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(Kitco News) - LG Global, the South Korean consumer tech giant, has become the latest company to further the integration of blockchain technology into its hardware according to a recent patent the company filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
According to the paperwork, LG is seeking patent protection for a television that is capable of connecting with a non-fungible token (NFT) market server to allow users to send, receive and display artwork and fulfill purchases via a cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the TV set.
This latest patent filing suggests that LG sees ongoing consumer demand for NFTs in the future and sees a business case for making them more accessible.
LG first delved into the integration of NFTs with its television sets last September when it released its “LG Art Lab” marketplace, which enabled users to trade digital collectibles via U.S. LG televisions running their WebOS 5.0 operating system. The marketplace is only accessible via LG televisions.
The plans for LG Art Lab were likely in the works for years as LG has served as a node operator for the Hedera Network, where LG Art Labs is hosted, since 2020.
Then in January, the electronics manufacturer doubled down on its metaverse ambitions with the launch of the Blade Wallet, which is capable of interfacing with LG Art Labs to enable NFT trading.
LG is not alone in its efforts to integrate NFTs with television as its rival Samsung has also incorporated the technology into its devices via the Samsung NFT Platform, which is accessible thanks to a partnership with Nifty Gateway.
NFTs have been one of the most popular sectors of the cryptocurrency market over the past two years but have gone through a significant “cooling off” period of late, with interest hampered by the ongoing struggles of the wider cryptocurrency market.
The recent release of Ordinals, which are essentially NFTs on the Bitcoin network, has sparked a revival in the sector, but the resultant increase in transaction costs has reminded investors of the perils that come along with active NFT markets.
Ethereum has also seen a spike in transaction costs recently due in part to demand for the NFT project Milady, which saw the floor price for its collection surge higher on Wednesday after Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted a meme created using imagery from the Milady NFT collection.
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Data provided by Dune Analytics shows that while 2023 has seen a resurgence in the volume of trades occurring on NFT marketplaces as compared to 2022, NFT trading activity remains well below the highs seen during the bull market of 2021.
Weekly NFT trading volumes. Source: Dune Analytics
That being said, interest in the various aspects of the NFT market remains high, and there are multiple use cases for NFT technology that have yet to be implemented across multiple verticals, from investing to asset management.
As noted in the latest issue of ‘Disruptive Technology Views’ by Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Asset and Advisory Services at Franklin Templeton, “Web3 technologies are likely to change the nature of both investing and commerce, causing an unprecedented blurring of the lines between these pursuits.”
“Token-based experiential transactions represent a new type of asset that will require active selection and management,” Kaul wrote. “This will require new types of pricing models and portfolio construction and management tools to optimize the use of such assets.”
