Brad Chandler decodes non-fungible tokens and cryptocurrencies.
NFTs — non-fungible tokens — don’t have to be cryptic, assuming you have the right expert. Brad Chandler, director of the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business, will give UW Now Livestream viewers the rundown, drawing on his extensive experience in corporate finance and his curriculum in the UW’s new course, Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain, and Digital Assets.
Digital assets may seem abstract, but, as Chandler says, “To understand this world, it is important to dive in and get your hands dirty.” How does one get their hands digitally dirty? Chandler and his students have “experimented with setting up a Bitcoin node on campus, auditing the ledger of various blockchains, minting an NFT for the Nicholas Center, and engaging with organizations looking to utilize blockchain solutions.”
Not sure what that all means? Tune in on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, for a conversation with Chandler on The UW Now Livestream. He’ll share what he’s learned from these experiments with NFTs and explain what implications this new technology may have for the world of finance, as well as artists and content creators.
On The UW Now, I’ll Discuss:
[NFTs] can be a daunting topic in many ways. There is a frenzy of activity in the cryptocurrency world, and often a technical background is required to truly understand what is happening. That said, it is my responsibility to explain this topic in simple terms people can understand. In any talk like this, there is a broad spectrum of views in the audience: beginners, experts, enthusiasts, and skeptics. It is important for beginners to realize that they may not understand everything the first time and that’s okay. Sometimes it takes three or four times of listening and engaging with a topic to gain a better understanding.
One Thing I’d Like Viewers to Remember Is:
I hope to engage the audience’s curiosity about new financial technologies. I seek to explain, not to advocate, so I hope this discussion helps the audience understand what NFTs are and what they are not. From my view, [NFTs are] an exciting development which may have important implications for the future of digital assets.
To Get Smart Fast, Read:
For beginners, in October, the Economist ran a couple of stories on an NFT they created to donate funds to charity. This is a good overview of the NFT topic. For a more advanced audience, I find the a16z NFT Canonto be an excellent read as well as OpenSea’s Non-Fungible Token Bible.
