Exclusive interview for NFTexpress with @criptonorber – Norberto Giudice, one of the Argentine crypto influencers with the longest trajectory in the ecosystem, tells us his experiences about Web3, NFTs, blockchain and what we can expect in the future.
Norberto has been involved in mining, trading, digital investments, participated in many international conferences linked to the industry, in addition to leading the Tokenization team at Accenture. As of today, he has more than 82,200 followers on his website. official Instagram accountand more than 49,200 subscribers on his Youtube channel.
Norber, approximately when did you enter the crypto world and how?
“I started at the end of 2013, I have been in the market for more than 9 years. I started with mining, I studied Computer Engineering since I always liked everything related to it. And in 2013, I discovered that you could mine different cryptocurrencies. At that time there was no Ethereum, Litecoin and Dogecoin were mined. By that year bitcoin was breaking $600 dollars for the first time, reaching an ATH close to $1000 or $1200. In 2014, after the hacking of the main exchange at that time (Mt. Gox), a crypto winter began that lasted for a few years. Seeing bitcoin drop below $400, I decided to sell all the mining equipment.”
“In 2016, I could see how bitcoin was worth more and more until it broke $20,000. There I realized that I made a big mistake by selling all the mining equipment, but I mention the phrase that failure is the best teacher, and it was from there that I started to study more about all this, read about blockchain, apply it to my work (I work at Accenture for more than 14 years). Today I am part of the global innovation team, and I lead the tokenization team, whether fungible or non-fungible, for all the company’s clients.”
“In 2017 I started in the trading field, resumed mining activity, started with investments, this being my second cycle. Then, with the third halving of 2020 it caught me in my third cycle with social networks, and I started creating content. I live my life like this, I divide it into 4-year blocks”.
What projects are you currently working on, and what position do you hold?
“I have the position of Tokenization Team Leader. In the area we take contact with large enterprise customers around the world, who want to tokenize either from loyalty points, NFTs, experiences with virtual reality or augmented reality but have an asset in blockchain, etc.. Some of the customers include Orlando theme parks, large supermarket product brands, some credentials that are already public, Tony’s Chocolonely (chocolates that use blockchain to ensure traceability), etc.”
And what are customers mostly looking to tokenize?
“Within Blockchain, in the company we have 3 major pillars of services or use cases in the corporate field:
1) Infrastructure for financial services: you can put together a consortium of 10 or 20 banks, and instead of each bank using its own accounting, they are part of a consortium with a single blockchain; then the information is shared and everyone can access it. In this way, they avoid the subsequent bank reconciliation effort, so everything is unified in one place. In turn, then the Central Bank has a certain audit layer where it can control without the need to ask each bank to send it certain information.
2) Digital Identity: it is about giving identity to a person in the blockchain or “tokenizing” a person, and allowing that person to add data to that digital identity, and to be able to decide with whom to share it. For example, one can go to the doctor and share medical studies for ten minutes (and specifically to one doctor, and not to the whole social security system). Another case would be to share papers at an immigration point for a border crossing, which is part of a project we have between the Netherlands and the US.
3) Supply Chain: the traceability features of the blockchain are used to be able to track any asset. The case of Tony’s Chocolonely is a chocolate factory that has the traceability of all the cocoa beans they raise in Africa, where each one came from, and can ensure that all the beans they use come from certified farms that do not have child labor or slavery. Then you can add layers of IoT, such as temperatures and humidity of conservation of the beans, and all the traceability until the chocolate is generated”.
I think the services division of the company is excellent, I think it can be a starting point for other companies to try to follow this line. Speaking about tokenization cases, do you have any experience or comments regarding projects that seek to tokenize grain crops, in the agricultural sector for example?
“Precisely, the team from Agrotoken Accenture asked us to review the processes of their project, reengineer their processes, help them grow in the region, starting in Argentina, then in Brazil and the rest of the world, and I got to lead the project on behalf of the company, an experience that I liked and enjoyed very much. I find very interesting the possibility of using real collateral, such as soybeans to issue this token (among other grains they work with)”.
This kind of projects seem to me fantastic to break with the misconception that blockchain is only related to bitcoin or cryptocurrencies. We can see that there are many use cases, and this type of tokenization seems to me to be a very promising one.
