Salesforce, the world’s #1 customer relationship management (CRM) platform, is officially entering the NFT industry! The American cloud-based software company plans to release an NFT Cloud and its own Marketplace. It currently supports 150,000 companies worldwide, so this is a huge win for the space!
About Salesforce’s NFT Plans
Last year saw the meteoric rise of NFTs and a surge in digital collecting. According to DappRadar, collectors and traders spent $22 billion on NFTs, up from $100 million in 2020. NFTs took off thanks to the art and collectibles segment. This year, Salesforce sees an opportunity to bring the technology into enterprise software.
Executives and leaders of Salesforce have been very vocal about the company’s plan to expand into NFTs. Co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor talked about the strategy at a private online event. Earlier this year, In a blog post on 2022 predictions published in December, Mathew Sweezey, director of Market Strategy, said that in the coming year, “pioneering brands will search for utility via NFTs.”
The platform currently serves sales reps, marketing departments and e-commerce vendors. According to reports, it now wants to offer a service for artists to create content and release it on a marketplace like OpenSea. So it’s planning to chip away market share from the NFT kingpin that closed a $300 million Series C round led by Paradigm and Coatue. Then, it raised its valuation to a massive $13.3 billion.
What’s Next?
What’s thrilling about this news is that Salesforce is not just bringing new customers into the space. It can potentially help companies get into the space. This will be a huge gamechanger because it currently houses some of the biggest names in the world.
Its impressive list of clients includes Spotify, Amazon Web Services and Toyota. In fact, some of the companies it’s supporting have announced plans to foray into the metaverse. For example, retail giant Walmart is launching its own cryptocurrency and NFT collection.
Sweezey is also bullish about more brands and companies taking advantage of this new technology. “To unlock their full potential, brands are going to have to start creating utility via the token,” he wrote. “In 2022, you’re going to hear a lot more about NFTs, and there will be winners and losers.”
Reception So Far
While the NFT community is rejoicing over this news, the employees of the company are unhappy. In fact, they are pushing back against the plans to launch an NFT platform. According to reports, 400 employees signed an open letter opposing the move, citing the environmental and economic impact of NFTs as “unregulated, highly speculative financial assets.”
All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFTevening.com are not recommendations.
This article is educational material.
As always, make your own research prior to making any kind of investment.
