{"id":294704,"date":"2021-07-09T11:10:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T08:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/buddhist-digital-amulets-mark-thai-entry-into-crypto-art-craze\/"},"modified":"2021-07-09T11:10:04","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T08:10:04","slug":"buddhist-digital-amulets-mark-thai-entry-into-crypto-art-craze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/buddhist-digital-amulets-mark-thai-entry-into-crypto-art-craze\/","title":{"rendered":"#Buddhist digital amulets mark Thai entry into crypto art craze"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Buddhist digital amulets mark Thai entry into crypto art craze<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\"&quot;CryptoAmulets&quot;
\n “CryptoAmulets” is the latest venture to chase the NFT art craze, with founder Ekkaphong Khemthong sensing opportunity in Thailand’s widespread practice of collecting talismans blessed by revered monks.
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Karmic fortune has arrived to the digital art market, with a kaleidoscopic splash of colours and the face of a revered Thai monk offering portable Buddhist good luck charms to tech-savvy buyers.<\/p>\n

Sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs)\u2014virtual images of anything from popular internet memes to original artwork\u2014have swept the art world in recent months, with some fetching millions of dollars at major auction houses. <\/p>\n

“CryptoAmulets” is the latest venture to chase the craze, with founder Ekkaphong Khemthong sensing opportunity in Thailand’s widespread practice of collecting talismans blessed by revered monks. <\/p>\n

“I am an amulet collector and I was thinking about how I could introduce amulets to foreigners and to the world,” he told AFP.<\/p>\n

Collecting amulets and other small religious trinkets is a popular pastime in Buddhist-majority Thailand, where the capital Bangkok has a market solely dedicated to the traders of these lucky objects.<\/p>\n

Their value can rise thousands of dollars if blessed by a well-respected monk.<\/p>\n

Despite being a digital format, Ekkapong wanted CryptoAmulets to have the same traditional ceremony as a physical piece, which is why he app<\/a>roached Luang Pu Heng, a highly regarded abbot from Thailand’s northeast. <\/p>\n

“I respect this monk and I would love the world to know about him\u2014he is a symbol of good fortune in business,” he said.<\/p>\n

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\"Collecting
\n Collecting amulets and other small religious trinkets is a popular pastime in Buddhist-majority Thailand, where the capital Bangkok has a market solely dedicated to the traders of these lucky objects.
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Authentic and blessed<\/b><\/p>\n

Luang Pu Heng last month presided over a ceremony to bless physical replicas of the digital amulets, which show a serene image of his face.<\/p>\n

He splashed holy water onto his own visage as his saffron-robed disciples chanted and scattered yellow petals on the altar where the portraits were mounted. <\/p>\n

One challenge was trying to explain the concept of NFTs to the 95-year-old abbot, who assumed he would be blessing physical amulets. <\/p>\n

“It’s very hard so we just tried to simplify it,” said Singaporean developer Daye Chan. <\/p>\n

“We said to him that it’s like blessing the photos.”<\/p>\n

Transforming amulets into crypto art also means the usual questions of authenticity plaguing a talisman sold in a market are eliminated, he added.
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“There are so many amulets being mass produced… All the records could be lost and these physical items can be easily counterfeited,” Chan said.<\/p>\n

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\"The
\n The value of Buddhist amulets and other religious trinkets can rise thousands of dollars if blessed by a well-respected monk.
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NFTs use blockchain technology<\/a>\u2014an unalterable digital ledger\u2014to record all transactions from the the moment of their creation. <\/p>\n

“For our amulet, even a hundred years later, they can still check back the record to see what the blockchain is,” Chan said.<\/p>\n

But founder Ekkaphong would not be drawn on the karmic effectiveness of digital amulets, compared to their real-life counterparts. <\/p>\n

“They are different,” he said. <\/p>\n

‘Lucky experiences’<\/b><\/p>\n

On the CryptoAmulets website online gallery, different inscriptions are written in Thai\u2014”rich”, “lucky” or “fortunate”, for instance\u2014around each of the tokens.<\/p>\n

They are priced on a tiered system in ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, and are currently selling for between $46 and $1,840. <\/p>\n

Sales have been slow ahead of Sunday’s purchase deadline, with only 1,500 tokens sold out of the 8,000 available, and with Thais making up most of the buyers.<\/p>\n

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\"CryptoAmulets
\n CryptoAmulets are priced on a tiered system in ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, and are currently selling for between $46 and $1,840.
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Thai chef Theerapong Lertsongkram said he bought a CryptoAmulet because of his reverence for objects blessed by Luang Pu Heng, which he says have brought him good fortune.<\/p>\n

“I have had several lucky experiences such as winning small lottery prizes… or being promoted on my job,” said Theerapong, who works in a Stockholm restaurant.<\/p>\n

“I did not know anything about NFTs before, but I made the decision to buy it as I respect Luang Pu Heng so much,” he told AFP.<\/p>\n

But fellow collector Wasan Sukjit\u2014who adorns the interior of his taxi with rare amulets\u2014has a harder time with the concept. <\/p>\n

“Amulets need to be something physical, something people can hold,” he scoffed. <\/p>\n

“I prefer the ones I can hang on my neck.”\n <\/p>\n\n

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From tattoos to tokens at Tokyo’s first crypto art show\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2021 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Buddhist digital amulets mark Thai entry into crypto art craze (2021, July 9)
\n retrieved 9 July 2021
\n from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news<\/a>\/2021-07-buddhist-digital-amulets-thai-entry.html<\/p>\n

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