“The important thing is to find where blockchain technology brings value. As is the case of sharing information in the consortium of banks, for example, and that the entire consortium benefits from that information. The same happens in the case of the chocolate factory, in which the company, after various traceability analyses, can draw different conclusions and then share that information even with the competition, so that everyone can improve their production, or the case of Agrotoken, among thousands of other cases. Therefore, if it is useful, the greater the success of the project.
Undoubtedly, the premise of the value provided by the project is fundamental. And speaking about the Metaverse field, does the company develop any activity related to it?
“Of course, my Tokenization team, which is within the Blockchain area, also belongs to the Metaverse Continuing Building Group area, because there are many issues of “ownership” or property of what is managed in Blockchain, and they are assets that then coexist in the metaverse. One case is that of NFTs that are in a blockchain, and someone wants to move them to a metaverse to enable some kind of content.”
And have you participated in any projects, or are there any cases of clients of the company that are related to the metaverse?
“At Accenture we do work with clients, most of which I cannot mention or give names for confidentiality reasons, but we are working on marketing actions related to the company moving some of its products to the metaverse, and you can collect them, or also NFTs that allow you to receive products in real life for example, or enter a metaverse to “hunt” NFTs of ice cream, and then the product brand brings you an ice cream to your home. In this way, they are looking for experiences linked to marketing, so they offer an experience using NFTs, taking them to the metaverse, and being able to obtain a benefit in real life”.
Regarding your experiences with NFTs, did you buy one from any particular collection, any blue chip?
“During 2021 I have participated in a lot of things, a lot of Play to Earn games, I have bought all kinds of NFTs, plus there was money to be made in most cases at the time. At the moment I am not buying new NFTs, but I do keep some that I have from that time. For example, I have an NFT posted in the “Digital Collectibles” section of my Instagram profile (I clarify that it is not an incentive to buy tokens from that collection), but I did it to test the new functionality of the app to post NFTs for sale, and on the other hand to distinguish my account from other scammer accounts that seek to deceive people, since I am the only one who can have it, besides being from a unique collection, and I have it posted as an NFT. I show it to the camera so people can see it on my account. @criptonorber“.
And what platforms or marketplaces have you used when buying and selling NFTs?
“I think we all started with OpenSea, mostly for the Ethereum network. Then as Solana was implemented, I also used SolSea, MagicEden, but mostly I used OpenSea, mostly for large collections. Beyond that, I have yet to buy a blue chip like a Crypto Punk or a Bored Ape. You also have to see what value that NFT can bring, as some bring access to exclusive parties or clubs, or some benefits like discounts or shipping physical products to your home.”
Have any of the NFTs you have purchased provided you with any unique benefits or experiences?
“Not as events, beyond having been able to participate in some like BAYC, which I attended by invitation as an influencer. But I did attend the NFTs of the Play to Earn ecosystem, where having an NFT gave you access to play and earn profits, as in the case of CryptoCars”.
How was your experience at events like BAYC?
“I was able to attend one here in Miami and they are very good because they connect you with people who are in the industry, either because they have an NFT of the collection or because they are developing some other project, but what I highlight most is the networking that is done in this type of events, as well as in other conferences; it opens your head and opens the doors to new business.”
The truth is yes, the networking of this kind of events is very interesting. On the other hand I wanted to ask you, what would you say to people who only link NFTs with digital art?
“That they be patient. The third halving was related to events such as the emergence of DeFi platforms and NFTs, and the fourth halving that will be in 2024 seems to my understanding that it will most likely be related to metaverses and NFTs, we may see more NFTs linked within metaverses (even more than what we can see today), be able to show them through your avatar, through various platforms, get Token Getting Access (access to events and content by having a token), among others. It’s not just about seeing some kind of art linked to the NFT, but what benefits it brings me, what events, contents or products I can access by having one.
Excellent Norber, and finally I want to ask you, what is your position on the uptrend that brings the Web3 field, tokenization and NFTs?
“I believe that the adoption, and therefore the development of the Web3 field will continue to increase. It is no longer the possibility of reading (Web1 of the 90’s), reading and writing (Web2 linked to social networks), now it is reading, writing and owning (Web3), the possibility of really owning an asset, which we will be able to demonstrate thanks to blockchain technology. Both you Luciano and me Norberto, we are owners of an asset that is in the blockchain, everyone can see it and check it from anywhere in the world. The new concept of ownership that Web3 brings is completely revolutionary.”
Written by Luciano Garriga (TW:@luchogarriga) for NFT Express