South Korea-based global electronics behemoth LG Electronics, on Monday, September 5, announced enabling the NFT (non-fungible token) functionality on its smart TVs. The platform, called LG Art Lab, uses the Hedera Network. In addition, the company will provide its eligible customers a software update to enable them to transact and showcase NFTs on their TVs.
Its industry peer, South Korea-headquartered Samsung Electronics, also launched the NFT functionality on its three TV models: Micro LED, Neo QLED, and The Frame, in January 2022. However, Samsung’s NFT platform is supported by the Nifty Gateway company.
Select LG TVs running WebOS version 5.0 or the later versions will have access to the NFT platform from the home screen. In a press statement, LG said the new platform would act as a one-stop solution for viewing and trading NFTs.
The company said it would add new NFTs from various artists every month, and people could view them or show-off to their guests when the TV is not in use. Samsung also implemented a similar feature to showcase NFTs when the TV is not in use.
The company said the LG Art Lab portal would support a new platform called LG Art Drops to let people track new NFTs in the market. LG Art Drops will also include artists’ profiles to let consumers preview their NFT artworks before they come to the marketplace. LG also said that first of the ‘drops’ would occur on September 22, featuring an NFT from sculptor Barry X Ball.
LG said it would incorporate a thrift mobile crypto wallet, ‘Wallypto,’ connected with the marketplace to purchase NFTs. People can buy them by scanning a QR code.
LG said that once consumers scan the QR code on the TV, they have to open the Wallypto app on their phones and complete the transaction using USDC, a blockchain-based stablecoin issued by Circle, an American crypto company.
Stablecoins are blockchain-based solutions that provide a dollar-denominated digital currency to facilitate an exchange for other cryptos. For example, the ideal exchange ratio for 1 USDC is $1. Other examples of stablecoins include Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD).
Hedera (HBAR) describes itself as an environment-friendly public ledger enterprise built for the decentralised economy. However, it claims that it doesn’t use a blockchain to validate transactions on the network; rather, it uses its patented ‘hashgraph’ technology to operate. LG is one of the many corporations that are part of Hedera’s governing board.
