When Jim Martin joined St. Petersburg-based Autographia in 2020, he knew the industry was ripe for change.
There was the long-rising trend of using cryptocurrency to bid online, and in 2021 a new tech trend burst onto the scene: non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.
"When we founded the company there was definitely a conversation in terms of cryptocurrency payment," Martin said. "NFTs were in a real infancy phase. This year is kind of the year of NFT. It's a very new thing but we didn't sit around and wait too long; we wanted to come to the market with an offering pretty quickly."
NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain, which is a type of cryptocurrency. Someone who purchases an NFT is similar to someone buying a one-of-a-kind trading card or original art piece, versus a recopied print.
The company will be auctioning off a model of a Tesla, the cutting-edge car company founded by Elon Musk. The model and its corresponding NFT are signed by Musk and will be auctioned off with cryptocurrency payment.
It's hit a trifecta in terms of the tech world — Elon Musk has long pushed for new technology and been a staunch advocate of crypto. And the cryptocurrency world has more often than not been used to buy NFTs.
"We're really excited to make a splash — Elon and cryptocurrency and NFTs are all closely related, so we thought this would be a good fit," Martin said. "We're excited for its success and then to take it from there and have other offerings in the near term."
It's all a bit of a novelty for a company in Tampa Bay, many of which have yet to dip their toes into NFT or even cryptocurrency. But Martin views the move as a next step for meeting the consumers where their needs are.
"People want things when they're in demand, whether it's the Bucs winning the championship or the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup," he said. "People want what's happening and there will be demand and they will want collectibles from those teams or artists releasing a new album. So, I wouldn’t say it's totally new. It's lock and step. With the NFTs, Elon Musk — they're in the moment. It's just keeping up with the times."
The auction opens at 8 p.m. on Aug. 29 and spans 10 days. Autographia has partnered with HODL Token, a decentralized finance community. This will be the first NFT offering listed in the HODL Diamond Marketplace.
