Rami specializes in consulting startups on strategy, logistics, and creative solutions to emergent problems in the digital economy.

We sat down with Rami to inquire about his controversial positions on Bitcoin and NFT trading trends.

Why is bitcoin “garbage”?

“Contrary to current popular opinion, bitcoin is actually not a stable store of value. Instead, we should think of bitcoin as a framework that’s endured several forks, both hard and soft, in its transition to Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold, amongst others. More than this, however, we see that the technology itself is dated. It’s beginning to show obvious, major limits in transaction processing speed and total energy consumption.”

Why are NFT’s “garbage”?

“NFT’s or Non-Fungible Tokens are unique digital assets. Put simply, every file stored on your PC has a distinct serial number. This essentially applies to any type of file, be they word documents, images, audiofiles, etc. The basic premise of NFTs involves leveraging the exclusive identification number of these files to sell them as unique, non-replicable bits of data to purchasers who wish to own something unique and original. So let’s consider for a moment any one particular image. This image can take on a non-replicable identity via a host of different NFT creating softwares.

The “hype” around NFT’s, however, has less to do with attaching a distinct serial to a file, and more to do with how that file is marketed after it becomes an NFT. So essentially, the “game” being played in this emergent market revolves around engineering value for NFTs by marketing their scarcity to consumers and collectors. People want to own something that nobody else can have. Therein lies the appeal of an NFT. For the same reason that collectors are willing to pay millions for an original Picasso when a print of the same piece costs as little as ten dollars, NFT collectors will pay extraordinarily large sums to own digital originals.”

Where does this become problematic?

“Right, so if you asked me, I’d tell you that there is a definite future for NFT markets; they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. Artists and musicians that create digital work will be able to market their pieces in a way quite similar to what we’ve seen in traditional art markets. The issue right now lies in the over-speculation of NFT ownership. What we’re witnessing today is a sort of online ‘tulip mania’ and that bubble will pop. This is certain. Just as tulip bulb prices collapsed during the world’s first major over-speculation crisis, we’ll see the value of the NFTs plummet in the near future, which of course makes them a terrible choice for investors”

So what do you make of the Crypto and NFT trends, overall?

“Despite the overhype, I think these trends comprise a unique opportunity for startups. Startups can use ICOs or other means of selling coins in their bids to raise capital. We’ve seen this work tremendously well for companies and projects that are just getting off the ground. On top of that, NFTs non-replicability can be leveraged strategically to sell digital items to the target communities that startups are trying to build. Applying this tactic to investors and customer bases alike, the marketing of products and tokens can be utilized in a myriad of creative ways to generate early funds and engage consumers.”

For more information about Rami Alame, or to order a copy of his acclaimed book, visit https://ramialame.com/